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A team of academics from the Faculty of Economics, Oleg Kitov, Toke Aidt, and our very own Ruohan Qin, Fellow and Director of Studies for Economics, have won a 2026 Eduventures Program Innovation Award for "Learning by Doing," a teaching framework developed in undergraduate Economics over the past decade.

Run by Encoura, a US research organisation serving more than 2,000 higher-education institutions, the Eduventures Awards recognise the boldest ideas reshaping universities. In the Program Innovation category, the team's project was the only winner from outside the United States this year.

The framework was previously recognised with a QS Reimagine Education medal. "Learning by Doing" is built on a simple idea, backed by strong evidence: people learn best by actively doing, not by passively listening. This thinking is rooted in constructivism, the well-established view that students build real understanding for themselves rather than receiving it ready-made.

In practice, the method asks students to take charge of their own learning. They sit frequent, no-stakes practice tests, then assess their own work against the mark scheme, followed by a collaborative group discussion. Over time, this trains them to spot what good work looks like and to judge the quality of their own thinking; a skill that lasts well beyond any single exam. 

"This method has proved to be not only the best way to learn, but also the most AI-proof, when students do the thinking themselves, no machine can shortcut the effort that makes knowledge stick," said Oleg Kitov. "To see the framework recognised across the UK, Europe and now the United States tells us this is not a local success. That gives us both the confidence and the evidence to scale it further, within the Faculty and beyond."