Academic Staff from the School of English of the University of Sheffield visit our English Studies Department

The Applied Linguistics Colloquium, organised by the English Studies Department (ESD) of the International Faculty on 12-14 June 2015 in Thessaloniki, hosted Academic Staff from the School of English (SoE) of the University of Sheffield. Our guests (Prof. Susan Fitzmaurice, Prof. Andrew Linn, Dr Gabriel Ozon, Dr Jane Mulderrig and Dr Oksana Afitska) became well acquainted with the ESD structure and programmes, as well as their fellow colleagues in Thessaloniki. During the Colloquium all local and guest participants had the opportunity to exchange practices, opinions and expertise, as well as to explore joint research potentials for developing a closer and more productive collaboration between the two departments.

In the context of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, guest academics were introduced to the structure of the BA and MA programmes at ESD and were presented with examples of good practices that have been successfully implemented during the first year of ESD operation. Among various issues, participants have extensively discussed the way the undergraduate programme has operated, the courses offered, the profile of student body, methods of assessment and monitoring of student progress, various good teaching practices and their learning outcomes, etc. In addition, the structure, function and content of the ESD Master’s programme were thoroughly discussed, with insight offered from both sides. On similar grounds, School of English academics shared their experience and know-how from their own programmes regarding course content, allocation of staff resources, time management, handling large numbers of students, etc. Recognizing the MA as the spearhead of any department, both SoE and ESD academics expressed their satisfaction with this exchange of ideas and knowledge.

Recognizing Research as one of the cornerstones of the Applied Linguistics Colloquium, a number of key collaboration scenarios addressed. During the visit, Mr. Nikos Zaharis offered a detailed presentation of the South-East European Research Center (SEERC), projects that have been undertaken, sources of funding, and, most importantly, the mode of cooperation that SoE and ESD could design and develop. Moreover, both the SoE guests and the ESD staff presented their personal research interests, targeting common areas for potential collaboration in developing innovative research ideas. Both Departments expressed a strong willingness to explore a number of available avenues that are within the diverse research profiles of their individual members. Overall, the commitment shown from both sides to establishing ongoing research bonds between colleagues in Thessaloniki and Sheffield is expected to strengthen and consolidate cooperation by building several research-related communication bridges in the near future.

As a general overview, all participants were greatly satisfied with the marked progress and the outcome of the two-day colloquium, both on a departmental as well on an individual level. The English Studies Department was more than pleased to open its doors to guest academics from the School of English, with the aspiration that the knowledge shared by the two departments has set solid foundations for a regular exchanging of expertise in both teaching and research within the coming years.