All university teachers (professors, senior lecturers / associate professors, lecturers / assistant professors, and adjunct lecturers) employed on a permanent basis at the University of Iceland, the University of Akureyri, the Agricultural University of Iceland, or Hólar Universityin 50% employment or more.

Applications were accepted until the 25th of April 2023. Next application deadline will most likely be in the end of May 2024.

The Teaching Academy is a community of university teachers who have placed particular emphasis on pedagogical development, contributed to improving teaching methods, and want to take part in strengthening and developing university teaching even further.

Yes, members of the Teaching Academy get paid a fixed sum on a yearly basis that corresponds to a monthly fee of ISK 50,000 based on prices 4 November 2021.

Yes. Applicants are encouraged to attend both a digital presentation, a seminar on application forms and a digital peer-feedback session. In order to get that support, applicants must register before 20 January 2023 to take part in the application process on Canvas. See more about support for applicants.

The number of admitted members each year depends on the quality and number of applications received. All applicants considered highly competent have the possibility of being admitted to the Teaching Academy.

In the year 2021, 11 members were admitted and in the year 2022, 9 new members were admitted.

Members of the Teaching Academy will themselves take the initiative in formulating ways to enhance teaching methods at the public universities in Iceland, in collaboration with the division of academic affairs at each university. The Teaching Academy organizes conferences on pedagogical development and participates in various information dissemination on university teaching.

Four experts evaluate the applications. In recent years, three of them have been external, coming from other Nordic countries. The fourth one has been an Icelandic expert.

The evaluators are not the same as those organizing the seminars on how to write a well-structured portfolio.

  • New members will be admitted in November 2023.
  • Following the intake event, a remote introduction meeting will be held, starting a new application round. See the recording from last year’s meeting.
  • Workshops in application writing for participants in the application process will be held in the spring of 2024.

We recommend that you work systematically on improving your teaching and increasing your knowledge of pedagogy. Start by looking at your teaching based on SoTL guidelines to see what you can do. Plan for how to develop your teaching. You can also use the local support your university provides, or take a diploma in university pedagogy.

They are based on criteria used in the Nordic countries, for example at the Universities of Lund and Bergen. You can see the criteria here.