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The ECTN Eurolecturer Academy (ELA) presents its newsletter to update you on its 2026 activities related to the quality and innovation of university teaching and professional development in higher STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

The ECTN Eurolecturer Academy plans to organize three webinars in 2026. The topic this year is Assessment in Highly Interactive STEM Courses. Two webinars have already been held.

The first webinar: Assessment in the Age of AI: Alternatives to Written Exams by Mauro Mocerino (Curtin University, Perth, Australia) was given on 19 February, 10:00–11:00 (CET).

Mauro Mocerino shared experiences from his own teaching practice as well as good practices from Australia and his university.

The webinar was recorded. Find the videorecording at: https://tinyurl.com/3ypntkrd

The second webinar: Adapting the Perkins AI Assessment Scale for STEM disciplines: a human agency perspective by Theo de Koker & Marí Peté (Durban University of Technology, South Africa)

In this webinar, the AI Assessment Scale (AIAS), conceptualised by Perkins et al. (2024), was presented, along with experiences of using it in Chemical Engineering teaching practice.

The webinar was recorded. Find the videorecording at: https://tinyurl.com/yrzde6yb

You can find more information of these and our previous webinars on the ECTN Eurolecturer Academy website: Eurolecturer Academy website – Webinars.

The second Question-Driven Learning in STEM Summer School took place from 19–21 May 2026 in Valencia, Spain. The summer school was organized in collaboration with the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Valencia, and served also as a pre-event to the ECTN General Assembly, held at the same location from 21–23 May 2026. You can find the report on the summer school here: Download report

Group picture Summer School in Valencia

An open-access article was published in 𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙: “𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” by Nataša Brouwer, Iwona Maciejowska, Jurica Bauer, Vânia Calisto and Mauro Mocerino, all five CPD Ambassadors. The paper presents examples of chemistry-focused continuous professional development (CPD) in teaching and learning approaches from four countries – Poland, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Australia – and addresses the factors that contributed to their success. Four conclusions are drawn:

• institutional structures, such as teaching and learning centres, are valuable enablers but not sufficient on their own;
• a community-based approach, where educators engage in peer dialogue and collaborative inquiry rather than top-down compliance, is needed because disciplinary specificity matters;
• international collaboration amplifies local impact;
• teaching should be recognized as a scholarly and collaborative practice

You can find the full open-access article at: https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2025-0106

The ECTN Eurolecturer Academy is already organizing its 5th STEM-CPD Summer School, which will take place from 21–25 September in Madrid and will be hosted by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The STEM-CPD Summer School is intended for academic teaching staff who wish to further develop their teaching and learning competences (continuous professional development, CPD) in an international context, and welcomes both first-time participants and those who have already attended a STEM-CPD Summer School before. It prepares you to tackle challenging educational issues that are particularly relevant to your institution. During the summer school, we will use the CPD Ambassador working approach and the co-creation principle, both of which have proven effective to date. The overarching theme of this year’s STEM-CPD Summer School is “Union of Skills”, which is also a key focus of Erasmus+ for the coming years. One specific goal of the summer school is to create new networks and consortia to launch new educational innovation projects.

Deadline for application 20 June 2026. Apply at: https://forms.gle/raCTfGBoqoKestZG8
Registration and payment will take place later, so you will have time to organize your funding. We recommend that you explore the possibilities of using an Erasmus+ Mobility grant.

You can find more information about the STEM-CPD Summer School at: https://ectn.eu/work-groups/eurolecturer-academy/stem-cpd-summer-school-2026/

Find more information about our previous STEM-CPD Summer Schools here: Previous Summer Schools. You can also watch three presentations from the CPD Ambassadors at the ELA Symposium in Bologna (2025): Link video and find several papers in publications

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Engage with ELA

Follow ECTN Eurolecturer Academy on LinkedIN at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ectn-eurolecturer-academy

Welcome to engage with ELA and contribute to its activities! Stay tuned for more in our next newsletter!
Please, share this newsletter with your colleagues and forward it to those who might be interested!

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We plan to prepare the ELA Newsletter three times a year, keeping you updated with the latest news and insights.

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