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Inter- Disciplinary Ethics Applied
Lead Institution: University of Leeds, Director: Dr Chris Megone The Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied (IDEA) CETL was officially opened by Professor Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, in the presence of Peter Day, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘I In Business’ programme, and n Dr Liz Beaty, Director of Learning and Teaching at HEFCE, in September 2005. The IDEA CETL is working to integrate interdisciplinary ethics into the curricula of 14 disciplines at the University: medicine, business, engineering, biological sciences, nanotechnology, environment, computer science, sport science, media, law, psychology, education, social work, and performance arts. Building on the successful model of the medical ethics programme, the CETL is working to transform student experiences by taking a genuinely inter-disciplinary approach. In each discipline, this is being facilitated by an innovative partnership of ethicists, subject practitioners and students, who together form an Ethics Theme Team. The aim of the team is to avoid a ‘bolt-on’ approach, but rather develop a coherent ethical thread that runs throughout a degree course, enabling students to engage with ethical issues in a sustained manner. Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Arthur, said: “For some time now, consideration of the ethical dimension has been an important aspect of teaching in many disciplines. The launch of the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied CETL provides a timely opportunity to bring this important aspect of student learning into sharp focus through a professional inter-disciplinary teaching model.” In collaboration with employer organisations and professional bodies, the Centre is promoting the importance of ethical decision making as an important skill for graduates in the 21st Century. With Higher Education Academy Subject Centres, the CETL is developing and sharing excellence in the teaching and learning of inter-disciplinary ethics and will contribute to national and international debates on ethical issues and their pedagogical implications. In his speech Peter Day, commented that during the 30 years in which he has been reporting on business, ethics has moved from the sidelines to the centre ground. As western businesses are forced to reinvent themselves to meet the demands of the 21st century, ethics is becoming difficult to ignore. |
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