The Yehuda Elkana Center for Teaching, Learning, and Higher Education Research is a collaborative academic unit, advancing teaching excellence, applied research, institutional capacity building, and professional development in issues related to higher education. It works with colleagues at multiple stages of their careers and on multiple scales, from early-career academics' teaching development to system-level and regional collaborations.
Building on nearly three 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:
- Early-career Teaching Development - 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;
- Enhancement of Teaching and Learning - Support curriculum development; provide guidance on 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 collaborative projects with other institutions and stakeholders, as well as certificates, courses, and training for individuals;
- 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, inclusion, European integration, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).
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.