HumAIn faculty development: sensible, bold, collaborative

When: 28th November 2025 from 9h15 to 16h30

Where: Pädagogische Hochschule Zurich, Building LAA

Generative AI is transforming the world and with it, the competencies our instructors need. As academic developers, we stand at the intersection of innovation and education: supporting institutional change, helping instructors rethink curricula and assessment, and exploring how AI can support, not replace, the human elements of learning and teaching.

Join colleagues from across the Swiss higher education landscape as we come together and share how we are responding to this moment. What is working? What challenges remain? How can we make space for experimentation while staying grounded in what truly matters?

This conference is a space for practical insights, honest reflection, and meaningful dialogue, as our own roles evolve alongside the technologies we engage with. Let’s explore how we can shape faculty development that is as thoughtful as it is forward-looking, as collaborative as it is courageous, and always centred on people.

This conference is FREE for SFDN members. If you would like to become a member, click here.

Please register your attendance in this form !

Register

The program

09:15 Coffee and registration

09:45 Welcome by Dr. Ruth Puhr (SFDN President) and networking event

10:15 Opening remarks by Prof. Dr. Andrea Schweizer (Rector of PHZH)

10:20 Keynotes by Dr. Martin Compton “Promises, pitfalls and paradoxes: Positioning faculty development in the age of AI” and Julia Bogdon (co-President of the Swiss Student Union)

11:30 Parallel sessions – empirical papers (read abstracts)

Room – J002B

  • Shifting Grounds: Higher Education Development and the Changing Meaning of Quality in the AI Era by Sabrina Gallner (PHLU)
  • Using epistemic micro-practices to prepare students for increased use of AI in software design by Siara Isaac (EPFL)
  • Communities of Practice as Catalysts for Constructive Engagement with Generative AI in Higher Education by Monika Schlatter, Dominik Tschopp, Juliane Felder, Roy Fischer, Johanna Thüring (FHNW)

Room – M021

  • Chatbot inclusion in a pedagogical scenario: initial feedback on use and effectiveness by Valentina Rossi (EPFL)
  • Augmenting Active Learning with GenAI: Enhancement or Impairment? Evidence from a Data Visualization Course by Vladimir Macko (UNINE)
  • Engaging with AI use in assessments by Rachel Germanier (Les Roches)

Room – M041

  • Designing institutional support for generative AI adoption by Iris Capdevila (EPFL) and Kim Uittenhove (EPFL)
  • Generative AI Competencies for Higher Education Lecturers – Towards an Extension of Existing Frameworks by Isabelle F. Geppert, Kerstin Denecke, Daniel Reichenpfader, André Klostermann (all UNIBE)
  • Posters x 3
    • Assessing the assessment–A deep dive into assessment phases and the use of AI support by Carina Greif (UZH), Ute Woschnack, (UZH) and Franziska Klarer (ETHZ)
    • AI Competence Framework for Teaching Staff by Lukas Löffel, David Schmocker and Anja Koszuta (all UZH)
    • Embedding Artificial Intelligence into Higher Education Curricula: Pathways for Sustainable Faculty Development by David Schmocker (UZH)

13:15 Lunch

14:30 Parallel session – Share-a-thons (read abstracts here)

Room – J002B

  • (40 min) AI in higher education at HLS – local and sustainable by Oliver Mülken and Tilman Schieber, (FHNW)
  • (20 Min) Navigating GenAI Integration: A Blueprint as a Catalyst for Faculty Development Discussion by Daniel Flück (ETHZ)

Room – M021

  • (40 Min) Generative AI in Learning and Assessment: A Practical Tool for Reflection and Dialogue by Henrietta Carbonel (Uni Distance)
  • (20 Min) Designing Aha-Moments: Human-Powered Techniques for Faculty Development by Sara Petchey (UZH)

Room – M041

  • (Starts at 14:15) From Offloading to Active Learning: AI Coaches for Faculty Development by Christian Coenen (ZHAW) and Tobias Zimmermann (PHZH)
  • Posters (Same posters)

15:45 Closing keynotes by Dr. Martin Compton and Julia Bogdon

16:30 Closing remarks by Dr. Ruth Puhr

-> Cake to celebrate 25 years of SFDN

The organisers

The SFDN is a professional association of faculty developers interested in building up the teaching and learning capacity in higher education institutions in Switzerland. The network comprises the public and private institutions of higher education of Switzerland (universities, institutes of technology, applied universities, universities of teacher education).

Our main objective is to provide a supportive environment for individuals working in higher educational development in Switzerland to network, exchange knowledge of our discipline, and share practice.  Our activities include an annual conference, campus site visits, webinars, workshops, and an annual members meeting.

Types of submissions

SHARE-A-THON

Participants have 20 or 40 minutes (please specify) to share an actual or prototype of an humAIn tool and/or resource that they are using or could use in regular practice, an interactive format. 

Empirical papers

Presenters have 15 minutes to introduce their work, followed by 15 minutes for structured discussion with the audience. Work should be scholarly (based on literature, significant research or other empirical work) and be methodologically sound. The structured discussion must be planned and facilitated by the presenters.

Posters

Poster presenters are invited to be creative in presenting actual or planned collaboration between humans and AI in faculty development.

Presenters may be invited to “pitch” a summary of the key points of their poster.

Bring a question

Stimulate and facilitate a discussion based on a question or challenge you are experiencing related to the conference theme.

Submission process

Submissions must be made using the supplied online form. Only submissions made via this online form will be considered.

Submit abstract

Abstract length should not exceed 400 words, excluding references (please include only your main references). Do not include images, graphs or tables.

Submissions will then enter a double-blind review process.

The deadline for submissions is midnight on August 28th, 2025 September 12th, 2025.

You will be informed of acceptance or rejection no later than 3rd October 2025. 

Presenters must confirm acceptance via email by 17 November, 2025.

Criteria for all submissions

  • The submission contributes to the understanding or practice of educational development.
  • The submission will make a clear contribution to the conference theme.
  • The submission demonstrates an understanding of current issues in educational development and/or existing scholarship.

Additional criteria for Empirical Papers

  • The theoretical/empirical/methodological frameworks used in the work are visible in the submission and sound.
  • The structured discussion is considered in the submission. 

Additional criteria for Posters

  • The theoretical/empirical/methodological frameworks used in the work are visible in the submission and sound.
  • The poster format is creative and/or visually appealing.