The project is aiming to engage academics and professional staff in active research, training and reflective practice on exploring and applying evidence-based innovative pedagogy to the design and development of online and blended courses and programmes.

We will do this by:

• Organising staff development events via an external mentoring scheme (Association for Learning Technology) for professional staff involved in learning design who are interested in developing and strengthening their capacity in research and evaluation.
• Setting up the Research in Learning Design Guild to act as a support system and a Community of Practice for those who are involved in research activities.
• Enabling staff interested in research activities to collect data, conduct interviews and work in partnership with academic staff, providing training and support in research methodologies, critical reflection practices and publication processes.
• Providing support in the dissemination of research outcomes via internal and external conferences and publications in online and offline mediums and journals.