Sustaining the ACADIMIA Teacher Academy:
Pathways Toward Long-Term Viability

Tryggvi Thayer

April, 2025

 

Some basic, straight-forward ideas

The current iteration of the ACADIMIA Teacher Academy stands to constitute a significant contribution to the European professional development landscape, articulating and operationalising competences associated with creative and inclusive pedagogical practices. Ensuring the long-term viability of Acadimia cannot rely solely on its project-based origins. In the following, a range of interrelated strategies are described that could support Acadimia’s sustained development as a generative infrastructure for teacher training beyond the funded period.[1]

Institutionalisation through strategic anchoring

Sustainability of Acadimia could be ensured by strategically embedding the academy within one or more higher education institutions. Such institutionalisation could involve the establishment of a hosted unit, a cross-institutional consortium or a recognised programmatic strand integrated within teacher training pathways. Strategic anchoring demands not only formal affiliation but active alignment with institutional missions, expressed through incorporation into credit-bearing courses, recognised professional development modules or contributions to national and European teacher competence frameworks. By doing so, Acadimia would be positioned to influence teacher education discourses beyond the temporal scope of project-based activities.

Distributed ownership and emergent governance

Rather than envisioning sustainability as the continuation of a centralised structure, Acadimia’s future viability may be better conceptualised as a distributed ecosystem of practices and relationships. Communities of Practice (CoPs) could be cultivated at local and transnational levels, grounded in shared commitments to inclusive and creative pedagogy rather than imposed mandates. Governance structures should be lightweight, participatory and dynamic—potentially organised around a rotating secretariat or a distributed coordinating hub—thereby minimising bureaucratic inertia while sustaining collective ownership.

Multi-source financial strategies

Financial sustainability could be approached through diversification rather than dependency on singular funding streams. A composite strategy could include:

  • Engagement with future European Union funding calls (e.g., Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe) to support innovation and scaling.
  • Pursuit of national and local grants dedicated to teacher professional development and inclusive education.
  • Strategic partnerships with schools and teacher networks prepared to invest in high-quality professional learning.
  • Development of modular, fee-based training offerings aligned with national qualification frameworks, thereby blending open access with cost-recovery mechanisms.

Open educational infrastructures

To ensure accessibility and iterative development, Acadimia’s core outputs—such as the joint curriculum, pedagogical methods, learning scenarios and assessment tools—could be maintained as open educational resources (OERs). A dedicated, publicly accessible digital platform could facilitate ongoing dissemination and adaptation, while the development of microcredential offerings through national or European platforms could expand Acadimia’s reach in a cost-effective manner.

Strategic partnerships and systems-level advocacy

Sustaining the impact of the Acadimia will require engagement with systems-level stakeholders, including ministries of education, accreditation agencies and teacher unions. Deliberate alignment with contemporary policy frameworks—such as competences for inclusion, creativity and digital transformation—will be essential. Moreover, engagement with international initiatives (e.g., the European Education Area, UNESCO teacher education initiatives) could amplify Acadimia’s visibility and legitimacy.

Futures-oriented adaptability

Sustainability should not be understood as the preservation of Acadimia’s current form but as its capacity to adapt, iterate and remain futures-relevant. This can involve:

  • Embedding foresight activities to track emerging trends in education and teacher development.
  • Periodically updating competence profiles and pedagogical models.
  • Establishing experimental “living labs” in collaboration with schools to pilot and refine innovative practices. Through such mechanisms, Acadimia can evolve as a generative infrastructure, producing anticipatory knowledge and fostering its enactment across diverse educational settings.

Emergent and Speculative Pathways for Sustaining Acadimia

Introduction

In addition to the more conventional strategies proposed above, it is may be helpful to explore more speculative and emergent pathways that, while less immediately actionable, offer conceptually grounded possibilities for Acadimia’s future evolution. These propositions are intended not as prescriptive models but as exploratory frameworks, each grounded in distinct assumptions about institutional roles, distributed agency and the dynamic nature of professional competences.

Reconceptualising Acadimia as a pedagogical R&D infrastructure

One possibility is to reframe Acadimia as a transnational pedagogical research and development infrastructure—a platform through which schools, educational authorities and professional networks can commission exploratory initiatives on creative and inclusive teaching practices. Activities might include the design and testing of innovative learning scenarios, the evaluation of emerging pedagogical tools and the co-development of context-sensitive training modules. Within this model, Acadimia would operate not as a static provider but as a generative infrastructure mobilising its CoPs to produce actionable pedagogical knowledge in response to real-world challenges.

