Saturday 21 November 2015

Tara Moves Onwards and Upwards!

Thursday the 19th of November 2015 saw Dr. Tara Ryan moving on from IADT (after 4 years) to become Registrar at Hibernia College. Whilst delighted for Tara in her new job, we're naturally sad to be losing such a valuable human being in IADT. We relied on Tara as an energetic and inventive, student-centred resource. My partnership with Tara began when we started working together (from October 2013) on the Tempus ALIGN project - Tara singlehandedly steered the project's Work Package 1 through with enormous effort and rigour. We all learned from her.

Tara is not gone far away and my two promises to her were that I'd visit her in her new Hibernia office as soon as she was settled in AND that I was determined to work with her again very soon! The best of luck to you Madame!

Thanks to David Doyle for the photographs of the going away party!



Miss Ryan in full flight - picture by David Doyle


Tara, Andrew, looking mischievous with a knife, Laura and Annie - picture by David Doyle


 Barry Dig and Tara - picture by David Doyle



IADT Graduation 2015 - RDS!

The afternoon of Wednesday 18th of November 2015 saw the graduation of IADT's Faculty of Film Art and Creative Technology programmes, including our gang from DL832 Animation! A lot of the celebrations slightly cramped by the fact that many graduates had to return to work the next day (a good complaint in some ways)... For all, it's the start of dazzling careers - it shall happen! A career is a marathon, not a sprint! The best of luck to ALL!



RDS - the assembled crowd


RDS - The Robing Room


RDS - the gang in their seats!


RDS - in the line, ready to go!


RDS - Marty with her parchment!


RDS - Marty and DQ


RDS - Marty Sherra Aidan











Wednesday 18 November 2015

NCPA and Tempus ALIGN Dissemination Conference - Moskva

Arrived back on Sunday from the First Dissemination Tempus Conference in Moscow, November 13-14, organised by Anna Tarasova's NCPA team. The conference 'gathered the widest possible expert, academic, professional and student communities from Russia, Armenia, Ukraine and EU countries: Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Poland. There were over 160 participants (64 of them were ALIGN project partners).

The conference lasted for two days and was hosted in Moscow State Pedagogical University. The first day presentations dealt with issues around the main conference theme ‘Enhancing the quality and relevance of students’ learning experience’. Tempus ALIGN held a 'coordination' meeting in the afternoon.

On the second day, participants split into three working sessions:

1.      Writing and Using Good Learning Outcomes for Quality Progression of Students
2.      Tools and Mechanisms for Assessing Students’ Leaning Outcomes
3.      Achieving Excellence in Higher Education through Quality Assurance

Bath Spa's Paul Hyland and Inna Pomorina gave an excellent and inspirational closing workshop on 'Student Centred Learning'. Thanks to all!



Conference Opening Address


Conference Room


ALIGN coordination meeting


ALIGN coordination meeting room


NCPA conference - DQ with Ukrainian students and Liza Sozinova


Moskva - metro map


Moskva - traffic


Moskva - climb to Red Square


Moskva - Lenin Mausoleum


Moskva - Gum Department Store


Moskva - Red Square


Moskva Conference NCPA webpage



Moskva - Shermetyovo - ice on wing











Wednesday 11 November 2015

Wednesday - Yerevan, and Ararat appears!

Lunchtime, in between site visits to Brusov and YSAFA. The programme teams on the ground are fully engaged and making great progress towards the development of new programme documents. Very impressive! And this morning, the skies clear and Mount Ararat appears! A BIG mountain, aptly termed as 'Biblical'! Incredible!



Rainy Monday - Brusov


Monday face to face workshop - Brusov


YSAFA workshop - Tuesday


Mount Ararat appears! Biblical! Wednesday.


Library stacks - Brusov


Timetable - Brusov







Sunday 8 November 2015

Yerevan!

Back in Yerevan! Today settling in before starting work in Brusov and YSAFA Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hovannes Toumanian and Sergei Parajanov Museums!


Hovannes Toumanian Museum


Toumanian at Lake Parvana


Games for children, compiled by Toumanian


Parajanov - 1981 'rudd'


I don't look anything like him actually...


flats at sunset


Monday 19 October 2015

UCD Science Expressions from 2013

UCD's Dr. Brendan Rooney directed me towards this UCD Science Expressions website which features two of our 3rd year group animations from 2013 - 'Friends Fight Stigma' and 'Sanctity of Sport' (winner of the UCD Science Expressions competition in 2013 - I'm still trying to remember what prize we won exactly?). I never even knew the videos were online!

The projects were tough work at the time for some of our most brilliant DL041 Animation students, but there was great learning in the process.



UCD Science Expressions website


Sanctity of Sport (2013) on Youtube


http://www.ucdscienceexpression.ie/projects/new-project/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIf5IGT58EA&feature=youtu.be - Link to 'Friends Fight Stigma' on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqK3EAzc6A&feature=youtu.be - Link to 'Sanctity of Sport' on Youtube

Monday 12 October 2015

SKVC panel - Lithuania

Just returned from a week-long programmatic review panel for SKVC in Lithuania. Thanks to Annie, for expertly Chairing, to Natalia for facilitating our work and special thanks to my fellow panel members and new friends Julia, Vilma, Mika and Peter! Four programmes reviewed in Kaunas, Klaipeda and Vilnius. Return to Lithuania at the end of November.



Biznis Pelikan - Vilnius
  

Genocide Museum - Vilnius


 VMU Kaunas


VAA Klaipeda - photography


team in Klaipeda (image from Annie)


Baltic near Klaipeda


Near Klaipeda


VTDK - exhibition space


VTDK - animation


VTDK - animation


VTDK - animation studio


VTDK - animation


VTDK - animation


VTDK - animation


VTDK - digital editing


VTDK - photography


VTDK - sound studio


VTDK - library 


VTDK - tv studio