Eighth Teaching Innovation Conference expands to better highlight the work of UAB teaching staff
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona will be hosting the 8th Teaching Innovation Conference on 14 and 15 May. This year the conference offers an expanded and renewed format that aims to celebrate and put the spotlight on the innovative capacity of UAB lecturers. For the first time, the conference will last two days, a change that reflects the sustained growth in teaching innovation initiatives and an institutional will to provide a space for the contributions of lecturers. This year's edition wants to become a true collective celebration of teaching innovation, a shared moment to acknowledge, give visibility to and celebrate the teaching talent that makes the UAB a living university that is committed to improving educationally.
Lecturer Mariona Grané from the University of Barcelona will offer a conference dedicated to exploring how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into university teaching. Lecturer Miguel Ángel Santos Guerra from the University of Màlaga will offer a second conference focused on the value of university teaching and the role of lecturers as drivers of paedogogical transformation. The focus on the challenges of higher education will be enriched with a conversation between Mercè Gisbert, director of AQU Catalunya, and Joan Subirats, Minister for Universities between 2021 and 2023. The conference will also include a round table with Maria Rosa Buxarrais (University of Barcelona), Toni Portell (University of Vic), and Mar Carrió (University of Polytechnic of Catalonia), who will discuss how to improve teaching and learning processes.
For the first time, all the teaching teams participating in institutional calls will have their own space to share their work, making the conference a true laboratory of ideas and a reflection of the vitality of a university that learns from itself. UAB teaching staff will become the absolute protagonists by presenting their teaching innovation and quality projects (IQD), their educational research and teaching innovation projects (REID), and the contributions of the teaching innovation groups (GID). These three fields together make up the UAB's teaching innovation ecosystem and make visible the richness, diversity and commitment of the academic community to the continuous improvement of learning.
The conference will also incorporate a University Teaching Support Resources Meeting Area, a space that will bring together the services and units that offer resources and support to teachers. This initiative aims to give visibility to the support network behind teaching innovation and reinforce a basic cooperative culture for its development.
In addition, a publication has been promoted that will collect all the contributions presented by lecturers, with the aim of preserving the collective memory of shared experiences and offering a useful and inspiring resource that will last beyond the conference.
The event will culminate with the 8th Teaching Excellence Awards ceremony, which in addition to the individual category this year also includes a group category aimed at acknowledging the work of shared projects and teamwork initiatives. This addition reflects the collective nature of this edition and the conviction that teaching innovation is the result of cooperation and joint commitment.
Vice-Rector for Training and Teaching Innovation José Luís Muñoz Moreno underlines this shared spirit, stating that "this year we wanted to take a step forward to recognise and make visible the innovative strength of our teaching staff. The conferences are growing because the creativity, rigour and commitment of the UAB teaching community are growing". He also adds that he wants to "encourage all teaching staff to participate, to share and to be an active part of this common space. The more we meet, the more we strengthen our community and the more capacity we have to build better university teaching".
Registrations to participate are open until 8 May through the UAB Staff Training Portal.