Tempus ALIGN - Ukraina site visits - Taras Shevchenko National University webpage!

Here's a link (from Olga Yamkova) on Taras Shevchenko National University's website (all in Ukrainian), discussing our recent Tempus ALIGN site visit...

http://univ.kiev.ua/news/7855
http://vnz.org.ua/novyny/podiyi/9318-u-kyyivskomu-natsionalnomu-universyteti-imeni-tarasa-shevchenka-tryvae-realizatsija-proektu-tempus-align

panel arrives at the university (image from Vladimir Zaslavskiy)

panel at Museum Village outside Kyiv - Olga, DQ, Hyland, Iryna, Vladimir, Stefania

(image from Vladimir Zaslavskiy)

panel at Museum Village outside Kyiv -  Hyland, Iryna, Stefania, DQ, Vladimir

(image from Vladimir Zaslavskiy)

Tempus ALIGN Ukraina site visits - Taras Shevchenko Kyiv

Monday the 13th and Tuesday 14th of June saw us conducting Tempus ALIGN site visits in Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Two programmes 'Business Informatics' and 'Sociology' were peer reviewed, again from a developmental rather than an accreditation perspective. Thanks to our great friends and colleagues Vladimir Zaslavsky and Olga Yamkova for looking after us during our Kyiv stay! And thanks to all the members of our Kyiv peer review panel - especially Nikita, Andrei, Anatoli as well as our core panel Stefania, Liza Sozinova and I, once again expertly chaired by Paul Hyland!

Taras Shevchenko National University is uniquely placed to take advantage of the international and mobility opportunities which will be presented over the coming years as education in Ukraina moves towards closer alignment with Europe's Bologna Process.

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - concrete

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - gable wall in the city

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - village museum

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - village museum - Tsymbaly musician

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - village museum - Hyland masters the Tsymbaly

Taras Shevchenko's house interior - village museum

Taras Shevchenko's house interior

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - village museum - Vlodimir and Iryna

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - village museum - picnic

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - lunchtime

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - fog

National Ballet Kyiv

National Ballet - orchestra pit

National Ballet - Petro

Tempus ALIGN site visits - Ukraina - Khmelnitskiiy!

The 9th and 10th of June saw us conducting Tempus ALIGN site visits in Khmelnitskiiy University. Two programmes 'Cybernetics' and 'Applied Mathematics' were peer reviewed, again from a developmental rather than an accreditation perspective. Thanks to our great friends Svitlana and Pavlo Grigoryuk from Khmelnitskiiy for looking after us during our trip! Especially interesting was our tour to Medzhybizh Fort, where Baal Shem Tov died in 1760. Thanks also to the members of our Khmelnitskiiy peer review panel - especially Hanna, Laryssa, Roman, Iryna Romanets as well as our core panel Stefania, Liza Sozinova and I, again expertly chaired by Paul Hyland!



Khmelnitskiiy University, with its relative proximity to Moldova, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, is uniquely placed to take advantage of the international and mobility opportunities which will be presented over the coming years as education in Ukraina moves towards closer alignment with Europe's Bologna Process.

Kyiv (en route for Khmelnitskiiy) - Paul signs Letters of Invitation

five and a half hour bus to Khmelnitskiiy

Khmelnitskiiy

Museum Restaurant in Khmelnitskiiy

Khmelnitskiiy - meet the Rector

Khmelnitskiiy - Panel meets the Rector

Khmelnitskiiy - Medzhybizh Fort - gateway

Khmelnitskiiy - Medzhybizh Fort - Julia, guide, Alla, Olena

Khmelnitskiiy - Medzhybizh guided tour

Khmelnitskiiy - city tour - Liza, Stefania, Pavlo, Olena, Alla

Khmelnitskiiy - city tour - playground

Khmelnitskiiy - official meal

Khmelnitskiiy - Sergei, Pavlo and Svitlana wave us away! Next stop Taras Shevchenko, Kyiv.

Tempus MAHATMA in Tbilisi

Thanks to the Tempus MAHATMA project team for inviting me to address their Dissemination conference in Tbilisi last week on the IBUS (International Black Sea University) campus! I was responsible for an 'inter-project coaching session', describing the crossovers between Tempus ALIGN and Tempus MAHATMA. Feeling very envious of the MAHATMA participants - their 4 year Tempus project and their hard work is almost at an end, with great success - 8 MA programmes in Education Management up and running!

