Curriculum innovation and reform are complex processes that benefit from multiple perspectives. No single institution holds all the answers, and collaboration across disciplines and across institutions is essential.
This philosophy prompted us to embark on a project involving like-minded colleagues from UCL East and Queen Mary University London to explore how curricula could be developed in our local area of east London. We explored how cross-institutional, localised partnerships can support meaningful innovation in teaching and learning, specifically in education for sustainability and community-based learning.
This guide offers tips drawn from our experience of building cross-institutional collaborations for curriculum enhancement projects, with a focus on creating real, meaningful impact.
Tip 1: Create your coalition of ‘passionate individuals’
Successful collaboration starts with people. Finding individuals within your own institution and beyond who are passionate about educational change and innovation is a key first step. Build connections with individuals from the following networks to spark cross-disciplinary conversations:
Teaching and learning centres or academic development units: staff in these units usually lead work on curriculum change and new approaches to teaching, and many networks extend across institutions through professional associations.
Sustainability or education for sustainable development (ESD) groups: these formal networks or informal working groups are where we’ve seen the most success. They focus on embedding sustainability in courses, and often connect colleagues from multiple universities. Many universities have an ESD focus, so these groups are good places to find like-minded colleagues.
Student-staff partnership schemes: projects or programmes where students and staff co-create teaching, assessment or feedback. Some national and regional networks link similar initiatives across institutions, or you could ask your local scheme about their counterparts.
Interdisciplinary challenge initiatives such as “grand challenges”, “living labs” or local equivalents: these often foster connections between staff and students around global and civic issues.
Public engagement or civic engagement services or departments within your institution: many colleagues working on links with local communities, schools or organisations maintain inter-university collaborations for shared projects and regions (like east London for us).
Early career researcher and teaching fellow networks: often enthusiastic about testing new ideas in teaching and connected to similar groups at other institutions.
Digital education or innovation teams: people experimenting with new tools and technologies to support learning. They often participate in cross-university innovation networks.
Tip 2: Create shared goals that allow for open practice-sharing and peer support across departments
We have worked on joint institutional practice-based research, which has given us ideas we’d like to pursue, including:
Joint curriculum initiatives: these connect departments within and across universities, and can encourage the sharing of teaching practices and collaborative development of innovative approaches.
Peer mentoring schemes: these bring together staff or students from different departments, or even partner institutions to work on common goals, such as improving research skills or enhancing employability. Mentors and mentees can exchange strategies, provide feedback and offer ongoing support across disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
Cross-departmental project challenges: these include hackathons or collaborative workshops which involve setting clear objectives, such as tackling climate change or developing community solutions. When extended across universities, we believe shared goals can promote open practice-sharing, collective problem-solving and mutual learning between faculties and institutions.
- Resources for higher education professionals on curricula development
- Sustainability education isn’t just an add-on – it’s a foundation for the future
- Campus talks: are we facing a crisis in critical thinking in higher education?
Tip 3: Find spaces for collaboration
Dedicated time and space for collaboration make a huge difference. Whether physical or digital, these environments allow for the sharing of ideas, co-creation of activities, and relationship-building across institutional boundaries. You can champion this by:
Organising events or practice-sharing sessions to surface and spread ideas. We didn’t wait for a formal committee or central group to take the lead. Instead, we put on small, bespoke sessions around topics we cared about. We had peers from different institutions co-lead the planning and invitations, which made the sessions feel shared from the outset. We even tapped into external networks such as The Association of Commonwealth Universities, which brought in colleagues we wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Hands-on workshops bring colleagues together to develop ideas and strategies. We discovered that our institutions already had great spaces for teaching: maker spaces, flexible classrooms and labs that could be repurposed for collaborative activities. Running workshops in these environments not only made the sessions more engaging but also gave us a sense of “making something together” rather than just talking.
We used platforms such as Microsoft Teams to facilitate ongoing dialogue and resource-sharing between sessions. We found setting up a Microsoft Teams space invaluable because it allows guest access; one institution can host, and others can join easily. It felt natural to use the same digital tools we already rely on daily, and it meant the conversations and resource-sharing didn’t end when the in-person sessions finished.
Tip 4: Sustain the collaboration
To maintain momentum, set shared goals, clarify expectations and build a structure that keeps the collaboration moving forward. Continuity is key. So is funding, where available. You can do this by:
Setting clear goals and a focused agenda for your collaboration. We found that having a shared focus made it much easier for colleagues to prioritise this work alongside their busy roles. Too many fixed targets can close down opportunities, but a clear agenda and a sense of tangible outcomes help people decide that this “extra” activity is worth their time.
Agreeing expectations for involvement so that contributors can commit in realistic ways. In our experience of co-leading communities of practice, we found that people engage at very different levels and that is completely normal. What matters is avoiding over-reliance on a small group (which leads to fatigue) while still keeping the door wide open for new and occasional contributions. We’ve also learned that regularly refreshing discussions and inviting different voices helps sustain energy and commitment.
When collaborations attract institutional backing – whether through small funding pots or simply recognition through workload allocation and promotion processes – they have a much greater chance of lasting. Organisations such as the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education and the Society for Research into Higher Education often encourage joint projects across institutions. We’ve seen that these shared initiatives not only strengthen partnerships but also give collaborators a common purpose, which can be just as motivating as the more informal exchanges.
Stephanie Fuller is the academic practice taught programmes manager and Rehan Shah is a lecturer in mathematics and engineering education – both at Queen Mary University of London; Anne Preston is a professor of education at UCL.
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