Toolkit for Academics
How to Create and Implement an ENHANCE Learning Opportunity
This page is designed to support academics in providing learning opportunities within the ENHANCE Alliance. It is structured into four main sections:
- The first offers an overview of the ENHANCE Alliance and its framework for learning opportunities.
- The second section focuses on the development of ENHANCE learning opportunities, while
- the third section outlines implementation strategies, including key advice on funding options. The fourth section addresses the consolidation of offerings, covering monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination.
- A final glossary aids readers in navigating the terminology effectively.
Why Open Your Classes and Create New Courses for ENHANCE?
Joining the ENHANCE Alliance as an educator connects you to a dynamic international community that supports your professional growth and innovation in teaching. Through initiatives like mentoring workshops, teach-the-teacher programmes, and funding for microcredential development, you’ll gain access to cutting-edge teaching methods and resources to enhance your courses. Participation also strengthens your international networks, fosters collaboration with peers across Europe, and positions you at the forefront of shaping the future of higher education.
Benefits for Educators
Broaden Your Impact: Connect with an international network of educators and learners.
Innovate Your Teaching: Experiment with new formats, such as blended learning or short-term mobility programs.
Enhance Your Career: Collaborating with ENHANCE partners opens doors for new opportunities in teaching, research, and professional development.
The cooperation of our institute with the ENHANCE Alliance lead to an offer of a transdisciplinary educational micro programme for students and staff to foster international mobility and knowledge exchange on gender and diversity in science, technology and society. Participants learn to address questions such as: How can gender and diversity be integrated into research and development in STEM disciplines? How can science and technology contribute to a more just future for a heterogenous society? We look forward to welcoming participants from ENHANCE partners for the 4th time in 2025.
Dr. Petra Lucht
Chair „Gender in STEM and Planning“ at the ZIFG
Technische Universität Berlin
About the ENHANCE Alliance
Shaping the ‘New Normal’ of Higher Education
The ENHANCE Alliance is a network of ten leading European Universities of Technology, co-funded by the Erasmus+ European Universities initiative and by national funding agencies, such as DAAD, NAWA and Movetia. Its long-term vision is to establish a European academic space that fosters interaction between technological progress, society, and the environment. The Alliance’s activities prioritise socially inclusive and sustainable research and education, emphasizing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches alongside innovative systems of knowledge co-creation. ENHANCE is committed to building a European Education Without Barriers by aligning educational offerings and administrative procedures across partner institutions, paving the way for a unified One Campus vision.
The ENHANCE Learning Offers
The Alliance is working towards a European Education Without Barriers which implies an alignment of the partners’ education offers and administrative procedures that will contribute to the realisation of the vision of a shared One Campus.
To achieve this goal, the Alliance has established the European Education Pathway Ecosystem (EEP Ecosystem), which focuses on three core areas of collaboration:
This guide offers comprehensive support for designing short-term learning opportunities accessible to learners through the ENHANCE Innovative Learning Campus, complementing our other two formats of education within the Alliance.
Create your ENHANCE Learning Opportunity
In order to support you in the creation and implementation of ENHANCE short-term learning opportunities, we want to offer you this more detailed roadmap as a guide in the process. It outlines essential aspects such as planning timelines, engaging key stakeholders, and adhering to ENHANCE frameworks and regulations. Whether you are developing a new learning experience or adapting an existing one, this resource equips you with the tools and insights needed to design impactful, inclusive, and well-coordinated opportunities for learners across the ENHANCE Alliance.
Classification of Learning Opportunities
The following classification of learning opportunities within the ENHANCE Innovative Learning Campus aims at supporting you in designing an innovative learning offer that does not only fit our learners’ curricula, but is also recognised and valued out all our member universites and the respective student communities . The ENHANCE ILC offers fall into four main categories, with one category further divided into four subcategories:
- (Micro-credential) programmes
- Courses:
- Instructor-paced courses
- MOOCs/self-paced courses
- Summer & winter schools
- Design projects/competitions
- Trainings
- Tandems
This categorisation aligns closely with the formal education process and credit-bearing status (e.g., ECTS or other lifelong learning measures). For further information on learning formats, please contact our local ENHANCE Education Officer.
Planning Steps
Assemble the Project Team
- ENHANCE learning opportunities can either be created solely by you – for example by opening one of your already existing courses to external ENHANCE learners – or be jointly designed and implemented with other colleagues from the Alliance.
- In case you are looking for new partners to jointly implement a course, your Education Officer can assist you in establishing new contacts and connections among the Alliance universities, so utilize their existing contact networks to simplify this process.
