Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO)

Are you a senior lecturer and do you play an active role in the university’s educational development and innovation? If so, you are eligible for the Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO). This qualification shows that you possess strong didactic and educational skills and that you contribute to the development of education beyond your own course or discipline.

General criteria

SKO candidates must meet the following criteria at the start of the process:

1.   They must be in possession of the UTQ.
2.   They must have a PhD and/or be able to demonstrate, by means of a (clinical) qualification and more than four years of experience, that they possess specialist knowledge and skills from professional practice with demonstrable value for academic education.*
3.   They must have taught at a university level for at least five years after obtaining the UTQ.
4.   They must be able to demonstrate that they have taught various courses in different academic years and have applied a variety of educational methods.
5.   Their teaching CV must show that they have recently developed initiatives and made contributions that have had an educational impact within one or more programmes that go beyone their own course or discipline.

* Professional fields usually have formal qualifications. If this is not the case for your field, a statement from a few referees will suffice. In addition, you can indicate why you think you qualify for the SKO. Years of experience are years in which you spent a substantial part of your time (16 hours per week) in your professional practice.

Final learning objectives

To obtain the SKO, you must put together a portfolio of your final learning objectives, reflect on your teaching experience and show how you implement the university’s Vision on Teaching and Learning in your own teaching practice. The final learning objectives relate to four themes:

Conduct within the academic teaching environment
Creating and developing a didactic programme with a view to the context of a curriculum
Preparing and providing teaching
Impact on education within one or more degree programmes that extends beyond your own teaching programme

Procedure

The UTQ process involves the following steps:

Phase A: Application procedure

1. You submit your application by sending the following documents to the secretary of the assessment committee at SKO@llinc.leidenuniv.nl:

(Teaching) Curriculum Vitae
Reflection on the final learning objectives 1 and 4

For the format of these documents, please see the porftolio format.

Phase B: Assessment of the application and criteria by the assessment committee

2. The university assessment committee determines whether you can start compiling the SKO portfolio. This depends on whether you meet the general criteria and/or if the initial reflection offers sufficient assurance that you will be able to obtain the SKO.

3. The assessment committee will inform you of the result and the motivation for its decision.

Phase C: Announcement of the results of the first application

4. If you receive a positive decision, you may begin writing the portfolio (following the portfolio format).

Advice: You are strongly advised to join a group of SKO candidates for several inspiration sessions under the guidance of an LLInC educational consultant. You may also send an e-mail to SKO@llinc.leidenuniv.nl if you would like to register for Individual coaching (personalized one-on-one coaching sessions).

5. Submit the portfolio before the deadline.

Phase D: Assesment definitive portfolio

6. The assessment committee will assess your portfolio.

7. The assessment committee will interview you about the portfolio.

8. The assessment committee advises the Executive Board (CvB) regarding the award of the SKO.

Phase E: Certificate ceremony

9. Candidates whose portfolio has been positively assessed will receive their certificate in January.

Time frame

2026 round

27 November 2025: Information session (PLNT Building – The Workshop; Langegracht 70). Start time: 15.15
13 February 2026: Deadline application
11 September 2026: Deadline portfolio delivery
October 2026 (last two weeks): Talks with SKO committee
26 November 2026: Information session for new round of SKO (location t.b.a.) starting at 15.15
January 2027: Certificates

Video: ‘Good teaching captures students’ attention’

What inspires teaching staff to undertake the SKO programme? And what doet it bring them? Watch the video for an impression.

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SKO inspiration sessions and individual guidance

If you have the opportunity to do the SKO, we strongly advise attending the LLInC’s inspiration sessions together with the other SKO candidates. You can also ask for individual guidance. You will be invited to these sessions if you are admitted to the SKO. The participants will be consulted on possible dates for the sessions.

Please note: The SKO is not the outcome of a training programme, unlike at other Dutch universities. The inspiration sessions and individual guidance provide support in writing the portfolio, but the SKO assessment committee forms its own opinion about the applications and portfolios.

SKO assessment committee members

Adriaan Rademaker Humanities (chair)
Marc Cleiren
Friedo Dekker Medicine/LUMC
Linda Holtman Faculty of Science
Liesbeth Adelmeijer LUMC

Questions?

If you have questions about the SKO, please contact the SKO assessment committee at sko@llinc.leidenuniv.nl.

Leiden University wants to promote Lifelong Learning for its staff and lecturers. We want to facilitate and encourage personal growth. One of the action lines in our Strategic Plan is to promote high-quality, innovative, flexible and future-oriented academic education. The Senior Teaching Qualification helps realise this goal.

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