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Capacity building for higher education institutions
Attention to learning and teaching (L&T) has increased in recent years, both at European higher education institutions (HEIs) and in European policy making. To enhance L&T, adequate staff development practices and approaches are needed, as well as recognition for teachers to continuously improve, through academic assessment and career paths. Across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the responsibility for organising staff development mostly lies with the institutions themselves.
Against this background, the ‘Staff development for learning and teaching at European universities’ (STAFF-DEV) project was launched in 2024. STAFF-DEV aims to analyse how staff development and academic assessment are conducted at European HEIs and to strengthen institutional capacity and strategies in this regard. Led by EUA in consortium with four universities from across Europe, the project is funded under the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission.
As part of its activities, STAFF-DEV offers a series of four masterclasses in 2025 and 2026, aimed at building and reinforcing HEIs’ capacity to offer insightful staff development opportunities, as well as embed it into a broader institutional framework for learning and teaching. Applications for the fourth masterclass are now open.
Concept and methodology
STAFF-DEV masterclasses invite the participants to disconnect from their daily work and usual environment, in a retreat-like activity. Each masterclass brings together a group of approx. 20 participants from different HEIs for a 2.5 day in-person event, hosted at one of the partner institutions.
Each event offers a mix of lectures by keynote speakers (researchers and highly recognised practitioners) and group work with peers. Self-reflection is encouraged throughout the event. As an outcome, each participating institution will be asked to design a possible action plan for their institution, to be discussed and tested back home – building on takeaways from the masterclass.
In addition to the on-site event, the project partners will offer a follow-up online workshop, to be held about two months after each masterclass (dates will be coordinated with and communicated to the participants of each masterclass separately).
Masterclass 4 – hosted by the European University Association
The fourth masterclass focuses on the connection between staff development and career paths and progression at higher education institutions.
Data collected under the STAFF-DEV project show that it is difficult to incentivise staff engagement if the time and effort they invest in improving their teaching is not adequately recognised through career promotion and progression. While a holistic approach to staff development would ideally connect with a regular monitoring and teaching evaluations, as well as career progression paths, the recognition, reward and promotion loop does not (yet) work in all higher education institutions across Europe.
This masterclass will provide analytical perspectives and examples of how teaching can be recognised through career progression and professional development paths, and allow participants to exchange, reflect on and develop implementation scenarios. During the masterclass, participants will collect questions, ideas and material in a portfolio and use this to develop their individual action plan.
Applications for the fourth masterclass are open from 24 March 2026 to 5 June 2026
Day 1 – 29/09/2026
9:30 Welcome and introductions
11:00 Staff development and careers in Europe – the state of play
12.00 Group work
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Group work (continued)
14:30 Foresight exercise: Sketching the future of staff development and careers at your institution
16:30 Coffee break
16:50 Individual reflection/portfolio work
17:30 Wrap-up of day 1
Free time/Group activity
19:30 Dinner
Day 2 – 30/09/2026
9:30 A conceptual and holistic outlook into staff development connecting with teachers’ careers
10:45 Group work
13:30 Group work
15:30 Individual reflection time
16:30 Social activity
19:00 Optional dinner
Day 3 – 01/10/2026
9:30 Panel discussion: Staff development and careers in practice.
10:30 Group discussion: critical friends
11:30 Individual reflection: Finalising the action plan to be tested back home
12:00 Wrap-up session and closing
13:00 Lunch
To ensure high quality interactions and in-depth reflections, each masterclass will gather up to 20 participants. In the spirit of a ‘training the trainer’ activity, STAFF-DEV masterclasses aim to contribute to enhancing staff development activities at higher education institutions, and therefore target senior institutional representatives with responsibilities in developing and organising staff development at their institution (e.g. institutional leadership, directors of learning and teaching centres).
The selection will be made according to the following criteria:
If there is high demand, priority will be given to institutions that have not previously participated in another masterclass. There can be only one participant selected per institution per masterclass.
Selected participants must commit to actively taking part in the relevant masterclass and the follow-up online workshop (including writing of the action plan, its implementation or preliminary outcomes).
There is no participation fee for the event. Selected participants will take part on a self-funded basis and will be responsible for organising and covering their own travel and accommodation expenses. STAFF-DEV will cover the costs of joint meals (lunches, coffee breaks, and dinner) during the events. If relevant, participants should liaise with their home university’s international office to enquire about potential support, for instance via staff mobility schemes under the Erasmus+ programme. Applicants that require their institution's approval for travel and subsistence costs are strongly encouraged to explore possibilities before submitting their application and secure approval as soon as possible if offered a place in the masterclass.
To apply, please fill in this application form by 5 June. Applicants will be informed by the end of June 2026 whether their application has been successful.
If you have any questions, please contact raphaele.angoulvent@eua.eu
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