- You and, if applicable, your international colleagues from the other ENHANCE universities and the Education Officer(s) and Mobility Officer(s) from the partners involved in designing the learning opportunity together form the project team. It is recommendable that you clearly define and distribute roles and responsibilities as early as possible, e.g., who issues the certificates in the en
Define your Target Group
Sentence about the diversity of learners we are trying o reach
Students
ENHANCE primarily targets bachelor’s and master’s students from its member universities. These students are generally most interested in academic courses that offer credit and incorporate an international mobility experience at another university, particularly when funding opportunities are available.
Lifelong Learners
The second target group comprises lifelong learners (LLL), for whom ENHANCE aims to develop an expanding range of learning opportunities. Unlike students, lifelong learners are typically more willing to cover their own expenses but are often unable to travel abroad for extended periods, limiting their participation to shorter engagements lasting only a few days.
PhD Candidates
Another key target group includes PhD candidates and early-career researchers. Opportunities for this group may include academic courses designed for students, training programs for teaching staff, and joint research workshops.
Staff
(Academic & Administrative)
University staff, both administrative and academic, represent another important target group for ENHANCE. Learning opportunities for these groups can include staff exchange programs, such as staff weeks, as well as workshops and training sessions focused on professional development, cross-institutional collaboration, and innovative practices in education and administration.
Choose Your Format
- The format should be well aligned with the expected target group and number of learners. Formats that include an onsite phase such as Summer/Winter Schools are very resource intensive, while they allow for a close interaction of learners and a real international mobility experience. Online self-study courses such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) on the other hand scale very easily and can accommodate large numbers of learners but often face large drop-out numbers.
- The format needs to be accessible by learners without the need for a long-term stay abroad, i.e. the maximum duration of in-presence teaching (if any) should not exceed 30 days. This also aligns with current Erasmus+ funding regulations for short-term student mobilities that are limited from 5 to 30 days.
- The most common duration of a potential onsite phase is 5 working days, e.g. from Monday to Friday. Longer durations are of course possible but quickly lead to scheduling conflicts for the learners and budgetary constraints for the International Offices when scholarships are involved.
- There is no general restriction from ENHANCE regarding the teaching format but we strongly recommend only offering courses taught in English. Furthermore, ENHANCE has defined some categories of learning opportunities (add link) that are used in external communication with our target groups and applied as filter categories in our shared learning opportunities catalogue. Any new learning opportunity needs to somehow relate to one of these defined categories to facilitate an easy integration into our communication and service infrastructure.
- Having said this, we are always open for new formats as well! ENHANCE is the perfect testbed to try out new innovative teaching and learning approaches in an international network that can already look back on many years of trusted partnership.
Timing is everything
It is recommended to familiarise yourself with the processes and timelines at both your home institution and the ENHANCE network during the early stages of planning. Timely preparation is essential, and we recommend starting 6–9 months before the planned start of the learning opportunity. An overview of common deadlines for harmonisation, publication, and promotion of ENHANCE learning opportunities is available here: (add link).
Academic calendars vary significantly across European countries, making it challenging to find the perfect timing for an activity. However, aligning with the calendars of partner universities can help you reach a broader audience and attract more participants. A shared ENHANCE academic calendar, detailing semester dates for all member universities, can be accessed here: (add link).
Find the Funding
- Funding opportunities may already exist at your institution, such as Erasmus+ funds or other initiatives managed by your university or the ENHANCE Alliance. Contact your Education or Mobility Officer for detailed information about available funding options at your university, within the Alliance, or through external sources.
Erasmus+ funds can often be used by most partners to provide scholarships for students at all levels to support their mobility for an onsite phase of a learning opportunity. University staff may also be eligible for individual Erasmus+ funding to cover travel costs. However, the use of Erasmus+ funds varies among ENHANCE members, so it is essential to consult your Mobility Officer to understand the specific options available at your university.
Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) not only provide scholarships for students and staff but also offer the host institution additional funding to support the implementation of onsite phases. However, Erasmus+ BIP funding comes with specific rules and restrictions. For detailed guidance, contact your Mobility Officer.
If existing funding opportunities are insufficient or do not cover all planned activities, you may seek external funding with the support of your Education or Mobility Officer. The ENHANCE Operational Office can assist you in identifying suitable funding opportunities, as they continuously monitor the European funding and tender landscape.
Inclusivity Aspects
At ENHANCE, we consider inclusivity and accesibility to be a uniting attribute in all our offers. Creating offers that are accessible to all, should be a key consideration when planning any learning opportunity, regardless of the target group. For onsite phases, this includes ensuring barrier-free access to lecture rooms and other facilities, as well as to programme activities such as museum visits, group dinners, and other events. The ENHANCE Diversity Office is available to support you in designing both online and onsite learning activities to be as inclusive as possible.
