The University of Insubria’s Teaching and Learning Center at the international meeting in Palermo on TLCs and Faculty Development: from planning to action evaluation.

The international meeting “TLC and Faculty Development: from planning to action evaluation” was held on 13 and 14 April in Palermo, in the Sala delle Capriate at the Steri and in the Sala Lanza at the Botanical Garden. The event was promoted as part of the CRUI working group on Teaching and Learning Centres and hosted by the University of Palermo.

The meeting represented a high-profile opportunity for scientific and institutional discussion, involving delegations from numerous Italian universities and international guests. The Teaching and Learning Center, TLC, of the University of Insubria took part with a significant delegation, comprising Director General Antonio Romeo, TLC Director Francesca Ferrari and lecturers Stefano Bonometti, member of the Scientific Board of TLC Insubria, and Letizia Ferri, researcher at the Department of Human Sciences and Innovation for the Local Area, confirming the University’s active and recognised role in the development of national reflection on Teaching and Learning Centres.

The scientific core of the event was structured around four thematic position papers, presented in plenary sessions with dedicated discussants, which will soon be made available by TLC Insubria.

Professor Stefano Bonometti played a central role in the scientific committees responsible for drafting two of the four position papers presented, and also acted as discussant for the position paper “The Structure of TLCs”, presented by Professors Antonella Lotti and Anna Serbati. On the same day, Professor Francesca Ferrari and Dr Letizia Ferri presented the abstract “From research group to TLC: interdisciplinary pathways for teaching professionalism”, outlining the development lines undertaken by Insubria in integrating educational research with the continuing training of university students and lecturers, and addressing the organisational structure of TLCs, training models and impact assessment.

During the presentation, the work carried out by TLC Insubria in its first years of activity was outlined, highlighting how the Centre attaches importance both to Faculty Development and, under the coordination of TLC Insubria Deputy Director Caterina Farao, to the development of soft skills. The most recent initiatives of TLC Insubria in the field of artificial intelligence applied to teaching were also presented. Professor Antonella Lotti of the University of Foggia concluded by emphasising how the experience of TLC Insubria presents distinctive elements compared with others, emerging as a model of particular interest in the national context.

As part of the first day’s proceedings, the position paper “Training models and assessment” was also presented, to which Professor Stefano Bonometti contributed. It was dedicated to the analysis of teaching methodologies in Faculty Development processes. The other contributions, “Enhancement and teaching competences” and “Impact assessment”, were also presented and discussed during the second day.

The participation of Director General Antonio Romeo and TLC Insubria Director Francesca Ferrari testified to the University’s integrated vision in promoting the Centre as an institutional project capable of involving governance and the entire scientific and teaching community.

The meeting saw the participation of numerous Italian universities, including Parma, Brescia, Turin, Trento, Verona, Sapienza, Naples, Messina, Udine, Genoa, Bergamo, Florence and Foggia, as well as qualified international guests. The contributions ranged from the presentation of university experiences to broader theoretical reflections, confirming the central role of Teaching and Learning Centres in processes of innovation and transformation in university teaching.

In light also of the reflections that emerged during the conference, TLC Insubria will continue to participate actively in the national and international debate on the quality of university teaching and on the professional development of lecturers, cultivating both Faculty Development and soft skills, in the belief that excellent training is an essential condition for quality teaching.