2026 Annual Conference on Innovative Teaching

Ten years after the establishment of the Teaching4Learning Project Unit, the University of Padua is organising a day of meeting, celebration and reflection dedicated to the path travelled so far and to the future prospects of teaching innovation within the University. The conference “Beyond the lectern: ten years of Teaching4Learning” aims to revisit this experience through the people, ideas and activities that have accompanied its growth, while at the same time offering a space for discussion on the transformations that education and teaching innovation can generate within the university community. 

“Beyond the lectern” represents the guiding thread of the day: retracing the history of Teaching4Learning means looking at the experiences that marked its birth and development, bringing into dialogue those who helped build the project, those who supported its evolution and those who today interpret new possibilities within it. The experiences gained by teaching staff in the many training programmes and the various initiatives proposed over the years reflect the complexity of a project that has made participation and dialogue central elements of its identity. From this perspective, teacher development is part of the broader framework of Faculty Development, understood as a continuous process of professional growth and of the development of teaching innovation within the academic community. At the centre of everything remain the students: improving teaching means helping to build meaningful learning experiences capable not only of developing knowledge and skills, but also of fostering autonomy, critical thinking and awareness, preparing people able to interpret and address the challenges of a constantly changing society.

 The day will also be an opportunity to reflect on the effects that this journey has produced over time. The reading of data and practices developed, the experiences of teachers and students, and the initiatives dedicated to teaching innovation at national and international level will make it possible to reflect on the value of training as a space in which not only to acquire new methodologies, but also to pause, observe and rethink one’s own teaching practice, share experiences and build new relationships. At the same time, the growth of the structures and resources dedicated to Teaching4Learning and the progressive consolidation of collaborations with the University’s services show how teaching innovation can become a shared process, capable of involving different professional roles and areas of expertise. 

The tenth anniversary, however, is not intended to be merely a moment for taking stock. If looking to the past makes it possible to understand what has been built, looking to the future means asking what new directions teaching innovation may take and what role Teaching4Learning may have in the coming years. For this reason, the second part of the day will be devoted to discussion and collaborative work: through discussion groups, different experiences and points of view will be brought together in order to identify new questions, priorities and perspectives. The final feedback session will make it possible to transform the wealth of experience gained over these ten years into a stimulus for jointly planning the perspectives opening up for the University. 

The conference thus becomes an opportunity to celebrate a milestone, but above all to recognise the value of a journey that continues to take shape over time. Ten years of Teaching4Learning represent the commitment of the academic community which, in all its complexity, has expressed ideas, promoted experimentation and dialogue in a lifelong learning perspective, helping to transform teaching at the University. It is precisely in the continuity between these experiences, in the passing on of knowledge and in the possibility of building new perspectives together that the deepest meaning of this anniversary is to be found: going beyond the lectern in order to continue building, together, the future of teaching. 

Marina De Rossi 
Professor delegated by the Rector for Teacher Education and Innovative Teaching

Educational Offer Office

Teaching4Learning Project

Via Venezia 16 - Padua
Tel. 049 827 6316 - 1246 - 7160
Email: teaching4learning@unipd.it