The Yehuda Elkana Center for Teaching, Learning, and Higher Education Research is a collaborative academic unit, advancing teaching excellence, applied research, instiutional capacity building, and individual development in issues related to higher education. It works with participants at all stages of higher education, from students preparing for degree programs, to doctoral students preparing for academic careers, to faculty and university administrators advancing their teaching and other skills.
Building on a two decades of engagement in these areas at CEU, the current center brings together, under one roof, the Yehuda Elkana Center for Higher Education and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). It is named after the third president and rector of Central European University, Yehuda Elkana (1934-2012).
Its many initiatives cluster in four foci:
- Promotion of Teaching and Learning - Prepare doctoral students for academic careers and support faculty in their teaching development through courses and certificate programs on teaching in higher education, workshops, consultations, support for teaching assistantships, and mentoring during initial teaching experiences; advise on curriculum development; support effective teaching with technology; foster teaching innovation; collaboratively promote measures that enhance student learning; and recognize teaching excellence;
- Development of Institutional Capacity and of Individuals in the Higher Education Sector - Strengthen institutional capacities, develop university leaders, foster cultures of quality, support leadership in teaching and learning, and promote democratic and collaborative practices through partnerships with institutions, as well as certificates, courses, and training for individuals;
- Expansion of Access and Preparation for University Study - Prepare students of disadvantaged backgrounds for university study through the CEU-Matura Support Program for high school students in Vienna and through the CEU-FOCUS program for adult learners in Austria and the EU/EWR;
- Research - Conduct innovative and applied research in higher education, including the place of teaching in higher education and society, higher education systems and policy, administration, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).
The Elkana Center builds on approximately two decades of experience at CEU in developing teaching excellence, promoting research in higher education and the scholarship of teaching and learning, in advising on higher education, in professional development programs for university leaders and faculty, and in preparatory and access programs. These programs serve not just CEU faculty and doctoral students, but connect CEU with higher education institutions, governments, and non-governmental organizations from countries on five continents. The current Center builds on the work of its predecessor centers (the Elkana Center for Higher Education and the Center for Teaching and Learning), CEU's long history of cooperation with the Open Society Foundation (OSF), former access and preparatory programs, and partnerships within the Open Society University Network (OSUN), the CIVICA university alliance, and Erasmus+ projects.
In all its activities, the Elkana Center promotes research-informed, inclusive, and reflective practices to foster excellence in higher education and to promote the open society mission of CEU. Inspired by its namesake, the Center places a particular focus on applied studies and practical initiatives, on the importance of context, on the value of asking big questions, on the questioning of knowledge and established practices, on openness to the possibilities of dynamic transformation, and on engagement in democratic and civil society.