Supporting innovation and innovators

To successfully embed innovation across all aspects of teaching and learning, it’s essential that we support staff to innovate confidently and effectively.

We offer wide-ranging and inclusive professional development options at department, Faculty and institution level and highlight the value of evidence-based investigation into practice as a key part of teaching professionalism.

Professional development

Professional development is an area of strength, and we enable network building, collaboration and sharing of good practice across our school, faculties and departments.

Examples of this can be found in our well established annual Teaching and Learning Conference, Forum (our in-house teaching and learning magazine) and our Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Network (SoTL).

Each of our initiatives can grow, develop and, in time, make room for new resources.

Training programmes

Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) - a Masters-level programme designed to support York staff to effectively engage with their academic responsibilities and aimed at early-career lecturers and teaching staff who have less than three years of full-time teaching experience.
York Professional and Academic Development scheme (YPAD) - a reminder that professional development isn’t just for academics, YPAD is designed to be inclusive of all staff groups who teach or support student learning and caters for all levels of experience.
York Learning and Teaching Award (YLTA) - a taught course designed to support York-based Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) to reflect on and develop their practice.

Accredited programme - CMALT

Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology (CMALT) is a portfolio-based peer-reviewed accreditation, organised by the Association for Learning Technology, for which the University of York is an organisational member. CMALT aims to foster an appreciation of the interplay between learning and technology as well as provide a platform to allow educators and those involved in supporting education to learn from each other.

Enabling staff to innovate

Empowering our colleagues, both academics and professional services staff, has long been a strength of the University, and this is reflected in the innovations and developments that our staff introduce, from creating a family room in the Library to using UV body paint to bring learning to life.

Departments are establishing networks and organising events to develop a culture of scholarship as it applies to their discipline area. One example is the Centre for the Advanced Study of Management Education (CASME) in the School for Business and Society. It's an interdisciplinary space enabling colleagues to explore the future of teaching and scholarship in management education. CASME runs regular workshops, writing retreats and best practice showcases to support staff in the development of their scholarship and the enhancement of their practice.