Education Festival 2025 Programme

In higher education, cultural assumptions can lead to subtle yet damaging microaggressions that harm relationships and well-being, particularly for marginalized groups. In this hands-on workshop, we will explore how Participatory Theater can serve as a creative and safe platform to examine the roots of microaggressions, understand their impact, and rehearse effective responses. Participants will engage in theater exercises that illuminate everyday challenges and provide a space to practice empathy, communication, and advocacy skills. By actively confronting bias in these immersive scenarios, attendees will gain practical strategies to foster inclusive, respectful, and equitable classroom and workplace environments.

Teachers strive to support all students, but limited time can make responding to repetitive questions quite challenging. In this workshop, we’ll discuss your experiences with all students, especially neurodiverse learners. Your input will help us create a teacher toolbox, and we’ll provide practical tips you can apply immediately in teaching.

We start with a plenary session on the theory behind gamification along with other types of engagement and activation pedagogy through games and game elements. Next, we have an interactive discussion where we showcase a game to show how it can be included in a lecture. Next, we have a plenary session where we illustrate how to design games. Everything described so far will last 2 hours. Afterward we would like to have an exposition of several of our games. However, this last part depends a little on whether we can find enough people to showcase their games.

We are developing a well-being module for teachers and plan to pilot select activities at the Education Festival 2025. Our goal is to ensure these activities and topics align with their needs and priorities. This year, we will focus on strategies for guiding difficult conversations in the classroom.

FSE aims to implement Blended Learning as a means to increase active learning opportunities and enrich students' learning experiences. Through staff and student interviews, we explored valued course elements and effective practices. This seminar shares key findings and fosters dialogue with colleagues, aiming to inform and inspire further educational improvements. Join us to exchange insights and shape the future of Blended Learning together.

In this workshop you will learn about Student-as-Teachers (SATs), how they can contribute to the curriculum and how these SATs are trained. Various faculties/departments (eg ESI; FMS; FSE) will show case their approaches. From this inspiration, we encourage participants to discuss opportunities in their own context and come up with a plan to support their SATs.

This workshop explores how memory and language intersect to shape culturally responsive education. Participants will examine how cultural and linguistic diversity impact learning, discover effective strategies to enhance memory retention, and develop inclusive teaching practices that foster engagement and empower all students to thrive in diverse, multicultural classrooms.

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes higher education, how can we ensure that learning outcomes, assessment integrity, and teaching methods remain effective? This session explores the impact of AI tools like ChatGPT on educational quality, addressing concerns such as academic integrity, student over-reliance on AI, and evolving assessment methods. Through guided discussions, we will examine strategies for AI-compatible course design, proactive assessment solutions, and the future role of educators. Drawing on recent research and real-world cases, this session provides practical insights into navigating AI’s opportunities and risks in higher education.

Rector Magnificus Jacquelien Scherpen will officially open the Education Festival 2025, joined by Jan Riezebos, Academic Leader of the Teaching Academy Groningen, who will announce the winners of the Best Practice Awards. We will also recognize the Education Grant Laureates, highlighting their projects and dedication to advancing teaching and learning. can be: Educational Grant Laureates will be highlighting their projects and dedication to advancing teaching and learning. The event will conclude with engaging entertainment, ensuring a lively and memorable experience for all attendees.

This is the perfect opportunity to explore innovative ideas, engage in insightful discussions with presenters, and connect with fellow attendees in a relaxed and informal setting. Grab a drink, exchange thoughts, and spark new collaborations!

This session is part of the five-module EQUiiP Continuing Professional Development programme. In this module, you will explore dimensions of diversity and inclusion with a specific focus on forming groups and facilitating (intercultural) group work. The aim of this module is to discuss questions such as how to facilitate group dynamics in order to promote meaningful interaction and purposeful collaboration among diverse students.

This seminar relates to the theme of interaction, considering how interaction patterns in international classrooms promote or prevent inclusion. Participants will have the opportunity to explore their understanding of the concept of inclusion, their perceptions of inclusive pedagogy and how this is realised in their own practice.

How can you continue your development as a teacher after obtaining your UTQ? In this session we will share the outcomes of a small-scale research done at the UG about challenges, needs and wishes of teachers. Come to share with us your experiences and thoughts!

