scholarly journals Academic and Professional Mobility and its Transformative Potential

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Foutz ◽  
Brian Polkinghorn

With the development of exchange mechanisms, periods of mobility abroad have become frequent, sometimes unavoidable, in the school curriculum of a student. Taking the form of semesters of study in a foreign university or work placements for higher education students, the skills acquired during these immersion phases, both linguistically and technically, and in terms of know-how, are undeniable and valued by numerous research works. In this paper, we will review the impact of international exchanges on the professional integration of students. We are interested in the academic and professional gain linked to the international mobility that organizations, such as Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) locations, can offer to college students. We propose, in our research, to examine the construction and contribution of the opportunities that these RCE locations can offer to students, in terms of academic, professional and social development. This study will highlight RCE Salisbury, of which is hosted by the organization the Bosserman Center of Conflict Resolution, as a case study.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Elena Blagoeva

The impact of the last global economic crisis (2008) on the European economy put a strain on higher education (HE), yet it also pushed the sector towards intensive reforms and improvements. This paper focuses on the “Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2020”. With a case study methodology, we explore the strategic endeavours of the Bulgarian government to comply with the European directions and to secure sustainable growth for the HE sector. Our research question is ‘How capable is the Bulgarian HE Strategy to overcome the economic and systemic restraints of Bulgarian higher education?’. Because the development of strategies for HE within the EU is highly contextual, a single qualitative case study was chosen as the research approach. HE institutions are not ivory towers, but subjects to a variety of external and internal forces. Within the EU, this is obviated by the fact that Universities obtain their funds from institutions such as governments, students and their families, donors, as well as EU-level programmes. Therefore, to explore how these pressures interact to affect strategic action on national level, the case method is well suited as it enabled us to study the phenomena thoroughly and deeply. The paper suggests the actions proposed within the Strategy have the potential to overcome the delay, the regional isolation and the negative impact of the economic crisis on the country. Nevertheless, the key elements on which the success or failure of this Strategy hinges are the control mechanisms and the approach to implementation. Shortcomings in these two aspects of strategic actions in HE seem to mark the difference between gaining long-term benefits and merely saving face in front of international institutions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma MESIRIDZE ◽  
Nino TVALTCHRELIDZE

The Bologna Process, Information and Communication Technology, and market forces have brought manyinnovations and great changes to higher education systems throughout Europe. Reforms in higher educationhave taken a new direction, towards making higher education students more autonomous. However, manycountries have not really adopted this innovative way of teaching and still maintain an old ‘transmission’ stylewhich often entails teachers trying to pour knowledge into the minds of their students. Promoting autonomouslearning (the ability of students to manage their own learning) in higher education is crucial both for theindividual and society, as the idea of an academic student comprises critical reflective thinking and theimportance of becoming an independent learner. This article will discuss the importance of promotingautonomous learning throughout self, peer and co-assessment for higher education quality enhancement. Thepaper will examine the case of International Black Sea University’s MA students enrolled in the Higher EducationManagement program. The analyses of a survey will be used to discuss the significance of autonomous learningfor students and their readiness for self, peer and co-assessment.


2012 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 20-25
Author(s):  
Anantha Raj A. Arokiasamy

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in higher education for imparting easily accessible, affordable and quality higher education leading to the uplift of Malaysia. The focus of the paper is on the benefits that ICT integration in education can provide, right from breaking time and distance barriers to facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing among geographically distributed students. ICT increases the flexibility of delivery of education so that learners can access knowledge anytime and anywhere. It can influence the way students are taught and how they learn as now the processes are learner driven and not by teachers. This in turn would better prepare the learners for lifelong learning as well as to contribute to the industry. We will also analyze if ICT does indeed improve or hinder the quality of learning among higher education students. This paper reports on the changing trends in use of ICTs for instruction in higher education institutions (HEIs) and discusses a mini-case study of how ICTs are being used by lecturers in one university in Malaysia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Margarita Kefalaki ◽  
◽  
Michael Nevradakis ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
◽  
...  

COVID-19 has greatly impacted all aspects of our everyday lives. A global pandemic of this magnitude, even as we now emerge from strict measures such as lockdowns and await the potential for a ‘new tomorrow’ with the arrival of vaccines, will certainly have long-lasting consequences. We will have to adapt and learn to live in a different way. Accordingly, teaching and learning have also been greatly impacted. Changes to academic curricula have had tremendous cross-cultural effects on higher education students. This study will investigate, by way of focus groups comprised of students studying at Greek universities during the pandemic, the cross-cultural effects that this ‘global experience’ has had on higher education, and particularly on students in Greek universities. The data collection tools are interviews and observations gathered from focus groups.


Author(s):  
Isabel Menezes ◽  
Márcia Coelho ◽  
Fernanda Rodrigues ◽  
Peter Evans ◽  
Brian Martin

The emphasis on the social responsibility of higher education institutions emerged more systematically in the Post-Bologna European context. This paper presents an overview of a case study on a certificate in university social responsibility auditing, based on three European universities: Edimburgh, Kaunas and Porto. The goal is to develop an auditor training for students based on experiential learning, that is coherent and replicable in diverse contexts and that involves the various stakeholders. The project is based on a set of benchmarks of university social responsibility developed in the context of a European project, namely:  Research, Teaching, Support for Learning and Public Engagement; Governance; Environmental and Societal Sustainability; and Fair Practices. We will report on the initial data generated by the ESSA Project, in respect of student recruitment, baseline attitudes and the impact of participation in the training and the first audit.


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