The First Project Coordination Meeting and International CRIMHUM Conference in Lviv
The First CRIMHUM Coordination Meeting was organised back to back with the First International CRIMHUM Conference on February 20-21, 2020 in the glorious city of Lviv. Lviv National University named after Ivan Franko was the host university.
The project coordinators from the University of Graz (Grantholder / Austria), the Faculty of Law of the University of Rijeka (Croatia), Vilnius University (Lithuania), Belarusian State University (Minsk, Belarus), Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno (Belarus), Lviv National University named after Ivan Franko (Ukraine), Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Kharkiv, Ukraine), National University “Odesa Law Academy” (Ukraine) attended the meeting.
The participants discussed the following issues:
Implementation of the program in Belarus and Ukraine: milestones, difficulties and their overcoming (Dr. Aleh Maroz and Vasyl Lutsyk)
The procedure of the Project registration in Ukraine (Dr. Vasyl Lutsyk)
Information on Project reporting (Dr. Aleh Maroz)
Purchase of Equipment: problems and solutions (discussion)
Current issues of financial management (Prof. Thomas Kruessmann and Dr. Vadzim Samaryn)
Repeat: refund of staff costs, travel cost, equipment, printing and publishing, other costs and the necessity of co-financing by each partner (discussion)
Progress planning of the next period (discussion)
Content of textbooks and progress in their writing (discussion)
Development of ‘to-do’ for each partner (discussion)
The aim of the conference was to pay attention to the Erasmus+ CRIMHUM project and its interim results, as well as to discuss issues of modern legal education in the field of criminal justice.
The first day of the conference was opened with a welcoming speech by the Dean of the Law Faculty of the Lviv National University named after Ivan Franko Prof. Volodymyr Burdin. He noted the importance of the CRIMHUM project for Ukrainian legal education. A welcoming speech was also made by Professor Dr. Vasyl Nor, Head of the Department of Criminal Procedure and Criminalistics.
Each report made a heated discussion. Of particular note, the report of the Prof. Viacheslav Navrotski "How to teach criminal law, but not legislation?". It raised the problem of the need to learn the law, rather than constantly changing legislation, so that students can understand the very essence of the rule of law. Prof. Vasyl Nor described the reforms in the institute of settlement in criminal proceedings in Ukraine. Dr. Igor Martinović and Iva Parenta raised the problem of upholding human rights while using firearms: European standards and challenges to young professionals in Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Olga Petrova explained the need for training in the interrogation of minors in criminal proceedings. Dr. Olena Kharytonova devoted her report to gender equality issues in the legal profession. Prof. Tuliakov revealed sustainable development goals, human rights and criminal jurisprudence. Dr. Vadzim Samaryn revealed the issues of human rights violations during the use of the Interpol mechanism and told what a modern law student in this field needs to know. Dr. Larisa Brinch informed participants about the ECHR practice on the verification of the means of proof in criminal proceedings (Khmelnytsky university of management and law)
The first day of the Conference was followed by a Round-table discussion «Current issues of reforming criminal justice in EU, Ukraine and Belarus» with the participation of Ukrainian stakeholders, which was consisting of two sessions. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Olena Kharytonova.
As a result of the conference, it was noted that it is necessary to overcome the difficulty of teaching students relevant judicial practice (especially the practice of the ECHR) in the light of changing legal positions.
The meeting of experts of the international project ENI-LLB-1-207 “Reduction of Negative impact of Alien Invasive Plant Species on Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing in Cross-border Region of LATVIA LITHUANIA BELARUS”
6 February 2020 the meeting of experts started in Vilnus (Lithuania). The representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno Deputy Нead of the Chief Accountant Tatsiana Jurevich and Associate Professor, Doctor of Biological Science Aleh Sozinav participated in the discussions and presented the results of project activities. The meeting was attended by the Lithuanian side - the Natural Heritage Fund, the Administration of the Varna Municipality, Dzukiy National Park, the Belarusian side - Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, the Department of Agriculture and Food of the Grodno District Executive Committee and the Republican Landscape Reserve "Lakes". The meeting discusses the results of a project on mapping invasive plant species on a transboundary territory and strategic control of them.
