The Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) held on May 28th, 2021, the annual Teaching, Learning and Research Symposium for academic staff. The topic of this year’s symposium focused on the teaching and learning experiences in turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic, opening the floor for constructive dialogues among participants.

WIUT faculty had to quickly adjust to teaching online at the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year. Twenty-two faculty members, representing School of Business and Economics as well as School of Law, Technology, and Education as well as

Pre-university Studies, shared their experiences of teaching online and learning about new pedagogy and use of technology. The presentations focused on such topics as challenges and successes of teaching online, student achievement and engagement, flipped classrooms, new assessment methods, academic integrity, to name a few. The topics of the discussed during the symposium provide a bird’s eye view of the changes in teaching and learning occurring at WIUT.

The Teaching and Learning Symposium brought together faculty members from all departments, giving them a platform to share their expertise and innovations in teaching methods. It also gave faculty members the opportunity to network with, support, and learn from each other. The keynote speaker Jennifer Steil shared her experiences with teaching in turbulent times, sharing some techniques such as creative writing. Mrs. Steil also emphasized that challenging life experiences shape not only our personalities but also our teaching personas. Mrs. Steil is an accomplished writer, journalist as well as keynote speaker.