Dr Burcu Tezcan-Unal, Academic Development Coordinator, highlights how the INSPIRE Scheme fosters a supportive professional community.
In September 2024, Heriot-Watt University Learning and Teaching Academy launched the INSPIRE Professional Recognition Scheme, which has been externally accredited by Advance HE. We hoped that the structured group mentoring provided through the Scheme would support colleagues on their Advance HE Fellowship journeys. What we did not anticipate was just how quickly it would grow into a vibrant cross-campus community of reflective practice, and transformative professional conversations.
Fast-forward to today, as our third cohort nears completion, the INSPIRE Scheme has already supported over 80 colleagues across our five global campuses towards writing up and evidencing their AFHEA, FHEA and SFHEA claims.
But numbers only tell part of the story; the real impact lies in the shifts we are witnessing in staff confidence, collaboration, and professional identity across our global university.
Beyond the Written Fellowship Claim
At its heart, the INSPIRE Scheme is simple: colleagues preparing AFHEA, FHEA or SFHEA submissions are paired with trained Heriot-Watt mentors who guide them in evidencing their practice, articulating impact, and grounding their experience in the Professional Standards Framework (PSF, 2023).
Our mentors bring empathy, lived experience of their own fellowship application experience and a desire to support their peers. This generosity and the structured mentoring conversations have created space where INSPIRE Scheme participants can pause and evaluate the ‘why’ behind their teaching practice or educational leadership.
The outcomes for participants go far beyond mentoring sessions and draft reviews. Participant comments from across all three cohorts include:
- “I finally understood the value of my own teaching story.”
- “The mentoring helped me see my impact on students much more clearly.”
- “The INSPIRE Scheme didn’t just help me write a claim; it helped me see myself differently and more confidently as an educator.”
- “Having a supportive colleague helped me stay motivated and accountable.”
These comments show how participants’ view of their own teaching practice and educational leadership is starting to change.
The Scheme is doing more than helping colleagues secure an accreditation; it is reshaping how they view their practice. This new perspective also comes through strongly in the varied INSPIRE case studies, written by successful Fellowship awardees where they share their own fellow or senior fellow journey, application advice and reflections.
Celebrating success at HWU Dubai Campus
Celebrating success is an important aspect of the INSPIRE scheme and one of our institutional values. A key opportunity for this is the global Heriot-Watt University Advance HE Fellowship Celebration Day where staff who have gained any category of fellowship meet to share and celebrate their success. Each Awardee is presented with a Fellowship pin badge and an INSPIRE lanyard, they are encouraged to wear them with pride as a symbol of their achievement. In Dubai, successful participants are invited to attend a fellowship celebration event with the Executive Director Education & Student Life, Vanessa Northway SFHEA, and staff are awarded fellowship pin badges and lanyards. These markers of success are easily identified by staff and are helping build a culture where fellowship is recognised and valued.
For many Dubai-based academics, who often juggle teaching, industry engagement, and complex programme coordination, this recognition has been deeply motivating. Colleagues have described feeling:
- more confident in articulating their leadership,
- more connected to the wider global teaching community, and
- a stronger sense of belonging and value.
A significant milestone for Dubai is that the number of Senior Fellows now reached a total of 31 and interest in the structured INSPIRE Scheme for Advance HE Fellowship continues to grow. These achievements send a powerful signal to the campus community that we recognise, celebrate, and support educational leadership.
Reflecting on what’s changed and what next?
Across cohorts and campuses, we are noticing that INSPIRE is shifting the culture of professional recognition at Heriot-Watt University through:
- More reflective educators who are more confident in evidencing their practice.
- Enhanced connections across disciplines and locations.
- Increased peer support and learning opportunities.
The INSPIRE scheme has helped to create a shared space where colleagues feel safe to ask questions, exchange strategies, and celebrate each other’s progress, all of which contributes to an enhanced sense of community.
Looking towards the future our priorities are clear:
- Globally we seek to strengthen and build our community of Associate Fellows, Fellows and Senior Fellows at Heriot-Watt University.
- Within Dubai and across MENA region we will share our fellowship expertise and support colleagues looking to operate similar schemes.
The INSPIRE Scheme began as a professional recognition initiative. Today, it is contributing to something bigger: a culture where colleagues feel valued, empowered, and connected through their teaching and educational leadership. In the future, we hope to contribute to and see this expand across the MENA region.
Inspire Scheme
Dr Burcu Tezcan-Unal is the Academic Development Coordinator at Heriot-Watt University Dubai working closely with the university’s Learning and Teaching Academy. She is committed to supporting colleagues across higher education to develop their teaching, assessment, and educational leadership, contributing to stronger learning experiences for future generations.
If you would welcome a conversation about Advance HE Fellowship or the INSPIRE Scheme, Dr Tecan-Unal, SFHEA Heriot-Watt Dubai, would be glad to connect.
