Conference 2021: tax education day (10 September 2021)

This day is designed as a series of workshops and panel discussions, run in a highly interactive style, to enable delegates to engage with several innovative and novel teaching approaches to taxation that may be suitable for adoption in your classroom, or addressing issues we all need to care about relating to current trends and potential changes occurring in tax education.

Need a flavour of what you can expect in attending the Tax Education Day at a TRN Annual Conference? See the following video tasters from the last three year’s events: 

For more videos from TRN Annual conferences, and other TRN activities, please see our Youtube channel here at  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw2vzusDkwKEVFYqOhP1dAg.

The sessions available to delegates attending the 2021 conference education day that are confirmed to date include:


Designing Innovative Pedagogy for Complex Accounting Topics (DIPCAT): International Tax and CSR on Tax Avoidance Intellectual Outputs for the Classroom

Session lead – Dr Phyllis Alexander, Bournemouth University

This session will showcase two integrated tax cases designed for wider HE dissemination, the culmination of academic and professional collaborations funded by Erasmus+.   The cases focus on current complex tax challenges from digitalization and innovative methods of engaging students. The whole (or elements) of these cases may form short intensive learning programs, modular supplements, or the scaffolding of a full semester’s content and assessment. The session will include a discussion on problem-solving and collaborative pedagogies from academics’ and students’ perspectives.

Information and material for this can be found at https://dipcat.eu/uk-multiplier-event/


PREPARING for the FUTURE with skills-based learning

Session leads – Nicky Thomas, University of Exeter & Yvonne Evans, Dundee University

How can we prepare our students and ourselves for the future of tax? 

This highly interactive session will explore delegates’ experiences of the opportunities & challenges of skill-based learning with particular focus on learning & skills development outcomes, assessment styles and learning activities. It aims to build on the TRN half-day workshop on teaching and assessing tax in a pandemic that was held in December 2020 (although attendance at that event is not necessary to participate in this session – for those interested, a video of the event is available at https://youtu.be/JNJAnlX5uyw).


Teaching innovations in tax 

Session leads – Nicky Thomas, University of Exeter & Terry Filer, Swansea University

This session will enable participants to engage in two specific novel approaches to the teaching of tax. Firstly, it will explore a real-life “LEGO” learning experience with tax master’s students at University of Exeter – an active demonstration of LEGO Serious play application in taxation. Secondly, it will include a practical demonstration (including for those accessing remotely) of the use of VR in supporting the teaching tax – a practical demonstration on how to do this with relative ease (and only the bare minimal technical experience) to introduce it into your classroom with limited effort but to great effect in bringing the subject of tax alive for your students.


‘Hiring future tax graduates – where next in light of Covid 19?’

Session leads – Rex Obeng, University of Hertfordshire & Elaine Doyle, University of Limerick
Confirmed Panellists:
– Adam Rollason, Smith Cooper

– Richard Parr, Smith & Williamson
– Loretta Bond , University of East Anglia (Ex HMRC Tax Academy) 
– Martina O’Brien, Irish Tax Institute

There has been significant challenges in adapting to changes in our learning and employment environment since the beginning of this pandemic. Academics, professional bodies and employers will reflect on the past two years with the aim of exploring what this means for their future needs for tax hires and how Universities therefore should look to develop graduates suitably equipped for a career in tax – future learning, future accreditation, future professionals. 

This session will include a discussion with panellists within the tax industry and several academics with recent tax employer perspectives, reflecting on their academic and professional experiences during Covid-19 to share and discuss our future plans in developing future tax graduates.


Conference sponsors: