Carolyn Blume, an English language education specialist, has been elected as a member of the Academy for Excellence in Higher Education Teaching. The platform aims to raise the profile of good teaching and promote it more widely.
Professor Dr Carolyn Blume has been admitted to the Academy for Excellence in Higher Education Teaching. The Academy is a nationwide network of lecturers from all disciplines and types of higher education institution. Membership is awarded, following a selection process, to individuals with exceptional teaching skills and innovative teaching approaches.
Carolyn Blume has been Professor of English Language, Literature and Culture at Heidelberg University of Education since 2024. Prior to this, she worked as a junior professor at Dortmund Technical University. She studied at Stanford University (California, USA), Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA) and Mercy College (New York, USA), and has worked as a lecturer in both the USA and Germany. She obtained her doctorate from Leuphana University of Lüneburg.
Her main areas of research include digitalisation and the management of diversity in English language teaching. Her teaching has already received two awards. “I am delighted to now be a member of the Academy for Excellence in Higher Education Teaching,” said Blume. “I believe that foreign language teaching methodology can provide new impetus here and also draw on fresh insights from the network’s work.”
The Academy for Excellence in Higher Education Teaching (Akademie Ausgezeichnete Hochschullehre e.V.) grew out of a programme run by the Stifterverband and the Baden-Württemberg Foundation. Today, it is a platform that highlights good teaching, develops it collaboratively and promotes it widely across university and disciplinary boundaries. Its aim is to push the boundaries of traditional teaching and create a dynamic learning environment in which creative ideas are encouraged and shared.
The network announced that in the 2025 call for applications, it received three times as many applications as there were places available. Following a competitive peer-review process, 19 teaching professionals were ultimately selected to enrich the Academy in future with their perspectives, teaching projects and commitment.
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Text: Antje Karbe
Photo: Birgitta Hohenester