Five Years of Supporting Teachers in the Development of Pedagogical Competences and Modern Education

At the Department of Pedagogical Science of the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University, the Centre for Pedagogical Support (CPP) focuses on enhancing the quality of higher education by supporting university teachers. It helps them develop their pedagogical competences, introduce innovative teaching methods, and create an inclusive learning environment. The Centre carries out its activities mainly through long-term courses, workshops, mentoring, and international projects, thereby contributing to the systematic improvement of teaching quality at the university.

CPP offers three year-long courses: How to Teach Innovatively at University, Effective Teaching for Internationalisation, and Inclusive Education. Graduates of these courses receive an internationally recognised certificate from the UK-based Staff and Educational Development Association. In the first semester, participants attend workshops focused on new methods of teaching, assessment, and the design of classes and courses. In the second semester, they work with a mentor to implement new teaching approaches in their own pedagogical practice. These courses are often attended by doctoral students, who receive credits for completing them, but they are also popular among experienced teachers. Over the past five years, CPP has recorded 107 graduates from seven faculties of Comenius University. This year, participants from two additional faculties of Comenius University and from the partner Slovak University of Technology have also joined the courses.

In addition, CPP offers several-hour workshops dedicated to various topics, such as group work in teaching and methods of active learning. As part of the Universities for Healthy City project, the Centre organises webinars approximately every two weeks, focusing on teaching and research supported by generative artificial intelligence. The Centre’s project activities address some of the most important topics related to teaching and learning in higher education. The BELONG project focused on the mental health of students and teaching staff, the HOSUED project on changes to the student survey, and the IMPACT project on internationalisation and teaching in English. CPP currently continues to cooperate with the Psychological Counselling Centre of Comenius University on activities supporting well-being and inclusive education. Through the Centre for Pedagogical Support, the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University has secured grants totalling approximately EUR 1.5 million, with CPP acting as the project leader in almost all cases.

CPP also provides training for the Doctoral School of Comenius University, including two-day courses such as Teaching at University and Presentation Skills, as well as workshops on topics such as the use of the innovative tool Poll Everywhere or the use of artefacts and visualisations in research data collection. Some of these training activities are delivered in English for international doctoral students. When Comenius University was developing its internationalisation action plan, a CPP representative led one of the working groups, and the Centre is currently represented on the University’s Council for Internationalisation. Within the ENLIGHT project, CPP participates in the selection of the course that represents Comenius University in the annual awards for innovative teaching. In 2024, among courses nominated by the ten universities of the ENLIGHT consortium, the award was won by a course taught by Daniel Klimovský and Martina Benzoni Balážová, which had been innovated in cooperation with the Centre for Pedagogical Support. Each year, CPP supports teachers from Comenius University in applying to the ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference and helps them prepare abstracts for their contributions. Thanks in part to this promotion and support, Comenius University has submitted the highest number of contribution proposals among consortium members over the past two years, and a significant number of its teachers have presented their innovative teaching approaches at the conference.

CPP also develops activities for students at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. For two years, it offered the course Professional Communication with Employers, which prepared students for finding quality employment, as well as the course Academic Writing for Publication. In 2026, the Centre hosted 19 students from five universities in Bratislava as part of the BIP Inclusive Education course. Each year, CPP prepares events that connect students, teachers, and other staff at the faculty and university, including BELONG Day, the conferences Teaching Inspirations and Inclusive Education and Inclusive Communication, as well as the Career Fair, attended by employers of various sizes.

Finally, CPP staff publish in the field of higher education pedagogy. To date, the Centre has published five books, three of them with prestigious publishers, and 15 studies in journals indexed in Web of Science and Scopus (Q1/Q2), as well as with leading academic publishers.

CPP is part of the Department of Pedagogy at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University Bratislava. More information is available on the website of the Centre for Pedagogical Support.