Curricula development

Advice on shaping the focus and content of university programmes to ensure they a delivering what students and employers need. These resources looking at co-creation of university curricula, delivering on graduate attributes and future skills, decolonisation, embedding the Sustainable Development Goals into courses, inclusive learning, and adapting to changing societal needs for higher education.

Female student looking through a microscope

Europe invests in research but underinvests in forming researchers

Europe has built an admirable research support system but there is one crucial stage that is overlooked – the early formation of researchers, writes Adam Kola. He offers examples from his own institution on how to address this

Adam Kola

Nicolaus Copernicus University

When students stop asking: ‘Is this on the exam?’

What happens when you trade exams for real clients, real problems and real deadlines? Dina Kamel outlines the benefits of unscripted problem-solving

Dina Kamel

The University of Portsmouth

Young indian student using computer remote studying

‘We need to design lifelong learning for the students we will have, not the ones we imagine’

Flexible pathways and modular curricula will only fit into students’ real lives if courses are intentionally designed, co-created and evidence-informed, writes Harriet Dunbar-Morris. Here she shares a leadership toolkit for lifelong learning reform

Harriet Dunbar-Morris

University of Buckingham, University of Oxford

A teacher addresses a classroom informally

Teacher-directed instruction is dead – long live the future of education

Rather than react with fear to GenAI and attempt to ban it, let’s rethink traditional pedagogy instead, for more meaningful learning

Enrique Darwin Caraballo

Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE)

Two happy young students hugging each other on graduation day

We need to teach ‘uncommon sense’

How playful exercises in an intersession course can improve judgement, foster probabilistic thinking and help students stand out in an uncertain job market

William R. Brody

Johns Hopkins University

Hans van Oostrom talks about building institution-wide AI expertise on the Campus Talks podcast

Campus Talks: What does ‘AI across the curriculum’ look like in practice?

We find out how one US institution has led the way in embedding AI across all its majors and what has been learned in the process

Hans van Oostrom, Miranda Prynne

University of Florida

Empower students in their practical learning

Help your students bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world practice by giving them ownership of the experience

Connie Li

Hong Kong Baptist University

What if the undergraduate journey were a four-year internship?

Treating work placements and co-curricular programmes as optional or supplementary misses deeper questions about whether traditional degrees prepare students for careers. Michelle Seref explains

Michelle Seref

Virginia Tech

A scientist filling a test tube in a lab

Practical ways to embed green chemistry into a packed curriculum, part 2

Find out how targeted teaching, skills-based projects and real-world context equip students to think critically about environmental and human impacts while developing as responsible scientists

Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot, Euan D. Doidge, Rebecca L. Jones, Laura Patel

Imperial College London

Two chemists in a lab consulting a training manual

Practical ways to embed green chemistry into a packed curriculum, part 1

Learn how small, intentional curriculum changes can help students connect chemistry with health, environmental and social impact and sustainable development

Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot, Euan D. Doidge, Rebecca L. Jones, Laura Patel

Imperial College London

A student raises a hand at the back of class

Four ways to make sure international students understand your teaching

While all students have to grapple with new terminology, those speaking in an additional language have an extra hurdle to understanding. Find out how to tweak your teaching to better support them

Gabriel Azpilcueta, Kathy Watson

Adelaide University

A pharmaceutical machine inspector at work in science laboratory

What does AI literacy in healthcare look like?

Done well, AI literacy helps students remain safe, critical, communicative and accountable in environments where digital systems are becoming more visible, writes Andrew Barker. Here, he outlines strategies to embed it in healthcare education

Andy Barker

University of Hull

Campus Talks: How to maximise relationships between university academic and professional services staff

An expert educator embedded in teaching development explains what universities gain when they celebrate professional services expertise and provide clear, meaningful career pathways

Eleanor Hodgson , Eliza Compton

The University of Exeter

Doctors talking to non-medics around a table

Move beyond tokenism to embed patient insights in medical curricula

Patients often help with medical and healthcare teaching – yet they are rarely involved in designing what students are taught. Find out how one university team worked with patients to co-produce a medical curriculum that strengthened educational quality and public accountability

Amber Bennett-Weston, Jeremy Howick

University of Leicester

Awareness to action: how to embed sustainability in university teaching

Almost every educator is already teaching aspects of sustainability, whether or not they name it as such, writes Esther Canónico. Here, she shares ways to include the SDGs in curricula so the learning is meaningful for students and their future careers

