Welcome to this special edition of JoTL, Malmö University's Journal of Teaching and Learning. It is with great pleasure that we present eight contributions from the conference Lärarlärdom, which was held on August 19^th his year. The conference is a collaboration between Blekinge Institute of Technology, Kristianstad University and Malmö University, which this year hosted the conference for the first time. As a consequence of the current pandemic, this year’s conference, was conducted digitally for the first time. This made it possible to open it up to participation from all higher education institutions within Lärosäten Syd, a new order that we hope will become permanent.

Questions about higher education and pedagogical development work have rarely been as topical as this year. In March, UKÄ presented its recommendations following the review of the educational development work of higher education institutions in 2019 and shortly afterwards Covid-19 forced us all to switch into digital education. In other words, the need to exchange experiences and critically examine the practice of higher education is greater than ever.

The breadth and commitment to participate in the conference Lärarlärdom illustrates the value of pedagogical and didactic discussions across disciplines and university boundaries. This meant that the main purpose of the conference, to be a meeting place for discussion and knowledge formation on teaching and learning in higher education, was fulfilled by far. 17 contributions on the overall theme Digitisation and Widening Participation were presented and discussed during the day.  Eight of these we have the pleasure of sharing in this format. The texts reflect ongoing pedagogical development and quality work at universities and colleges in southern Sweden.

If you want to take part of additional content from Lärarlärdom 2020, the Keynote and other presentations are available here. We hope the reading inspires participation in next year's conference. The University of Kristianstad has taken over the baton and is organising Lärarlärdom 2021 in August.  While waiting to meet there, we welcome ongoing contributions to JoTL.

Patricia Staaf, Anne-Charlotte Ek och Gunilla Assarsson