Monika Müller

Academic skills such as reading, writing, critical thinking and information literacy are foundational to university-level learning. However, although students often have a certain level of academic literacy on arrival, their skills do not necessarily match the context-specific requirements of higher education and often need to be explicitly taught. In contrast to ad hoc and isolated interventions, which seem to be the default response to this skills shortage, we argue for a more systematic, integrated and sustainable approach to academic skills development. We show that a joint venture between subject teachers, librarians, academic skills teachers and the programme management can bring about an effective and sustainable way of working with skills development. Based on our experiences in an international bachelor’s programme, we outline a roadmap for fostering academic literacy that is resilient to staff turnover and aligned with course objectives. The proposed model aims to enhance student engagement, ensure continuity across courses, and support diverse learners in achieving their academic potential.