December 16, 2016 by shannonchance

Brussels sprouts Christmas

Brussels is a buzz with the look and feel of Christmas, and the festive smell of spiced wine, waffles, and even Raclette sandwiches. Since I’m here for the week to evaluate grant proposals for the European Commission, all hours of the day have been quite full. Fortunately, though, the schedule provided several evenings to wander the streets at will and soak in the holiday cheer.

The set of photos I’ve attached all came from a two-hour journey though the city center, which is lovely and bright and cheery. This week, it teems with the best life has to offer, but other elements lie below the surface. Quietly keeping us safe though it all, almost unnoticed, are hundreds of uniformed men cradling rifles. A solemn reminder of troubles festering in this world around us. My sincere thanks go out to the officers keeping this plaza and the surrounding pedestrian shopping streets open for the public to enjoy.

Tonight, my last in this lively city for the year, I caught the Christmas light show in the Grand Plaza (the square with the highly ornate Baroque buildings and steeple). As if it weren’t festive enough with the classical lights shown below, the Plaza pulsed with contemporary music and a festive, choreographed wash of lights dancing from building to building. The lights in this plaza I’ll not ever forget; I’ll look to return in future years.

Yes, the best of times these are. Yet, I fear, the worst of days are soon to come. US politics and world news lay heavy in my heart. I keep my chin up and aim to do my own part in the world as best I can.

December 15, 2016 by shannonchance

Exper-tease in the capital of the EU

I’ve been in Brussels this week, evaluating grant proposals for the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency (REA). It’s the second time I’ve worked for the EU in this capacity–the first was during last fall’s lockdown in Brussels. This year’s event was much more pleasant, and we got to make our deliberations face-to-face, rather than using the Internet.

In my book, it’s important work. We’re determining which proposals will be funded and which research projects will proceed. Specifically, this week, we’re considering which PhD programs the EU will be co-financing. For successful applicants, the EU will pay a significant portion of the costs to hire early stage researchers to travel to another country in the EU to do their doctoral studies.

An intriguing aspect of the week has been being called “expert” everywhere I turn as I arrive at work in Covent Gardens every morning. I’m enjoying the novelty, although the sights have been the same day after day. The rooms in Covent Garden are very comfortable, in any case, and the other experts on the panel are friendly, knowledgeable, and polite. It’s been a great experience and I’ve gotten to learn a lot.

December 12, 2016December 12, 2016 by shannonchance

What we can learn from architecture studio pedagogy, a guest lecture at KTH in Stockholm

After the lecture at KTH, with two librarians and two architecture profs, including my former classmate from Virginia Tech, Eric Stenberg.

Professor Jonte Burnhard invited me to KTH in Stockholm to deliver a guest lecture on what we–as education specialists, architecture educators, and researchers of engineering education–can learn from each other and from the pedagogical models used to teach architecture. Jonte had read a recent article, “Using Architecture Design Studio Pedagogies to Enhance Engineering Education,” that I’d published along with John Marshall and Gavin Duffy in IJEE. You can access the article at: http://arrow.dit.ie/engscheleart2/102)

The learning and teaching center at KTH hosts this type of lecture/workshop every couple weeks, to get the institution’s staff thinking about and discussing good ways to teach. In addition to classroom educators, quite a few of KTH’s librarians also attended the event, as well.

While at KTH, I enjoyed a dozen small-group discussions on pedagogical topics, toured the brand new architecture building, and caught up with a former classmate, Eric Stenberg, from Virginia Tech’s architecture program. I’m hoping to visit KTH again soon, since we have so many overlapping interests.

I stayed though the weekend, before heading to Brussels on Sunday evening, and I’ve attached photos of the Christmas sights.