Show our best teachers’ qualities, further develop these talents and benefit from them university-wide. That is the goal of the Teachers’ Academy, introduced by Leiden University in October 2014. The Leiden University Teachers’ Academy consists of 20 Teaching Fellows who all share a passion for education.

Teaching Fellows

The Teaching Fellows are recommended by their faculties and nominated to the Teaching Academy because they:

• actively contribute to innovation in education in terms of content and didactics, by initiating and implementing projects encompassing educational reform, and by participating in research projects relating to educational innovation;
• continuously expand their teaching skills, including their expertise in using and developing new teaching materials and teaching techniques;
• are willing to collaborate with other teachers in multidisciplinary environments to achieve innovation in our education.

Innovation in education

As teachers, Teaching Fellows are not only recognised for their achievements as teachers, they are also given the possibility to further develop in terms of innovation in education. They receive a grant of €25,000 with which they can conduct one or more projects that will lead to innovation in teaching. These projects are carried out through exchanges among colleagues, peer reviews and, if applicable, interfaculty collaboration within the Teachers’ Academy. At least once a year, the Teachers’ Academy organises a university-wide symposium on innovation in education at Leiden University, focusing on the exchange of information and experiences with best practices.

Goal of Leiden University Teachers’ Academy

With inputs from our best lecturers, the Leiden University Teachers’ Academy aims to improve the quality of our teaching and stimulate innovation in education university-wide. The objectives of the academy are to:

• improve the quality of academic education and stimulate innovation in education;
• promote the development of teaching based on academic research on education;
• offer a platform for teachers who want to continuously develop their teaching expertise and participate in educational research projects and are willing to do this in multidisciplinary partnerships;
• create a multidisciplinary academic community whose prime concern is to  exchange with colleagues best practices and ideas for innovation in education;
• make solicited and unsolicited recommendations to the Vice-Rector Magnificus and the Teaching Consultation about innovation in education.

Fellowship

The first ten teachers received a Teaching Fellowship in October 2014. In October 2015, six new Fellows joined the Teachers’ Academy. The Teacher of the Year elected by the Leiden University Student Platform is also automatically a Teaching Fellow. Membership of the Teachers’ Academy is  for a period of five years. This creates a platform within the university for innovation in education, where the membership of the platform is constantly being renewed.

Faculties can nominate two teachers as Teaching Fellows. Once a year, a selection committee composed of the Vice-Rector Magnificus (chair), two members of CROHO (Leiden Internal Collegiate Board for Research on Higher Education), and two members of LASSO (Leiden Assessors Council) decides who will be admitted as a Teaching Fellow.