SUTQ | Educational professional development | Learning & Teaching Portal

The Senior University Teaching Qualification (SUTQ), known in Dutch as Senior Kwalificatie Onderwijs (SKO), is a nationally recognised qualification for experienced university teachers.

At the University of Twente, it is developed in collaboration with 4TU-CEE. The SUTQ supports teaching staff in deepening their educational expertise through a structured and research-informed project. It aligns with the UT Career Framework for Recognising and Rewarding Teaching, supporting the development from a Skilled and Collegial Teacher (Level 2) to a Scholarly Teacher (Level 3).

Programme overview

The SUTQ is a project-based learning trajectory. You identify a relevant educational challenge within your own teaching context and explore it using educational design research. Through this process, you design, implement, and evaluate an evidence-informed innovation in your teaching practice.

You will attend monthly workshops, engage in peer exchange, receive personalised coaching, and reflect on your development. The trajectory concludes with a portfolio and assessment interview, in which you demonstrate how your project has contributed to scholarly teaching and educational improvement.

Your Time Investment

The SUTQ takes about 200 hours over 1–1.5 years, with monthly sessions that include workshops, inspiration sessions, and peer feedback. Additional meetings and self-directed work are also part of the journey.

The Senior University Teaching Qualification (SUTQ) is designed for teachers aiming to advance their professional development and engage with the university's teaching community. The University of Twente follows Ruth Graham's Career Framework for University Teaching, which includes four levels of professional development. T
_{Figure: Spheres of impact. Taken from The Career Framework for University Teaching by Ruth Graham.}_{https://www.teachingframework.com/framework/spheresofimpact/}
Core Concepts of SUTQ:
1. Learning and development towards becoming a Scholarly Teacher.
2. Educational design research.
Obtaining the SUTQ certificate could help in progressing on the UT Teaching Framework for Recognising and Rewarding Teaching Achievements from Level 2 (Skilled and Collegial Teacher) to Level 3 (Scholarly Teacher).
The skilled and collegial teacher
The skilled and collegial teacher takes an evidence-informed approach to their development as a teacher and provides mentorship to their peers to promote a collegial and collaborative educational environment across their school or discipline. Their sphere of impact encompasses their academic colleagues (as well as students).
Ruth Graham, https://www.teachingframework.com/framework/spheresofimpact/
The scholarly teacher
The scholarly teacher makes a significant contribution to pedagogical knowledge by engaging with and contributing to scholarly research which, in turn, influences educational practice within and beyond their institution. Their sphere of impact encompasses ‘educational knowledge’, at their institution and within the community in their pedagogical fields of interest (as well academic peers and students).
Ruth Graham, https://www.teachingframework.com/framework/spheresofimpact/
Educational Design Research
The scholarly teacher, should be able to conduct educational design research to work evidence informed and to generate new knowledge from research in teaching practice. This approach involves iterative development of evidence-informed solutions to practical educational problems, providing a basis for scientific inquiry. It aims to solve significant issues while generating new knowledge to benefit others facing similar challenges. This methodology forms the basis of the SUTQ approach and will be explained to you in a series of workshops, and be practiced in a SUTQ project.
Educational Design Research
Educational design research is a genre of research in which the iterative development of solutions to practical and complex educational problems provides the setting for scientific inquiry. The solutions can be educational products, processes, programs, or policies. Educational design research not only targets solving significant problems facing educational practitioners but at the same time seeks to discover new knowledge that can inform the work of others facing similar problems. Working systematically and simultaneously toward these dual goals is perhaps the most defining feature of educational design research.” McKenney &Reeves, 2014.
Key Benefits of SUTQ
- Promotes evidence-informed innovative teaching practices.
- Enhances the quality of education within programs.
- Recognizes and rewards experienced teachers.
- Fosters the development of educational expertise.
- Builds a community among experienced teachers.
- Improves peer guidance for new and UTQ teachers.
- Facilitates knowledge sharing across educational programs.
Publications about the SUTQ trajectory
Veen, J.T., Hahnen-Florijn, M.E., Poortman, C.L., Schildkamp, K. & McKenney, S.E. (2017). Senior University Teaching Qualification via Engineering Education Research and Design. Paper presented at the 45^th SEFI Annual Conference, 18-22 September 2017, Azores. Paper
Poortman, C. L. , Rouwenhorst, C. , ten Voorde-ter Braack, M. , & van der Veen, J. T. (2020). The Senior University Teaching Qualification: Engaging in Research, Design and Building Community in Engineering Education. In J. van der Veen, N. van Hattum-Janssen, H-M. Järvinen, T. de Laet, & I. ten Dam (Eds.), Engaging, Engineering, Education: Book of Abstracts, SEFI 48th Annual Conference University of Twente (online), 20-24 September, 2020 (pp. 1053-1063). University of Twente. Paper

