As part of EFQUEL’s continued roll-out of the new UNIQUe criteria, the new UNIQUe website has been launched to provide information on the criteria and certification process.The website currently contains all information necessary for potential applicants to assess their interest and suitability for the process.
higher education
Events
Webinar on Application of e-portfolio at the University of Porto
21 March 2012
The E-learning Centre of the University Computing Centre (SRCE) has started the project “Use of e-portfolio system in educational process” which will be delivered in cooperation with the University of Porto, Portugal. Project is aimed at the university teachers who wish to explore the possibilities of e-portfolio as the learning activity in the educational process.
One of first activities is webinar “Application of e-portfolio at the University of Porto” by the colleagues from the University of Porto which is open to public and can be accessed at address http://connect.srce.hr/webinar_eportfolio
The University of Porto implemented a project for the use of e-portfolios among its academic community and the main idea was to use the e-portfolio as an assessment tool of student learning journey showing the importance of that reflective work in their academic and professional life. The portfolio is an excellent opportunity for the students to construct a structured collection of their knowledge, skills and competencies.
Events
International Conference on New Horizons in Education - INTE 2012
22 February 2012
International Conference on New Horizons aims to provide a multinational platform where the latest trends in education can be presented and discussed in a friendly environment with the aim to learn from each other.
The objectives and scope of this conference are the following: Art Education, Biology Education, Chemistry Education, Classroom Teacher Education, College and Higher Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Democracy Education, Development of Science Competencies, Developmental Psychology, Distance Education, Education and Culture, Educational Administration, Educational Planning, Educational Technology, Environmental Education, ESL Education, Health Education, High School Teacher Education, History Education, Human Resources in Education, Human Rights Education, Innovation and Changing in Ed., Instructional Design, Language Education, Language Learning and Teaching, Language Teacher Education, Learning and Teaching, Guiding and Counseling, Learning Psychology, Mathematics Education, Measurement and Evaluation in Ed., Middle School Teacher Education, Multi-Cultural Education, Music Education, New Learning Environments, Nursery Education, Parents Involvement, Physics Education, Pre-school Education, Primary School Education, Professional Development, Science Education, Social Sciences Teaching, Society Involvement, Special Education, Sport and Physical Education, Teacher Training, Vocational Education.
Events
STEM Annual Conference 2012
20 February 2012
The Higher Education Academy’s first annual learning and teaching STEM conference will take place on 12 and 13 April 2012 at Imperial College London, one of the world's leading centres of excellence for teaching and research in the fields of science, technology and medicine.
STEM subjects are recognised as having strategic importance in higher education for the economy and employers. The student learning experience in STEM subjects is vital in ensuring sustained growth in the uptake of these key disciplines. Furthermore an excellent learning experience ensures that students have developed the right skills at the time of graduation and beyond through continued professional development. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) provides national leadership in developing and disseminating evidence-informed practice in learning and teaching in higher education; this conference will provide a platform for this for the HEA's STEM disciplines (for full list see below).
The key conference themes applied to STEM disciplines are:
• innovative practice in STEM learning and teaching;
• gender issues in STEM subjects;
• Mathematics and Statistics in an interdisciplinary context;
• work-based learning in STEM subjects;
• teaching and assessing large classes;
• assessment and feedback;
• employability;
• flexible learning;
• internationalisation;
• retention and success.
Events
ACA Annual Conference 2012
08 February 2012
ACA’s Annual Conferences have become a synonym for high-quality information, analysis and discussion on current policy and practice-related issues in the area of European and international higher education. They bring together central actors and decision-makers in higher education, such as rectors, vice-rectors, faculty and international relations staff, as well as policy-makers and practitioners from government departments, international institutions, non-governmental organisations and think tanks. And they offer opportunities for learning, exchange and networking at a high level.
The 2012 Annual Conference, organised in collaboration with ACA's Finnish member CIMO, brings together a select group of leading thinkers to address, from a multiplicity of perspectives, the synergies between four hotly debated issues in higher education world-wide: internationalisation and mobility, excellence, funding and social inclusion. The two-day conference will take place in wonderful Helsinki on June 11 and 12, preceded by a welcome reception and a social programme on 10 June. This event should draw over 300 participants from Europe and other parts of the world.
Directory
Manual: ‘Make it work. Integrating Virtual Mobility in International Internships’
09 January 2012
This manual is the main result of the EU-VIP project. This publication provides a framework for and a description of the conditions of success for integrating virtual mobility in international internships. Next to this it defines the context and definitions used in the EU-VIP project and it presents the conclusions regarding the perspectives from the different stakeholders: students, higher education institutions and companies.
Quick guide in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian and Polish (pdf)
Directory
Erasmus Mundus 2012 Call for Proposals
30 December 2011
Erasmus Mundus is a cooperation and mobility programme in the field of higher education that aims to enhance the quality of European higher education and to promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through cooperation with third countries. In addition, it contributes to the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in third countries by increasing mobility between the European Union and these countries.
