eSTEeM Community Event: Getting started with scholarship

Facilitators

Daphne Chang and Fiona Aiken

Overview

This is an introductory session for all STEM staff who are interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) but are unsure how to conduct a scholarship project or what it entails. 

We will look at the range of scholarship undertaken at the Open University, what approaches have been taken and what might be relevant to your own practice. We will then take you through the processes involved, from coming up with a research question, designing a project and considering what methods might be appropriate. We will consider how to seek ethical review for your project and approval to work with Open University students, including the Student Research Project Panel (SRPP). We will also discuss practical tips and strategies for creating time within busy workloads to carry out scholarship activities. 

Learning objectives

To understand:

• What scholarship means in practice.
• The stages of scholarship.
• The practical considerations which need to be taken into account when conducting a scholarship project.
• The importance and value of creating time and space for scholarship activities.  

About the facilitators 

Daphne and Fiona are the Directors of eSTEeM, the STEM Faculty’s Scholarship and Innovation Centre.

Registration

This session is open to all OU STEM colleagues. Please visit My Learning Centre by Friday 6th November 2026 to register.

For any queries regarding this session, please contact [email protected].