Dr Anna Santucci is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Centre for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) at University College Cork (UCC, Ireland), where she directs CIRTL’s MA program in Teaching and Learning for Higher Education and co-leads UCC’s Teaching & Learning activities for the UNIC European University alliance. She is a passionate, critically relational, intercultural, multilingual, participatory-arts-informed educational developer committed to fostering love, hope, equity and justice in higher education via co-creation, reflection, agency, and dialogue about teaching and learning.

Previous Experience & Education:

• 2019-2022 Faculty Development Specialist, Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Rhode Island (USA)
• PhD in Italian + Theatre & Performance (Brown University, USA), 2016-19. Dissertation: Performing Language & Culture: Teaching & Learning Italian through Critical Embodied Encounters           
• MA in English (Nottingham, UK), 2009
• BA in Modern Languages (Padova, Italy), 2006

Key networks and professional leadership highlights:

• Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education: Chair of POD’s Professional Development Committee, 2022-25, and editor of the POD Perspectives series, 2022-25
• All Ireland Society for Higher Education (AISHE): Vice-president, 2024-current
• Educational Developers in Ireland (EDIN) Network: EDIN Committee member, 2022-current
• International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL): co-lead of a 2023 Collaborative Writing Group
• International Consortium for Educational Development (ICED): Associate Editor of its International Journal for Academic Development (IJAD), 2024-27

Publications include: Research in Drama Education, Scenario Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning and Research, Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, Journal of Faculty Development, Transformative Dialogues, Teaching and Learning Inquiry, New Directions in Teaching & Learning, International Journal for Academic Development.

2023 highlights:

• Keynote speaker at the 2023 SoTL Symposium Expeditions in SoTL, Mount Royal University, Mokakiiks Centre for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (Alberta, Canada): Growing Together: Liminal Presence, Emergent Dialogue, and Cultural Action Towards Transformative Co-creation in Our Teaching and Learning Journeys
• Plenary speaker at the 2023 SoTL Summit Pearls of Wisdom, Kennesaw State University, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (GA, USA): The People We SoTL With: SoTL as Collaborative Process & Inclusive Trans-disciplinary Practice               

2024 highlights:

• Author of a chapter contribution about “The artistry of teaching as culturally self-aware, learning-centred, imaginative co-creation”, in: The Artistry of Teaching in Higher Education, edited by H. King
• Co-editor and author of a Transformative Dialogues special issue about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning across the disciplines

Approach as Mentor

I have benefited from peer-mentoring throughout my career and consider it an integral part of who I am as a higher education professional. I deeply believe in the value of collegiality and mutual support to create more equitable ecosystems in which we all thrive together through and across difference. My approach is informed by my experience in the field of intercultural competence, and I strive to establish strong relationships that are built on trust and dialogue; I take great care in intentionally applying my knowledge of educational theories and learning principles, and my skills as an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator. I exercise my interculturally sensitive approach in a variety on contexts, helping colleagues in my networks along their growth as Scholars of Teaching and Learning and Educational Developers. Rooted in my participatory arts background and practice, I believe in teaching as artistry and encourage its practice through courageously self-aware and creative exploration. I strive to help others identify their own questions and next steps as they approach any learning, and aim to empower them to explore diverse strategies. I try to do so in non-prescriptive ways that center the agency of everyone involved; this approach stems from my belief that any meaningful learning encounter is collectively created by the ensemble of its participants.

Type of Mentoring Offered:

 1:1 Mentoring - longer term relationship (1 year plus).

1:1 Mentoring - short term relationship (6 months or less).

Speed Mentoring - One meeting to address specific mentee need.

Panel Mentoring - mentoring with 1 to 2 other panel members - longer term relationship (1 year plus).

Panel Mentoring - mentoring with 1 to 2 other panel members - Short term relationship (6 months or less).

Panel Mentoring - mentoring with 1 to 2 other panel members - Speed Mentoring Session (once off meeting around specific need).