The Impact of Our Work: Internally and Externally
The development of the FBS Online postgraduate courses marked a turning point for our institution. As the first fully online master’s programmes at the college, they required us to build new methodologies from the ground up, redefining how we design, deliver, and support digital learning.
Our approach was grounded in a unique triangulated collaboration between academic staff, learning designers, and learning technologists. This model (developed and refined over three years) has since been presented at sector conferences as an example for successful interdisciplinary course development. Rather than working in silos, we co-created every element of the course, ensuring that academic rigour, pedagogical insight, and technical feasibility informed each decision.
“The defining innovation in our approach was the triangulated collaboration between academic expertise, learning design, and learning technology… This evidence-based approach drew on the science of learning, subject matter expertise, and institutional experience to foster a culture of innovation and experimentation.”
– Kirsty Nevett, Course Leader“Your student-centric approached is one of the outstanding features of our partnership. We may be the subject experts, but your team has offered a valuable critical friend perspective on the materials, their accessibility, and the student engagement journey.”
– Dr Liz Gee, Dean of the Fashion Business School
The result was a distinctive and highly effective learning experience. We pioneered a “read/watch/listen” framework that structured each week around a single curated reading, an interactive online lesson, and a podcast. This format reduced cognitive overload while supporting deep engagement through deliberate practice and immediate feedback.
Student Impact: PTES Results
We saw strong outcomes in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES):
- Overall Satisfaction: 94%
- Skills Development: 94%
- Teaching and Learning: 86%
- Engagement: 81%
- Assessment and Feedback: 81%
- Dissertation or Project: 88%
These results reflect the strength of our design approach, which included scaffolded assessments, authentic industry-aligned tasks, and a consistent weekly learning arc.
Influence on Future Practice
Our work will directly influence the development of the new LCF courses. As Dr. Liz Gee, Dean of the Fashion Business School, noted:
“Our model was very different to UAL Online and we hope to take our greater synchronous approach forward as we develop our short course and executive education offer.”
The design principles, workflows, and collaborative culture we established are now informing future course development across the university.
Sector Recognition
Externally, our work has been recognised through presentations at RIDE 2024 and the UAL Education Exchange 2024, where we shared our model for building community, structuring learning journeys, and embedding learning science into digital design.
Most importantly, our collaboration has demonstrated that digital learning technologists and producers can and should become subject matter contributors. By fully immersing ourselves in the content and working as equal partners with academic staff, we created a course that is not only pedagogically sound but also professionally relevant and deeply human.