Page 8 - The Cormorant Issue 24 Crest Publications

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The Programme Director’s Reflections
Dr Ellen Hallams
AS ACSC 24 COMES to a close, I want to reflect back to March 2020 and ACSC 23, when we found ourselves in uncharted waters, thrust into a global pandemic that upended not only how we deliver education, but all our lives in ways few of us could have then predicted. I remember clearing my office of any belongings I needed and decamping from the Defence Academy in haste, following the order from King’s that we were to work from home. As I closed my office door I paused, reflecting on the enormity of what we were all just embarking on, but feeling confident that by the time ACSC 24 would start in September, we would surely all be back, the winds of COVID-19 having mostly blown over. And yet, here we are ending ACSC 24 having delivered the majority of the course remotely, though looking optimistically – if still a little cautiously – to ACSC 25 and the hope of a return to ‘normal.’
In a spirit of unprecedented cooperation and collective endeavour between King’s and the military, we put together a blended course drawing on our existing expertise in online learning and delivery; at the same time, we continued planning for a return
to residential delivery while ensuring we had built
in sufficient flexibility and resilience should we need to revert to remote. This was a steep learning curve for all: students, military staff and DSD and it is incumbent on all of us to reflect on what we have learnt, what we have done well and what we can do better.
So, what have we in DSD taken from ACSC 24? First, DSDs have truly missed – as I know so many of you have – the irreplaceable human interactions
that take place in syndicate rooms, the opportunity to stand in the Cormorant Hall and deliver our lectures, to engage in Q&As, and to build those
less formal connections and relationships outside
of the classroom; informal chats over coffee in the Fieldhouse or spontaneous chats in offices or after class. But the wealth of experience we have in online learning via our existing and very successful online Masters programme, International Affairs, stood us in good stead as we were able to utilise online modules and content for IsS and Strategy.
Second, that online learning brings with it opportunities and benefits that were not always immediately evident: different ways of connecting and learning, using chat boxes, screen sharing and breakout rooms. Communities of learning can still exist virtually, and staff and students found new and different ways to come together. I-lectures provided
a very different way for us to deliver educational content, developing material that students could work through asynchronously. It is a testament to staff and students that we all adapted so quickly, recognised the opportunities and persisted despite technological challenges and growing screen fatigue as the year wore on.
Third, that face to face learning remains where
we want to be: we want to be in classrooms, we want to be building personal relationships and engaging in lively syndicate room debates. We have all missed it. But nor do we want to jettison the positives and opportunities we have seized this year. Future courses will no doubt carry forward greater asynchronous learning and a combination of delivery methods that can draw on the best of residential and
remote education. In that sense, there is no return to ‘normal,’ but an emergence to a new equilibrium.
Finally, we have learnt that our Masters pathways have withstood the many challenges and pressures that have come with this extraordinary year of remote delivery. Crucially, we stood up the new MSc in Defence Innovation at the request of our military partners, offering students the opportunity to engage in research at the forefront of defence innovation and learning new tools and methodologies through Hacking for MoD. Students delivered their final presentations online, showcasing innovation in
“To succeed on what is a hugely demanding
Masters level course in normal times is a great accolade – but in these extraordinary times, it is, well, extraordinary