Turning up the HEAT in Wales
Here at RSC Wales we’re very pleased to be involved with a new round of HEAT funding that is specially for Wales. HEAT is HE Assistive Technology, a programme funded by JISC Techdis with the Higher Education Academy, and you can find out all about the HEAT4 programme on the JISC Techdis website.
We know from the feedback from our current Barrier Busting Roadshow events about Accessibility and Inclusion - attended and enjoyed by staff in all supported sectors, HE included – that lots of people are interested in how to use technology to improve effectiveness around inclusion and accessibility, not just for ‘disabled students’ but for all students and staff.
Not only is the HEAT4 funding highly relevant to current concerns, it also has the big advantage of enabling small, manageable projects within the reach of any staff. A HEAT project can achieve great benefits without demanding large amounts of time or resources in the application process or the running of the project. Take Newport University’s HEAT3 project for example, which got staff using vodcasting to give students feedback, or Lampeter’s, where staff in Classics digitised image collections to make their teaching materials more inclusive and engaging.
The JISC Techdis website offers full details of previous projects so you can see the kind of thing that’s possible. So if your reaction to project funding is “but I don’t have time to bid” or “we’ve never done anything like this before” then I suggest think again – HEAT4 could just be the way in.
Proposals are particularly welcome in these areas: Lifelong Learning, Work-Related Learning, Employer Engagement and Business & Community Engagement (see www.jisc.ac.uk/bce for more information about this whole agenda) but no theme is excluded. Funding of £1200 is available per project and is to purchase technology.
We’re looking forward very much to working with colleagues at JISC Techdis and Academy Wales on evaluating the bids (due in 22 February), and seeing projects evolve and share their experiences with the sector so we all benefit.
