In recent years, universities have developed a wide range of approaches to research and further develop their subject-specific teaching practices. The concept of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has great potential as a basic attitude and driving force for the innovation of higher education.

During the first five SoTL Journeys (since 2020/21), various lecturers from the German-speaking area and European universities used the opportunity to exchange ideas about and experiences with SoTL with their colleagues. We would like to continue this successful format starting in spring 2026, and therefore, we kindly invite you to participate as ‘local guide(s)’ during the sixth digital SoTL Journey. As in the last journeys, we aim to travel to destinations in the German-speaking region as well as in the European area.

Goals of the Journey The goals of the SoTL Journey are to promote the SoTL teaching-learning community, enhance its sustainable integration at universities, and foster the establishment of a specific “Teacher-Researcher” attitude within higher education.

How it Works We “visit” SoTL pioneers at different higher education institutions and networks for 90-minute sessions on a (bi-)monthly basis. Local guides at each institution welcome us at every stop of the expedition and introduce us to the local “SoTL sights”.

Then there are conversations between the SoTL pioneers and the participants of the journey. The conversations are about our motivation for SoTL, how we practise SoTL and which insights we gain from it. Further topics could be:

  • The presentation of the research process and how to deal with critical moments
  • The development of one’s own teaching practice through reflective SoTL
  • A special professional development program or training
  • A journal, an award, a SoTL concept or a thematic focus
  • Exemplary integration of students
  • Incentivisation for SoTL engagement, special methods, and much more.

Logistics The journey takes place on Zoom. The link will be sent to all registered participants by the organisation team of the SoTL network. In addition to lecturers who are interested in SoTL or who are already practicing it, university students, tutors, higher education development experts, and other involved individuals are also kindly invited to participate.

We expect to begin with the first appointment in April 2026, and the detailed schedule will be provided in February 2026.

Get Involved If this call appeals to you, please contact Dr Nerea Vöing (nerea.voeing@upb.de) by January 31, 2026 via email. We will then get back to you to arrange a call. Please also forward the call for destinations to interested colleagues.

Organisators:

Dr Alexa Brase (alexa.kristin.brase@uni-hamburg.de) Dr Nerea Vöing (nerea.voeing@uni-paderborn.de) Dr Stefka Weber (stefka.weber@rwth-aachen.de) Professor Dr Maik Arnold (maik.arnold@hs-nordhausen.de)

For more information: https://www.uni-paderborn.de/universitaet/bildungsinnovationen-hochschuldidaktik/sotl/deutschsprachiges-sotl-netzwerk

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