Accessibility Tools
The LOTUS project aims to contribute to capacity building and strategic change management for learning and teaching at higher education institutions across Europe.
The project also aims to discuss and demonstrate the potential of various actors (ministries, university associations, student and staff unions, etc.) to support transformation and innovation in learning and teaching.
LOTUS is led by EUA in partnership with a diverse consortium of higher education institutions, national rectors’ conferences, education ministries and organisations actively involved in learning and teaching across Europe.
LOTUS is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, as an initiative to support the implementation of European Higher Education Area (EHEA) reforms. LOTUS will run until November 2022.
For further information, please contact gohar.hovhannisyan@eua.eu.
The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Available now: Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European Universities - Final report from the LOTUS project. This publication summarises the main outcomes and lessons learnt from the LOTUS project. The publication is complemented by the following appendices:
Appendix 1: Leadership and change management in higher education. A Working Paper for developing the LOTUS methodology, by O. Vettori
Appendix 2: Implementation Plan template of the LOTUS Leadership Development Programme
LOTUS builds on the results of and follows up the EU-funded EFFECT project, and in particular the 10 European Principles for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, devised as a framework to support the development of institutional strategies in learning and teaching. LOTUS aims to carry this work forward and focus on advancing implementation of such institutional strategies through a participatory approach that involves leadership, staff and students across the institution.
LOTUS also addresses the need to enhance cooperation in learning and teaching across the European Higher Education Area, as underlined in the Bologna Process (see the 2020 Rome Communiqué and annexed Recommendations to National Authorities for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching) and several European level studies on developments in learning and teaching (such as “The changing pedagogical landscape” and “Trends 2018: Learning and Teaching in the European Higher Education Area”).
Foster higher education institutions’ capacity to develop and implement structured and systematic approaches to enhance learning and teaching.
The project carried out a Leadership Development Programme to address processes and conditions at higher education institutions to implement learning and teaching strategies. A total of 54 higher education institutions benefited from this Leadership Development Programme, while supporting each other through a peer-learning and problem-solving approach. The Leadership Development Programme addressed the key challenges and priorities in learning and teaching that institutions face, such as student-centred learning, digitalisation, teachers’ professional development, institutional organisation, and sought ways to build them into an overarching institutional framework and with a focus on leadership in teaching.
Explore how learning and teaching can be best supported by national and European policies
The project explored how different stakeholder groups in learning and teaching can support institutional developments, facilitate interinstitutional exchange and collaboration, and contribute to national and European policy development. A series of policy dialogue workshops and meetings were organised – fed with findings from a study on national initiatives in learning and teaching across the EHEA, and lessons learnt from the Leadership Development Programme.
Provide a set of recommendations for supporting learning and teaching development through inter-institutional cooperation, at regional, national and European levels
Building upon the results from the participating higher education institutions under the Leadership Development Programme and from the policy dialogues, LOTUS proposed recommendations on key challenges in learning and teaching at European higher education institutions, and leadership approaches to them.
Preparation of the Leadership Development Programme
(September 2020-December 2020)
Leadership Development Programme
(September 2020-June 2022)
Policy Dialogue
(December 2020-June 2022)
Dissemination
(September 2020- November 2022)
Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European Universities - Final report from the LOTUS project
On Monday 28 November EUA hosted a webinar to conclude the “Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European Universities” (LOTUS) project. This webinar shared key findings from ...
The Erasmus+ co-funded Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European Universities – LOTUS project (2020-2022) aims to contribute to capacity building and strategic change managem ...
This report presents the final outcomes of the EU-funded “Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European universities” (LOTUS) project. ...
The report analyses major and recent national policies and initiatives aiming to support the enhancement of learning and teaching in 30 countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). ...
Abstract Student participation on equal terms as partners in higher education assurance was a novel concept in the year 2000. Since its founding in 2000-08-12, the German Student Accreditation Pool ( ...
The EFFECT project produced a feasibility study on how teaching enhancement can be promoted in the most efficient manner at the European level. Launched at the 2019 European Learning & Teaching Fo ...
Trends 2018 examines how learning and teaching at European higher education institutions evolves in the context of changing demands, technological and societal development, and European- and national- ...
This report aims to provide the reader with an insight into the discussions and conclusions of the thematic peer groups with each chapter consisting of the summary of one thematic peer group presentin ...
Universities must drive developments in learning and teaching. This requires close collaboration with all major stakeholder groups, including national and European policy makers. In recent decades, n ...
Martin Prchal expands the debate on teaching and learning to how institutions should see themselves as learners in their continuous endeavours to improve the learning experience of their students. Her ...
National, system-level initiatives can support and enhance learning and teaching, as highlighted in the study National Developments in Learning and Teaching in Europe. While higher education instituti ...
What has Irish higher education been able to learn from the experience of Covid-19 and what will this mean for the future of learning and teaching? Partners from across the sector considered this urge ...
The concept of leadership in teaching is not easy to pin down. Drawing from the LOTUS project, EUA expert Thérèse Zhang explores two definitions and highlights the roles that leaders in teaching cou ...
This piece by Oliver Vettori of the Vienna University of Economics and Business analyses the tightrope walk of university leadership. It points out the importance of getting experts to agree on a way ...