NEWS During a three-week visit to Umeå University’s Centre for Educational Development (UPL) this autumn, Robert Fleisig from McMaster University in Canada exchanged experiences with colleagues on how universities support and reward teaching. The visit built on a longstanding collaboration with Katarina Winka at UPL and opened up opportunities for further international cooperation.
Katarina Winka, Umeå University and Robert Fleisig, McMaster University.
Robert and Katarina first connected in 2021 through their shared interest in teaching portfolios and the assessment of teaching excellence. They wanted to explore how these processes could strengthen conversations about teaching and learning within academia.
“It was actually Robert who found me and got in touch,” says Katarina. “I then visited McMaster for three weeks in 2022 and we’ve been working together since then.”
This spring, Robert was awarded a teaching and learning grant from McMaster University and chose to spend three weeks of his research leave at UPL. The visit gave them time to continue their work together and allowed Robert to meet colleagues from across Umeå University.
Sweden and Canada take somewhat different approaches to promotion and teaching-merit processes, particularly in how teaching achievements are documented, valued and assessed. For Katarina, exploring these differences creates opportunities for mutual learning that can inform UPL’s work. It offers a chance to question familiar practices and consider other ways of supporting teaching and learning.
Katarina Winka, Umeå University
Image Ellen Säll“By sharing experiences and perspectives, we can challenge our assumptions, explore alternative approaches, and experiment with new ways of thinking about and supporting teaching and learning in higher education,” she says. “Eventually, I believe this will contribute to more robust ways of rewarding teaching achievements.”
Learning more about how Umeå University rewards teaching was also one of Robert’s aims for the visit. He met members of the Teaching Excellence Framework Committee, who shared their experiences and perspectives on the university’s approach.
Other meetings introduced him to academics whose interests intersect with his own. Reflecting on these conversations during his stay, Robert described how they were influencing his thinking.
“It has been a true pleasure meeting with my Umeå colleagues. Their work and the ideas expressed in our conversations have been both inspiring and revealing,” he says. “The unique perspectives I am gaining are helping me reflect on my own teaching and professional development.”
Robert is a teaching-stream Professor at the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology at McMaster University. He is Program Lead for the Master of Engineering Design programme and chairs the Faculty of Engineering’s Instructor Development and Evaluation Committee. He teaches engineering design, product design, design thinking and human-centred design.
Robert Fleisig, McMaster University
Image Ellen SällAt McMaster, his teaching brings students together with community and industry partners to work on complex challenges. Understanding people’s needs and learning from different perspectives are central to this work.
Questions about how people learn together were also central to the seminar Robert held at UPL on 1 October, Beyond Individual Achievement: Conditions for Meaningful Learning. Focusing on relationships, empathy, shared goals and adaptability, the seminar invited participants to reflect on their own educational settings and how they can support both students and teachers.
Alongside his collaboration with Katarina, Robert used his time at UPL to build relationships connected to his interests in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and to explore international collaborations in teaching engineering design.
Robert describes the visit as having reinforced his human-centred perspective on higher education and on teaching engineering design. It also strengthened his belief in the critical role of peer review in teaching and assessment, and his conviction that scholarly dialogue is enriched by bringing together different practices, such as those at McMaster and Umeå University.
Katarina Winka and Robert Fleisig.
Image Ellen Säll“I look forward to continuing these new connections with my Swedish colleagues, which I hope will lead to scholarly work and unique learning experiences for my students,” he says.
And beyond the academic exchange, everyday life at UPL has left an impression too.
“On a lighter note, I will truly miss the generosity and collegiality of my Umeå colleagues — and, of course, the joy of the Swedish custom of fika.”