Venue

Surgeons Quarter, Nicolson Street
Edinburgh, EH8 9DW

location

Getting there

Accommodation

PebbleBash 2024 will be hosted at Surgeons Quarter, part of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh – an internationally respected institution with a thriving global network of 25,000 medical professionals.

Opened in the 1830’s and spread over several rooms, you will experience a venue steeped in history with grand spaces including Playfair Hall, where the evening dinner will be served, and parts of the conference will take place. Only a 10-minute walk from Edinburgh Castle, the venue is surrounded by centuries-old architecture and narrow alleys, offering an unforgettable experience within the heart of an historic city.
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Event Location

Surgeons Quarter Building

Upon arrival, please enter via the North Gate entrance. Make your way up the ramp to the Quincentenary Building. As you enter the building, you will find the PebbleBash reception directly in front of you, with refreshments available to the right. The Quincentenary Building will house all three workshops and sessions for the pre-conference day on the 11th of June.

Getting there

Edinburgh Waverley Station is 10 minutes’ walk from Surgeons Quarter. Exit Waverley via Market Street.

Take a right and then 1st left onto Cockburn Street and follow the road/hill until the top. Take a left of the top of Cockburn Street onto The Royal Mile. At the 1st set of lights, take a right onto South Bridge and continue along this route until the College is on your left on Nicolson Street, opposite the Festival Theatre. Once in the front gates, please follow the relevant signage for your event. A taxi rank is located just outside the station.

Inter-city bus services terminate at the St Andrew’s Square Bus Station. Buses from Princes Street (stops on the side of the street lined by shops- [north]) are very frequent. Services passing the College include numbers 3, 5, 7, 8, 14, 30, 31 and 33.
The Edinburgh tram route covers 14km from Edinburgh Airport all the way to York Place in the city centre. Stops at Haymarket and Edinburgh Park stations and Ingliston Park & Ride connect trams with rail and bus services along the way. The nearest tram stop is St Andrew Square.

Surgeons Quarter can be accessed via many roads. If using a sat nav, please use postcode EH8 9DW.

There is no private parking at Surgeons Quarter however there are metered parking spaces on Roxburgh Place, Richmond Place, and Chambers Street (which are free after 6.30pm). There is also parking in Nicolson Square beside the Clydesdale Bank for approximately £7 per day.

The Airlink bus service departs from just outside the domestic arrivals terminal and the journey to the city centre takes just 30 minutes. Buses leave approximately every 10 minutes. The final destination is Waverley Bridge.

Alternatively, the Edinburgh Trams also depart from the airport to the city centre and the journey takes approximately 35 minutes. Trams depart approximately every 10 minutes.

There are seven park and rides operating in and around Edinburgh – Ingliston, Hermiston, Straiton, Sheriffhall, Newcraighall, Wallyford and Ferrytoll.

Accommodation

🐇 All PebbleBash attendees are responsible for booking their accommodation during the event.
Surgeons Quarter is located within the vicinity of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, just a brief 10-minute stroll from both Princes Street and Edinburgh Castle. Its incredibly central location boasts a variety of hotels and guest houses in close proximity. To streamline your options, we’ve suggested three hotels, each situated within a convenient 5-minute walk from the PebbleBash venue.

Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh

Royal Mile, 300 Cowgate,
EH1 1NA, Edinburgh
0.3km from the venue

BOOK HERE

Hotel Du Vin Edinburgh

11 Bristo Place, EH1 1EZ,
Edinburgh
0.4km from the venue

BOOK HERE

Travelodge Plus Edinburgh Central

33 St Marys Street,
EH1 1TA, Edinburgh
0.4km from the venue

BOOK HERE
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Curriculum Transformation at the University of Edinburgh: co-creation and the relationship between local innovation and institutional change

Talk description: I will use the themes of reflection and experiential learning, skills development and assessment (including programme level assessment and changes in assessment practice) to explore this process in more detail. This includes the link between disciplinary and institutional curriculum reform, learning from local innovations and changes, and using this to inform University level changes and support.

Bio: My current position is leading the University wide Curriculum Transformation Project. This is a major and long term initiative for the University considering all areas of the University’s undergraduate and taught postgraduate curriculum. Prior to this Jon set up and led the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) at the University of Edinburgh. The IAD provides University level support for teaching, learning and researcher development, including direct support for students and staff, and support for enhancement and innovation in curriculum development, the student and researcher experience. Jon has a PhD in petroleum geology.

Mission Possible: The DNA of a bespoke professional development program

Talk description: The diversity of students in higher education dictates that there cannot (and should not) be a single ‘silver bullet’ approach to address the complex challenge of career readiness learning. However, the reality of modern university structures is that delivering bespoke experiences for each student is a challenge in and of itself.  And yet, all things are possible with creative use of PebblePad to streamline delivery (for the university) and make it highly personalised (for the student). 

Bio: Gayle Brent is a Learning and Teaching Consultant (Employability) at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. Gaye’s specialist area of interest is developing and implementing strategies to enhance staff and student understanding of employability in both curricular and extra-curricular contexts. She completed a Master of Education and Professional Studies Research to explore the potential barriers and challenges to embedding employability-based learning in higher education curriculum and is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy exploring the impact of an extra-curricular employability program on the individual student experience.

Dr Melissa Highton. Assistant Principal, University of Edinburgh

Talk description: A journey through the stories told by wicca data. How a neglected research data set was used by students to overturn historic injustice and shed new light on the lives of women in Scotland.

Bio: Melissa has worked for many years in higher education at some of the UK’s finest and most ancient institutions. In each place she enjoys discovering the hidden histories and less heard voices which can be surfaced in new ways using the most up to date and open technologies. She is a champion of playful and curious approaches to engagement with audiences on campus and online, and is an invited speaker at events about dangerous women.

Education is an Experience That Should Be Designed

Talk description: We have any number of problems and opportunities as universities, and universities must adapt to help students from diverse backgrounds develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and make a positive impact in the world. Key to those adaptations is understanding that we provide students with an experience. We ought to design them with intention and purpose. This talk with take up this argument and ground it within a large educational transformation project at the University of Leeds.

Bio: Jeff Grabill is Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Education at the University of Leeds. Prior to joining the University of Leeds, Grabill was at Michigan State University (MSU) in the United States for nearly 20 years. He served Michigan State University as the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. In that role, he was responsible for facilitating innovation in learning and educator professional development via his role as Director of the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology. Grabill’s research focuses on how digital writing is associated with citizenship and learning. That work has been located in community contexts, in museums, and in classrooms at both the K-12 and university levels. Grabill is also a co-founder of Drawbridge, an educational technology company.

Disclaimers

The event agenda is correct at the time of publishing. As with all events, we may need to alter or modify aspects of the agenda.

While we take every precaution to ensure the safety and security of our events, Pebble Learning Ltd recommends you review insurance policies to ensure adequate coverage, especially in the realm of business travel.

We will be recording (audio/video) the presentations during the event. A conference photographer will also be capturing moments for our highlights reel. The video and photography will be used to share insights and market PebbleBash to the wider HE community. We do not give automatic refunds, please see the cancellation policy in the FAQs.