Academic Development Opportunities

To support the professional development of staff at the Coventry University Group, we have collected a range of opportunities that allow staff to engage in a series of events around six themes. 

The opportunities are listed under each of the themes below, and additional sessions will be added and shared on the course booking system as they become available.  When the sessions are live on the course booking system the booking link for each session will be updated.

There are events available and relevant for both new and experienced academic staff interested in developing, enhancing, and updating their professional practice as an educator. 

To help you select the academic opportunities more relevant for you consider exploring the Academic Development Reflection Tool and create your own Individual Academic Professional Development Plan.

In addition to the opportunities listed below and organised by colleagues across the Coventry University Group, have a look at our dedicated page for external opportunities

1. Inclusive Practice and Self and Others' Wellbeing / Supporting Your Students

Being an inclusive teacher means respecting the diverse student population, using strategies to enable and encourage the participation from all students, ensuring that all student learning needs are met, while removing barriers that may inhibit students’ learning.  

it is also important that staff are aware of how to ensure their own well-being and promote and support their students’ wellbeing by offering the right support to students and directing them to the right services and resources when the need arise.

Here you will find events that help you create an inclusive and safe environment for you students and staff, including yourself. 

Upcoming events

2. Learning Design

Learning Design refers to the design of the students’ academic journey through learning activities in order to ensure that students have the opportunities to achieve the required learning outcomes. It includes all forms and modes of teaching such as online, blended, face-to-face and hybrid. Here you can find events, that can help you with planning your students' journey. 

Upcoming Events

21 September 2026 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Introduction and Chapter 1

19 October 2026 -  Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 2

16 November 2026 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 3

14 December 2026 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 4

11 January 2027 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 5

3. Teaching Practice

High quality teaching practice is central for the student experience. Getting an in-depth understanding of the wide range of different pedagogic theories that inform a wide range of practical teaching and learning strategies, will enable staff to identify the best teaching and learning methods for their context to support their students learning. Here you can find a wide range of events that help you with your own teaching practice.

Upcoming Events

21 September 2026 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Introduction and Chapter 1

19 October 2026 -  Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 2

16 November 2026 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 3

14 December 2026 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 4

11 January 2027 - Book club: Student belonging in action (series) - Chapter 5

Upcoming Events on Academic Conduct

 

4. Assessment and Feedback Practices

Assessment and Feedback practices are highly interconnected, and assessment tasks should be designed by taking into account formative and summative feedback opportunities as well. Assessment design should be inclusive, authentic and relevant, enabling students to develop relevant graduate attributes. Feedback needs to be dialogic and embedded in teaching practice. Under this theme, you can also find events that address quality assurance procedures.

Upcoming Events

23 September 2026 - Getting Started with Inspera

23 September 2026 - Introduction to Marking and Moderation

5. Sharing Practice and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Teaching, Learning and Assessment practices should be scholarly- and evidence- informed. To that end, staff that teach and/or support teaching and learning would benefit by identifying ways to explore scholarly sources around pedagogic theories and learning strategies and evaluate their own practice by assessing the effectiveness of their teaching, learning and assessment approaches. Outcomes of those evaluations and experiences could then be shared in local, national or international ways, allowing staff to develop their own Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) profile. Here you will find events, that can help you to learn from each other and develop your SoTL profile. 

Upcoming Event

28 September 2026 - Click the Clue! Crafting Engaging Educational Escape Rooms with Google Tools

6. Leadership and Management in HE

Leadership and Management in Higher Education comes with a set of responsibilities that staff may not have directly been prepared as a result of their disciplinary and/or teaching expertise. To that end, staff that assume leadership roles within HE will require to develop additional skills and awareness of the intricacies of different roles such as course leadership, and module leadership, while managing and leading teams. Here you can find training events for additional roles, that go beyond the direct teaching and learning responsibilities.

Upcoming Events

5 October 2026 - Teaching Observation Training - Management Led (e-mail aepd@coventry.ac.uk to book a place

 

7. Education Technology

Digital literacies form key skills in the Graduate Attributes Framework and Coventry University Corporate and Education and Student Experience strategies. These skills are central to students’ future employability and there is high demand from employers.  

Education technology can facilitate active, inclusive, social, and applied learning for students in all teaching contexts; face-to-face, blended, hybrid and online. This theme includes exploration of the range of educational technology tools that are available through Coventry University Group. The theme includes the acquisition of digital literacies, which will facilitate engaging and active teaching and learning, individual teaching context and support personalised learning.  

Upcoming Events

22 September 2026 - Aula Essentials 

24 September 2026 - Getting Started with Padlet

25 September 2026 - Introduction to Microsoft Sway