Tempus MAHATMA banner

Tempus MAHATMA Conference kickoff - discussions on their Journal

Tempus MAHATMA banner

DQ does 'inter project coaching'

DQ does 'inter project coaching'

Group shot

Waiting for the bus - IBUS campus

George and Cristianu - IBUS campus

Gabridze's Puppet Theatre Clocktower - Tbilisi 

Tbilisi Centre

April 2016 Update

I've been very remiss over the past few month, failing to update this blog through a very busy time. So a couple of April 2016 catchups...

First, we had a very successful Tempus ALIGN planning meeting in Poznan on the 18th and 19th of February, hosted by Zbigniew Palka and his AMU team. Thanks to all for the generous AMU hospitality. Lots of Tempus ALIGN work done, with solid plans for the progression of WP4. Next - site visits to Ukraina, Russia and Armenia in June and September!

Olexandr, DQ and Palka - Poznan

The Tempus ALIGN Poznan planning team

Second, a small IADT team has been working hard over the past few months on a Digital Skills in Action (DSA) case study. Our DSA project is a National Forum-sponsored initiative, involving all of our Leinster Pillar One cluster partners (IADT, NCAD, TCD, UCD and Marino). The IADT case study centres around an analysis of the digital aspects of our 'Intro2FACT' first year module. I presented our case study on the 11th March, at our IADT TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) Day.

Below is my interpretation of the 'All Aboard' digital skills metro map - my view of the digital skills required by (or used by) first year students in our Faculty.

my adaptation of the All Aboard digital skills metro map

The 'real' All Aboard metro map can be accessed through the link below...

http://allaboardhe.org/digital-skills-framework/

Tara Moves Onwards and Upwards!

Thursday the 19th of November 2015 saw Dr. Tara Ryan moving on from IADT (after 4 years) to become Registrar at Hibernia College. Whilst delighted for Tara in her new job, we're naturally sad to be losing such a valuable human being in IADT. We relied on Tara as an energetic and inventive, student-centred resource. My partnership with Tara began when we started working together (from October 2013) on the Tempus ALIGN project - Tara singlehandedly steered the project's Work Package 1 through with enormous effort and rigour. We all learned from her.

Tara is not gone far away and my two promises to her were that I'd visit her in her new Hibernia office as soon as she was settled in AND that I was determined to work with her again very soon! The best of luck to you Madame!

Thanks to David Doyle for the photographs of the going away party!

Miss Ryan in full flight - picture by David Doyle

Tara, Andrew, looking mischievous with a knife, Laura and Annie - picture by David Doyle

 Barry Dig and Tara - picture by David Doyle

NCPA and Tempus ALIGN Dissemination Conference - Moskva

Arrived back on Sunday from the First Dissemination Tempus Conference in Moscow, November 13-14, organised by Anna Tarasova's NCPA team. The conference 'gathered the widest possible expert, academic, professional and student communities from Russia, Armenia, Ukraine and EU countries: Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Poland. There were over 160 participants (64 of them were ALIGN project partners).

The conference lasted for two days and was hosted in Moscow State Pedagogical University. The first day presentations dealt with issues around the main conference theme ‘Enhancing the quality and relevance of students’ learning experience’. Tempus ALIGN held a 'coordination' meeting in the afternoon.

On the second day, participants split into three working sessions:

1.      Writing and Using Good Learning Outcomes for Quality Progression of Students
2.      Tools and Mechanisms for Assessing Students’ Leaning Outcomes
3.      Achieving Excellence in Higher Education through Quality Assurance

Bath Spa's Paul Hyland and Inna Pomorina gave an excellent and inspirational closing workshop on 'Student Centred Learning'. Thanks to all!

Conference Opening Address

Conference Room

ALIGN coordination meeting

ALIGN coordination meeting room

NCPA conference - DQ with Ukrainian students and Liza Sozinova

Moskva - metro map

Moskva - traffic

Moskva - climb to Red Square

Moskva - Lenin Mausoleum

Moskva - Gum Department Store

Moskva - Red Square

Moskva Conference NCPA webpage

http://ncpa.ru/index.php?lang=en

Moskva - Shermetyovo - ice on wing