In March, we will open the call for nominations for candidates for the English UK Board of Trustees. Trustees take responsibility for the overall strategic direction of the association.
What are we looking for?
- An ability to see the big picture of both UK ELT and the wider international education industry
- An understanding of the diverse nature of our membership
- A talent for thinking strategically and laterally
- A willingness to take special responsibility for, and ideally, expertise in a particular area, perhaps finance, accreditation, marketing, management, operations
- Commitment to attend four board meetings a year (usually February, April, June and November), and the AGM in May
- Previous experience of governance at board level would be an asset but is not necessary.
I am very happy to have a chat with any of you who would like to find out more, so please get in touch or talk to me at one of our member roadshows, which begin next week - I'll be at all of them!
How many seats are vacant?
There are five vacant seats. Four of those seats have been held by members of the board who were elected for a three-year term of office in 2016 and are eligible for re-election for one more term of three years:
- Richard Simpson
- Nigel Paramor
- Mark Rendell
- Sarah Etchells
One seat has been vacated by Jane Dancaster, who has chosen not to stand for a further term.
How can I nominate?
Any member may nominate another member to serve on the board. Candidates must be a person with the necessary experience and skills to act as a trustee and be either an officer of the member company or the owner/owning company.
Only a nominated representative of an English UK member centre may propose or second a candidate for election to the English UK board. Note, you may only propose or second one candidate.
What do candidates need to do?
Candidates are asked to provide a short statement of no more than 200 words, explaining why they are standing for election, their experience and their potential contribution to the board of English UK.
Each candidate will be invited to the English UK office (or elsewhere, depending on location/timing) to film a one minute video pitch. These films will be circulated with the ballot form. All nominated delegates will feature on the ballot even if no written or video statement has been supplied.
New members of the finance panel
I am delighted to welcome three new members of the finance panel, and to say thank you to one stepping down for this group:
Gareth Mainwaring from Birmingman International Academy at the University of Birmingham, Chris Sousa Phipps from St Giles, Neil Harvey from the UK College of English, and thanks to Val Hennessy for her service on this panel
Also supporting our main board in the achievement of our strategic objectives are two new advisory groups.
Accreditation advisory group
Members: Gill Davidson from EC English, Stewart Watkins from Eurocentres, Thom Kiddle from Norwich Institute for Language Education, Nathan Watling from West London College, and Andrew Hjort from Melton College.
There is a project underway to refresh the strategy and enhance the operation of the accreditation process, involving many more members in a variety of working parties.
We are looking at the scheme itself and how it could be more user friendly and allow differentiation. We are looking at reach: how do we accredit online and overseas? Finally, we are looking at how we digitise the scheme. These are long term projects and part of our three year strategic plan.
Professional Development Advisory Group
Members: Chris Farrell from the Centre of English Studies, Will Nash from the University Sheffield, Sian Matos from Tti School of English, Beverly Simon from Stafford House, Nigel Paramor from English in Chester, and Anna Thatcher from Loxdale English Centre.
This group is looking at a strategic approach to CPD for our industry, involving a variety of topics as well as accessibility with everything from conferences to webinars, regional and special interest, and best practice sharing platforms.
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