Report
Report on the “Course Upgrade – Launch Webinar”
The “Course Upgrade – Launch Webinar” was held on 26 March 2026 as the opening event of the PROFFORMANCE Community Event Series, engaging more than 120 international participants. The primary aim of the event was to lay the foundation for a European-level professional community that fosters dialogue, collaboration, and the sharing of good practices among higher education teachers in order to enhance teaching excellence.
In the opening session, the concept of PROFFORMANCE Community Events and PROFFORMANCE toolkit were introduced, with particular emphasis on the three-dimensional assessment framework of the PROFFORMANCE Assessment Tool (PAT), the PROFFORMANCE Short Courses, and the PROFFORMANCE Teaching Excellence Database. A central element of the webinar was the joint assessment on t he platform of the PAT, which provided participants with the opportunity to assess their own course development competencies, especially in relation to internationalisation, inclusivity, sustainability, and digitalisation.
During the thematic sessions, participants gained insight into the course development support materials consisting of an online, open-access, self-paced learning content structured into micro-modules. These sessions offered not only conceptual frameworks but also practical methodological tools. Presentations delivered by the leaders of the development working groups highlighted the importance of creating student-centred learning environments and showcased practice-oriented approaches across the different priority areas.
A key component of the programme was the presentation of selected good practices from the PROFFORMANCE Teaching Excellence Database. These examples, aligned with the four thematic areas, provided concrete pathways for enhancing courses in a student-centred manner. In the field of internationalisation, the initiative “Interprofessional-International Week: From Principles to Practice” demonstrated how international and interdisciplinary collaboration can be effectively integrated into curricula, thereby supporting the development of students’ global competences. In the area of inclusivity, the practice “Learner Autonomy Supporting Personalized Approach” highlighted methods for strengthening personalised learning pathways and student autonomy. Within the sustainability dimension, the Summer School of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, titled “Zero Point – Ideal Place – Encounters and Transformations in Art, Space and Society”, illustrated a complex integration of sustainability into learning through artistic and societal perspectives. In terms of digitalisation, the course “Start-up Sparks: Crafting Retail Success in the Classroom” presented innovative uses of digital tools and business simulation methods to enhance student competences.
The full recording of the webinar, along with the presentations and selected edited video clips, is available at the following link:
PROFFORMANCE Launch Webinar – details and materials
Following the webinar, the programme continues with a longer-term online professional learning activity titled “Upgrade your course – make it truly student-centred” (1 April – 15 June 2026). Within this framework, participants are supported by experts and peers while working on the development of their own courses through a peer learning approach. Interest in the initiative is already significant, with more than 120 participants from 11 countries having joined during the initial phase.
Overall, the webinar marked the establishment of a dynamic and collaborative professional community, which is expected to contribute to the long-term enhancement of teaching quality in European higher education. A key strength of the initiative lies in its practice-oriented approach, the facilitation of international knowledge exchange, and the structured support system that enables participants to implement concrete course development actions.
