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On Thursday 8 November, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ lecturers could discover which step towards further professionalising appealed to them, during the Open Doors at the Centre for Academic Teaching (CAT). Various workshops provided insight into opportunities.

Manon Kluijtmans, the Academic Director of the Centre for Academic Teaching, opened the afternoon and then gave the floor to (VU ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Amsterdam) to share his perspective on teaching. A few years ago, he decided to shift his focus from providing enjoyable teaching to creating the best possible circumstances for an effective learning environment. What is it that students actually need?

The recorded its first podcast, entitled ‘Mate & Master’. A senior and a junior lecturer engaged in discussion on recognisable issues. What do you do with students always asking about expectations? How do you deal with work pressure? Feel free to listen to the (spoken in Dutch).

Career advice

Lecturers seeking advice about their career could consult Sharona Lautoe, a career coach, Professor Berteke Waaldijk and the CAT Senior Fellows. Sharona's top tips:

• Never wait with networking until you really need it, but always be sure to exchange information with colleagues or any potential colleagues beforehand.
• Take the initiative in diminishing the distance to actual practice. You can enhance the applicability of your teaching by inviting people from the field, or by already involving users further down the line. In addition, this will also benefit your own development and network, now and in the future.
• Acknowledge your transferable skills, the soft skills that can also be applied in other professional fields. For example, as a lecturer you will often be well versed in giving training sessions, providing advice, developing teaching material and in project coordination.

Student motivation workshop

Many lecturers struggle with how the can motivate students. Frans Prins, associate professor at the Department of Education & Pedagogy and scientific director of Education Consultation & Training, used a mini-workshop to demonstrate that motivation increases if students set achievable goals and experience success. Some students will set the bar higher than others in this regard. Lecturers can increase motivation by showing students that they can grow and providing feedback on this. Would you like to delve deeper into the subject? Or do you have another question relating to how you can improve education? Make an appointment for a free professional consultation at Education Consultation & Training. All lecturers at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ can use their service.

Special Interest Groups

Many lecturers are working on the same themes for improving their teaching or innovating it. In order to get in touch with each other, they can form a Special Interest Group (SIG) which the CAT will facilitate. On 8 November, two of these SIGs gave a presentation: SIG Video and Entrepreneurship Education. Is there a topic you would like to get in touch with your fellow lecturers about? Or is there an existing SIG you would like to join? Take a further look.

And finally, in the Inspiration Café (Inspiratiecafé) Jeroen Vermeulen shared his insights concerning Community Service Learning, as well as his experience with social entrepreneurship. The Centre for Academic Teaching Network partners were at the Open Doors market to explain about the opportunities for innovation in education and professionalisation as lecturer.