Scholarship of teaching and learning

The University of Tartu offers lecturers the opportunity to develop their teaching through a 2-year teaching development grant. This grant allows lecturers to participate in teaching-related training sessions intended for the grant community and receive support from an academic developer throughout the process. The financial support includes travel funds for gathering teaching experiences and presenting research results at international conferences, as well as for collaborative development with colleagues.

Lecturers who have not previously received a teaching development grant or whose previous grant ended at least seven years ago are eligible to apply. A group can consist of a team of lecturers from a major subject or lecturers from different subjects who wish to implement a similar change. The goal of the group grant is to support the implementation of a significant change (e.g., team teaching, flipped classroom, problem-based learning, cross-disciplinary project assignments, etc.). A total of €30,000 is distributed in each of the four faculties of University of Tartu.

The selection of the grant recipients is based on the feasibility of the teaching development idea and its potential positive impact on the quality of education within the academic unit and the university. Applicants are expected to have completed the course "Learning and Teaching in Higher Education" (6 ECTS) or equivalent training of the same scope and content.

In developing your teaching, you may consider collaborative teaching, developing future skills in courses, and designing assessment methods, using artificial intelligence in teaching, or planning the creation of larger courses from existing smaller ones.

To apply for the grant, please submit the following documents:

1. Analysis of teaching development, which includes:

• Your general understanding of teaching (up to 1 page A4);
• Reflection on the lecturer's or team's previous teaching experience and self-development (up to 4 pages A4);

2. Your teaching research project (action research) (up to 4 pages A4).

Grant recipients are required to:

• Implement their teaching development project within the grant framework, collect data on it, and analyze it;
• Make at least 2 presentations on their research conducted within the grant (minimum at the "Õppejõult õppejõule" conference in January);
• Participate in the observation week "Visit a Colleague" and allow observation of their teaching;
• Gain experiences through international travel (e.g., visits, conferences);
• Organize an event to support the development of learning for colleagues;
• Participate in the grant academy and other grant community events;
• Participate in the evaluation of new grant applications.

Application documents must be submitted online by March 3rd, 2025. Applications will be evaluated by lecturers who have received the grant in previous years and academic developers. The grant recipients will be decided by the Academic Affairs Committee. The first meeting of the grant recipients will take place at the summer school on June 25-26, 2025.

We advise all those interested in applying for the grant at the seminar " Ettevalmistus oma õpetamise arendamise grandi taotlemiseks " on February 21, 2025. For individual consultations, please contact your faculty's academic developer:

HV: Kristi Mets-Alunurm, kristi.mets-alunurm@ut.ee; (+372) 53490607
LT: Kaire Uiboleht, kaire.uiboleht@ut.ee, (+372) 524 3435;
MV: Anu Sarv, anu.sarv@ut.ee, (+372) 5361 4342;
SV: Airi Niilo, airi.niilo@ut.ee, (+372) 5699 3535.

The teaching development grant has been awarded at the university since 2015. The goal of the grant is to support the development of teaching and contribute to the dissemination of best teaching practices. The program is funded by the University of Tartu's budget. The implementation of the teaching development grant program is coordinated by the University of Tartu's Centre for Learning and Teaching.

For more information, contact Mari Karm, mari.karm@ut.ee or Airi Niilo, airi.niilo@ut.ee, (+372) 5699 3535