Invasive Plant Data Web Map Provided by the Local Population
Map of the distribution of invasive plant species in the Belarusian-Lithuanian borderland
Methodological approaches to the inventory of invasive plant species
Atlas of invasive plant species to be mapped according to project ENI-LLB-1-207
Alien aggressive plant species LT-BY borderlands: studies for the benefit of nature and people (VIDEO)
Grodno seminars and trainings for participants under international project “Enhancement of Lifelong Learning in Belarus”
From 17th to 19th, March 2020 on the basis of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno seminars and trainings for participants under international project “Enhancement of Lifelong Learning in Belarus” (586278-EPP-1-2017-1-LV-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP) will take place.
Lecturers from 6 Belarusian universities participating in the project (Belarusian State Academy of Agriculture, Brest State Technical University, Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov, Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel, Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, Polotsk State University) will exchange experience on the results of distant learning courses for the population on English Language, Information Security, Legal Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy, Energy and Resource Saving in Everyday Life, will adopt the experience of partners from the European Union, will discuss ways to improve the developed online courses and further use of the electronic educational platform MOODLE.
The events will be attended by representatives of partner universities from the United Kingdom – The Open University, Spain - University of Cadiz, Latvia - Rezekne Academy of Technologies, Sweden - Linnaeus University, Växjö.
Free distance learning courses started
In November 2019, at 6 Belarusian universities (Belarusian State Academy of Agriculture, Brest State Technical University, Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov, Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel, Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, Polotsk State University) started free distance learning courses for the population.
In the framework of the international CBHE project «Enhancement of Lifelong Learning in Belarus» (586278-EPP-1-2017-1-LV-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP),financed by EU, teams of six Belarussian regional universities have developed distance learning courses for the population.
All created courses are focused on the development of practical skills and competencies that are in demand in everyday life. The development used the experience of European universities in the United Kingdom, Spain, Latvia, Sweden.
Within four months, population of the regions will be able to undergo free training in English Language, Information Security, Basics of Legal Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy, Energy and Resource Saving in Everyday Life.
Personal computer, laptop or smartphone with Internet access are necessary for training. Offline training is also provided.
At the end of the training course participants will receive a certificate of the international project of the European Union’s program ERASMUS +.
Detailed information on courses and training opportunities is presented in the «Study courses» section.
Seminar and Conference in Genoa, Italy
9-13 December 2019, at the University of Genoa (Italy), within the framework of the UniTeLE project, a training seminar and training on active teaching methods for representatives of six Belarusian universities, members of the project consortium, as well as an international conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Bologna Declaration were held.
2 representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno: Oleg Kolyago the Head of the Educational Innovation Laboratory and Alexei Abelevskij the senior lecturer of the Physical Education and Sports Chair took part in this project activity.
Andrea Frucco and project coordinators, professor, Dr. Guido F. Amoretti, professor Diana Spulber opened the international event. The project coordinators spoke in detail about the directions of the university’s work, noted that high-quality higher education brings about 30 million Euro to the university. The quality of modern education was discussed at the seminar: from the historical and social approach to the quality of education, to ensuring quality through accreditation of courses and the development of university policy, academic development of teachers. Representatives of six Belarusian universities: GSTU, BSU, BrSTU, BSAA, PSU, YKSUG, as well as universities in Italy, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, actively participated in the discussion of the use of active teaching methods in the educational activities of universities.
The seminar participants discussed the active methods used at the universities of Genoa learning. The pedagogical techniques studied in theory and practice of active learning methods, motivating students to independent, proactive and creative development of educational material generate the interest of participants. Among them were methods such as: case study, problem based learning, simulation / role playing, project based learning. The use of the possibilities of using tools for creating presentations, organizing meetings, events and making the Mentimeter interactive was also considered. The main trend is the formation of programs taking into account the capabilities of the student and the requirements of the future profession. The introduction of new active pedagogical technologies, the dissemination of successful competent and scientific experience of European countries will improve the system of increasing the pedagogical skills of teachers in Belarus.
Kick-off meeting of the new project “University Teaching and Learning Enhancement” (UniTeLE)
20/03-22/03/2019
The representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno took part in the first meeting in the framework of the project “University Teaching and Learning Enhancement” at Linneus Unoversity of Växjö. The Head of the International Projects Department of Education Internationalization Center, Viktoriya Kerget and the Head of the Educational Department of the Eeducational-methodical Department Anatol Bahdevich presented to the project partners Yanka Kupala State University results in the field of international project activities, the implementation of innovative educational technologies and a quality management system.
