By Jonny Branney, Bournemouth University

Preparing to travel to the ANTF Symposium, Newcastle University, May 2026, I had a moment of trepidation at attending for the first time. I had been awarded my National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) in 2024 and despite that honour it dawned on me that the workshop I would be leading might pale into insignificance compared to what other NTFs and senior educational leaders might be presenting. This was new territory and I felt I might be a mere minnow in a sea of stars. Thankfully my nervousness ahead of attending very quickly abated – I don’t think I have been in a more welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment. I want you to come and experience what I did: support, encouragement, role modelling and exposure to some of the latest and best thinking – not to mention becoming connected to a national network of higher education experts. As an example of being made to feel I belonged (more on that below!), I am thrilled that Professor Wendy Garnham, University of Sussex and the ANTF Events Co-ordinator, decided to not only attend my workshop but mention it in her blog! (Thank you, Wendy!). All this is waiting for you at next year’s symposium, which I am involved in organising here at Bournemouth University (11-12^th May 2027 – save the date!). If I have not convinced you to attend already, please read on for why you should!

Belonging, Mattering, Becoming

A common theme at the symposium in Newcastle was belonging – particularly with regards to students but in these challenging times for working in higher education it made me reflect on the importance of staff belonging too. I loved the following which I noted down (sadly I neglected to write down who said it. Please get in touch if you read this so I can properly attribute it!)

“Belonging is not a luxury it is a retention strategy”

Further to that I learned of this three-pronged outlook (activities can be created explicitly targeting the promotion of this development):

1. You belong (belonging) – self-actualisation and growth mindset
2. You matter (mattering) – self-efficacy and belief in one’s own ability
3. You grow (becoming) – grit, resilience, adaptability

An excellent practical tip for how to imbue a sense of belonging in students from the get-go was of personal tutors meeting their tutees during induction in a social environment at the university (so standing together rather than sitting in a classroom) then embarking on a tour of the campus – “Walk & Talk”. What a brilliant and simple idea to encourage students to talk to each other while orientating them to where they will be studying and socialising for the next few years. Another fantastic idea was introducing students to every single member of the teaching and professional support teams that they will encounter during their degree journey, on their induction week. This provides a chance for staff to feel involved and to help everyone feel empowered, motivated and excited for the year ahead. The quicker we can make students feel ‘at home’ and that they belong the better will be their experience, and the more effective will be their learning and development. And in turn, what a nicer environment that would create for staff.

What do students want and expect from university?

A project with striking findings was the national Pre-arrival Academic Questionnaire (PAQ) pilot. It’s better described in this HEPI blog by Professor Debbie Holley, Professor Wendy Garnham and Associate Professor Sue Beckingham, ‘Stop inducting students into a system that doesn’t fit them.’ The main takeaway I got from the symposium presentation was that students want less tech and more human. While this does not square directly with poor attendance rates at university, it is nonetheless encouraging that they don’t want us to be replaced by AI! Regarding AI there were some fantastic resources shared by Scott Walker and colleagues on prompt-writing skills for AI-supported learning. I took away that each of the main GenAIs out there each have their pros and cons. I noted that:

Claude – particularly good for interpreting and analysing – great for creating content that can be understood by lay persons

ChatGPT – possibly best for academic expression (good news that this is basically the AI behind what many of us have access to i.e. Co-Pilot)

Gemini – Sounds friendly and enthusiastic

The big thing was that no matter which GenAI was used these were clearly being used to augment, not supplant, the expertise of the lecturer. Linking back to the pre-arrival questionnaire it’s not that students don’t want AI at all, but they need to be guided on its appropriate use in the context of human-led education.  The earlier we introduce AI literacy (for staff and students), the better. [It was mentioned that Monash University has particularly good guidance on AI and assessment which you can find here].

Finally, as a huge advocate of learning communities [especially Team-based Learning,] I was impressed with the learning communities introduced by the Medical School, Newcastle University. They assign medical students into permanent groups of 10-12 students for the duration of their 5-year programme. In these groups they meet once per week with a clinical tutor (a practicing doctor) where they cover many topics considered part of the “hidden curriculum.” They made clever use of placements’ funding to cover the cost of this otherwise staff intensive activity. I’ve no doubt this will evaluate well when the first cohort to experience this approach graduates!

There was so much to take away from attending the ANTF symposium in Newcastle, and I have not covered half of it here. Do please join us in sunny Bournemouth for next year’s symposium. Share the great work you do, learn from experts in the field, network and make friends, and don’t ever feel like an imposter – you belong here.