Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
In January 2005 the Royal Northern College of Music was awarded funding by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to establish a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), the only UK music conservatoire to receive such an award.
The CETL has supported student employability, bringing £350,000 into the RNCM every year to enhance teaching and learning, and to help students develop the skills they need to secure future employment. Capital funding from the CETL project has provided a £2 million contribution towards the building of the College’s Oxford Road Wing, which has provided state-of-the-art facilities for students, and accommodation for the RNCM’s many Professional Partners, including Access to Music, Artis, Manchester Camerata, Manchester Metropolitan University’s PGCE music provision, Nordoff-Robbins (music therapy) and the Children’s University.
The CETL provided the catalyst for significant development of the College’s pre-tertiary activities, raising the profile of its highly-regarded Junior RNCM nationally and internationally, and enhancing the unique Junior Strings. Looking to develop highly-skilled instrumental teachers, the CETL led the development of a new PGCE in Specialist Instrumental Teaching for string, wind, brass, percussion and vocal students, and a ground-breaking specialist pathway through which undergraduate students could gain Qualified Teacher Status as an integrated part of their studies. The first model of its kind in the UK, this pathway has subsequently been adopted by other higher education institutions in subjects outside music.
The creation of the RNCM International Chamber Music Studio during the life of the CETL reflects the College’s reputation as a market leader in chamber music training. Enhanced funding has increased significantly the amount of chamber music coaching available to students, and supported a range of professional Ensembles-in-Residence all of whom have made a major contribution to the teaching programme. As well as supporting chamber ensembles at all levels of study, the Studio continues to play a major role in developing coaching and rehearsal techniques, providing advanced students with the skills they need to become effective chamber music tutors in their own right, and supporting student ensembles as they embark upon professional careers.
The RNCM Centre for Music Performance Research , part of the CETL, has encouraged the College to invest in practice-as-research, giving an incentive to staff and students to consider the application of their practical work in a research context. As well as running an international on-line peer-reviewed journal and hosting regular seminars and conferences, three full-time Research Fellows have worked in close liaison with a growing number of eminent international researchers to ensure that the RNCM remains at the forefront of teaching and learning, and that its work is underpinned by research at the highest levels. As a result, research activity has now been embedded within a much larger research and enterprise agenda for the College; something that would not have been feasible without the CETL.
The CETL has enabled the College’s Professional Experience Schemes for students to expand, offering opportunities for work experience with a wide range of professional orchestras and ensembles in the region. Additional work placements have been developed with a range of organisations across the wider music industry, introducing students to career opportunities beyond those they might originally have been exploring. The CETL’s Professional Engagements Team continues to service over 300 professional engagements for students each year, providing them with invaluable professional experience and income.
Established under the aegis of the CETL, the College's innovative Music for Health programme continues to train and prepare students to work as musicians within a wide range of health and social care settings; a growth area of employment. Now linked into the College’s research and enterprise activities, this area of work is ideally situated to develop over the coming years.
Although funding for the CETL project ceases in July 2010, its legacy will continue through the successful embedding and ongoing development of its work within the College as a whole.
Please read the RNCM CETL Legacy Document
For more information about the work of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, please contact Professor Linda Merrick, T 0161 907 5275 or E:
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