Interview with Roberto Di Napoli
Roberto Di Napoli joined the College as Head of Goldsmiths Learning Enhancement Unit (GLEU) last month. With about four weeks under his belt, he told us of his first impressions of the institution, and what his team will be concentrating on in the future.
Tell us a bit about the Unit and what it can offer Goldsmiths
The first important point to make is that the Goldsmiths Learning Enhancement Unit is the result of the integration of two units (Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and the Learning and Teaching Office) around one common purpose, i.e. enhancing learning and teaching at Goldsmiths.
Our work ethos is based on collaboration and sharing, both within the unit and across the institution, around a common purpose: stimulating debates and practice around learning and teaching, for the benefit of all the Goldsmiths students.
How do you aim to achieve this and what does this mean for staff?
We aim to achieve this by allocating one member of our staff to work collaboratively within each department and the main central units/centres around the College. GLEU staff will work especially with the learning and teaching chairs in order to prioritise developmental areas and stimulate debates aiming at innovating practices, as I say, within specific disciplinary domains and departmental cultures.
Scholarly, sustained grass roots cooperation [more about this below] with departments is, perhaps, the most important and novel aspect of GLEU as a whole. We also continue to work around established activities, like our PGCert Programme, a series of learning and teaching workshops, and technology enhanced learning. We will also be organising debates, lectures and symposia around different aspects of higher education, and, in the long run, consultancy work outside the College. We hope that all this can bring benefits and kudos to Goldsmiths.
What do you consider to be the two key words in terms of the work done by the Unit?
I would say: ‘scholarly’ and ‘grass roots cooperation’. The idea of scholarly work is very important to us, as any approach to learning and teaching is not just a matter of practical tips but needs to be informed by reflection on the disciplinary and institutional environments in which it takes place. It also needs to be based on a vigorous engagement with interesting pedagogical practices and ideas beyond the institution, and the current literature on (higher) education. ‘Grass-roots’ means that that we do not consider ourselves ‘interventionists’ in the educational debate at Goldsmiths but respectful facilitators of debates in and around higher education issues, especially those related to learning and teaching.
About Roberto
Roberto started at Goldsmiths in October 2009, when he took up his position as Head of GLEU. His role is to provide academic leadership for the Unit (which brings together two existing units, the Learning and Teaching Office and the Centre for Excellence in Learning Technology). As Head of Unit, Roberto works with academic departments to enhance the learning experience of Goldsmiths students. He also has a remit to promote scholarship and research in learning, teaching and assessment. Roberto plays a leading role in developing staff networks for the dissemination of effective and forward looking practice in learning and teaching.
Before joining Goldsmiths, Roberto worked at Imperial College London, for a number of years, as Senior Lecturer in Educational Development and as Director of the MEd in University Learning and Teaching. He also took a very active part in the delivery of the MEd in Surgical Education. He also worked in a number of other institutions: the University of Westminster, Cork University (Republic of Ireland), International House London and two secondary schools, one of which in Madrid (Spain). The first part of Roberto’s career was firmly embedded within Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, before he progressively became more fully involved in teacher education, in the mid-Nineties.