Media-based cultural dissemination

An alternative pathway is the cultivation of a media-based cultural dissemination strategy. This could include a curated podcast, a documentary series or a digital magazine dedicated to chronicling the experiences, reflections and innovations of participating educators. Such a platform would serve both as a public archive and as a cultural intervention, situating creative and inclusive pedagogy within broader societal discourses. It could also diversify funding sources by attracting support from cultural agencies or partnerships with media organisations, thereby extending Acadimia’s influence beyond the traditional confines of professional development.

Development of a competence-based badge ecosystem (microcredentialing)

Drawing on advances in digital credentialing, Acadimia could develop a microcredential system organised around pedagogical competences. In collaboration with ministries and teacher education institutions, this system would align badges with national frameworks for professional development. Participants would accumulate competence-based microcredentials, which could contribute to formally recognised pathways. While the technical deployment of blockchain is not necessary, the underlying metaphor of decentralised, portable recognition could guide the design of a transparent and adaptable microcredentialing ecosystem.

Playable futures: A foresight-driven learning platform

A novel and futures-oriented contribution could involve the creation of a serious game or simulation environment enabling educators to explore speculative scenarios for the future of teaching. Such a platform could model challenges such as navigating inclusive classrooms mediated by emerging technologies or adapting pedagogical strategies in unpredictable contexts. Positioned at the intersection of training, foresight and research, this tool would align with Acadimia’s commitment to competence development while offering new modes of critical engagement for both pre-service and in-service teachers.

Distributed residencies: Pilgrim schools network

Rather than centralising learning experiences, Acadimia could develop a distributed residency model through a network of “pilgrim schools”, i.e. innovative partner schools, across Europe. These schools would host short-term residencies to allow educators to observe and participate in creative and inclusive practices in situ. Residencies could be hybrid, combining physical immersion with virtual dialogue and collaborative documentation. Over time, the network could evolve into an informal accreditation ecosystem, with schools recognised as sites of pedagogical innovation. Acadimia’s role would then center on coordination, storytelling and quality assurance.

Participatory governance and decentralised decision-making

Inspired by decentralised organisational models, Acadimia could institutionalise a participatory governance structure wherein members collaboratively shape programming, resource development and thematic priorities. This need not involve technical decentralisation (e.g., blockchain) but rather the embedding of democratic deliberation processes. Such a model would strengthen professional agency, foster transnational collaboration and reduce dependence on centralised leadership or singular funding streams.

Pop-up academies and contextual engagement

To broaden reach, particularly to educators in rural or underrepresented regions, Acadimia could organise pop-up learning environments hosted temporarily by local institutions or communities. These mobile academies would provide immersive experiences in creative and inclusive pedagogies tailored to local priorities. Such an approach would foster contextualisation, promote place-based learning and reinforce Acadimia’s commitment to equity and accessibility.

Diffusion through memetic pedagogy

Finally, Acadimia could explore a memetic approach to diffusion, articulating key pedagogical practices and values through simple, replicable formats such as rituals, provocations or metaphorical tools. Ultimately, these could spread virally across educational cultures. Drawing inspiration from facilitation toolkits such as Liberating Structures, this strategy emphasises minimal structures with maximal adaptability, ensuring that Acadimia’s pedagogical legacy persists as a living repertoire rather than a fixed institutional brand.

Some interesting related reading

  1. The Teacher Academy as a Pedagogical R&D Infrastructure
    1. Evers, J., & Kneyber, R. (Eds.). (2016). Flip the system: Changing education from the ground up. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315678573[SH1] [SH2] 
  2. Media-Based Dissemination as a Cultural Strategy
    1. Ball, S. J., & Junemann, C. (2012). Networks, new governance and education. Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qgnzt
  3. A Competence-Based Badge Ecosystem
    1. Devedžić, V., & Jovanović, J. (2015). Developing open badges: A comprehensive approach. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(4), 603–620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-015-9388-3
  4. Playable Futures of Teaching
    1. Facer, K. (2011). Learning futures: Education, technology and social change. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203817308
  5. Distributed Residencies through a Pilgrim Schools Network
    1. Lieberman, A., & Wood, D. R. (2002). Inside the National Writing Project: Connecting network learning and classroom teaching. Teachers College Press.
  6. Participatory Governance through a Decentralized Model
    1. Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511807763
  7. Pop-up Academies and Event-Based Engagement
    1. Ito, M., et al. (2013). Connected learning: An agenda for research and design. Digital Media and Learning Research Hub.
  8. Diffusion through Memetic Pedagogy
    1. Tschimmel, K. (2012). Design thinking as an effective toolkit for innovation. In Proceedings of the XXIII ISPIM Conference: Action for Innovation: Innovating from Experience. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236135862_Design_Thinking_as_an_effective_Toolkit_for_Innovation

[1] A generative infrastructure in this context is one that does not merely deliver services, it fosters the emergence of new practices, knowledge and relationships.