From 7 to 9 October, the University of Tartu hosted the ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference 2024 on Innovation and Creativity in Higher Education. The conference in Tartu welcomed specialists in teaching and learning and others interested from all the ENLIGHT universities.
The sessions, poster presentations, and workshops demonstrated countless possibilities for using and promoting creativity in teaching and learning in all fields, from medicine to mathematics. The conference hosted international professionals from various fields. The keynote speakers were Laura-Maija Hero, Principal Research Scientist at HAMK Edu research unit, and Jaan Aru, Associate Professor in Computational Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Tartu.
One of the main organisers, Associate Professor of Higher Education Teaching at the University of Tartu, Mari Karm said that the conference mindset was aimed towards exchanging experience, ideas, solutions, and new methods. All this was driven by the joy and the common goal of studying. “Despite the diverse fields, the ideas were easily sharable and usable. It was amazing to experience the joy of discovery when the participants found something they could take over and use in their own lectures,” she said. Karm added that the conference provided a welcoming ambience for cooperative learning and active involvement.
The Project Coordinator and doctoral student Philipp Freyer from the University of Göttingen both co-hosted a workshop and participated in those led by others. From the conference, he took with him the valuable input of the motivated participants in his workshop and new experiences on how to facilitate innovative educational approaches in such a way that all parties could benefit from it. Additionally, he was amazed by some student initiatives presented during the conference. “I played a game developed by a student from Groningen that initiated respectful discussions on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and gave the opportunity to step into the shoes of a student,” he said.
The Project Coordinator of the University of Göttingen Silvia Hlavinková really appreciated Laura-Maija Hero’s keynote speech, which made her think even more about innovation and open-minded approaches. She also praised the poster presentations and good practices from fellow teachers. “What I take along is hope – hope for a better, more inclusive, more hands-on, practical, interdisciplinary, and more competence- and research-based education. That it is happening already and not only in fields that are easier to innovate, like social studies and humanities but also in pharmacology and medicine,” she said.
At the conference, the Teaching and Learning Award was presented. The award is given to a course which relates to the ENLIGHT educational goals and supports students’ innovation and creativity. This year, the award was given to Comenius University Bratislava for their course “Policy making in Slovakia”. It is a practical and challenge-based course designed by Associate Professor Daniel Klimovský and focusing on critical thinking, creativity and pro-innovative attitudes among students. The second place went to the University of Galway for their course “Equity and Sustainability Transitions”, and the third to the University of the Basque Country for the course “Connecting Cultures: Sustainability, Travel, Translation & Migration”. From the University of Tartu, the course “The Internet of Things” by Associate Professor of Software Engineering Ulrich Norbisrath and his team was nominated for the award.
For the first time, ENLIGHT gave out Sustainability and Inclusion Awards for student initiatives. The Sustainability Award went to Jonas Luckhardt of the University of Göttingen for his Citizen Referendum “Radentscheid” Goettingen aimed at improving the university’s bicycle infrastructure. The second place went to Molly Hickey of the University of Galway for the Recycled Runway project, and the third to Emmy Sköld of Uppsala University for the Green Week project. The Inclusion Award went to Gaëlle Leon of the University of Ghent for the initiative focusing on ensuring accessibility to the university for people with reduced mobility. The second place went to the University of Galway Palestine Solidarity Society for their project advocating for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people, and the third place to Iker Callado of the University of the Basque Country for the IkasLagun project that provides equal educational opportunities for children under the guardianship of the council and Adham Alaa Ibrahim El-Dabaa Ahmed of the University of Groningen for the Ramadan “Break the Fast” event.
Recordings of the opening ceremony, award ceremony and some presentations can be watched on the ENLIGHT YouTube channel.
The next teaching and learning conference will take place in 2025 in Uppsala.
Laura-Maija Hero (by Zeinäb Mirzojeva)
Jaan Aru (by Andres Tennus)