Within the framework of the first meeting participants developed a plan and stages for the implementation of the project and the distribution of responsibilities was also agreed. Implementation of the project results will allow Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno to move on the way of innovative development, improving the organization of the educational process at the university in accordance with European standards for ensuring the quality of education.
As a result of the implementation of the UniTeLE project, it is planned to create a Center for Academic Development and Pedagogical Training at the University, to develop
and introduce innovative educational methods. An important aspect of the project is the development of pedagogical interaction and pedagogical networks for employees
of universities in Sweden, Italy, Germany, Turkey and Belarus.
Two representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno have taken part in the training «Active Learning in the Flipped Classroom» held in Linköping University (Sweden)
TWO REPRESENTATIVES OF YANKA KUPALA STATE UNIVERSITY OF GRODNO TOOK PART IN THE STUDY VISIT AND INFORMATION SEMINAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA AND WORKSHOP-TRAINING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTO
On June 11-16, 2018 the representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno Darya Shpak, Head of educational and methodical department for quality management of education and Sviatlana Hanchar, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages participated in the Study Visit and Information Seminar at the University of Barcelona and Workshop-training at the University of Porto within the framework of the Erasmus+ project PRINTeL - “Change in Classroom: Promoting Innovative Teaching and Learning to Enhance Student Learning Experience in Eastern Partnership Countries”.
The Study Visit and Information Seminar at the University of Barcelona took place on June 11-12, 2018. The representatives of YKSUG got acquainted with modern experience of the Teaching Staff Development Centers (TSDC), their activity, structure and undergoing training programmes. The main organizers of the event were Joan-Thomàs Pujolà and Marina Sole Catala – professors at the University of Barcelona (BU). During the seminars the representatives of the Project’s European partner universities made presentations and shared their experience. The Workshop-Training «Sharing Experiences, Promoting Bridges in Education» was held in the University of Porto. The main objective of the Workshop-Training was the development of Eastern PC universities TSDC administrative staff’s competence in the area of operation of TSDCs, development and realization of innovative training programmes and working out of new operational plans. One of the tasks for the participants of the workshop was the development of a concept of TSDC. During the round table meeting, the representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, Belarusian State University and Brest State Technical University discussed the prospects for the development of the Belarusian system of qualification upgrading and retraining as well as presented their vision of TSDC in the structure of the higher education institution.
The first coordination meeting of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) took place on June 16, 2018 at the University of Porto, where European and Eastern PC institutional coordinators participated. During the coordination meeting the Work group leaders reported on the progress of activities in the framework of the project. The Coordination meeting was chaired by the head of PRINTeL project, director of YSU Quality Assurance Center Armen Budaghyan.
PRINTeL project coordinator Armen Budaghyan, professor Marina Sole Catala from the University of Barcelona and Fernando Remião – pro-rector of Porto University summarized the results of the working meetings.
QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BELARUS WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS’ EYES
2nd International seminar, 21-22 March, 2018
QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BELARUS WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS’ EYES
Belarus State Economic University in cooperation with Baltic Sea Region University Network Minsk (Belarus) Seminar Objectives: 1. To examine various views of the role of higher education in preparing graduates for works in Belarus 2. To discuss the teaching and learning approaches in Belarusian universities 3. To disseminate the relevance in the use of innovative approaches in teaching and learning for the Higher Education System, and in specific for the Belarusian one. 4. To foster relationships and lines of communication with external stakeholders Venue: Belarus State Economic University, Minsk, Partizansky Prospect, 26, building 1, room 407 Language: Translations services for Russian and English.
