The Centre for Educational Development at Aarhus University (CED) is responsible for the University Pedagogical Programme for assistant professors and postdocs at Aarhus University.
The programme is primarily aimed at assistant professors and researchers on their way to qualify/apply for a position as associate professors in accordance with the ministerial order on classification of academic ranks and titles at Danish universities. In addition, the programme can be offered to other employees on their way to qualify for a position as associate professor, if the department finds it relevant, on the basis of the employees teaching obligations and / or career path.
The programme aims to contribute to the professionalisation and quality of university teaching through the development of the participants’ practical teaching skills and by fostering a scholarly approach to teaching.
The programme is organised to meet competence level 2 of Danish Universities common framework for advancing university pedagogy.
Further information is available here: Danish framework for advancing university pedagogy
The aim will be achieved when participants can:
The programme is organised to support the teaching activities in which participants are already involved by, for example, supporting the planning of teaching and implementation of teaching experiments as well as the preparation of (digital) teaching material.
Finally, it is a central part of the programme that participants write contributions to their learning portfolios. The learning portfolios may be considered the starting point for the development of participants’ teaching portfolios, which they must develop to apply for a position as associate professor at AU. AU’s rules for teaching portfolios can be found here.
The programme consists of four modules:
Module 1 is a 3-day residential course.
The module focuses on
The total workload is estimated at 50 hours. The module is held in a blended learning format. The estimated preparation is approximately 25-30 hours ahead of the residential module.
The module is held at each of the five faculties, and the content is designed to fit the different educational IT strategies at the faculties.
The module focuses on the implementation of;
The total preparation and workload for this module is estimated at 25 hours. The module is held as a blended learning module at ARTS, BSS and HEALTH and as an online module at NAT and TECH.
Participants must choose one of the following tracks: Lecturing, Small Class Teaching, or Supervision.
All tracks have the following format:
The track on lecturing focuses on, e.g.:
The track on small class teaching focuses on, e.g.:
The track on supervision focuses among on, e.g.:
The total workload for one of the tracks in this module is estimated at approximately 45 hours: 20 hours for preparation and participation in the course days, and approximately 25 hours for formulation and testing of participants’ project.
The content of this module differs slightly from one faculty to the other. However, it goes for all the faculties that participants will have the opportunity to present their experiences and insights, and the outcomes of the University Pedagogical Programme for a group of supervisors and colleagues.
On the final course day, the focus will be on:
The total preparation and workload of module 4 is estimated at 30 hours.
The programme is primarily aimed at assistant professors and researchers on their way to qualify/apply for a position as associate professors in accordance with the ministerial order on classification of academic ranks and titles at Danish universities. In addition, the programme can be offered to other employees on their way to qualify for a position as associate professor, if the department finds it relevant, on the basis of the employees teaching obligations and / or career path.
The participants must be teaching to a certain extent during the semester they participate in the programme as a significant part of the programme is 1) to discuss the planning of their teaching based on participants’ current practice, and 2) for participants to implement changes in their teaching where appropriate. It is recommended that the participants have some experience with teaching planning before participating in the programme.
The participants must have a supervisor from their department.
Supervision from the supervisor of the assistant professor is included as part of an assistant professorship, including the parallel participation in the University Pedagogical Programme. The scope, form and overall content of the supervisor’s role are decided locally at the faculty or department. Please contact the relevant department or faculty for any further clarification.
The course amounts to approximately 150 hours of work.
Please note that each module requires a considerable amount of preparation.
For further information on the modules, please see "The 4 modules"
To complete the University Pedagogical Programme and obtain a diploma, the following requirements must be met:
Module 1: 3-days residential course, which is held at an external venue. All participants are expected to participate in the entire module and stay overnight at the venue.
Modules 2, 3, and 4: AU Campus
The course is for AU employees only and is free of charge.
To be considered for at place in the programme, the employee must contact the management of the department for an agreement about participation in the programme. The department nominate participants in collaboration with the faculty.
Each of the faculties at AU has a limited number of available places in the programme. The faculty is responsible for the final prioritization and nomination of participants from that faculty.
Participants will receive a confirmation letter via email, when the process of approval and prioritization of the nominated participants has been completed.
In the autumn semester, the programme will be held in English for both English speaking and Danish speaking participants.
All course materials will be in English (texts, course site in Brightspace, etc.). Also, participants must upload assignments etc. in English.
In the spring, the programme is held in Danish. All course materials will be in English (texts, course site in Brightspace, etc.). Participants can upload assignments etc. in Danish or English, but the teaching will be held in Danish.
Registration for the programme autumn 2022
Spring 2022
The programme is held in Danish. Further information is available here.