By Louise Hartmann, Institute for Advanced Study in PBL. Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

As of 2024, academic staff at Aalborg University (AAU) will be equipped for their future careers as university lecturers in a new way. AAU has rethought and changed its university pedagogy programme, and the new format offers several changes to the existing one.

- The current format has worked since 2016, but we believe that – despite participants being generally satisfied – it is time to change the format to respond to the wishes expressed by participants over the years, says Nikolaj Stegeager, Associate Professor.

Along with Line Bune Juhl, Teaching Associate Professor, he handles the day-to-day management of Learning Lab, which offers pedagogical and didactic competence development for AAU staff.

- The new university pedagogy programme also provides more flexible training that focuses on participants' own practice to an even greater extent, Nikolaj Stegeager adds.

Fewer lectures – more flexibility

AAU's university pedagogy programme currently contains a compulsory lecture series and a number of elective modules. The new university pedagogy programme abandons all these – with the exception of a single online course focusing on digital pedagogy.

- This in no way means that we are doing away with instruction. Just that it will have a different and more flexible format. During the programme, participants will have a greater degree of co-determination over their individual development as teachers, explains Line Bune Juhl.

Instead of the compulsory lectures and teaching sessions, an intensive two-day residential seminar with short presentations, group work, walk-and-talks and similar activities will be introduced. In addition, two joint seminars, teaching observation and a number of compulsory meetings in small groups are included.

Study group the focal point of the programme

The participants in AAU's new university pedagogy programme will be divided into smaller study groups of four to five people. All group members are assigned both a pedagogical and an academic supervisor, and the study groups meet regularly with their supervisors during the year of the programme.

In conjunction with supervisors, the participants are responsible for the academic content of the group meetings. This is where they can discuss topics that are particularly relevant to their teaching or current issues they face in their role as teacher or supervisor.

The development of the new model

The new university pedagogy programme was developed based on Danish and international research in the field. During the process, drafts were discussed in the Strategic Council for Education, with pedagogical experts from all faculties, supervisors in the university pedagogy programme, and the expert group for the university pedagogy programme.

At the end of August 2023, AAU's vice deans for education approved the draft of the AAU university pedagogy programme, after which fine-tuning and preparations have been under discussion.

The new University Pedagogy Programme 2024 starts on 9 January 2024, and registration is now open.