Date: Wednesday 21st March, 2018
09:00 Registration 09:30 Opening Act Victor Sadovsky (5’) Serhei Kasperovich (5’)
BSEU Vice-Rector Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus Andrea Wiktorin (5’) Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Belarus Kari Hyppönen (5’) BSRUN President Adela García Aracil (5’) FOSTERC Project Coordinator– “Fostering Competencies Development in Belarusian Higher Education 10:00 Session I: Sustainable and Prosperous Region Based on a Thriving Higher Education Maira Mora (20’ presenting, 10’ discussion) Ambassador, Director General of the Secretariat, Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)
BELARUS STATE ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY
10:30 Session II: FOSTERC PROJECT Valentina Simkhovich (10’ presenting, 5’ discussion) The process of collecting data
Belarus State Economic University
José Ginés Mora (10’ presenting, 5’ discussion) Main results of the surveys
OxCHEPS, University of Oxford & USSL
11:00 Coffee Break
11:30 Session III: Case Studies of University Cooperation with Belarusian HEIs Irinja Paakkanen & Mari Leino (20’ presenting) Strategy in mobility as a catalyst for internationalisation: Case of the University of Turku Head of International Affairs, University Impact and Engagement; Planning Officer, Research Development University of Turku
Aleksander Karlik (20’ presenting) Cooperation of SPbGEU and Belarusian universities in the scientific sphere as a tool to improve the efficiency of economy of the Union State
Head of Department of Economy and Management of Enterprises and Industrial Complexes, UNECON
Dr. Ilona Baumane-Vitolina (20’ presenting) University as an active player in innovation ecosystem: some examples from Latvia and Estonia and possibilities for replication elsewhere
Department of Global Economics Interdisciplinary Studies, Faculty of Business, Management and Economics. University of Latvia
Sergey Maskevich (20’ presenting) Experience and new educational projects of International Sakharov Environmental Institute of BSU in the international cooperation development
Director of International Sakharov Environmental Institute of Belarusian State University
13:00 Lunch (paid by participants)
14:30 Session IV: Showing General Results of FOSTERC surveys Prof. José Ginés Mora & Maica Bas Graduates, Teachers and Employers Results (1h.15 presenting, 15’ discussion) University Solutions, SL
16:00 Coffee break
BELARUS STATE ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY
16:30 Session V: Case Studies of Graduates, Teachers and Employers – Synergies with other European project Prof. Harald Schomburg Key Issues and International Experiences of Tracer Studies (45’ presenting, 15’ discussion) Centre for Research on Higher Education and Work, University of Kassel 17:30 Adjournment
Date: Thuesday 22nd March, 2018
09:30 Registration 10:00 Session VI: Belarusian specific forward analysis of FOSTERC database Igor Titovich (15’) Relevance of higher education to the requirements of labour market in Belarus National Institute of Higher Education
Alexandra Pozniak (15’) From teaching to learning: methods and technologies
Alexander Rytov (15’) Belarusian graduates’ study related experience abroad: FOSTERC survey outcomes
Belarusian State Pedagogical University
Belarusian State University
Alena Doryna, Tatiana Bukhovets (15’) Quality of training graduates: employers’ view
Belarus State Economic University
11:00 Coffee Break 11:30 Session VII: Belarusian specific forward analysis of FOSTERC database Tatiana Kovalchuk (15’) Quality of learning as evaluated by graduates and teachers: comparative analysis Brest State University
Yuri Bialykh (15’) Competency assessment: organization of the survey and results Alexander Sviridov (15’) Graduates of the agricultural profile: formation of competences
Nadezhda Bareyka (15’) Analysis of teachers’ survey for enhancing didactics and methodology
Grodno State University
Grodno State Agrarian University
Polotsk State University
BELARUS STATE ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY
Mikhail Koshman (15’) Reflection of the experience of applying the competencebased approach in training graduates within the cluster approach
Gomel State University
12:45 Session VIII: Training workshops results in Belarusian participating universities
Adela García Aracil (20`) NGENIO (CSIC-UPV)
Danguole Salavejiene (20’) LEU
13:15 Closing Act
14:30 Internal FOSTERC meeting
INFORMATION LETTER
II International Seminar QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BELARUS WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS’ EYES
Belarus State Economic University Baltic Sea Region University Network Minsk, Republic of Belarus 21-22 March, 2018
Dear colleagues, We invite you to participate in II International seminar “Quality of higher education in Belarus with the stakeholders eyes” organized on the basis of Belarusian State Economic University in the framework of the international technical assistance project “Fostering Competencies Development in Belarusian Higher Education (FOSTERC)” of ERASMUS+ programme. Seminar objectives: 1. To examine various views of the role of higher education in preparing graduates for works in Belarus. 2. To discuss the teaching and learning approaches in Belarusian universities. 3. To disseminate the relevance in the use of innovative approaches in teaching and learning for the Belarusian Higher Education System. 4. To foster relationships and lines of communication with external stakeholders. This seminar is a joint event of the FOSTERC project and the Baltic Sea Region Universities Network (BSRUN). It aims at discussing best practices of cooperation of Belarusian universities with the Network participants, as well as the results of surveying graduates, teachers of Belarusian universities and employers of the republic. Analyzing the opinions of the given stakeholders in higher professional education will make it possible to identify bottlenecks in training graduates in the
BELARUS STATE ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY
context of the introduction of a competence-based approach and formation of graduates’ competencies, as well as in interaction of educational institutions and employers. Scientists, teachers, employers, specialists in the field of education, innovative educational technologies, as well as those interested in implementing high-quality training of graduates of HEIs are invited to participate in the seminar.
