The University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is proud to host ISSOTL21 from Perth, Australia. Established in 1911 and situated on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, UWA is one of Australia’s leading universities and is recognised for excellence in teaching, learning and research. At ISSOTL21, we seek to bring together scholars of teaching and learning from around the globe in the online space, to explore the role SoTL can play in ensuring that the practices and cultures we value at our universities, and beyond, are sustained into the future. This is particularly pertinent in response to the effects of the pandemic on higher education throughout the world. To ensure a truly accessible global reach, Perth will work in conjunction with a university in the North American region as a timezone partner, who will host sessions at times appropriate for the region.
The city of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, sits where the Swan River (Derbal Yaragan) meets the Southwest coast. For the Whadjuk Noongar people, the beautiful part of Perth where UWA is located and its surrounds have been of special significance as a place of culture and learning for many thousands of years. Contemporary Perth is renowned for its clean, sandy beaches, natural environment, bright, sunny weather and glorious sunsets over the Indian Ocean. Perth is a vibrant, multicultural city with a great café culture, a thriving independent arts scene, and a warm and welcoming heart. Though held virtually, we hope to provide opportunities for participants to get a feel for the Perth location and our university campuses throughout the conference.
UWA is a World Top 100 university and is a part of the Group of Eight – a coalition of the top research universities in Australia. The Perth campus sits adjacent to the Swan River and is among the most picturesque in the nation. Along with UWA, Perth has four other world class universities, each offering a distinctive Learning and Teaching experience. Our five universities regularly collaborate to conduct learning and teaching activities which foster cooperative engagement in local, national and international scholarly activities. This is a feature of the academic culture in Perth of which we are particularly proud. Perth also has a wide range of other higher education institutes including technical and vocational education institutes and private providers. Together, we build on the unbroken tradition of teaching and learning practiced by the First Nations People of our region for over 40 millennia.
Conference organising committee
The ISSOTL21 Conference organising committee comprises representatives from the West Australian universities, along with UWA as host. We bring a together wide variety of skills and expertise across diverse disciplines to create an innovative and collegial virtual experience for ISSOTL21. We warmly invite you to join us online for the 2021 annual ISSOTL conference, “Sustainable Education through SoTL: Practices and Cultures,” hosted from Perth, Australia, October 26 to 29.