Concept Phase
Drafting Course Concept
Are you planning to open an existing course to external learners from ENHANCE, certified with a certificate or Transcript of Records from your university, or are you developing a new ENHANCE learning opportunity to be certified on behalf of ENHANCE? This decision will influence both the course concept and the required level of approval.
ENHANCE has established a set of minimum information requirements for learning opportunities to be published in the shared catalogue. A template with all the necessary details can be accessed here (add link).
Once your draft is ready, you are encouraged to submit it for an initial internal review by your Education Officer, who can ensure that the concept aligns with the ENHANCE framework and terminology.
During the next collection period for ENHANCE learning opportunities, your Education Officer will input the approved information into the Alliance’s central catalogue.
Concept Approval
- Once the concept is finalised, it must be approved at the ENHANCE level. Formal approval is only necessary for newly created learning opportunities that:
- are certified on behalf of ENHANCE (rather than by an individual university), and
- qualify as “formal” learning opportunities, meaning they award credits (unlike non-formal or informal options such as training sessions or workshops without credits).
- ENHANCE Education Officers convene quarterly to review, approve, and harmonise all offerings added to the catalogue during the most recent collection round. These meetings ensure that all required information is complete, terminology aligns with the ENHANCE framework, and scheduling conflicts are avoided, particularly for similar courses targeting the same audience that include overlapping onsite phases.
Promotion & Communication
Effective communication is essential for promoting a learning opportunity to its target group(s). The ENHANCE Communication Team supports outreach efforts to potential learners across all ENHANCE universities (students and staff) and beyond (general public and lifelong learners).
ENHANCE learning opportunities are regularly promoted as part of the Innovative Learning Campus course catalogue. Once a learning opportunity is approved and added to the catalogue, its promotion occurs automatically.
To reduce your workload, your Education Officer acts as the liaison with the ENHANCE Communication Team. They will ensure your promotional materials are distributed through the appropriate channels, so there is no need for you to contact the Communication Team directly.
In cases where a more targeted communication approach is needed—such as when a learning opportunity must reach a minimum number of participants to proceed—the ENHANCE Communication Team will require basic details about your learning opportunity, which can be submitted via a communication template (add link).
Additional promotional materials, such as photos, flyers, testimonials from past participants, or a dedicated webpage, are highly encouraged to enhance the visibility of individual learning opportunities. If you wish to share these, please contact your Education Officer, who will upload them to a central database accessible to all ENHANCE universities.
- ENHANCE offers a comprehensive dissemination checklist (add link) to help guide dissemination efforts both during and after implementation.
- ENHANCE is committed to fostering inclusivity and diversity by actively engaging underrepresented groups in its learning opportunities. The ENHANCE Diversity Office plays a key role in this effort by collaborating with relevant student organisations and designing outreach activities to effectively reach these groups. If you have questions about promoting or implementing learning opportunities inclusively, the Diversity Office is available to assist. To support the preparation of inclusive promotional and educational materials, you are encouraged to use the “Inclusive Communication” checklist, available here: Inclusive Communication Checklist.
Selection and Preparation of Learners
Selection of Participants
When designing the application and selection process, the first decision is whether learners will be selected centrally by the institution offering the learning opportunity or independently by each partner involved, as is often the case when a partner’s lecturer is directly involved.
- Keep in mind that the process may need to comply with specific internal or external funding regulations. For example, when funding partners such as Erasmus+ are involved, they may need to select participants themselves or approve the selection to ensure it aligns with their rules.
- Establishing clear, transparent selection criteria and a well-defined application process, helps both our learners and involved staff in the process.
- An accessible online registration process that is open to all ENHANCE students, even those without accounts in your university’s IT system, is essential for the success of the learning opportunity. Your Education Officer can assist you in finding a suitable registration tool.
- Ensure the registration process adheres to GDPR and your university’s data-processing regulations, particularly when collecting personal data. Use applications approved by your university and store data securely on university servers.
- Create an application form that gathers all necessary information for candidate approval, following your selection criteria and any reporting requirements, especially if the activity is part of a funded project.
- To minimise last-minute cancellations, require students to confirm their participation in writing. Consider recruiting more students than needed and implement a contingency plan, such as maintaining a waiting list, to handle cancellations effectively.
Registration and Management of Participants
Participants may require access to your university’s infrastructure, such as an e-learning/LMS platform (e.g., Moodle) or examination management systems, to participate in the learning opportunity. If these systems are not accessible to external users, you may need to register participants in your university’s Campus Management System to grant them full or partial access. Your local Education Officer can assist with the enrolment process and explore available options.
If your university’s e-learning/LMS platform cannot accommodate external users or the registration process is overly complex, consider using the Moodle-based ENHANCE Learning Space (ELS) as an alternative (add link and contact information).
For learning opportunities with an onsite phase, remember that you will be hosting a group of external participants who may be unfamiliar with your university, the city, or even the country. Take steps to ensure they feel welcomed and comfortable during their stay.
Prepare your Learners
- Participants will expect clear and timely information about lecture dates, locations, access to lecture materials, and the communication tools that will be used.
- For learning opportunities with an onsite phase, participants are likely to have questions about accommodation and travel arrangements. Responsibilities for addressing such queries should be clarified and communicated in advance.
If Erasmus+ funding is involved, participants must have a “Learning Agreement” (LA) signed before their mobility begins, as it is a mandatory document for Erasmus+ mobility. Check with your Mobility Officer to determine who is authorised to sign the LA at your institution (this may include you).
Additionally, participants will need practical information, such as the location of lecture or lab rooms and travel details. It is advisable to prepare an information package ahead of time, including the teaching schedule, room locations, and a campus map, to streamline the process and enhance the participant experience.
Certification
After successfully completing an ENHANCE learning opportunity, learners should receive their certificate promptly, typically within four weeks after the examination. To ensure a smooth process, contact your local Education Officer to clarify the steps and responsibilities.
If the learner received a scholarship, the certificate may be a mandatory document required for post-mobility submission, with specific deadlines to be adhered to.
- Needs contact person for certification process /explanation (Edu Officers=)
Documentation & Consolidation
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Ensure the use of appropriate tools to track participant attendance (paper copies of attendance lists may be required for in-person activities, especially when financing is involved).
- Apply the assessment methods for evaluating the competencies acquired by participants as outlined in your initial offer submission.
- Collect participant feedback as needed or useful for future offerings, such as through anonymous online forms or open feedback via testimonials, which can be utilized for future PR purposes.
- ENHANCE utilises a central monitoring tool to oversee its learning opportunities. Your Education Officer will complete this tool on your behalf, but they will require statistical data from you, including registration and participation numbers, gender distribution of participants, and issued certificates.
Debrief
- We strongly recommend organizing a de-brief shortly after the first implementation round of the learning opportunity with the entire project team to reflect on what went well and identify areas for improvement.
- Within the project team, you should decide whether a further edition of the learning opportunity is desired. If agreed upon, determine the next host university, timing, and schedule a follow-up meeting to initiate the process once again.
What's next?
Preparing the Next Edition
- If your project team considers the learning opportunity to have been successful, you can organise reiterations of the learning opportunity for the upcoming terms.
- With each edition, the workload will decrease as everyone becomes more familiar with the processes, and improvements are made to address past challenges.
- Good to know: Once an ENHANCE learning opportunity has been approved at the Alliance level, there is no need for further approval for subsequent editions.
- If you plan for a reiteration of your successful learning opportunity, please contact your local Education Officer to revisit promotion, registration, and other key steps.
Sharing your ENHANCE Success Story
The ENHANCE Communication Team welcomes graphical materials, photos, testimonials, and experience reports to effectively share successfully implemented ENHANCE learning opportunities both within the ENHANCE community and beyond the Alliance. Please share any such materials with your Education and/or Local Communications Officer, who will share your success story within the ENHANCE community.
Ready to create your ENHANCE learning opportunity?
Find Support in your Local ENHANCE Team
Your local ENHANCE team will be happy to accomodate your journey to become an ENHANCE educator and support you in the creation of your learning opportunity. The following contacts for further support can be found at each ENHANCE member university.
Local Education Officer
Every ENHANCE member university has a local Education Officer who supports teaching staff in the implementation of an ENHANCE learning opportunities. The local Education Officer is your central point of contact regarding all administrative processes around your learning opportunity. The ENHANCE Education Officers should be your main support in the creation and implementation process of your learning opprtunity.
Local Communication Officer
Every ENHANCE learning opportunity will be published in the Alliance’s central catalogue and broadly advertised to our various target groups by the team of Local Communication Officers. The ENHANCE Communication Team coordinates our various outreach activities, collectes and manages content for the central ENHANCE website and social media channels, and can support you in the creation and dissemination of promotional materials to disseminate your learning opportunity as broadly as possible.
ENHANCE Core Officer
The ENHANCE Core Officer is the main contact point for all Alliance-related activities at you university. You can contact them at any time to receive more information on ENHANCE-related developments and activities, as well as networking with other colleagues invovled in ENHANCE. You can find contact details of all ENHANCE Core Officers in our Governance overview.
ENHANCE Operational Office
The ENHANCE Operational Office is composed of the central project management team and can provide support in identifying suitable funding opportunities on EU level. ✉ Contact details of the ENHANCE Operational Office team
ENHANCE Diversity Office
The ENHANCE Diversity Office is happy to support you in designing your course as inclusive as possible and in reaching out to underrepresented groups during promotion activities. ✉ Contact the ENHANCE Diversity Office
