Implementing Continuing Professional Education Micro-Credentials in a University Context

Responding to unrelenting change and disruption of global macro factors, universities are rethinking the roles they play in the education landscape. The longevity of life, the complexity of the workplace, and the increasing need for workforce upskilling provide opportunities for universities to engage with lifelong learning and develop a strategic approach towards participating in the 60-year curriculum. This chapter describes the efforts of one Australian university as it commences to diversify from a dominant focus of preparing professionals to enter the professions to building a stronger program portfolio that supports ongoing professional learning. The global technological innovation of digital micro-credentials enables the university's strategic response to fulfil the need for continuing professional education. Using the university as a case study, the chapter discusses key issues and challenges in the early establishment and implementation of the strategic vision for engaging in digital micro-credentialing within the continuing professional education.

The System of Continuing Education at the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM

From 1930 to 1991 our country built a well-structured system of agroengineering higher education institutions and faculties of mechanization that, for 90 years, effectively developed and operated solving the problem of training engineering personnel for the evolving mechanized agriculture. The collapse of the USSR caused dramatic changes in the country system of agricultural engineering education. As a result of numerous reorganizations and reforms in the Russian system of higher education, agroengineering universities ceased to exist independently and had to join agricultural universities. The mergers and integration of research institutions and the establishment of large federal research centers on their basis have made it expedient to implement a continuing professional education system (master’s, postgraduate, doctoral studies).The Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is developing the system of continuing professional education for training modern agricultural engineering personnel in the field of automation, robotization, digital technologies. A current target of the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is the implementation of Master’s degree programs.

To the 35th anniversary of the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution. New frontiers of health management

The article describes the history of the creation of the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution from a problem laboratory to the present day, namely, functioning as a national medical research center. The final figures for medical and scientific work, educational activities are presented. The Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution as an NMRC closely interacts with medical institutions of the assigned territories. cooperates closely with medical institutions in the assigned territories. Active benchmarking, continuous monitoring of ophthalmic care, analytical, organizational, methodological work, development of telemedicine. Each year, the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution performs more than 320 thousand operations and more than 1.5 million consultations. Over 35 years, about 25 million consultations and more than 7.5 million operations have been performed and more than 8 million patients have been treated. The share of the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution in the volume of ophthalmic surgical care provided in Russia is 37%. More than 15 thousand children undergo surgery in the centers for children of the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution every year. 35 years: 400 thousand foreign patients from 120 countries. A surge in online conferences. 2019: about four thousand conference participants. 2020: more than ten thousand. Institute of Continuing Professional Education with well-equipped WETLAB simulation operating rooms. Every year, 150 residents and postgraduates; training cycles – 600 ophthalmologists. Key words: history of the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution, national medical research center, benchmarking, Institute of Continuing Professional Education, WETLAB, medical tourism, socially significant diseases, children's center, mobile ophthalmological complexes

Management consulting in the system of continuing professional education

The article reveals the features of continuing professional education as an important element of the organizational structure of the existing education system in Russia. Continuing professional education as an object that has its own organizational structure appears as a carrier of the need for effective management, in the rationalization of the process of forming various management decisions. In general, the management of the system of continuing professional education in our country should be considered successful, but some management problems remain unresolved. One of them is the problem of increasing the level of validity of management decisions: strategic, tactical, operational, improving the quality, reliability and degree of their compliance with the real conditions of the system of continuing professional education. As part of the solution to these problems, the necessity of introducing management consulting tools into the management of continuing professional education organizations is substantiated. The features of management consulting, its methodology and methods are considered. The concept of "combined consulting" in the field of continuing professional education is introduced. It is shown that consulting, as professional assistance in solving key problems and achieving sustainable success in the activities of organizations of the system of continuing professional education, is a management reserve, the rational use of which will ensure the formation of an innovative process, which is the most important factor in the strategic adaptation of the system of continuing professional education in a dynamically developing external environment.

