University of Edinburgh Learning & Teaching Conference
The annual University of Edinburgh Learning and Teaching Conference brings together staff and students to celebrate and share good practice and innovation in learning and teaching. The next Conference takes place 14-16 June 2022.

Learning and Teaching Conference 2022 - Shaping Our Futures
The University of Edinburgh Learning and Teaching Conference takes place 14-16 June 2022. Day 1 (14 June) will be held in the McEwan Hall with opportunities to watch online. This day will focus on keynote presentations, panel talks, poster presentations, and opportunities to network. Days 2 and 3 (15 & 16 June) will take place online. These shorter days will showcase paper presentations, workshops, short talks, panel discussions, and storytelling.
The conference aims to celebrate our teaching and share practice. The themes for the Conference 2022 are as follows:
- Building community
- Teaching data skills, data ethics and AI
- Sustainability
- Interdisciplinary teaching
- Hybridity reimagined: Teaching experientially in outdoor, indoor and online places
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Challenging accepted ways of thinking
- Student-Staff co-creation curriculum work
- Engaging employers, community, and alumni.
The call for proposals relating to the conference themes is now closed. For more information about the 2022 conference, please see the conference website:
Learning and Teaching Conference 2022 website - information
To contact the conference organising team with any questions, please email lt.conference@ed.ac.uk
Learning and Teaching Conference 2021 - Curriculum as a site for transformation
The University of Edinburgh Learning and Teaching Conference 2021 was hosted online and ran over 3 days (15th - 17th June 2021 ) with the first day being open to colleagues outside the University to attend.
Presentations focused on 'curriculum as a site for transformation', and the following sub-themes:
- Building community
- Innovation in science teaching
- Equality, diversity, inclusion and social justice
- Experiential, place-based and problem-based learning
- Assessment and feedback for the future
- New lessons in digital teaching – insights from hybrid and online learning
- Student engagement and involvement
- Interdisciplinary learning and teaching: local and global challenges
The majority of our conference sessions were recorded. Many of the recordings are now available to view. We have prioritised uploading and subtitling the opening speeches, the keynote presentations, the panel discussions from Day 1 and the panel discussion focused on the Curriculum Transformation Programme from Day 3. We plan to make available all the other conference presentation recordings over the coming weeks. Please check the conference resources site in future for updates.
View the video resources on the 2021 Conference site
2021 keynote speakers
We were delighted to have the following keynote speakers:

Speaker biography
Professor Kerri-Lee Krause (PhD, PFHEA, FSRHE, MAICD) is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Life) and Deputy Provost at The University of Melbourne where she is accountable for the quality of the student experience, wellbeing and outcomes across all elements of the student life. She is an experienced university executive who is internationally recognised for her contributions to higher education policy, research and practice. Professor Krause is an Honorary Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, a lifetime fellow of the international Society for Research in Higher Education and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her research program spans higher education curriculum renewal, the changing nature of academic work, and factors influencing higher education quality and standards.
Professor Krause holds the Ministerial appointment of Deputy Chair, Higher Education Standards Panel and also led the Ministerial Implementation Working Group for the Transparency of Higher Education Admissions. Recent sector-wide leadership roles include Chair, Universities Australia Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Committee and co-Chair, Universities Australia Executive Women’s Committee.
Professor Krause has a track record of leading university-wide strategic change and organisational renewal, underpinned by a deep commitment to engaging students and staff through cultural transformation. Experience includes: systemic improvement of the student experience and outcomes; whole-of-university curriculum renewal; and extensive work on reshaping academic staff promotion policies and processes to recognise and reward contemporary academic work.
Keynote Information
Curriculum Considerations in supercomplex times
This keynote will explore some of the key curriculum challenges and opportunities facing higher education institutions, students and staff as we transition to a ‘post-COVID normal’ context. The presentation will reflect on change vectors shaping undergraduate university curricula, not the least of which is the impact of the global ‘pivot’ to online and blended curriculum design and delivery that has occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will consider ways in which higher education curricula function as bellwethers and barometers in a supercomplex, ever-changing environment. Whether these changes result from government policy shifts, sociopolitical and labour market forces, or economic imperatives, curricula are not immune from the impact of such changes. In this context, a fundamental question arises: how shall we make prudent decisions about what to change and what is enduring in higher education curricula in tumultuous times? The keynote will conclude with practical suggestions for students and staff to consider as they engage in the important work of curriculum co-creation and transformation.