Esther Canónico

Imperial College London

How to make curriculum mapping work in higher education

With no clear plan for how students progress towards programme goals, they can reach advanced courses without the requisite skills and knowledge. Here’s how curriculum mapping can help

Erin Nelson

University of Iowa

The five levels of learning designer support

Learning designers and academics may have different expectations when it comes to collaborating on course design. Here’s how a five-point scale can help

Daniel Searson

Adelaide University

A teacher explains a circuit board to a class

GenAI can join the dots, so teach students to draw new lines in empty space

GenAI tools are getting better at tasks such as sorting data, writing basic reports and generating simple code. That’s why higher education needs to focus on what it can’t do

Darkhan Bilyalov, Luis R. Rojas-Solórzano

Nazarbayev University

A university educators’ guide to universal design for learning

What is universal design for learning, what benefits does it offer students and how can you implement it in your classroom? Find out all you need to know

Gustavo Espinoza Ramos , Marta Dermaku Hajdini , Noor Ghumran

University of Westminster

Students walking through a university library

So you’ve decolonised your reading list – what’s next?

Reframe knowledge, champion transparency and draw on student experiences to create balanced curricula that build belonging and critical thinking, says Patrice Seuwou

Patrice Seuwou

University of Northampton

Three students working from a laptop smiling to camera

Tips for co-creating education projects

Many co-creation projects fail not for lack of goodwill, but because power is never explicitly addressed. Learn practical ways to tackle hierarchy and empower students

Jenny Harris, Federico Palmisani, Greg Collinson, Zoe Mia

The University of Exeter

A man sitting at a laptop concentrates hard on a document

A practical tool for valid assessments in the GenAI-enabled university

An assessment flowchart can help guide educators through the delicate balance of whether or not to allow GenAI in their assignment design. Here’s how it works

Rebecca Smith, Paul Moss, Sasikala Rathnappulige, Carina Correas

Adelaide University

Using design sprints to reimagine university learning experiences

With a human-centred approach and the incentive of a short time frame, design sprints can bring multiple perspectives together to reimagine modules and curricula

James Forde, Iria Lopez

University of Leeds, Independent consultant

The case for arts and humanities spotlight guide

Making the case for arts and humanities

The arts and humanities are often dismissed as an unaffordable luxury, when these disciplines underpin vital human skills. This collection explores how arts and humanities can be harnessed for the benefit of all – students, universities and wider society

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Looking for our environmental future in the poetic past

How can studying a poem or writing a story give students the skills to imagine a healthy planetary future? Stephanie Jones explains the link between literature and environmental literacy

Stephanie Jones

University of Southampton

Weave interdisciplinarity into the identity of your humanities department

Create flexibility within department structures to allow interdisciplinary work and collaboration to flourish. Here’s how

Hang Xing

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Two heads represented as the puzzle piece missing from the other

The practicalities of co-creation with students

A guide to collaborating with students to shape teaching, curricula and assessments, and support research, based on insights from academics who are successfully using co-creation all over the world

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

How business education can preserve cultural heritage

Strengthen communities and protect cultural traditions by using business education to support artisanal practices. Here are four ways to do so

Ahlam Fakhar

Al Akhawayn University

Campus Talks: The real-world power of soft skills

How do universities ensure their curricula meet the demands from industry, government and students for career-ready graduates equipped with vital transferable skills? Three experts explain how institutions are working to align higher education and skills development

David Bell, Dawn Bennett, Derek Harding

University of Sunderland, Independent consultant, Swinburne University of Technology

The case for degrees that teach us how to think

As debate about the cost and purpose of higher education intensifies, the humanities are often the first target. Yet evidence shows that far from being outdated or indulgent, humanities degrees cultivate critical skills, resilience and, yes, viable career paths

Michelle Moseley-Christian

Virginia Tech

Teaching core skills for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs

Students need skills that go beyond subject knowledge to be ready for as-yet-unknown jobs. For institutions, that means preparing them with cognitive abilities – and awareness of how to apply them – for careers now and in future

Aulay Mackenzie

Walbrook Institute London

Co-creation that treats students as collaborators, not consultants

When students believe their opinions matter, their creativity, confidence and sense of belonging grow – and so does the impact of your work. Here are five practical ways to bring students ‘behind the camera’ in co-curricular programme design

Melissa Gerrior, Jennifer Graham

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities, Georgia College and State University

