Launching QMU’s British Sign
Language Action Plan
Q
MU’S BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE (BSL) Action Plan
demonstrates the University’s commitment to creating
a BSL-friendly culture that supports students and staff,
and builds on the institution’s existing expertise. Frankie
McLean, a BSL user, recently joined QMU as a lecturer to help
develop new levels of awareness of BSL at both undergraduate
and postgraduate levels across the University community.
One exciting development of the plan is to embed BSL as an
additional language in the new Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
programme commencing in September 2019. The aim is that
graduates from the BA (Hons) Education Studies (Primary) will be
able to use their BSL skills and the ability to share this language
in their work as primary school teachers.
QMU has also responded to the growing demand for courses from
BSL interpreters that will allow them to become more specialised
in their professional areas such as healthcare, justice, education,
and the arts. The University has developed the UK’s first fully online
MSc programme to upskill registered BSL/English interpreters,
allowing interpreters from all over the country to access specialist
postgraduate education.
Ultimately, all these initiatives are designed to benefit BSL users
and deaf people, through enhancing the awareness, skills and
attitudes of the professionals who will work with them in the future.
Dr Iliyan Stefanov, Head of Student Services at QMU explained:
“We have worked tirelessly across a broad section of staff and
departments to develop a robust BSL action plan. We are delighted
to launch our first action plan and to be amongst the first of the
public bodies to take action to meet the goals set out by the
Scottish Government’s BSL National Plan, published last year.
“With world renowned research in speech and hearing sciences
and an international reputation across the health sciences
professions, QMU is well placed to embed awareness of BSL into
a broad range of professional training. This is supplemented by our
focus on interpreters through the MSc BSL/English Interpreting
(post registration). Having strengthened our draft plan following our
consultation phase, we will now embed the plan into our inclusive
learning and teaching strategies. We look forward to seeing the
impact of our plan on the students and staff and to contributing
to Scotland’s aspirations to support BSL users.” ❒
You can read more about QMU’s BLS Action Plan and
watch our Welcome to QMU video in BSL on the QMU
website at www.qmu.ac.uk
Find out about our new MSc/ PgDip BSL/ English
Interpreting (Post-Registration) at www.qmu.ac.uk/bsl
QMYOU / BSL Action Plan
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