Officers graduate from the University of Southampton

Major Ben Holden, Captain Emmeline Old, Captain Claire Westerman and Captain Andy Perkowski received their degrees in Southampton after completing the academically rigorous but flexible programme which supports their careers in teaching and training. A further six officers also graduated this year but were unable to attend the University’s ceremonies.

For the last 10 years, the University’s School of Education has worked closely with the ETS to deliver a professional development pathway for ETS officers to take them from a Postgraduate Certificate of Education to a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and on to an MSc in Education and Innovation.

The programme has been specifically adapted to cope with the operational needs of the Army particularly for officers deployed in operations overseas which in recent years have involved their travel to Iraq and Afghanistan amongst other destinations around the world. In addition to residential learning in Southampton, the officers also engaged in video-conferencing using webcams and Skype as well as other forms of blended learning to help them complete their studies.

Including this year’s cohort, more than 50 Officers have now been awarded their MSc in Educational Practice and Innovation from the University of Southampton thanks to the Armed Forces’ commitment to and investment in professional development which is strongly encouraged and supported by each individual’s Chain of Command.

“Britain’s greatness was based on intellectual achievement and public service, exemplified respectively by our great research universities and the selfless service of our Armed Forces,” said Professor Tony Kelly, Head of the Southampton Education School. “So it is only proper that when these two come together, as on the occasion of army officers graduating from the School of Education, it should be a celebration. In the coming years, we look forward to developing further our partnership in ever-closer ties. We are very proud of our relationship with the Army, which we should not forget, is one of the largest providers of education and training in the UK.”

Brigadier Gary Morris, Director of Educational Capability in the Army Headquarters, is pleased with the progress his colleagues have made thanks to the close relationship between the ETS and the University.

“Our personnel need to understand the whole business of learning because we’re helping others to learn in the Army and our trainers and teachers need something more in-depth than just being a practitioner and a deliverer,” said Brigadier Morris. “This programme provides the opportunity to develop their understanding of often complex values-based attitudinal education can be put across in an effective way to a whole spectrum of people as they really need to understand theory as well as being good at delivering education.

“We have the phrase – train for certainty, educate for uncertainty’,” Brigadier Morris continued. “As we out of an era of programmed operations in Afghanistan and Iraq - the first time in a long time that we won’t be actively involved in this kind of activity but we need to continue to enable people to learn very quickly and effectively as we place a ever-growing emphasis on education in the Army as we move forward.”

Major Ben Holden, a graduating member of the Class of 2014, expressed his gratitude to his senior colleagues in the Army and academics at the University for their flexibility in supporting active soldiers whose schedules are likely to change very suddenly.

“Our tutors in Southampton have been unfailingly generous with their time and understanding as plenty of us have had to defer or ask for extensions because our circumstances have changed during our studies,” said Major Holden. “The programme has also given us an opportunity to look more closely at what we do in our careers in Army training and see how we can do things better. It’s such a privilege to apply that academic rigour to what we do in the workplace and to be supported by our employer and by the University in what we’re doing so it’s a win-win for us all.”

Fellow graduate Captain Claire Westerman feels that achieving the qualification has helped to bring credibility to her knowledge and understanding of her role as an educator. She’s also enjoyed studying as part of a peer group from the Army which has opened a wealth of experience from others with a range of backgrounds.

“Achieving this qualification helps you to be more credible in what you do and you understand much more about the bigger picture of things including all of the theories you might not have otherwise understand fully such as evaluation - how credible is it and how much attention do you need to give it?

“It’s been really useful to come to the University as a peer group, then go off to do our different jobs and then come back together in the classroom again because you all have different specialisms and you share what you know and learn from the experience of others,” she concluded.