As CLOUD HED moves into the final phase of the Erasmus+-funded project Disaster Resilience in Higher Education Systems via a Cloud University Model, the consortium is currently working on one of the project’s central practical outputs: training materials for higher education educators teaching under crisis-affected, crisis-prone, or otherwise disrupted conditions. These resources aim to empower educators to adapt effectively, reinforcing their vital role in crisis resilience, and to help them feel more confident in managing challenging situations.

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The development of these materials marks an important transition in the project. Over the past months, CLOUD HED has generated research-based insights into how higher education institutions respond to war, conflict, infrastructure disruption, displacement, and prolonged uncertainty. The current phase focuses on translating these insights into accessible resources that can support educators and institutions in practice.

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The training materials will address four interconnected areas.

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The first area focuses on crisis-responsive teaching and decision-making. It will support educators in designing flexible courses, prioritising core learning objectives, applying crisis-sensitive pedagogy, and making informed decisions when ordinary teaching conditions are disrupted.

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The second area focuses on digital teaching in low-resource environments and amid unstable infrastructure. This includes teaching strategies for contexts in which internet access, electricity, digital devices, learning platforms, or physical learning spaces cannot be taken for granted.

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The third area focuses on student engagement and wellbeing in crisis. It addresses how educators can sustain student connection, motivation, and participation while applying trauma-informed approaches that help recognise and respond appropriately to distress, withdrawal, emotional overload, and disrupted learning routines.

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The fourth area focuses on teacher resilience and self-care. Teaching in crisis requires not only digital and pedagogical adaptation, but also attention to educators’ own professional boundaries, workload, self-regulation, peer support, and long-term capacity to teach under uncertainty.

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Together, these materials reflect a core principle of CLOUD HED: crisis-ready higher education is not only a matter of technology. It also depends on pedagogy, governance, communication, assessment, student support, teacher wellbeing, and institutional preparedness.

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The training materials will be published at the end of September 2026. They will be accessible on the CLOUD HED project website, providing valuable support for ongoing and future efforts in crisis-resilient education.

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In the upcoming weeks, CLOUD HED will host and participate in several key activities, including an online Fireplace Talk and conference contributions, to showcase project insights and foster engagement with the higher education community, encouraging stakeholders to feel connected and involved in the project's progress.

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Register for the “Digital Teaching in Low-Resource Environments and Unstable Infrastructure” fireplace talk scheduled for 16 September 2026 at 09:00 CET here.

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More details about the upcoming training materials, related events, and project outputs will be shared soon on our LinkedIn page.