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Academic leadership of education:
In what way can academic leadership support the development of education? Under this theme we welcome contributions which illustrate and problematise academic leadership in relation to teaching and educational activities. What roles do directors of studies, programme leaders, heads of departments, and others play for the development of teaching, and what role does the profiling of an institution play?
Assessment, examination, and grades:
Teachers are well aware of the great role that the forms of assessment and examination play for the students’ learning. How are assessment practices developed in the Swedish higher education? Which are the challenges for a continued development of examinations and assessment? What roles do learning objectives play for the students’ results? To this theme we welcome contributions that deepen the view on examination and assessment and that bring forth good examples and alternative examination forms.
Digital competence and E-learning:
In higher education, digital competence increases among both teachers and students, but the digital gap between those who know most and those who do not know as much still increases. How do we ensure that ”everybody is on the train” when digitalisation and e-learning form evident parts of the teaching. Today we see examples like digital examination, flipped classrooms, flexible learning, and different digital tools in some of our study programmes. How can we make use of the advantages that the digital development offers to meet the students’ needs and to develop learning? Under this theme we welcome experiences from development projects, good examples, and ways of working where e-learning and digitalisation are in focus.
Third-cycle education under change:
Doctoral supervision and course activities are foundation stones for a third-cycle education of good quality. What are the consequences of this change? How are the competences of research supervisors supported and developed in the best way possible? How is the teaching organised and carried out? During the last five years we have also seen that the intake of international doctoral students has increased exponentially at all Swedish higher education institutions. How is an open and inclusive culture reflected in the supervision of doctoral students and how do we accomplish a broader recruitment? Under this theme we welcome contributions that illustrate different parts and development of the third-cycle education.
Inclusive academic culture:
“The open university” with an inclusive culture where diversity is welcome – this is how most universities and higher education institutions describe themselves today. But how well does this describe our everyday? Who feels welcome and on which terms is participation offered? Under this theme we welcome both experiences from development projects and examples on ways of working for inclusion of students and colleagues and also norm critical analyses.
Internationalisation:
This theme explores the understanding and significance of the general trend of internationalisation in higher education, both on a strategic level of the higher education institution and on the classroom level. How do we understand the significance and importance of internationalisation at our higher education institutions and which are the successful ingredients in an internationalisation process? How is teaching and learning affected? What fruitful practices appear when teaching takes place in a global/glocal classroom? What role does language play? What can we learn from collaborative international partnership? What role does the Scandinavian university have in the competence development of universities all over the world? We welcome contributions that discuss, problematize, and provide possible answers to these questions.
Course and programme development and student participation:
Planning, implementation, follow-up, analysis, and development may sound like an uncomplicated and given process to follow for quality improvements in education, but how is this carried out in practice? What do the processes for course and programme evaluation look like and how do they match a real development in the education? Which difficulties, obstacles, and possibilities exist and who has influence in processes and decisions? How do we ensure a democratic process where the students also have influence and how do we make use of their potential and voice? Under this theme we welcome contributions on experiences and good suggestions for course and programme development.
Quality in higher education:
Are the higher education courses and programmes of high quality? Lately, this has been questioned in the massmedia. At the same time, the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) has found that the greater part of all study programmes that in 2011-2014 were assessed as having ”Inadequate Quality” in the national quality assurance system are now of high quality. And now Sweden will change its national quality assurance system again. Under this theme we welcome contributions on quality in higher education – in a broad sense and also from critical perspectives. Under this theme we welcome contributions that show studies of the quality of teaching, development of quality work, evaluations or that show which consequences result from making higher education form a part of ”the evaluation society.”
Learning environments in higher education:
The student learning environments have become more social, flexible, and unbounded. What about learning environments as work environments of teachers and as places for the development of academic teachership? Under this theme we welcome contributions that illustrate and problematise collegial, social, digital, and physical learning environments for both students and teachers.
Co-operation between higher education and society:
Co-operation, “the third task”, innovation centers, entrepreneurial platforms – a beloved child has many names. There is an expectation for there to be a productive co-operation between the higher education institutions and the other community actors from both public and private institutions and now there is also increased focus placed on the actors of the civil society. The purpose of co-operation is, among other things, to jointly identify relevant issues and find sustainable solutions. A platform for this is, among other things, ”practice” or the workplace-related training – how can this be developed from the requirements from the academy and the expectations from society? This theme welcomes contributions which discuss, analyse, problematize, and show good examples of co-operation.
Education for sustainable development:
In the Higher Education Act we read that ”In their activities, the higher education institutions are to promote a sustainable development which means that current and coming generations are ensured a healthy and good environment, economic and social welfare and justice.” To educate for sustainable development is a matter of what we teach, how we teach, and how we treat our students. What happens in this area at our universities and higher education institutions (beyond environmental certifications)? Under this theme we welcome contributions on experiences from teaching, development projects, and organisational implementation projects.
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