About Profformance+

PROFFORMANCE+ (2022–2025) builds on the achievements of the original PROFFORMANCE project to further strengthen the quality and competitiveness of higher education across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the consortium partner countries. Its mission is to support higher education institutions and teachers in enhancing teaching and learning in line with key European priorities such as digital transformation, inclusion, internationalization, and sustainability.

The PROFFORMANCE+ toolkit is a comprehensive and practical resource that helps higher education professionals interpret EU/EHEA recommendations and integrate them into daily teaching practice. Its three core components—the assessment tool, online short courses, and a teaching excellence database—share a unified structure. Together, they help teachers develop courses that serve diverse student needs, apply innovative teaching and assessment methods, and engage stakeholders to strengthen the societal impact of teaching in alignment with EHEA priorities (digitalization, inclusion, internationalization, sustainability).

Assessment Tool – New Features

The PROFFORMANCE Assessment Tool offers a comprehensive and flexible framework for evaluating teaching performance in higher education, supporting both individual professional development and institutional quality enhancement of teaching and learning. It examines six thematic areas—student-centred course design, teaching performance and student learning support, student learning assessment, societal impact and mission, professional development, and teaching-related organization and administration—while integrating four horizontal priorities: sustainability, inclusion and diversity, digitalization, and internationalization.

Designed as a formative and adaptive instrument, the tool is customizable to institutional needs and provides tailored feedback for teachers. By supporting self-assessment, peer assessment, and student feedback, it enables multi-perspective evaluation and contributes to evidence-based decision-making. Its exportable and downloadable results allow users and institutions to generate outputs aligned with their specific developmental, reporting, or strategic requirements. The tool also supports large-scale data collection, strengthening analysis at institutional, national, and regional levels.

Activities

Throughout the project, a wide range of activities and events supported teacher development, strengthened institutional capacities, and promoted the use of the PROFFORMANCE+ outcomes:

  • International thematic webinars, showcasing good practices from the PROFFORMANCE Teaching Excellence Database.

  • Peer Learning Activities (PLAs), where experts jointly refined the assessment tool and designed the introductory PROFFORMANCE short courses.

  • Ambassador events at national and international levels, where ambassadors presented the project tools and results and led discussions on teacher assessment and development frameworks.

International IPA Network

The ambassador activities were complemented by the work of the international Institutional PROFFORMANCE Ambassador Network, consisting of around 80 active members, including 19 certified IPAs. These experts tested the assessment tool, provided structured feedback, and promoted its use within their institutions and networks, helping ensure that the tool is relevant, applicable, and beneficial across diverse higher education contexts.

PROFFORMANCE Higher Education Teacher Award

The PROFFORMANCE Higher Education Teacher Award Call encouraged teachers to share innovative course designs, development initiatives, and teaching practices, fostering exchange and collaboration across the higher education community. The existing Teaching Excellence Database has been expanded with practices collected from the 2024/25 award call, offering an even richer pool of examples for teachers, educational developers, and institutional leaders.

PROFFORMANCE Short Courses

The Course Portal—offering open-access learning opportunities—has been enriched with new introductory PROFFORMANCE short courses, built around 16 interconnected yet fully independent modules. These courses deliver concise, practice-oriented guidance on key areas such as course design, innovative teaching and learning, assessment strategies, stakeholder engagement, and the application of digital and inclusive pedagogies. They are aligned with UN SDG principles and support the development of internationalised curricula. Designed for maximum flexibility, the courses follow an online, self-paced micro-learning format, enabling teachers to apply the PROFFORMANCE framework in a structured and accessible step-by-step way.

Final Events

The project concluded with two major events designed to promote engagement and hands-on learning:

  • Teacher Power Event – a celebratory and interactive gathering that emphasized the central role of teachers in driving innovation. The event presented project achievements and outputs, showcased award-winning practices, recognized the award recipients, and fostered dialogue among educators, institutional leaders, and policymakers to discuss future directions for improving teaching and learning.

  • PROFFORMANCE Simulation Game – an interactive group-based exercise held at the project’s final conference in Budapest, involving around 90 participants from 14 countries. Participants included national policymakers, institutional representatives, certified IPAs, award-winning teachers, student delegates, and international partners. In facilitated group sessions, participants applied the PROFFORMANCE Assessment Tool, Short Courses, and Teaching Excellence Database to define objectives, plan actions, and discuss teaching and learning strategies. The activity fostered stakeholder dialogue at both inter- and intra-institutional levels and allowed participants to test the toolkit in realistic scenarios, gaining insights into its practical applications and use in supporting a continuous development cycle for teaching enhancement.

Conclusion

As a result, PROFFORMANCE+ provides integrated support for institutional leaders, academic staff, and education professionals. It contributes to digital and green transitions, strengthens international collaboration, and promotes inclusive and student-centered approaches. Its overarching goal is to contribute to a high-quality, accessible, and future-oriented higher education landscape across the EHEA.

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