In every university, each faculty is expected to be responsive to the new functionalities of AI tools for education. This workshop invites educators to rethink their role in guiding students’ use of AI in the context of assessment tasks. Grounded on educational research, the discussion will focus on formative feedback that promotes student learning.

At UCG, we have involved Bachelor students as collaborators in several research projects leading to peer-reviewed publications co-authored by students. We would like to share our experiences and inspire our colleagues to work with students as research partners collaborators.

As with any other endeavour, there are injustices in education that needs addressing, if we are to foster a culture of respect and continuous improvement in academia. Critical Pedagogy (CP), committed to social justice, can help achieve this goal. In this workshop, we'll explore real-life stories of oppression in higher education to introduce participants to CP principles. The stories will help us learn how to identify and counteract oppression by creating a collaborative learning environment, where teaching is done with students, not imposed on them, and where both teachers and students grow together, as professionals and citizens.

In this Teacher Challenge workshop, teachers are encouraged to think creatively to achieve more rest and space in the academic year.

Discover how open educational resources and practices can transform teaching and learning into a more engaging and impactful experience of co-creation. This interactive workshop by UB specialists will introduce educators to the fundamentals of Open Pedagogy. Together, we will explore inspiring examples and learn strategies to ensure your students' coursework is meaningful, enhances your teaching, and potentially creates a broader societal impact.

In the Biology BSc program, we implemented a new course in the first semester: Basic Academic Skills. The aim of this innovation was to Activate students, because the first part of our program was lacking interaction and academic skills training. I would like to discuss the why, how and experiences of this project, including a tutor- and student perspective.

In this interactive session, participants will be introduced to the Rich Pictures method - a creative, reflective approach that visually captures educators’ professional journeys. Through drawing, discussion, and structured feedback, participants will learn to uncover hidden assumptions, navigate conflicting values, and reinforce their sense of purpose as teachers. We will practice using Rich Pictures to spark meaningful dialogue in mentorship sessions and foster deeper understanding in research on educator identity. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to support, study, and celebrate the multifaceted process of becoming an effective teacher in higher education.

Misschien zie je allerlei kansen om vanuit de kennis die we als universiteit hebben het werkveld verder te helpen. Hoe kom je tot een cursus die aansluit bij de doelgroep? En hoe zorg je ervoor dat het ook voor de docent oplevert? Jullie eigen goede en minder goede ervaringen met trainingen zijn een startpunt om te kijken hoe aantrekkelijk OvP vormgegeven kan worden. Zodat de deelnemer en de docent er geïnspireerd door raken.

Hanne ten Berge is adviseur curriculumontwikkeling voor hoger onderwijs en onderwijs voor professionals bij de Universiteit Utrecht. Ze traint ho-docenten en begeleidt train-de-trainer trajecten voor bedrijfsopleidingen. Voortbouwend op die ervaring is ze een promotieonderzoek gestart om ontwerpprincipes voor onderwijs voor professionals te ontwikkelen.

The session will begin with an overview of the game design, including the rules and gameplay mechanics. We will then engage in playing the game for approximately one hour. The session will conclude with a discussion focused on evaluating the game and exploring its potential for use across the University of Groningen.

In this session, the digital health education team from the medical faculty will introduce the most important concepts around AI and machine learning. During our interactive workshop, an AI application will be trained by the participants, such that they get some hands-on experience with the pitfalls and solutions of using AI. Interactive discussion is encouraged during the entire workshop.

Dive into higher education research with us in this interactive workshop. Discover inspiring educational projects through pitches, engage in idea-sharing and (re)connecting speed dating, and join peer intervision sessions to discuss key themes in educational research and innovation. Connect, collaborate and learn with fellow educators!

By playing together a little escape game, we will together unlock a better understanding how escape games and treasure hunts can foster active learning and promote intercultural understanding/skills. The workshop includes a game-component (45 minutes), a debrief, and an theory part that support the insights gained through the game. Particular focus will be laid on game mechanics, co-creation, and ease of implementation.

