Joanna Renc Roe Award

For Pushing the Boundaries of SoTL

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a growing movement. It is growing geographically, conceptually, and methodologically, because of people contributing to the SoTL community. Some individuals push the boundaries and open up new frontiers.

 Joanna Renc-Roe was such a person. From her position at The Central European University in Budapest where she worked for 13 years, she inspired academics to engage in SoTL, not only in central and eastern Europe but further into central Asia, the Middle East, and the world. Joanna was a force, an inspiration, and an excellent ambassador for SoTL. She sadly passed away in April 2016, and we miss her dearly.

 For a fuller account of Joanna’s legacy, as a colleague and a professional, please read the obituary published on the Central European University website.

Watch the following video to see Joanna and other prominent SoTL-scholars explain their views on central SoTL perspectives.

Prior to the EuroSoTL Conference

  • Abstracts are submitted in response to the official Conference Call for Proposals.
  • The EuroSoTL Board or the conference organising team will determine whether all
    abstracts or only those designated for in-person presentations are to be considered for the
    Joanna Renc-Roe (JRR) Award.
  • A team of reviewers, appointed by the EuroSoTL Board or conference team, will be tasked
    with ranking the submitted abstracts. Each reviewer will be invited to nominate one
    project that they believe merits consideration for the JRR Award. This process should result
    in a shortlist of 15–20 abstracts.
  • Where feasible, judges from a range of European geographical regions should be appointed,
    to support fairness and diversity in perspective during the selection process.
  • The shortlisted abstracts will be forwarded to the judging panel in advance of the
    conference for final consideration and selection of award recipients.
  • If the conference organisers request extended abstracts (e.g., for the conference
    proceedings) from accepted applicants prior to the event, these may also be shared with the
    judges to support a more informed evaluation. This practice was followed at previous
    conferences, including Lund, Bilbao, and Manchester.
  • The final selection of the award winner will be based solely on the abstract (and, where
    applicable, the extended abstract). The decision will be made prior to the conference, and
    the conference presentation itself will not be a factor in the judging process.

At the EuroSoTL conference

  • The Award will be presented at a prominent point in the conference programme, ideally
  • when all participants are gathered together. The presentation will include:
    • A framed certificate naming the author(s),
    • The title of the winning project, and
    • Where possible, a brief citation or justification explaining why the project was selected.
  • In addition to the main winner, two additional abstracts may be recognised as ‘Highly
    Commended’, and these authors will also be acknowledged publicly during the award
    presentation.
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The Joanna Renc-Roe Award is presented during each EuroSoTL conference to the contribution that distinguishes itself for pushing the boundaries of SoTL. The nature of the award is an honourable recognition and a diploma, presented to the authors of the selected contribution during each conference.