Why I Joined: Angela Pater

As part of this series of blogposts introducing the Study Tour team and why they have joined it in their own words. I would like to introduce Angela Pater from the University of Bath. So over to you Angela...

This Study Tour will be an excellent opportunity to contribute to a greater understanding of Higher Education in another country.  I believe in spreading good ideas and best practice and forming links with colleagues in other institutions, to the benefit of all parties. Part of the reason I am so committed to access to Higher Education is that my Polish father did not have the opportunity to go to University, having left Poland after World War II; he later studied for a degree in the UK as a mature distance-learning student. I have visited Poland several times and love both its cities and stunning countryside; it seems to have everything.

As Head of Secretariat at the University of Bath, I am interested in higher education governance, especially how students are involved in decision-making, at both formal and more informal levels. I am looking forward to seeing how structures have developed in Poland over recent decades. A lot more can be learned from comparative study than by looking at a topic just in one country in isolation.