Teaching and Learning in Higher Education for PhD Students: A European Perspective
Are you a PhD student eager to strengthen your teaching skills, practice English in an international setting, and connect with peers across Europe?
Join our Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) — a mix of online preparation and a one-week in-person experience at Nord Universitet in Bodø, Norway — where you’ll explore university pedagogy, student-active teaching, and presentation and communication skills through interactive workshops, micro-teaching, and collaborative projects. As such, this BIP is designed for doctoral students who wish to develop their teaching expertise and engage critically with pedagogical approaches through the lens of their research practice, in an international and English-speaking context.
This Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is designed for doctoral students who wish to develop their teaching expertise and engage critically with pedagogical approaches through the lens of their research practice, in an international and English-speaking context.
While the themes (active learning, assessment, etc.) are also relevant to teachers at the master’s level, what makes this programme distinctly doctoral is its unique blend of pedagogy, links with doctoral research perspectives, and English language practice. Doctoral participants will be invited not only to apply pedagogical concepts, but also to reflect on them through the lens of their own disciplinary contexts and academic identities.
The emphasis is on critical analysis, reflexivity, and peer exchange across cultures and fields, which are all skills that align well with doctoral-level learning outcomes. This BIP positions pedagogy as an integral part of the doctoral experience, encouraging participants to think as researchers of teaching and learning in a way, not just as teachers applying ready-made techniques. As such, the BIP combines two online preparatory phases with a one-week in-person experience at Nord Universitet, Bodø, Norway. Doctoral students will explore key aspects of university pedagogy through interactive workshops, micro-teaching, and collaborative projects, you’ll explore active learning, assessment, inclusion, and innovation in higher education — and leave with practical tools and a new community of colleagues. The course as such will be organized around these three aspects:
1. University pedagogy for PhD candidates
2. Student-active teaching
3. Presentation and communication skills
By the end of the course, students will have developed an introductory knowledge and experience in theory and practice of teaching both in face-to-face and online formats, including in knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge:
· Has knowledge of how to perform the role of a teacher in higher education
· Can evaluate their own role and teaching practice in light of relevant
pedagogical theories, perspectives and contexts
Skills:
· Can apply and further develop their teaching and communication skills in English
with increased confidence and professional awareness
· Can plan, explore, evaluate and use digital tools and innovative teaching
methods to promote student learning and engagement
General competence:
· Can critically reflect on their own teaching practice
· Can collaborate across cultures and disciplines to further develop
· Can share knowledge of good teaching in higher education
The examination for this course is designed to evaluate both active engagement and reflective learning. Assessment includes three key components:
1. Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to attend all sessions and contribute meaningfully to discussions, group activities, and collaborative exercises.Active participation demonstrates engagement with course concepts and a willingness to learn from and with others.
2. Critical Self-Reflection: Students will submit a written self-reflection that criticallyexamines their learning journey throughout the course. This reflection should address how their perspectives have evolved, what challenges or insights they encountered, and how they applied course ideas to their personal, academic, or professional contexts. Together, these components assess students’ commitment to the learning process, their ability to engage critically with course material, and their capacity for self-awareness and growth.
Students are encouraged to draw upon their notes, course materials, and relevant scholarly or professional resources to support their reflections. Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT,
Gemini, or Copilot) may be used as critical companions in the learning process – helping to explore ideas, question assumptions, or inspire further inquiry. However, students should ensure that their final examination submission reflects their own thinking and voice.
If generative AI is used, students are invited to acknowledge and briefly describe how it supported their process (for example, as a conversation partner, idea generator, or point of critique). The emphasis is on transparency, reflection, and thoughtful engagement, not on restriction or penalty.