Events
Going Global 2012
14 December 2011
Going Global is a series of international educational conferences hosted by the British Council. It offers an open forum for policy makers and practitioners from around the world to discuss issues facing the international education community. Since its inception in 2004, Going Global has grown from a bi-annual event in the UK to an annual event that alternates between the UK and a different international location. Each year it attracts over 1000 delegates from across the further and higher education sectors and a variety of other industries with perspectives on international education.
- Going Global attracts a diverse audience of policy-makers, professionals and practitioners in the no less diverse landscape of international education. This includes but is not limited to:
- education business developers
- government representatives – central, regional and local
- heads of institutions, including Vice Chancellors, Principals, Rectors and Presidents
- journalists – press and media
- policy and strategy makers and their advisors
- professional and trade bodies working in international education
- those with a responsibility for internationalisation
What does Going Global offer? The conference
- provides a unique platform for knowledge sharing,
- connects local, national, regional and global agendas,
- provides a global network for policy makers and practitioners working in the field of international education,
- supports evidence led policy decisions deriving from research an regional policy dialogues,
- and supports global thought leadership.
News
UNIQUe Website Launched
24 November 2011
The fundamental feature of the UNIQUe approach is to support institutions of higher education to measure how successful they are in technology-enhanced learning and to allow for continuous improvement.
The quality of both products and programmes in the field of technology-enhanced learning varies widely. The UNIQUe quality label is a unique concept of quality improvement which is theoretically sound and at the same time is meeting the expectations of practice.
Many of the existing quality initiatives in this field focus heavily, if not solely, on online instructional design. The UNIQUe approach goes above and beyond this, focusing on the use of ICT to enhance educational provision and learning support, throughout the entire breadth of activity of the Higher Education Institution. This sophisticated approach demands an applicant to meet high quality standards for programme objectives, programme structure, content, resources and learning processes.
UNIQUe accelerates quality improvement and Innovation
The UNIQUe criteria demand proof of continuous iterative innovation in all aspects of pedagogical design and course provision. In addition, they have been designed to be complimentary to the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, thus allowing for quality improvement in TEL, in alignment with on-going adaptation of systems in line with the Bologna reforms.
The label focuses strongly on innovation in all its criteria. Since systemic processes of innovation are bound to enhance the use of information-technologies, the label will take note of, and evaluate, the institution’s entire innovation ecosystem.
The end result of a UNIQUe review is not just a quality certification, but also a set of recommendations to improve TEL quality at the institution in question. Since the UNIQUe certification is valid for three years, each subsequent evaluation, takes into account the recommendations from the previous meaning that an institution must continuously improve its processes and procedures to keep the certification. In addition, researchers at the European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning continuously go over the observations from audit reports, and update guidelines for peer-review teams accordingly, ensuring that reviews take the very latest state-of-the-art into account when conducting a review.
UNIQUe is the result of extensive testing and research
The UNIQUe system and criteria have been based on nearly ten years of research into quality certification of technology enhanced learning. The Certification was designed by the European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning, the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the MENON Network, and EUROPACE – all of whom have decades of expertise in technology enhanced learning. The UNIQUe criteria themselves are based on ten years of research and development activities which included:
- Three European Commission-funded development projects, bringing together 15 partner institutions from around Europe, looking into various aspects of quality certification of e-learning,
- A wide process of consultations with researchers, quality experts and European stakeholders
- A series of UNIQUe pilots tested the criteria and the process with ten Higher Education Institutions over two years
- The current set of criteria were further reviewed based on the feedback received by the first UNIQUe applicants, and from quality assurance agencies in Europe, as well as in Eastern Europe and the Middle-East.
UNIQUe offers a transparent and reliable certification
All the UNIQUe criteria, together with supporting descriptions and documentations are publicly available on the web for all to see. The system is divided into six distinct stages, which offer a formalised approach in each step. In addition, the final decision on certification is made by an independent awarding body, based on the recommendations of an expert peer-review team.
Institutions are publicly awarded at an annual awarding ceremony held during the EFQUEL Innovation Forum, and are given a label to publicise their achievement on their websites and promotional materials. In addition, EFQUEL regularly creates compilations of best-practice in collaboration with certified institutions, and from time-to-time invites them to share their practices in various academic fora.
Events
Canada International Conference on Education (CICE-2012)
22 November 2011
The CICE is an international refereed conference dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practices in education. The CICE promotes collaborative excellence between academicians and professionals from Education. The aim of CICE is to provide an opportunity for academicians and professionals from various educational fields with cross-disciplinary interests to bridge the knowledge gap, promote research esteem and the evolution of pedagogy. The CICE 2012 invites research papers that encompass conceptual analysis, design implementation and performance evaluation. All the accepted papers will appear in the proceedings and modified version of selected papers will be published in special issues peer reviewed journals.