A study trip to Sweden and Finland which took place from 14 to 19 May 2017 was organised for the Working group and members of the Educa-T project team. The purpose of the study trip was to get acquainted with the good practice and regulations in the area of enhancement of competences for academic teaching.
The participants of the study trip visited the UKÄ – a Swedish higher education authority where they got acquainted with the characteristics of the Swedish higher education system and the national framework for the upgrading of teaching and learning in higher education.
After visiting the UKÄ the participants got an opportunity to become informed on the models of and the approaches to the development of teaching competences at the Lund University and the Malmö University.
The Lund University is the second oldest university in Sweden. The University has almost 30 000 students and cherishes a long tradition of strong and independent universities. In such circumstances the University encourages the development of the Centres for the enhancement of teaching competences at each faculty. The study trip participants visited the Division for Development of Higher Education operating within the Faculties of Humanities and Theology. The director and the staff presented the history of the Division, their approach to the development of the competences for teaching and learning, as well as the programme for enhancing teaching competences.
Since its establishment in 1998, the Malmö University pays special attention to the quality of teaching and upgrading of teaching competences. The study trip participants visited the Centre for Teaching and Learning and had an opportunity to gain insight into the learning environment developed by the Malmö University and its 15 000 students. The participants got acquainted with the education programmes for the teaching staff and had a discussion with the Director of the Centre and the University management (Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor) about the University’s strategy and the role of the high quality teaching staff.
The final part of the study trip was dedicated to the Centre for University Teaching and Learning at the University of Helsinki. The University of Helsinki is the oldest, the largest and the most prominent Finnish higher education institution with more than 32 000 students. The Centre for University Teaching and Learning is oriented towards scientific research on the quality learning and teaching in higher education. Based on collected data and knowledge, the Centre is developing programmes, workshops and other activities with the purpose of enhancing quality learning and teaching at the University. The recent research and its results were presented to the study trip participants.
The experiences gained from the study trip will contribute to the quality development of the competence profile and the programme for the upgrading of teaching competences, which are the expected results of the Educa-T project.
