Traversing digital learning landscapes: an Institutional and faculty case study.

Within the UK, there is a growing awareness to better understand what online educational technologies can offer in relation to learning and teaching, and how social technologies are changing communication and collaboration out with formal education. The concept of the ‘digital university’ is being widely debated within the UK Higher education sector (McCluskey and Winter, 2012), becoming embedded in educational policy, and beginning to be explored within many institutions. This session will report on one such institutional initiative, undertaken at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. A Digital Futures Working Group was established to: benchmark best practice in key areas including digitally enhanced education and digital literacies development; identify areas for short term action; and to produce a robust ‘digital agenda’ to inform the future direction of the university. Pivotal to this was the recognition to evolve staff digital pedagogical practices and to harness emerging digital opportunities, meet learner expectations, and meet wider expectations for contemporary able citizens. This session will be delivered in two parts. Firstly we will provide an insight into the focus of the project and the rich picture methodology used to consult with staff and students. Secondly we will specify the outcomes produced, and provide a case study of how the Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences engaged with the process and the progression of their digitally enabled educational practices.

What's happening in European supply-chains?

Many multinational companies are supposedly viewing Europe as one region and re-shaping their approach to the supply of products to customers. Several factors are thought to be driving this trend, notably the degree of merger and acquisitions activity; the need for improved financial performance; the pressure to reduce inventories and costs, facilitated by improvements in communication and information technology systems. All of this is in the context of European market and monetary harmonisation. This paper investigates the extent and effect of the amanegement of supply chains on a pan-European baisis by multinational business. A survey was used to examine changes, both made and anticipated. to operational strategies, processes, organisational structures and physical infrastructure across a range of businesses and industry sectors. Cost reducation, driven by the need for profit and shreholder return, was found to be the priority for developments in supply chains.Many businesses reported consolidation of manufacturing and distribution activities whilst retaining discrete country-by-country organisational structures for managing customers and markets.Logistics Service Providers were seen in a traditional role as suppliers of commodity warehousing and transport services and lacked true pan-European capability. Despite the often-vaunted concept of a pan-European business model, individual businesses wwere seen to be negotiating their own path to balancing economies of scale with customers' service needs and expectations.