academica project

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any

use which may be made of the information contained therein.

A TRAINING PATH FOR INNOVATION AND

MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

CURRICULUM IN CENTRAL ASIA

Dr. Michela Tramonti – Project Manager

About the project - Summary• ACADEMICA is three-year project co-funded by the EC in

the framework of the Programme ERASMUS Plus;• Key Action 2 - Capacity-building in the Field of Higher

Education 2015 /CBHE/;• Capacity-building Projects are transnational cooperation

projects based on multilateral partnerships, primarily between higher education institutions (HEIs) from Programme and eligible Partner Countries financed through the strictly defined instruments of EU.

2ACADEMICA Project № 561553-EPP-1-2015-1-BG-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP (2015 – 3552 / 001 - 001)

30 September 2016, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan

ACADEMICA Project – Main aim• The ACADEMICA Project aims to contribute to the modernization and

improvement of higher education in the field of Engineering Sciences in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan through convergence with European educational standards, achievements, and expertise of EU in the development of modern learning environments and innovative methodologies for teaching and learning based on ICT and OERs.

• This aim is concretized in line with the National priorities for Joint and Structural Projects of the Partner countries involved in the following subject areas:

• Engineering and engineering trades• Teacher training and education science



Project Objectives• Provision of more flexible access to higher education through the

establishment of modern educational environments in the Universities form Region 7 involved in the project;

• Improvement of the competencies of university lecturers in Engineering Sciences in line with their active involvement in the global digital educational space;

• Modernization of the Engineering Sciences curricula through integration of innovative ICT-based teaching and learning approaches and open educational resources.

• Development of a system for transnational cooperation between universities and business organizations from the EU and the countries from Central Asia aiming the exchange of experiences and best practices education.



Countries involved in the Project ConsortiumBulgaria, Austria, Italy,

SpainKazakhstan, Turkmenistan,

Uzbekistan

Region 7



ACADEMICA Project Partners• Europe

• Burgas Free University (BG) Coordinator• Università degli Studi “G. Marconi” (IT)• Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (ES)• University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM (AT)

• Kazakhstan • Shokan Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University• International Information Technology University• Abay Myrzakhmetov Kokshetau University• Kostanay State Pedagogical Institute• Kazakhstan Association of Engineering Education • Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan

• Uzbekistan • Samarkand Agricultural Institute• Tashkent University of Information Technologies• Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan

• Turkmenistan • Turkmen State Institute of Culture• Turkmen State Institute of Finances

• Associated Partners• Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan• CF "Fund" Zhas Otan "of Akmola region", Republic of Kazakhstan



Innovative character of the ProjectThe innovative character is expressed by:1. Innovative methodology: The training path integrating methodology and content that would equip lecturers with transversal and key competences and skills necessary for their active inclusion in the global digital teaching and learning space.2. ICT-based educational opportunities: Provision of a more flexible accessibility to training opportunities thanks to ICT-based approaches;3. Modernized University curricula in Engineering Sciences where the contemporary technology-based approaches and contents are integrated.4. Establishment of a transnational co-operation system among Universities and business organizations in order to improve the capacity of HEIs in Region 7 thus achieving excellence by linking education, innovation and business.



Target Groups and Beneficiaries

• Target groups:• University lecturers of Engineering Studies;• Students.

• Beneficiaries:• Direct beneficiaries – lecturers and students;• Indirect beneficiaries – Local, Regional and National

Governing Bodies responsible for the education, Universities’ networks and the Universities.



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ACADEMICA e -course

ACADEMICA Project № 561553-EPP-1-2015-1-BG-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP (2015 – 3552 / 001 - 001) 30 September 2016, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan

Context

University lecturers have been constant promoters of innovation in Higher Education Institutions. The deployment

of digital educational technologies and the development and availability of open educational resources are key factors for modernisation of the Higher Education /HE/.



General Aim of e-course

The aim is to provide the University lecturers involved with the necessary know-how to modernize traditional face-to-

face lessons transforming them into pure distance or blended courses.

The achievement of this aim will contribute for the process of modernisation, reshaping and transforming the

Universities in the context of more flexibility, openness and online provision of world-class education.



Specific Aims (I)

• The ACADEMICA e-Course will introduce innovative teaching methods and contemporary ICT-based pedagogical tools which are in compliance with the European educational standards and best practices in HE.

• The lecturers involved in the training will be equipped with transversal and key competences and skills necessary for their active inclusion in the global digital teaching and learning space.



Specific Aims (II)

• At the end of the course, the lecturers will be able to develop or find autonomously technological learning materials and open educational resources, to define an appropriate standard for lessons and contents and to exploit tools offered by WEB 2.0.



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At the end of the course, the lecturers will be able to:

• Understand Distance Learning evolution;• Define custom lessons layouts;• Exploit social network to increase learning process and

optimize students interactions;

Learning Objectives (I)


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At the end of the course, the lecturers will be able to:

• Find license-free learning materials and suitable open educational resources;

• Develop learning materials in responsive technology; • Use the most recent pedagogical techniques both for

traditional and digital education

Learning Objectives (II)


Course length

• The training course consists in 36 hours divided into 12 weeks (3 hours/week)

• Considering re-listening (e-learning) we have 1.5 hours/week

• Each week includes 3 activities of 30 minutes



Course modules

• The course is divided into 6 modules of 2 weeks each

• Each module is devoted to a specific argument

• Each module consists of 6 activities, 2 weeks, 180 minutes (3 hours)



Pre-requisites

• Since the course is in English, we consider the “English course” as a pre-requisite for the training

• A test is required to validate English level. In agreement with the European Framework

• People with no sufficient English level will be enrolled in a dedicated “English Course” (30h) aiming to improve their working language proficiency



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The Training course is delivered through a virtual learning environment based on the Moodle E-Learning Platform.

The ACADEMICA e-course includes theoretical knowledge, lectures, virtual class discussions, case studies, and webinars.


Learning content

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The learning content is developed using learning objects:

• Multimedia Lessons – exploiting a dedicated platform the lesson can be navigated with audio explanation synchronized with hyper textual index;

• Slides realised by the subject domain experts converted;

• Lecture Notes – textual documents presenting in detail the lesson’s topics and /or different perspective of the contents already explained.


Proposed Training Course

The proposed modules for the Training Course are:

• E-Learning Evolution • Distance Learning Fruition • E-Learning pedagogical aspects • Style and Formats • Social enhanced Learning • Multimedia Products



The Syllabus

The syllabus of the course contains all information about:

- Suggested time schedule- Modules arguments- Virtual classes (1 each module + 1 final discussion)- Additional materials



THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Contact:Michela TramontiProject Manager

E-mail: [email protected]