Educational collaboration of Russian libraries: The possibilities and prospects

Collaboration is one of the most efficient forms of cooperation within the system of continuing library and information education. The study is based on general scientific methods, including that of institutional analysis. The study subject is collaboration as an instrument of interaction and joint efforts, wшер the results to be actualized through exchange of knowledge, experience and skills in a specific educational ecosystem. The study object is collaboration within the system of continuing library professional education. With resource, organizational and process approaches, the essence of the concept of "collaboration" is identified; the focus is made on its special institutional structure and role in efficient interaction between the subjects of knowledge economy. The essence of the definition of "educational collaboration" is revealed, taking into account the inherent features and various individual approaches to its interpretation. The experience in building the collaboration of library continuing education providers, i.e. "LENINKA" Corporate University of the Russian State Library and Department of Continuing Professional Education of the State Public Scientific and Technological Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch, is analyzed (20192020). The special role of collaboration in providing continuing professional education to Russian library specialists is emphasized. It is demonstrated that collaboration in education facilitates co-organization of professional communities, render their activities more efficient and highly demanded within the digital economy and knowledge society.

Achievement motivation and attitude of medical laboratory assistants to continuing education

Introduction. The problem of improving competence by means of continuing education of health specialists is not sufficiently discussed and studied, especially in terms of medical laboratory assistants. The emphasis of the present study is on the ability to update achievement motivation of laboratory assistants through new opportunities and forms of continuing professional education. Their interest in continuing education indicates an aspiration for improving their professional competence with respect to innovative professional practices including dynamically changing methods, technologies and devices facilitating health examinations that reflect the highly significant results of their work for the health and life of their patients.The aim of the present research is to study the achievement motivation of students and medical laboratory technicians and its influence on the main variables and descriptors of the attitude towards continuous learning.Materials and research methods. The studied persons represent three target groups involved in continuing professional education - in-service medical laboratory assistants, heads of medical laboratories and students enrolled in the programme of Medical Laboratory Assistant at Bulgarian medical colleges. The methodological tools comprise standardised psychological tests, as well as questionnaires developed for the purposes of the specific study.Results and scientific novelty. The main results support the thesis that motivation for achievement is updated in activities and situations where professional success is subjectively important and there are clear criteria of success or failure. The interest in continuing education depends on the motivation for achievement as a tendency in various individuals.The higher achievement motivation determines a stronger need to improve professional competences, aspiration to acquire a graduate degree in their professional field, preferences to specialisations as a form of continuing learning and understanding of continuing education as a manifestation of the desire for new knowledge.The results from the study may enrich the existing research data on the application of achievement motivation theory as an explanatory model of life-long learning behaviour, which may become an effective way to tackle the rapidly ageing and half-life of knowledge in medicine and technology.Practical significance. The applicability of the results is very clearly visible in the formulated thesis of the necessary change in the educational policy in the country through new forms of continuous education of medical laboratory assistants which would update their achievement motivation and would result in increase in the efficiency of their professional functioning.

Development of a digital learning program for physiotherapists to enhance clinical implementation of aerobic exercise in stroke rehabilitation

Background This paper describes the initial development process of an eLearning continuing professional education program primarily for post-licensure physiotherapists –“Electronic Aerobic Exercise Recommendations to Optimize Best Practices in Care after Stroke” (eAEROBICS). Our objective was to develop an evidence-based, clinically relevant, user-friendly eLearning program for online delivery tailored to facilitate prescription of aerobic exercise post-stroke by physiotherapists. The Demand Driven Learning Model guided curriculum design, delivery, and evaluation. Based on previously identified gaps in physiotherapists’ knowledge of aerobic exercise, four learning modules were developed and delivered using an eLearning platform to maximize cost-effectiveness and flexibility. Five physiotherapists volunteered to pilot eAEROBICS, providing preliminary feedback on strengths and suggestions for improvement. Results Theoretical information and clinical applications addressed the learning objectives of each module in a logical manner. All technical or administrative issues encountered during program delivery were addressed. The feedback from the pilot end-users informed modifications to the eAEROBICS program. Conclusions Processes used in developing eAEROBICS have the potential to serve as a model of electronic continuing professional education for other areas of physiotherapy practice. Further investigation of end-user perspectives and clinical impact of the program is warranted to determine the overall effectiveness of the program.