Speaker biography
Rowena is Professor Emerita with the University of Edinburgh. She has a personal Chair in Multicultural and Anti-Racist Education. She currently co-convenes the University Race Equality and Anti-Racist Sub-Committee. Previously she was Head of the Moray House School of Education and Sport (till September 2019) and convened the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. She chaired the Working Group for the Scottish Government on Diversifying the Teaching Profession (till March 2021) and her report Teaching in a Diverse Scotland has recently been cited as a crucial report in Scotland's national journey to helping school leaders and system leaders understand the lived experiences of black and minority ethnic teachers and the barriers they face moving into leadership posts. Rowena has spent her working career raising awareness on social justice and anti-discrimination issues. Now, retired, she spends most days in the hills of Argyll and Bute with her two border collies, Sara and Ben.
Keynote Information
Diversity in learning and teaching: Is inclusion truly achievable?
It used to be that you taught your subject area to the best of your ability. Now, there is a need to consider increasing student diversity, to pay due diligence to the content and processes of curriculum from different perspectives while ensuring that ethos of the face to face and online environment is culturally and pedagogically responsive. In addition, as teachers we are asked to detect and address corrosive behaviours and attitudes, such as microaggressions and alienating comments. Can we really make every issue and incident a teachable moment? This session reflects on whether it is genuinely possible, given external and internal challenges to deliver for inclusive learning and teaching while embracing individual learners and their individual differences.
Previous Conference Information and Resources
We were delighted to have been able to make last years conference a fully online experience.
The theme of the 2020 conference was 'Curriculum Futures'.
Keynote speakers:
- Prof Sian Bayne, Professor of Digital Education, the University of Edinburgh
- Prof Colm Harmon, Vice-Principlan Students and personal chair in Applied Economics, the University of Edinburgh.
Sessions from the conference were recorded and recordings and accompanying resources can be access by University of Edinburgh staff on the Learning & Teaching Conference website:
Learning & Teaching Conference 2020 resources - watch and read now
The second Learning and Teaching Conference was held in 2019 in the John MacIntyre Conference Centre at Pollock Halls.
The theme for the 2019 conference was 'Evidencing the Value of Learning and Teaching'.
Keynote speakers:
- Professor Peter Felten, Professor of History, Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning, and Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University, North Carolina, USA.
Peter Felten's keynote presentation slides (PDF)
- Dr Camille Kandiko Howson, Associate Professor of Education, Imperial College London.
Camille Kandiko Howson’s keynote presentation slides (PDF)
Keynote presentations were recorded, and materials from many of the session presentations are also available.
Learning & Teaching Conference 2019 resources - watch and read now
The University's first Learning & Teaching Conference was held in June 2018.
The theme of the 2018 conference was 'Inspiring Learning'.
You can watch this short video about the 2018 Conference which offers an insight into the reasons for running the Learning and Teaching Conference.
Keynote speakers:
- Prof Amy B M Tsui, Professor of Language and Education, University of Hong Kong
- Dr Torgny Roxå, Senior Lecturer, Lund University, Sweden
Keynote presentations were recorded, and materials from many of the session presentations are also available.
Learning & Teaching Conference 2018 resources - watch and read now
Learning and Teaching Conference Equality Impact Assessment
Any questions?
If you have any questions about the conference please contact us at:
University of Edinburgh Learning & Teaching Conference
Contact details
- Email: lt.conference@ed.ac.uk