Representatives from all nine EUGLOH partner universities attended the two-day workshop “Community of Practice – Educational Development” to discuss and address common challenges in pedagogical innovation.
Hosted by the University of Porto at the Instituto Pernambuco – Porto on the 20th and 21st of March, the workshop “Community of Practice – Educational Development” was held within the framework of the European University Alliance for Global Health (EUGLOH).
Numerous experts, including academic and technical representatives from all institutions, actively contributed to the discussion and development of strategies to address common challenges in pedagogical innovation over the course of two intensive days of collaborative work coordinated among the EUGLOH partner universities. Pedro Graça, Director of the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences (FCNAUP), who coordinated the workshop, described it as “exploring a community of best practices” through leveraging the EUGLOH network.
As part of these efforts, the workshop showcased collaborative achievements such as the “Glossary of Pedagogical Terms and Practices”, which maps and characterises different institutional structures dedicated to promoting quality and pedagogical innovation, and a concept note on “Pedagogical Innovation”, which will result in the publication of a scientific article. Workshop participants also revisited the objectives of the “Educational Development Programme” task and other collaborative efforts among partner universities. These include organising a series of webinars, identifying best practices and creating a catalogue of training opportunities. In addition, academic staff are being enabled to design and co-create educational resources and innovative training aimed at intercultural and multidisciplinary audiences – in digital and inclusive classrooms.
The event was formally opened by Joana Resende, Vice-Rector of U.Porto for Entrepreneurship, Knowledge Valuation and Strategic Planning, while Sónia Rodrigues, Pro-Rector of U.Porto for Pedagogical Innovation, Continuous Improvement and Promotion of the Portuguese Language, presented the Educational Innovation Unit of U.Porto.
During the first day of the workshop, each partner university showcased its institutional strategies in the field of pedagogical innovation as well as pedagogical local support structures. Participants engaged in three parallel working group sessions to promote discussion on the diverse organisational models of each university of the Alliance. In this context, different recognition mechanisms, quality assessment methodologies and incentives for pedagogical innovation were observed within partner universities.
On the second day of the workshop, participants exchanged insights on the promotion of pedagogical innovation in the field of education and training, particularly in higher education. Amélia Lopes, from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPCEUP), presented U.Porto’s experience over the past years and outlined some prevalent challenges, including the massification and democratisation of higher education, mobility and internationalisation, the importance of interdisciplinary work and the cultivation of an epistemic culture. With the moderation of Fernando Remião, from the Faculty of Pharmacy of U.Porto (FFUP), representatives from different partner universities of the Alliance also presented, in a dynamic session, examples of innovative pedagogical practices and assessment criteria.
Following the intensive working sessions in collaboration with Lund University and the University of Alcalá, the University of Porto, as the host institution, provided participants with memorable social and cultural experiences. Among these experiences was a visit to the Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Center, fostering stronger interpersonal connections among the teams collaborating in consolidating the foundations of the “European Universities”.
Overall, the “Community of Practice – Educational Development” workshop served as a pivotal platform for EUGLOH partner universities to collectively foster quality, competitiveness and internationalisation in education and training, providing a fertile ground for the exchange of knowledge and experiences. Pro-Rector Sónia Rodrigues described it as “an extraordinary initiative and an opportunity to collectively create ideas, projects and practices that we can further develop together to prepare the education of the future and to innovate even more”.
All partner universities of EUGLOH were represented at the workshop: Université Paris-Saclay, Lund University, University of Szeged, University of Porto, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University of Alcalá, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, University of Novi Sad and Universität Hamburg.
You can find out more about the workshop in the Glossary of Pedagogical Terms and Practices and the video below: