Symposium on improving the quality and effectiveness of education and learning
As part of the Design for increased competence through active participation in higher education (DECAP - HE) project, a Symposium on improving the quality and efficiency of education and learning took place at Alma Mater Europaea - ECM.
The basic purpose of the project is to improve the quality and efficiency of teaching and learning in higher education and to empower individuals and institutions in higher education to actively respond to the challenges of preparing students for work and life in the 21st century in cooperation with other stakeholders and by exchanging good practices.
"The project is co-financed by the Norwegian financial mechanism Norway Grants, and the managing authority on the Slovenian side is the Government Service of the Republic of Slovenia for Development and European Cohesion Policy. The main idea of Norway Grants is a green, competitive and inclusive Europe, and among the key goals are also the reduction of economic and social differences in the economic space and the strengthening of bilateral relations between European countries," said the project manager at Alma Mater doc. dr. Polonca Pangrčič and added that the knowledge and practices discovered and developed through cooperation and mutual learning in the project will be an integral part of the new didactic tools and sources of support, which are designed to develop, maintain and further strengthen institutional cooperation, active learning and adoption of modernized approaches to learning and competence development in higher education.
Participating partners in the project are: Pedagogical Institute, Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia, Student Organization of Slovenia and Kristiania University College from Norway.
The Pedagogical Institute, as a central research institution in the field of education, will contribute its knowledge and experience from the point of view of knowledge and conceptualization, as well as the transfer of global competences, active citizenship, language use in education and, above all, the developed model for observing pedagogical practice, which we designed especially for this project," emphasized dr. Janja Žmavc. dr. Janja Žmavc.
The Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia is also aware of the importance of linking education and the economy. "We think it is very important that pupils and students come to companies qualified after their education. Projects of this type allow for a great contribution in the field of economy as well, which is why we gladly accepted the cooperation," said Petra Sternad.
The project is also important for students. "Among other things, we at ŠOS are also responsible for taking care of quality in higher education. We are confident that as part of the project we will achieve the set goals, implement them in education in Slovenia and improve the space for students and professors," said the member of the Slovenian Student Union, Alen Brkič.
The event was joined by prof. dr. Matej Mertik, who presented the results and practices of the two-year project on higher education in the future of the Hybrid Lab Network. "The world is changing very quickly with the development of technology, and it is also necessary to adapt to this in education. The project addressed approaches to equipping the workforce of the future with an interdisciplinary understanding that encompasses the creative thinking, innovative skills and collaboration needed to underpin experimental teaching/learning methodologies for the future. It was intended to stimulate reflection processes and real action on what higher education should be for the future, addressed by four cultures – arts, science, technology, humanities – and three sectors – academic, research and social,” he summarized Mertic.