An illustration of a flower amid bare tree branches

Soft skills for hard times

Find out how to educate students with the skills needed to succeed in a world beset with uncertainty and instability

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

Place Indigenous knowledge at the heart of academic enquiry

Decolonise the curriculum by engaging students with historically marginalised knowledge from a range of sources. Here’s how

Kam Kaur

Adelaide University

Illustration of man pushing cogs linked to books representing work-integrated learning

Real-world projects offer ideal conditions for teaching soft skills

With tomorrow’s graduates requiring agility, empathy and leadership capabilities on top of subject knowledge, the path forward is through connection with industry and community partners, as Kevin Koh explains

Kevin Koh

Singapore Management University

How business schools can capitalise on changes to legal services

Business schools need not compete with law schools. Instead, they can serve as strategic partners as legal services respond to technology, freer markets and client demand, writes Maximiliano Marzetti

Maximiliano Marzetti

IÉSEG School of Management

Students discuss their work round a table

A co-curricular approach to SDG education

To accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals, students need to be equipped to tackle real-world issues across disciplines. Here’s how it can be done

Michelle Cheng Wing Tung

The Education University of Hong Kong

Five tips for debating sensitive issues in the classroom – without losing control

Find out how to create a learning environment where controversial topics can be debated fairly and constructively, with these five tips

Hélène Thibault

Nazarbayev University

Tips for embedding flipped learning at an institutional level

The benefits of flipped learning are clear, but what about scaling it up across an entire university structure? Here are some strategies – and lessons learned

Julia Chen, Wong Chi-ming, Laura Zhou

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A teacher helping students with their work in class

From discomfort to dialogue: how to teach controversial topics with confidence

Teaching sensitive topics can be challenging, but with structure and openness, they can become powerful opportunities for learning

Craig Harper, Rebecca Lievesley

Nottingham Trent University

Multicultural people in an online meeting

Global learning: an emerging transferable skill for students

Teamwork, effective communication – these are what we think of as soft skills. But what about global learning and collaboration? Tiffany Shoop argues that global collaboration is a foundational skill for the modern world

Tiffany Shoop

Virginia Tech

How to reshape your curriculum to fight misogyny

Embed critical art and media literacy into your students’ learning and equip them with the tools to understand and question the misogynistic ideologies that persist in society. Here are six strategies to do so

Katarzyna Kosmala

University of the West of Scotland

Focus on programme leaders in higher education

Overworked and undervalued: how can we empower programme leaders in higher education?

Programme leaders are an often-undervalued part of the student learning experience. Here, Neil Ford shares advice on how peer networks and communities of practice can support programme leaders’ development and recognition

Neil Ford

University of Southampton

Four hands each with a puzzle piece that together makes up an image of the planet

Empower students as co-creators in sustainability education

Co-creation in education for sustainable development empowers students to shape meaningful projects, build practical skills and drive institutional change, as demonstrated by a collaborative initiative between two London-based institutions

Multiple authors

UCL, Queen Mary University of London

Blocks with heads and lightbulbs in an arc

What can the university sector learn from block teaching?

Once seen as a pedagogical experiment, the block plan is ready for its researchers and practitioners to move beyond self-examination and share their innovations with the wider higher education community, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

Why AI literacy must come before policy

When developing rules and guidelines around the uses of artificial intelligence, the first question to ask is whether the university policymakers and staff responsible for implementing them truly understand how learners can meet the expectations they set

Kathryn MacCallum, David Parsons

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

A group of educators designing a curriculum

Institutions must work together to build innovative curricula

Collaboration across institutions can drive real curriculum innovation. This guide shares lessons from two east London-based institutions on building partnerships for sustainability and community-based learning

Stephanie Fuller, Rehan Shah, Anne Preston

UCL, Queen Mary University of London

What comes next for the block model in university teaching?

Six critical challenges face higher education institutions that have adopted block planning for their teaching schedules as the approach matures and expands globally, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

How to prepare graduates for a bicultural and global future

Embedding Indigenous perspectives into curriculum requires more than symbolic gestures. Here’s how universities can move from compliance to transformation – and the practical steps we’ve learned from our journey

Joce Nuttall, Liz Brown

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

A journalist interviews a man in a raincoat

It’s up to universities to embed climate literacy in the next generation of journalists

With the climate crisis intensifying, the media’s role in informing the public will be critical. Here’s how to equip journalism and media students with the tools to do so

Doug Specht, Anastasia Denisova, Morgan Lirette

University of Westminster

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