UK Centre for Bioscience, Higher Education Academy

In a recent publication in CBE—Life Sciences Education, Woodin et al. (2010) summarized the findings and recommendations of a range of meetings and reports that addressed the changing needs of biology undergraduate education in the United States. Here in the United Kingdom, members of the community supported by the UK Centre for Bioscience are very familiar with many of the issues raised in this article. The centre is part of the national Higher Education Academy, and its remit is to support academics in providing a high-quality student learning experience in the biosciences. During the past 10 yr, the centre has therefore worked closely with colleagues across the United Kingdom in facilitating events and creating a wide range of resources in support of bioscience learning and teaching. It seems likely that many of these initiatives and materials will be of value to colleagues in the United States. The recommendation and comment, quoted by Woodin et al. (2010) from the American Association for the Advancement of Science Vision and Change document, that the United States should establish “a consolidated resource of research and classroom experience documenting what works and why” and “This biology education database could disseminate effective practices and provide a centralized location of resources” seem particularly apposite. I believe that an initiative of this nature could benefit greatly from our experience in establishing a similar resource in support of United Kingdom university bioscience education. Some of the key facilities and initiatives available and under way in the centre include the following: