Global mapping study (released January 2025)
Recent decades have seen growing calls to reform the criteria underpinning academic career progression, with concerns raised about the undervaluation of university teaching in appointment and promotion processes. A global shift is now underway, as pioneering research-intensive universities rethink how they reward teaching in academic careers and introduce initiatives that could redefine how teaching is supported and recognised across the sector.
The Global Mapping report explores the evolving landscape of how university teaching is supported, evaluated and rewarded within academic careers across the higher education sector. It is structured in two sections: Section A maps the global movement for change and identifies the front-runner universities; and Section B explores how these leading universities are addressing key barriers to change.
The report draws on interviews with over 130 leaders and change-makers from 26 countries who are actively engaged in reshaping reward systems in their university/region. The study was undertaken between October 2023 and November 2024, and the findings made available as an open-source report in January 2025.
Published Jan. 2025
Advisory Group
The research was guided by an academic advisory group to ensure that the project responded to the most pressing needs of the higher education community. Membership of the advisory group was drawn from the co-funding institutions, with group members listed below:
- 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-sponsors
The research was co-funded by a consortium of universities from across the world with a particular interest in the reward and recognition of university teaching:
Review timeline
Outlined below are the key stages of the review, undertaken between October 2023 and October 2024.
Oct–Nov 2023
Project initiation and scoping: initial meetings with university leaders to identify priority
Nov 2023–March 2024
Global Mapping: To (i) identify scale and focus of changes; and (ii) where they look to for best practices. Key outcome will be identification of best practices
Feb–June 2024
Exploration of best practices: To (i) identify scale and focus of changes; and (ii) where they look to for best practices
June–Oct 2024
Report preparation and dissemination: preparation and review of the Global Mapping report and dissemination of the study outcomes, including via the printed/online report and the Advancing Teaching 2024 meeting.