ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference gave university’s staff and students new ideas and international contacts

From 8 to 10 October, the annual ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference took place in Uppsala. The University of Tartu was represented by 23 staff members and seven students, who organised five workshops and delivered several presentations on how to make teaching more playful.

The conference gave both staff and students the opportunity to expand their international network, gain inspiration from peers and colleagues, and exchange ideas. Teele Kanarbik, former Vice President of the University of Tartu Student Union, participated in the conference as a member of the jury for the Teaching and Learning Award. Kanarbik found it very positive that the jury included students – after all, they are the ones who must achieve the learning outcomes and are therefore the most suitable group to evaluate courses. As a jury member, she experienced that the entire process was clearly structured, well organised, and allowed sufficient time for assessment. “I am grateful for this opportunity because I was able to interact with students and teaching staff from partner universities. It was truly an eye-opening experience,” said Kanarbik.

Anne Reino, nominee for the Teaching and Learning Award and Vice Head for Academic Affairs of the University of Tartu School of Economics and Business Administration, also returned from the ENLIGHT conference with numerous ideas and very positive impressions.

“The ENLIGHT conference is well worth attending if you are passionate about teaching and want to develop in this field. The network brings together strong universities, and there is always something to learn from them. I am very pleased that the School of Economics and Business Administration has two joint curricula with Ghent University, which means our students can spend up to two semesters in Ghent and Ghent students can study in Tartu. Such cooperation enriches the learning experience of students and encourages teaching staff to learn from international colleagues,” said Reino.

Reino was nominated for the ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Award together with Veiko Valkiainen, Junior Research Fellow in Management at the School of Economics and Business Administration, for their jointly developed course “Human Resource Management and Organization Behaviour”. From the University of Tartu, Miriam Calafa’ was nominated for the Diversity and Inclusion Award for her research on the role of AI companions in addressing student loneliness. The University of Tartu nominee for the Sustainability Award was Ilze Polekauskaite, whose research project contributed to the creation of sustainable and innovative biotechnology solutions.

The Teaching and Learning Award went to Lara Maria Lundsgaard-Hansen, Senior Research Scientist of the University of Bern, for her seminar “Be fair, contextually aware, and conflict-sensitive in inter-cultural and inter-contextual collaborations: key competences for sustainability transformations”, which prepares students for international cooperation and develops their understanding of potential conflict areas in research.

Second place was awarded to Professor Veerle Van Eetvelde from Ghent University for the project “Integrated International Projectwork”, and third place went to Jacoba Oedzes, Assistant Professor of the University of Groningen, for the project “HR Analytics”.

The Teaching and Learning Award recognises a course or programme that has implemented innovative pedagogical practices related to the educational aims of the international ENLIGHT network.

The next ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference will take place in October 2026 in Bern.

Read more about the conference and ENLIGHT.