Two Education Directors appointed for the Faculty of Archaeology
The Faculty of Archaeology is welcoming two new Education Directors this spring: Aris Politopoulos for the bachelor’s programme and Rachel Schats for the master’s and research master’s programmes.
Shared role
For the first time, the role, traditionally held by one person, will be shared. The decision reflects the rapid growth of the Faculty’s programmes and the increasing complexity of the educational landscape.
Politopoulos, who will begin on 1 May, explains why dividing the position makes sense. ‘Yes, it used to be a one-person job. But quite a large job at the same time. When it was originally conceived, our programmes were smaller. Now we are looking at really large programmes with 150 students per cohort. The task has become larger. Two individuals working together, each on a programme, is the best possible solution moving forward.’
Schats, starting 15 April, adds that the collaboration is something they both actively wanted: ‘I think both Aris and I look forward to sharing the job and having someone in the same role to talk things through. We bring different perspectives: I’m from the sciences, Aris from World Archaeology and Heritage. It’s the best of both worlds. We’ve worked together in the Leiden Teaching Academy, and we decided to continue that on a larger scale.’
Restructuring ahead
One of the first major tasks is the restructuring of the master’s programme, after the recommendations made by an external review. Schats notes: ‘What we have to start with is the quite drastic restructuring of the master’s, which also has an impact on the bachelor’s and research master’s programmes. What do we want to teach, and what do we want our students to know when they leave us?’
Politopoulos will support this process from the bachelor’s side: ‘For the bachelor, some changes are already in motion implementing small restructuring and developing learning lines for the programme.’
Innovation and new challenges
Both Directors emphasise the importance of future-proofing the programmes in a rapidly changing educational environment. Politopoulos: ‘We obviously have a lot of things to aspire to. In three years there will be new challenges: new technologies and AI, things change much faster. The important thing is that the programmes are well structured and enjoyed by the students, and that they learn from them. Maintaining a high level of education would be the biggest outcome. And of course, implementing new education methods, innovating on teaching and assessments.’
Schats highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing quality with workload: ‘High student numbers, high workload, passionate teaching staff: we need a future-proof programme for staff and students. Can we keep this up with such high numbers? It’s not ideal if we change the master’s programme now and in two or three years have to completely revisit it again. Our challenge is balancing staff, students, and a coherent programme across all levels. If we succeed in that, I would be very happy.’
Supporting teachers
Education innovation is a shared passion for both Directors. ‘It’s important to stress that we are really invested in education innovation through the Teaching Academy’, Politopoulos notes. ‘We want to make sure students get proper education, and that colleagues get the proper training to increase their own teaching level. We want to bring forward new ideas, is it only about the learning goals, or do we need to think in new design terms?’
Schats adds that they aim to be approachable for teaching-related questions: ‘We would like to be approachable for non-admin questions. We want a more holistic approach to the job: focusing on content and skills, but also different ways of teaching and different skills for students. We want teachers to come to us with questions like: could you think along with this? Help me redesign this course, or assessment, or teaching method. We also want to explore innovative ways to reduce workload.’