Further Education and Skills Research Alliance (FESRA)

This project focuses on supporting practitioner-research in Further Education and Skills institutions through a collaborative partnership with the University of Portsmouth and Southern FE and Sixth Form colleges, and training providers.

The aims of the project are:

- To build an inclusive and collaborative research community that connects FE practitioners, early-career researchers, and academics, focusing on real-life challenges and practices in further education.
- To enhance research skills and career progression for FE professionals by providing opportunities to engage in research grounded in practical, real-world contexts.
- To amplify regional perspectives in national research discussions by incorporating insights from real-life experiences in the South of England, ensuring local challenges are represented.
- To produce high-quality, open-access research outputs that contribute to the understanding of FE practices, with an emphasis on solutions and approaches derived from real-life educational settings.

A collaborative research group linking University academics with FES practitioners and leaders

This is a space where colleagues can join on their own terms. Whether you just want to stay connected and receive invites, attend an online webinar or an in-person workshop, contribute to ongoing research, or take the next step into funded research or formal qualifications with our support. There is a place for every FE Practitioner in this growing community!

Through FESRA, we have:
• Reached out to 20+ South Coast colleges and training providers
• Welcomed over 20 practitioners from 5 colleges and 2 training providers at our launch webinar
• Hosted Action Learning Sets to share practice and ideas
• Delivered in-person workshop's
• And finally, come together today at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Research and innovation conference, to reflect and plan for the future during a roundtable discussion

Along the way, we heard common challenges from our practitioners, and we are starting to address these through:
• Flexible ways to engage in research
• Small group tutorials to build skills
• Cross-institution collaboration and resource sharing
• Simplifying research pathways to build confidence
• Showcasing practitioner voices through events like today’s