Excellence in teaching

The Swedish research community has established strong links to American research universities. Knowledge about and contacts with liberal arts colleges – a characteristic of American academia – are less common. Therefore, the STINT Foundation has since some years established co-operation with American higher education institutions, dedicated to Liberal Education.

The expansion of Swedish higher education has meant an increased focus on how to maintain excellence in teaching in a mass system as compared to the elite system of yesterday. A solid link between research and education is a pillar stone in Swedish higher educational policy. In recent years the balance between professional education and “Bildung” has been much discussed.

The co-operation that the STINT Foundation has entered provides opportunities for Swedish academic teachers to spend half a year at an American Liberal Arts College. These academic institutions are deeply imbedded in a tradition of excellence in teaching. The Swedish faculty are provided with a first hand experience of how these academic institutions function; they get an understanding of what Liberal Education means in real life; how excellence in teaching is upheld even if the institutions do not have research or doctoral programmes. And, the programme is a signal that the STINT Foundation believes that higher education needs to be exposed to foreign models and modes of operation.

See also:
Short term stipends
Excellence in Teaching - A follow-up report 2007