Future-Ready Faculty in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Academic Career Development, Meritocracy, and Professional Learning in Higher Education
A special issue of Trends in Higher Education (ISSN 2813-4346).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 March 2027 | Viewed by 16
Editors
Interests: academic career development; teaching and learning; meritocracy and academic evaluation; professional learning in higher education; teaching competencies; educational psychology; ethics education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: healthcare education; ethics education; responsible artificial intelligence in healthcare education; academic professional development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: faculty development; future-ready faculty; academic career development; teaching and learning; professional learning in higher education; psychotherapy; supervision in psychotherapy; psychological counseling
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Higher education is undergoing a profound transformation. Artificial intelligence, digitization, evolving student profiles, and changing expectations regarding teaching and learning are redefining the role of the faculty. Students are entering higher education with new learning habits, varied digital skills, and different expectations regarding flexibility, personalization, and the use of emerging technologies. These changes require faculty members to update their disciplinary knowledge, continuously develop their psycho-pedagogical, digital, and ethical skills, and rethink their professional identity and academic trajectory.
This Special Issue aims to enrich the debate on how higher education institutions can support the development of a faculty prepared for future transformations. Particular attention will be given to adapting faculty training and professional development to the changing student profile in the era of artificial intelligence, as well as to the competencies required for innovative, inclusive, student-centered, and ethically responsible teaching. This Special Issue will also explore academic career development, meritocracy, academic evaluation, recognition of excellence in teaching, and institutional policies that can create relevant professional development pathways.
We welcome theoretical, empirical, and practical contributions addressing how universities can build sustainable systems for faculty development and academic career advancement. This Special Issue aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and identify innovative approaches to preparing educators to navigate technological, pedagogical, organizational, and societal changes, while maintaining the quality of teaching, professional integrity, and a strong commitment to student success.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Higher Education;
- Faculty Development;
- Future-Ready Faculty;
- Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education;
- Teaching Competencies;
- Educational Psychology;
- Academic Career Development;
- Professional Learning;
- Teaching Excellence;
- Meritocracy and Academic Evaluation;
- AI-Enhanced Teaching and Learning;
- Student-Centered Learning;
- Faculty Professional Identity;
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL);
- Educational Innovation.
Prof. Dr. Crisanta-Alina Mazilescu
Dr. Ioana Veja
Prof. Dr. Loredana Vișcu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Trends in Higher Education is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- higher education
- future-ready faculty
- faculty development
- artificial intelligence in higher education
- teaching competencies
- academic career development
- professional learning
- teaching excellence
- meritocracy
- educational innovation
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
