Study outline

The study builds on three waves of the Teaching Cultures Survey (TCS), which tracked academics’ experiences of how university teaching is valued and rewarded across research-intensive universities engaged in sustained institutional reform.

The TCS identifies where particularly strong outcomes and substantial improvements have been achieved, as well as important patterns in how academics experience the reward of university teaching. Learning from Effective Practice will move behind these findings to understand how positive outcomes have been achieved and why these patterns occur.

Through six thematic case studies, the study will examine the institutional strategies and conditions associated with successful change and the factors shaping academics’ experiences of how university teaching is rewarded. The findings will identify practical lessons and levers for universities seeking to strengthen the reward of university teaching.

The study will launch in October/November 2026.

Advisory Group

Details of the project Advisory Group will be added when the study launches in October/November 2026.

  • Prof. Anne Marie Kanstrup, Pro-rector, Aalborg University, Denmark
  • Sam Smidt, Academic Director of Kings Academy, Kings College London, UK
  • Prof. Sofia Ritzén, Dean of Faculty, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
  • Dr Claire Gordon, Director, Eden Centre for Education Enhancement, London School of Economics (LSE), UK
  • Prof. Geir Egil Dahle Øien, Director, Centre for Science and Engineering Education Development, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
  • Prof. Loreto Valenzuela Roediger, Dean, UC Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), Chile
  • Prof. Manon Kluijtmans, Vice-Rector for Teaching and Learning, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Co-funders

The study is co-funded by a consortium of universities and national higher education organisations from across the Advancing Teaching community. Together, they bring experience of and a shared commitment to strengthening the reward of university teaching in academic careers. Details of the co-funding organisations will be added as the consortium is confirmed.

  • Aalborg University, Denmark
  • Kings College London, UK
  • KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
  • London School of Economics (LSE), UK
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), Chile
  • Utrecht University, Netherlands