Quick-Fire Five with Kate McHugh, Deputy Head of Short Courses
Kate McHugh shares an inside view of the Short Courses Summer Edit.
The University of Edinburgh’s Short Courses Summer Edit is here!
Throughout June, July and August, the Centre for Open Learning will bring you a range of fresh and exciting Short Courses guaranteed to challenge you to do something different.
Want to know more? Then check out our quick-fire five questions with Kate McHugh, Deputy Head of Short Courses at the Centre for Open Learning and get the inside view on this summer’s programme.
1. What makes the Short Courses Summer Edit so special?
The Short Courses Summer Edit is a fantastic way for students to join us at the Centre for Open Learning to learn something new. In the summer we offer unique extra-short courses, often taking place over a day, a weekend or week. These classes allow students the opportunity to dip their toe into something new or dive deeper into an area or subject that they are interested in. Many of our summer courses also take place in venues around Edinburgh, giving students the chance to visit a gallery, tour a garden, or take part in a festival along the way.
2. What is new for Summer 2019?
We have a number of exciting new courses designed for students from all backgrounds. In Art and Design, we are introducing two completely different styles of weekend photography courses: Street Photography and Pinhole Photography. For those interested in music, the fabulous Dick Lee Trio will be running a Jazz Improvisation workshop. Students looking to explore a different style of creative writing will have the opportunity to work together combining text, photography, maps and audio to create a piece of digital fiction in the new course Collaborative Digital Storytelling. Interested philosophers and historians might want to consider the new Introduction to Chinese Philosophy course or learn more about the portraits that hang in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in the Portraits of Scotland course. We’ve also partnered up with the University of Edinburgh’s uCreate team to offer an exciting suite of hands-on multimedia courses where students can learn how to Create Your Own 3D Selfie, Create Your Own Virtual Reality Headset, and Create Your Own Content for Virtual Reality.
3. What are your personal highlights?
It’s hard to pick highlights but I'm really looking forward to exploring how female philosophers have made important and too often under-recognised contributions in Women in Philosophy. I also want to get to know myself and my cells on a more personal level by extracting my own DNA in Dolly, DNA & Me. I also plan to learn more about The Music of Scotland and discover the extraordinary range from medieval manuscripts to contemporary pop! Oh, and we’ll be kicking things off with the long-running and ever-popular An Insight into the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which allows students the opportunity to experience film premieres and industry events, in-person talks with actors and filmmakers, tutor-led group discussions, press screenings and much more. This course includes an EIFF student delegate pass and a highly-coveted invitation to the Opening Night Gala!
4. What can students expect from their course tutors?
The course tutors at the Centre for Open Learning are fantastic. Coming from a range of backgrounds and specialities, students can expect the opportunity to work with true experts in their fields. No question is too big, no query is too small, and the modest class sizes are set so that each student can have time to get to know their instructor and feel comfortable and confident in their learning.
5. What is your favourite thing about Edinburgh in the summertime?
There is nothing better than Edinburgh in the summer! The city comes alive every year with festivals, music, theatre, food and events of all kind. My favourite activity might be simply walking through the city and letting myself get lost amongst the twisted alleyways, mysterious closes and the jaw-dropping gothic architecture.
Now you've had a taste of what to expect, why not plan your own summer of learning today?