The Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) will host an intermediate meeting for the ERASMUS+ project, LOVE.DIST@NCE, from Mon., July 4 to Thurs., July 7. Collaborators from all around the world will gather in Barcelona to discuss the progress and development of the project, which is funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) and projected to be completed in 2023.
Project LOVE.DIST@NCE aims to improve the accessibility and quality of inclusive higher education through the reinforcement and provision of student support services in Israel and Georgia. In both countries, the project will target educational opportunities for minority ethinic groups, women in disadvantaged situations, and students with disabilities.
Participants in the project consist of teachers and researchers from institutions including: Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP), Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER), University of Vigo (UVIGO), Technical University of Cluj Napoca (UTCN), Ilia State University (ISU), Iakob Gogichaishvili Telavi State University (TeSaU), Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University (BSU), Ono Academic College (OAC), Levinsky College of Education (LCE), and Inter-University Center for e-Learning (IUCEL)
The four-day event will begin on Monday with a summary of the project’s agenda, as well as include a presentation and walking tour of Barcelona’s technological neighborhood, 22@. A course assessment from Georgia will also be revealed, as well as FUNIBER`s online future model.
The following day will include conversations about project management, financial management, and instruments to assess virtual learning environments. FUNIBER’s team will present an article illustrating the result of three instruments: DELES, Weblei, and MQA.
The methodology was based on participation from a focus group, which included teachers and researchers from Spain, Portugal, Romania, Georgia, and Israel. At the Levinsky University, observations and suggestions from the participants were validated and used to redesign the instruments which kept the marginalized groups previously mentioned in mind.
Wednesday’s meeting will take a deeper look into the project’s projected plans for the upcoming months, but the highlight will be a communication activity for the participants (TBD). This will be an opportunity in which the various languages and cultures of the participants can be celebrated as they join together on this project.
Finally, on the fourth and final day, presentations will discuss the virtual campus of LOVE.DIST@NCE, and a conference on the goal of online learning for all students. Participants will share their vast knowledge from experiences with other projects, in an attempt to collaborate additional ideas.