Keynote Speakers

Opening Keynote

Bridging Boundaries through SoTL: Paths from the Individual to the Collective

For SoTL to drive transformative change, it must extend beyond the individual and influence the collective structures of teaching and learning within institutions. This requires not only crossing disciplinary boundaries but also becoming agentic and reflective in how we move between personal inquiry and systemic change. How do we take ownership of our capacity to connect ideas, people, and practices across teaching and learning landscapes? Why should we connect beyond our own disciplinary and institutional silos? What—and who—connects us in this process? And how can we, as SoTL scholars, become more intentional in shaping these connections?

These are some of the questions that guide this keynote, which explores SoTL as a boundary-crossing and relational practice—one that bridges disciplines, roles, and institutional structures. Drawing on global SoTL perspectives, with a focus on European higher education, we will examine the dynamic and sometimes fraught paths that lead from the individual to the collective. This talk will also invite participants to critically reflect on their agency as SoTL scholars, explore strategies for meaningful connection, and envision pathways for transforming individual insights into institutional momentum.

Helga Dorner

Helga Dorner is an Associate Professor and Director at the Institute of Research on Adult Education and Knowledge Management at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Hungary. Before joining ELTE, she was Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the Central European University, Hungary. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She researches teaching innovations, academic professionalism, and mentoring for teaching in higher education.

Closing Keynote

SoTL Connections Through and Across Difference: Intercultural Dialogue, Relational Journeys, and Emergent Perspectives

More information about the content of the keynote will be provided as soon as possible

Anna Santucci

Dr. Anna Santucci is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Centre for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) at University College Cork (UCC, Ireland), where she directs CIRTL’s MA program in Teaching and Learning for Higher Education and co-leads UCC’s contributions to Teaching & Learning efforts for the UNIC European University alliance. She was previously a faculty developer at the University of Rhode Island (USA), where she supported teaching enhancement with a focus on Inclusive Excellence. Her story includes a BA in Modern Languages (Padova, Italy), MA in English (Nottingham, UK), and PhD combining Italian and Theatre & Performance (Brown University, USA – where she also served as Head Graduate Teaching Consultant at the Sheridan Center). Anna’s international and transdisciplinary work critically promotes interculturality, equity and justice in higher education via co-creation, reflection, agency, and authentic partnerships. Recent highlights include a chapter contribution about the Artistry of Teaching in Higher Education and a Transformative Dialogues special issue about Dialogically Relational Complexity in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning across the disciplines. Her publications appear in venues such as Research in Drama Education, the Scenario Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning and Research, the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, the Journal of Faculty Development, Teaching and Learning Inquiry, New Directions in Teaching & Learning, and the International Journal for Academic Development. She is currently vice-president of the All Ireland Society for Higher Education (AISHE), member of the Educational Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN) Committee, co-lead of a Collaborative Writing Group for the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL), past chair of POD Network’s Professional Development Committee and editor of its POD Perspectives series, and Associate Editor of the International Consortium for Educational Development (ICED)’s International Journal for Academic Development (IJAD).