Gwen van der Velden
Director of Learning and Teaching Enhancement
Ext: 3775
Room: WH 5.38
In her role at the University of Bath, Gwen leads a team that is responsible for educational development, the quality management of learning and teaching, academic staff development related to learning and teaching and e-learning support and development. The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Office was launched in January 2006, under her leadership.
Gwen also holds a number of roles at the national level, in which she represents the University:
- Member of the Heads of Educational Development planning group
- Specialist Reader for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS)
- Member of the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Advisory group
- Member of the Planning Executive of the Standing Conference for Academic Practice (SCAP)
- Founder of the Learning, Teaching and Quality Network within the '94 Group
Professional background
Gwen’s career started in the Netherlands and included student activist, teacher and educational innovator. At the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen (now Radboud University, NL), she supported individual staff in the Science Faculty developing advanced teaching practices. On her departure to Britain, she received an award for Excellence from the University of Nijmegen and was put forward for a national award for HE teaching innovation.
Having joined the University of Kent in 1995, Gwen worked with a number of Universities on institution-wide implementation of e-learning. Since the mid nineties, she has led teams of academic staff developers, student learning advisors and teaching innovators and took on advisory roles for national HE organisations. Before joining Bath as Director of Learning and Teaching, Gwen had been Head of the Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at the University of Kent. Until recently, Gwen was a Higher Education Academy Accreditor (initial teaching programmes, individual applications and CPD).
Her current professional interests include the professionalisation of educational development, the building of learning communities and the re-alignment of quality assurance and enhancement.