The HERDSA Tasmania branch is unique as we are a small branch closely affiliated with one higher education institution: the University of Tasmania (UTAS).  As a result, our members support UTAS events, rather than the branch hosting specific events separately. For example, a number of our members were recently involved with organising, chairing or presenting at the UTAS Teaching Matters conference (Facilitating transformative learning). Members also engage, when possible, in a weekly Drop-in session hosted by the branch chair or a nominee to discuss SoTL and learning and teaching in general.

Our key focus as a branch is to support members and UTAS colleagues in SoTL with an emphasis on mentoring and a subtle, community-focused approach to teaching and learning, which particular benefits early career academics or colleagues new to SoTL.  For example, a number of our members were involved in a collaborative employability paper that was published in JUTLP in early 2024. This has provided a catalyst for more potential collaborative SoTL projects to be identified by members in 2025. As we move into 2026, members will be working with colleagues at UTAS on SoTL publications in the areas of Employability (stakeholder input, developing employability skills) and Students as Partners (postgraduate students, authenticity in assessment practices).  

UTAS currently subscribes to the HERDSA SoTL modules and so we will be launching a member recruitment campaign in early 2026 to showcase benefits of HERDSA membership to all staff at UTAS. We hope that this will boost our membership and opportunities for collaboration, enabling us to continue to break down the discipline silos that historically exist at UTAS.

Our next meeting will be in February, 2026.