The Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence (KIITE) is delighted to announce that Emma Edwards, Lecturer in Radiography in the School of Allied Health Professions, has successfully completed the postgraduate-level Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA).

Keele’s Academic Professional Apprenticeship is a 15-month professional qualification, co-designed by employer groups and KIITE, for individuals who teach and support student learning at undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels in universities and other organisations.

The programme includes structured learning activities and bespoke training in order to meet the unique needs of each participant. Participants engage critically with key contemporary debates on assessment, inclusion and diversity, online learning, employability, and wider questions of effective curriculum design. The programme concludes with a rigorous End-Point Assessment, aligned to nationally agreed standards, with an external assessor.

Emma Edwards, who was awarded a Distinction in the End-Point Assessment, comments:

“At first, I thought this would be a daunting learning experience. Working and studying alongside each other sounded like a juggling act. However, my initial impressions were wrong. My APA journey has been a supportive process and has helped shape me into the person I am today. I have learnt so much on this journey and made multiple networks and friends along the way. This has especially been helpful during the covid-19 pandemic and the fast adaptions we have had to make. The End-Point Assessment was a real highlight as it was an opportunity for reflection and to showcase my skills and progression during my APA and it highlights how much I have grown as an academic in this short timeframe. I would really recommend the APA.”

Anne O’Brien, Head of School, School of Allied Health Professions, comments:

“The School of Allied Health Professions is very proud of Emma, one of our Radiography Lecturers, to not only be the first Keele staff member to complete the APA, but do so and be awarded a distinction. This is appropriate recognition of the hard work undertaken by Emma.”

Dr Filippo Nereo, Associate Director in the Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, comments:

"We are thrilled that Emma has successfully completed the APA programme, which we have designed in close partnership with employers. Our APA is a highly rigorous but flexible professional qualification designed to be compatible with participants’ busy lives."

On successful completion of Keele's programme, participants receive the national apprenticeship award and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice. 

Further information about the programme can be found on the Academic Professional Apprenticeship webpage or by contacting apprenticeships@keele.ac.uk 

Independent inspectors, in their 2021 review, commended Keele for ‘exemplifying best practice in all areas of apprenticeship delivery and ensuring a consistent approach is taken to quality assurance’.