HumAIn faculty development: sensible, bold, collaborative
When: 28th November 2025 from 9h30 to 16h30
Where: Zurich
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 !
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.
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.