Education is often seen as one of the core pillars of the university. Yet in academic practice, it is still not always valued equally to research. At VU Amsterdam, a new teaching collective is working on change. “If you are passionate, you don't just deliver a lecture and then go home.”
To further advance this movement, experienced education professionals in the collective exchange knowledge and experiences and work on a shared vision of educational quality and Recognition & Rewards. They underline that teaching means care, responsibility and a deep investment in students, their growth and the future we are helping to shape together.
That caring dimension of academic work is real and it deserves to be seen. Universities are stronger when teaching and research are both honoured as vital, rigorous and meaningful forms of academic work.
In an in-depth interview, two members of the collective, Yvette Taminiau (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Elza van Deel (Amsterdam UMC), reflect on where tensions still exist in practice. At the same time, they make clear what it can move toward. “If you are passionate, it’s not the case that you deliver a lecture and then go home,” says Taminiau. “You concern yourself with the well-being of your students and are aware that you are investing in the future.”
The collective aims to contribute to a future in which education and research are truly seen as equal pillars. Van Deel: “The goal is that education and research are both respected pillars of the university.”
According to Janneke Waelen, director of the VU Centre for Teaching & Learning, that conversation is much needed: “If education and research are both fundamental to the university, then we should also recognise them as full and meaningful forms of academic work. Because education is not just a task, but craftsmanship: relational work that helps shape the future.