Gill Ferrell, 1EdTech Europe, United Kingdom

Short bio

As Executive Director 1EdTech Europe, my role is providing strategic direction and nurturing development of a non-profit community co-creating a trusted & interoperable edtech ecosystem built on open standards. For over 30 years I have worked primarily in higher education and also across lifelong learning. I have managed system implementation and business change within a university setting in areas such as student records, finance, HR/payroll & research administration. That experience led me to become director of a support service for Jisc, the UK NREN, providing advice, guidance, and training in use of digital technology for business administration and teaching and learning in further and higher education across the four UK nations. I have led research projects in areas such as assessment, learning design, course management, learner records, and learning analytics. I love the collaborative spirit of higher education and the willingness to share experiences and lessons learned for mutual benefit. LinkedIn profile.

Motivations:

  1. Why do you want to join the EUNIS Board?
    I have been active in EUNIS for many years in various capacities including leading the learning and teaching special-interest group, a term as a board member and, latterly as a member of the support team. Over that time, I have seen the organisation evolve and I have been proud to play a small part in shaping its development including campaigning for diversity, both in our leadership team and in the range of special-interest groups we support, and helping professionalise our administration and communications. I’m excited by the changes that have taken place, particularly the acceleration over the last year. We have laid some excellent foundations and I would like to help continue the momentum. I feel I can best contribute to the ongoing development of EUNIS by being less ‘hands-on’ in relation to operational activities and taking more of a supporting and guiding role (of course being no less hard-working) and being able to contribute creativity and enthusiasm as we plan for the future. I have a strong commitment to EUNIS, as evidenced by my years of service, and confidence in the value of our community.
  2. How will you contribute to EUNIS and its strategic priorities?
    I’m driven by my belief in education as a human right and a public good, in the value of the higher education experience and in the importance of public research. That manifests in very tangible ways in my current work developing an open & ethical digital ecosystem for education, reducing administrative complexity, accelerating innovation and seeking evidence that investment in digital technology delivers beneficial impact. These areas align well with the EUNIS strategy and my experience sits across the different levels of the strategy from developing individuals to shaping the landscape. Having worked in cross-institutional and pan-European contexts for many years, I feel I bring a useful breadth of perspective and an extensive network of contacts. I can draw on many years of higher education experience and practical grounding in the realities of university life whilst remaining inspired by a vision of doing things better and optimistic about what collaboration across the EUNIS community can achieve.