Last week I attended the CAULLT Academic Development Awards gathering in Melbourne. Previously I had not engaged with the CAULLT organisation however I found them to be open, friendly, and engaged in higher education improvements.

My colleague, Lisa Jacka and I were one of 8 submissions shortlisted for an Academic Award based on our AI Pedagogy Project work at UniSQ. On the day we were tasked with creating a 7 min ‘Pecha Kucha’ style presentation that truly reflected our work over the past 3 years, was entertaining, and informative. We wrote, rehearsed, rewrote and so on. I don’t have the official video yet….will share that later, but here are our slides.

Shoutout to the winner on the day, Marie Foreman, from Central Queensland University for The Lift Fellowship Scheme: Collaborative Academic Development Across Regional Universities. Given this scheme is a UniSQ and CQU collaboration, Lisa and I jumped into the picture to represent UniSQ!

1. Foundational Principles and Culture

Academic development is frequently grounded in core pedagogical and relational philosophies:

• Pedagogy-First Frameworks: Approaches emphasise educator guided decisions by prioritising pedagogy over technology. This is seen in AI frameworks that encourage intentional curriculum design and metacognitive awareness, moving beyond binary thinking about technology use.
• Relationality and Storytelling: Initiatives adopt a holistic approach focused on relationality, drawing on Indigenous perspectives (ways of being, doing, and knowing; head, heart, spirit). Methods include facilitated storytelling, yarning circles, and reflective activities to build relationships and encourage the sharing of personal values and authentic selves.
• Experiential Learning: Programs are often experiential (learning by doing) and hands-on, encouraging staff to explore tools, create, and build things. This aligns with Kolb’s experiential learning principles.
• Scholarly Foundations: Academic development is grounded in scholarship, using established theories like Constructivist approaches, Communities of Practice, and the PSF 2023 framework. The goal is to build a culture of scholarly practice and evidence-informed teaching.

2. Targeted and Inclusive Program Structures

Academic development programs target diverse groups and employ specific structures to ensure scalability and inclusion:

• Whole-of-Institution Focus: Successful programs, such as SotL support at UNSW, scale rapidly from focused academic staff (like Education-Focused roles) to include all staff, including professional staff and third space professionals.
• Targeting Professional Staff: Specific programs are designed to address capability gaps in professional staff, who influence systems, policies, and campus culture. For instance, cultural competency programs aim to equip professional staff to embed inclusion in governance and services, thereby scaffolding teaching excellence.
• Scaffolded Pathways: Programs offer scaffolded pathways or “baby steps” to support progression from novice to expert practitioners. This includes starting with less formal outputs (like writing a blog) before moving to peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Non-Mandated and Intrinsic Motivation: Initiatives like the AI Pedagogy Project (AIP) thrive on organic adoption and intrinsic motivation, achieving widespread staff participation through grassroots engagement rather than mandates.

3. Key Focus Areas and Outcomes

Current academic development is focused heavily on pedagogical transformation and scholarly output:

• AI for Pedagogical Opportunity: A key focus is shifting educator perspective from viewing AI solely as an integrity risk to recognising its potential for good pedagogical practices. This is achieved through workshops focused on using AI to redesign learning, reimagine assessment, and embed active learning and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
• Scholarly Publication: Development initiatives actively uplift the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SotL) culture by linking reflective practice directly to scholarly publication, supporting educators—especially those new to SotL—to contribute chapters to edited collections.
• Impact on Learners and Practice: Graduate Certificate (Grad Cert) research confirms that programs are highly valued for improving teaching skills and practice. The most significant changes reported span three domains: Practice (e.g., constructive alignment), Approaches to Practice (e.g., evidence-informed teaching), and Identity (e.g., confidence as an educator). Critically, these changes are seen to benefit not only the Individual and the Institution, but also the Learners/Students through improved engagement and experience.

4. Collaborative and Distributed Models

Development efforts leverage shared resources and expertise to achieve scalability and sustainability:

• Cross-Institutional Collaboration: Partnerships, such as the LIFT Fellowship Scheme between regional universities, allow institutions to pool resources, capacity, and funding to achieve accreditation and build scalable, accessible professional recognition.
• Distributed Leadership and Mentoring: Programs utilise a distributed leadership model where initiatives are co-led by the university community, incorporating mentoring to build capacity and a pipeline of future mentors. Mentorship is central to supporting educators through development and publication processes.
• Community and Networking: Building a collective and community of practice (e.g., the AI learning and teaching collective) facilitates the sharing of practice and innovation across disciplines. This network is crucial for fostering belonging and shared success.