Teaching & Learning Conference Award 2026
ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference 2026
- Context and Learning -
Bern, Switzerland, October 22-24
The theme for the Teaching and Learning Conference 2026 is Context and Learning. Students are often heard saying ‘But I'll never use that - why should I learn it?’, and exactly this is what we aim to address. Contextualized learning is a learning approach in which knowledge and skills are embedded in a real and/ or meaningful context. For example, teaching and learning in inter- and transdisciplinary settings, reflecting the interlinkedness of academia, different disciplines and approaches and the real world. Rather than learning in isolation, learning content is linked to the learners' contexts and lives in order to enable a deeper understanding and promote the sustainability of learning. Contextualized learning focusses on anchoring theory by putting it into practice, linking it to other areas (subjects, social issues, personal interests) and promoting scientific literacy.
The conference will address teaching and learning approaches and scenarios focusing on competences (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in four key areas of learning and context: methodologies such as problem-based learning and challenge-based education, physical contexts including innovative teaching spaces and learning environments, subject-based contexts emphasising transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, and work contexts that situate learning in real-world tasks, jobs, and collaborations with external partners.
Teaching & Learning Award 2026 - Call for Participation
The ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference 2026, hosted by the University of Bern, invites members of the ENLIGHT community to contribute to an inspiring and collaborative programme. The call for participation focuses on formats that encourage dialogue, the sharing of good practice, and the development of meaningful connections around shared approaches to teaching and learning.
We welcome contributions from teaching staff, educational developers and students from all 10 ENLIGHT universities. The conference programme will aim to ensure balanced participation across the ENLIGHT network, reflecting a wide range of perspectives and experiences.
Contributors are invited to submit proposals for workshops, campfire sessions or showcase sessions. Workshops are 90-minute sessions designed to actively involve all participants and are limited to a maximum of 25 participants. They focus on collaborative approaches such as idea generation, the co-creation of teaching offers, or critical friends formats, supporting the joint development and refinement of teaching and learning initiatives.
Campfire sessions offer a small, informal and technology-free setting for up to 20 participants. In these 90-minute sessions, a topic is introduced by the session leader and participants jointly identify and discuss key challenges related to the topic. The emphasis is on shared reflection and learning rather than on finding solutions.
Showcase sessions aim to inspire others and to share good practice in contextualised teaching and learning. Each 60-minute session features three short presentations, each followed by time for questions and discussion, providing insight into innovative and transferable teaching approaches across the ENLIGHT community.
Kontakt:
ENLIGHT Team
Abteilung Göttingen International
Von-Siebold-Str. 2
37075 Göttingen
enlight@uni-goettingen.de
