This publication contains the papers presented at the 5th Annual Conference of National Academy for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL) and the 9th Galway Symposium. Presenters from across Ireland and overseas share their perspectives. The theme of engagement touches on the very heart of what a "higher" education should be about. It is about engaging the mind, struggling to understand new concepts and perspectives, experimenting with new ideas and developing skills, about critically engaging with the world and societal structures, about laying the foundations upon which to build a better future, about nurturing individual creativity and collective responsibility and hopefully also about having some fun along the way.