A recent study (Backer, 2023) highlights how creativity enhances knowledge retention through cortical representational change and amygdala activation, improving memory formation. This workshop shares practical insights and engages participants in co-creating creative assignments tailored to their teaching contexts. While broadly applicable, we illustrate this with examples from science education (oncology, biology, mathematics). We would like to inspire all teachers to consider creative assignments (also for serious topics as STEM). Through the interaction with participants we will share our own experience (oncology, biology and mathematics) and co-create new creative assignments suitable for various courses at UG. We believe that proposed practices have a very positive impact on students’ motivation.

Assessment is the cornerstone for student learning and its results inform teacher decisions on student successful completion of course units. Assessment quality evidently is crucial. In this workshop the quality of current assessment practice is evaluated using an online tool. Options for improvement are explored, how to bridge the gap is discussed.

How do you concretely improve the use of multimedia in teaching? Join us to elevate your lesson powerpoints, your course materials or entire e-learning modules with principles drawn from cognitive science, focusing on how and when to merge words, visuals, and audio for maximum impact (Mayer’s multimedia principles). In this interactive session, we will discover techniques to maintain learners’ attention by optimising cognitive load and therefore foster enduring understanding. Join us to master multimedia and create engaging and effective learning experiences! No boring PowerPoint, we promise ;) Technology is only beneficial when used appropriately. This workshop aligns with the festival theme by guiding teachers on the strategic use of technology to enhance learning. By training educators in effective technology integration, we aim to increase the joy of both teachers and students and foster long-term effects of educational practices.

Diverse members of the Community of Practice: Inclusion and Diversity in Teaching and Learning will share simple, practical, and impactful methods to increase inclusion in teaching. In the workshop, attendees will brainstorm how to integrate these practices into their own curricula and bring an inclusive mindset into their teaching. Inclusive teaching is impactful, requires thoughtful interaction, and is effective at inspiring students. In our workshop we demonstrate this by inspiring teachers to teach more inclusively, and share impactful ideas through interaction.

"My course actually doesn’t use AI, but I’ve found a way to work around the students' use of AI for my assignments". When questioned about best practices for using AI, a number of presenters stated this. So, how do you deal with AI? Would you prefer to integrate it into your course assignments? Rebuild assignments to make the course AI resistant? Or would you rather make your course AI-proof? This session will have 6 tables with 6 lecturers sharing how they are currently using AI. To understand the what, how, and why of what they are doing, you can visit four of these tables. You can determine what could work best for your particular course by comparing it to the courses demonstrated here.

In this workshop, we will engage in a game designed to facilitate open discussions about discrimination in universities. Through interactive assignments and puzzles, participants will be challenged to apply their emotional intelligence while also testing their knowledge on the topic. Students from three different countries will introduce the game, guide the gameplay, and lead the debriefing session, fostering a reflective and insightful discussion.

Are you teaching first-year undergraduate students? Do you run into challenges you wish you had better answers for? Or would you like to get inspired by solutions others have found useful? Are you wondering which teaching practices have the greatest positive impact on student transition to higher education? Join this session to learn how resources developed by the Erasmus+ START project can help you.

In an era where outcomes often overshadow processes and large language models can “think” for students, higher education risks losing its capacity for deeper reflection, emotional engagement, and genuine perspective-taking. Integrating arts-based approaches into our lessons offers a powerful way to reignite these essential qualities, blending personal and professional growth. This panel brings together teachers from diverse fields who have successfully woven the arts into their teaching practice. Panelists will share experiences, lessons learned, and hands-on activities demonstrating how creative expression can cultivate “sensitive cognition,” nurture empathy, and inspire solidarity among students. Attendees will leave with fresh ideas and strategies for harnessing the arts to deepen engagement, encourage critical self-reflection, and bring renewed meaning and purpose to the higher education experience.

Opinion dynamics and polarization in society are currently simulated with computer models. Based on such a simulation, we have devised a game in which a group experiences how polarization works. In the game, everyone gets a glass, and the amount of water represents a point of view. By exchanging water according to simple rules, we end up with equal or very opposite points of view. The workshop concludes with a reflective discussion and a demonstration of a computer simulation, providing deeper insights into the dynamics of polarization.

We will wrap up the week with closing remarks, followed by a vibrant poster session and networking drinks. To end on a high note, enjoy a live music performance by a local band.