#SocMedHE22: National Higher Education conference lands at Waterside

The University of Northampton (UON) was abuzz with activity around Twitter, TikTok and all things ‘social media’ this week, as it hosted a national conference for delegates from leading national and international universities.

Held on Tuesday (20 December), the conference titled ‘Social Media for Learning in Higher Education’ sought to explore the role of social media in community building and development in higher education.

It was a valuable opportunity for networking and thought-provoking discussions, presentations and workshops by academic influencers within the Higher Education sector to explore the future impact of social media in teaching.

Attendees flocked to Waterside campus from across the UK, from Swansea to Sheffield and Plymouth to London, with representatives jetting in to take part from as far afield as Athens, Greece and São Paulo, Brazil.

As the host University, UON-based academics were on hand to lend their expertise with leading and participating in sessions held throughout the day.

UON’s Senior Lecturer in Photography, Haley Morris-Cafiero explored performative photography as a tool for reversing the weaponization of social media, whilst Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Kardi Somerfield explored Instagram as a tool for course community development using an innovative Pecha Kucha style presentation.

The University of Northampton’s Vice Chancellor, Anne-Marie Kilday, held a captive audience as keynote speaker for the event, discussing her personal experiences as a teacher and exploring the future of higher education and her role within the senior leadership team at Northampton.

Associate Professor and Level 8 Lead for the Faculty of Business and Law, Hala Mansour, organised this year’s conference and reflected on its success: “I’m so pleased to have hosted this years’ conference at the University of Northampton.

“The conference was a great opportunity to discuss and debate the role and the future of social media for learning, as well as to focus on communities of practices through social media. We received more than 30 contributions for the conference from UK and worldwide, with some of our students presenting their experience in using social media for learning.

“The conference was also a fantastic opportunity to launch a new collaborative project – Care@he – as a community of practice to support career progression in HE. I’m proud to say the conference was a success and I would like to thank all colleagues who were attended and supported on the day.”

To follow the events from the day, check out #SocMedHE22 on Twitter.