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ENGAGE: ISSUE 24 | WINTER 2010 - 11
INTERVIEW
Elite but not elitist
So stated Times Higher Education when awarding the University of Leicester the University
of the Year title in 2009. Here Jackie Dunne, director of the Institute of Lifelong Learning
at the university, talks to Professor Dawn Forman about her passion for lifelong learning
and her own career development.
Jackie Dunne
With the problems that universities are
facing in the current economic climate, many
are seeking to differentiate themselves by
developing strategies which not only build on
their strengths but also take into account the
changing dynamics of research, teaching and
employer engagement.
The University of Leicester was given the
University of the Year award by Times Higher
Education in 2009. This traditional, 1994 Group
university, which was recently ranked 12th in
the Guardian’s league tables, has the reputation
of excellence in research and teaching. It also
features as the most inclusive university in
the top 20 of the league tables, with the
greatest proportion of students from underrepresented groups.
Jackie Dunne is director of the university’s
Institute of Lifelong Learning and feels
passionate about working at an institution
which is highly regarded in terms of its research
and teaching abilities. Perhaps more important
for her, however, is the fact that the institution
is keen to ensure it provides opportunities for
individuals who would not traditionally access a
university like the University of Leicester.
Jackie herself is the first in her family to have
gone to university, and is grateful for the
support of her family and for the opportunities
she has been given. Before coming to the
University of Leicester she spent 12 years
working at Coventry University, where she
was a principal lecturer in Spanish and was
also involved in a number of projects with
large employers looking at language and
business culture training. In a sense, this was
the start of her involvement in lifelong and
employer-led learning.
She moved to the University of Leicester
in 2001, taking up the post of director of
continuing professional development at
the Institute just after it was set up by the
vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Bob Burgess.
In 2004 she became head of the Institute
of Lifelong Learning, and since 2008 has
held the university-wide role of director of
lifelong learning.
The University of Leicester had already
established a programme of flexible part-time and accredited courses as well as more
established degree and postgraduate provision.
The Institute of Lifelong Learning supports
the university in providing access routes for
non-traditional students, stimulating academic
innovation and curriculum development,
and leading on public and community
engagement.
There are four main parts to the work of the
Institute on which Jackie leads, the first being
to manage an academic department with
teaching and research in its own right. The
Institute offers a number of part-time adult
education and distance learning programmes,
with a range of subjects and around 60 staff
to support these initiatives. The second part of
Jackie’s portfolio relates to the Institute taking
the lead on employer engagement across the
university (it was one of only a few research-intensive universities to receive Hefce Strategic
Development Funding in this regard). One
of the original aims was to build on existing
strength in its distance learning provision (of
the 23,000 students at the university, 9,000
are distance learning students) and to build
capacity through flexible, employer-led
programmes, both national and international.
The third focus of the Institute is the higher
education and further education agenda. This
is undertaken through a variety of networks,
links and partnerships. The Colleges- University
of Leicester Network (CULN) has 20 partners
across the East and West Midlands, and
Leicester also hosts one of the regional Hefce-funded Lifelong Learning Networks, promoting
vocational progression.
The fourth aspect of Jackie’s role is overseeing
the university’s arts centre, Embrace Arts,
ensuring that students, staff, and members of
the public and community are encouraged