Dates of the seminar: 21-22 March, 2018 Working languages: Russian and English (simalteneous translation) Venue: Belarus State Economic University, Minsk, Partizansky Prospect, 26, building 1, room 407 Organizer: Belarus State Economic University Contact persons: Valentina Simkhovich mobile tel.:+375 29 688 49 39 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Diana Shokanova mobile tel.: +375 44 733 02 42 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The participants / sending party cover the expenses for travel, accommodation and meals.
website
Participants should register on the http://bseu.by/russian/international/seminar-2.htm till 18 March, 2018
On the 15th-16th of February, 2018 at Yerevan State University in the Academic Council Hall the seminar “Change in Classroom: Promoting Innovative Teaching and Learning to Enhance Student Learning Experience in Eastern Partnership Countries” was held.
Two participants Elena Opekun and Svetlana Gonchar represented Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno.
The main goals of the seminar were the promotion of development and innovation in teaching and learning , as well as the introduction of new technologies in the teaching process in Armenia, Georgia and Belarus and modernizing higher education in the partner countries which were discussed by the representatives of European Union and Eastern partner country universities: Yerevan State University (YSU), National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA), Vanadzor State University after H. Tumanyan (VSU) and National Center for Strategic Research in HE (NCSRHE), Ilia State University (ISU), Georgian Technical University (GTU) and Iakob Gogebashvili Telavi State University (TeSaU), Belarusian State University (BSU), Brest State Technical University (BrSTU) and Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno (YKSUG), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universidade do Porto (U. Porto), Linkopings Universitet (LiU), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) and FH Joanneum Gesellschaft mbH (FHJ).
The first day of the seminar was dedicated to the presentations on the overall educational structures of EU and partner country institutions. The participants emphasized the role of innovative teaching & learning methods, current teacher training programmes as well as the challenges they face in their institutions.
The conference was attended by RA Deputy Minister of Education and Science Vahram Mkrtchyan, YSU Rector Aram Simonyan, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Alexander Grigoryan, Head of Erasmus + Armenia Office Lana Karlova, representatives of universities and experts.
The meeting in the framework of the project Tempus «Applied Computing in Engineering and Science» (ACES) took place in Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal.
Natalya Markovskaya participated in the meeting as the representative of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno.
During the meeting the participants discussed the questions of interfaculty cooperation perspectives, as well as training materials on statistical computer calculations for the specialty Applied Computer Data Analysis.
Professor of Mathematical Faculty of Instituto Superior Técnico Pedro Miguel Lima agreed to give a web lecture for students of YKSUG in November, 2017. http://fem.grsu.by/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1014:lima2017&catid=90:news&Itemid=669
International seminar on the implementation of the Bologna process in the Belarusian education system was held at Yanka Kupala State University with the support of the European Union experts.
The coordinator of the project FOSTERC is a representative of Polytechnic University of Valencia, and the experts from the University of Turku, Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and the University of Bialystok visited Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno to discuss the implementation of the Bologna process in the Republic of Belarus. The representatives of the project note that its goal is, first of all, to orient the Belarusian education system to a student. It is necessary to turn to modern methods of developing educational programs based on the competence approach, which is aimed at the practical component of the content of education, the independent work of students and getting necessary professional competences. This approach in education involves creating new teaching methods and testing its effectiveness. During the training part of the workshop participants developed a pilot version of the curriculum, defined and formed methods for evaluating students.
The representatives of Physico-Technical Faculty of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno took part in Management Meeting and Workshop of Erasmus+ project "Improvement of Master Level Education in the Field of Physical Sciences in Belarusian Universities".
The meeting was held 30 November – 1 December, 2017 in Riga Technical University (Latvia). The participants from universities of Belarus, Belgium, Cyprus, and Latvia discussed Master level education improvement and curricular development in universities.