Year	Researcher	Title	Publication
2021-2023	Wietske Bijker	Shared success criteria and effective feedback for successful visits to organisations. International module of the Master’s Spatial Engineering.	Poster
2021-2023	Saskia Lindhoud	Developing blended learning in chemical education	Lindhoud, S. (2023). Hoe peer-learning blended learning kan versterken. SURF communities. Available at: Peer-learning, Online Learning, Poster
2021-2023	Alieke van Dijk	Co-creating assessment criteria to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation and autonomy
2021-2023	Cheryl de Boer	Increasing Argumentation Skills for Sustainability in the Master of Spatial Engineering
2021-2023	Janine van Til	Improving argumentation skills of first-year students health sciences
2019-2021	Rainer Harms	A diary-based reflection to assist STEM students in gaining clarity on the technology entrepreneurship professional identity aspirations
2019-2021	Pascal Wilhelm	Fostering quality of reflection in first-year honours students in a bachelor engineering programme technology, liberal arts & science (ATLAS)	Wilhelm, P. (2021). Fostering Quality of Reflection in First-Year Honours Students. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice.
2019-2021	Mireille Hubers	Developing students’ higher-order thinking skills
2019-2021	Marcus Pereira Pessoa	The use of socially shared learning regulation for teaching engineering project management
2019-2021	Tracy Craig	Making knowledge networks visible	Craig, T.S. (2021). Peer curation of Supplemental Materials. Herenga Delta conference, Auckland NZ.
2019-2021	Anna Bos Nehles	Co-created 360-degree peer feedback process
2019-2021	Klaasjan Visscher	Theatrical technology assessment
2019-2021	Frank Ostermann	Learning scientific reproducibility through peer assessment	Ostermann, F.O. (2021). Peer Assessment to Improve Reproducibility of Computational Project Work. SEFI Annual Conference.
2019-2021	Armağan Karahanoğlu	Act like a user, work like an expert	Karahanoglu, A. (2021). Act like a user, work like a teacher: Evaluation of experience design works through peer-testing. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. Available at: Springer
2019-2021	Hil Meijer	Reinforcing modelling in the applied mathematics curriculum
2019-2021	Richard Loendersloot	Redirecting the learning process of students toward self-directed learning
2018-2019	Tanya Bondarouk	Enhancing intercultural sensitivity of UT Bachelor students
2018-2019	Brigit Geveling	Team-based learning in a fundamental math course
2018-2019	Wouter Eggink	Design research in design education
2018-2019	Frans de Jongh	How to implement student-driven learning in the bachelor phase of technical medicine
2018-2019	Suhyb Salama	Entrepreneurship in geospatial education: a bridge towards sustainable development
2017-2018	Cora Salm	Why students plagiarise?
2017-2018	Andreas Hartmann	To play or not to play: on the motivational aspects of serious games	Hartmann, A., & Gommer, L. (2021). To play or not to play: Motivational effects of games in engineering education. European Journal of Engineering Education. Available at: DOI
2018-2019	Alberto Martinetti	Optimising student-driven learning (SDL) through framework for tailoring personal student paths	Martinetti, A. (2020). Optimizing Student-driven Learning (SdL) through a Framework Designed for Tailoring Personal Student Paths. Education Sciences, 10(9), 249. MDPI AG. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090249
2018-2019	Roy Damgrave	The impact and dependencies of different stakeholders in the development of a learning environment
2018-2019	Iris van Duren	Lessons learned from teaching international students
2018-2019	Javier Martinez	Design of a computer-supported collaborative learning approach to promote positive interdependence in a group assignment
2018-2019	Kees Venner	How to solve IT?
2018-2019	Anne Leferink	On the integration of soft and academic skills in the BSc. program of technical medicine
2018-2019	Leon Olde Scholtenhuis	Flipped micro-lectures: more enjoyable and higher performing classrooms?	Olde Scholtenhuis, L., Vahdatikhaki, F. & Rouwenhorst, C. (2021). Flipped Microlecture Classes: Satisfied Learners and Higher Performance? European Journal of Engineering Education, 46(3), 457-478, DOI: 10.1080/03043797.2020.1819961
2018-2019	Raymond Loohuis	Exploring opportunities for revising enterprise education in the IBA program: a practice-driven approach
2018-2019	Robin de Graaf	Improving learning outcomes of small groups working on an assignment during lectures	Graaf, R. de (2020). Improving Learning Outcomes Of Small Groups Working On An Engineering Design-Assignment During Lectures. In: J. van der Veen, N. van Hattum-Janssen, H-M. Jarvinen, T. de Laet, & I. Ten Dam (Eds.), SEFI 48th Annual Conference: Engaging Engineering Education, Proceedings. (20 Sep 2020 - 24 Sep 2020).
2017-2018	Harry Aarts	A hybrid test for mathematics
2017-2018	Thomas Groen	Is student-centred teaching always fair?	Duren, I. C. van, & Groen, T. A. (2020). Appreciations of teaching methods across cultures: Lessons learned from international students. In: J. van der Veen, N. van Hattum-Janssen, H-M. Jarvinen, T. de Laet, & I. Ten Dam (Eds.), SEFI 48th Annual Conference: Engaging Engineering Education, Proceedings (pp. 1257-1263). Societe Europeenne pour la Formation des Ingenieurs (SEFI). Paper Video
2017-2018	Jan van der Meij	Towards practical and effective video intervision routines
2017-2018	Mark van der Meijde	Taming the wicked education
2017-2018	Carine Doggen	Effect of the flipped classroom in learning clinical research methods

Application and admission

The SUTQ is intended for UT teaching staff who have obtained the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) or an equivalent certification. Applications are welcome from March 31 to April 25, 2025. Details on the procedure and selection can be found in the brochure or obtained from the SUTQ coordinator.

Contact information

For more information about the Senior University Teaching Qualification (SUTQ), please contact: