LIFT: New research centre strengthens innovative teaching and learning research

LIFT brings together expertise from different disciplines: Tino Endres is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and conducts research on topics including learning processes, self-regulated learning and digital learning environments. Julia Chatain is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. Her research focuses on learning technologies and on how technological solutions can be designed to support the understanding of abstract concepts in particular.

How do students learn? How does their interest in a particular subject area develop? How do they regulate their own learning behaviour? And how can digital and emerging technologies be used to support effective learning? These are some of the questions explored by the new research centre.

LIFT brings together interdisciplinary research on teaching and learning, focusing on both current and future challenges in delivering high-quality higher education. At its core is theory-driven research whose findings can be applied to everyday student learning and, in particular, to digital distance education. LIFT thus pursues a clear vision: to advance innovative, scientifically grounded research that helps embed evidence-based teaching and learning practices more firmly in everyday higher education.

The research centre’s activities focus on three key areas. First, LIFT aims to develop a coherent research agenda for modern teaching and learning. Second, it seeks to translate research findings into evidence-based teaching practice. Third, the centre aims to build a community for interdisciplinary research and innovation in education.

Exchange between research and teaching plays a particularly important role. In addition to researchers, teaching staff are encouraged to contribute by testing and further developing evidence-based approaches in their own courses and modules.

The joint leadership of Tino Endres and Julia Chatain reflects LIFT’s interdisciplinary approach. While Prof. Dr Endres contributes his expertise in teaching and learning research, Prof. Dr Chatain complements this with her research at the intersection of education and technology.

With LIFT, UniDistance Suisse is creating a new platform that brings together expertise in learning research and emerging technologies, providing new impetus for the evidence-based development of higher education teaching.

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