On 4 December 2023, a regular meeting of the working group of participants of the DEFEP project “Distance Education for the Future: EU best practices in response to the needs of higher education and labour market” within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA2 programme from Uman National University of Horticulture took place.
During the meeting, they discussed the process of writing a chapter of the collective monograph “Educational Innovations as a Response to Modern Challenges: A New Model of Distance Learning”. The group delved into various innovative strategies that could change the definition of distance education. This included studying the place of distance education in the global educational environment, discussing the organisational model of distance learning, and student-centred learning methodologies.
The implementation of this project will significantly improve the quality and efficiency of educational services provided by the university and make a significant contribution to the development of the education sector as a whole.
At the meeting of the Academic Council of the Uman National University of Horticulture, November 30, 2023, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work Mykhailo Malyovanyi made a report “On the international activities of UNUS”, emphasizing the significant success of the educational institution as a partner in the international DEFEP project “Distance Education for the Future: EU best practices in response to the needs of higher education and labor market” within the framework of the Erasmus + KA2 program.
The DEFEP project, which aims to radically change approaches to distance learning, is in line with the university’s strategic goals of applying innovative methods in education and introducing the latest technologies. As explained by Mykhailo Ivanovych, the university’s participation in this consortium emphasizes its desire to integrate European educational standards and methods into its curricula.
The speaker spoke in detail about the university’s efforts to implement the project goals, including ensuring the testing of distance education as a separate independent form of education in higher education institutions in certain (experimental) specialties using the appropriate electronic platform and methodological and didactic support for the formation of promising competencies.
Mykhailo Malyovanyi noted that, according to the project programme, the university’s researchers took part in the organisation and coordination of a sociological survey of stakeholders at the university about priorities, needs and requests for distance education; joined the international forum of educators and employers “Distance Education of the Future: Challenges and Prospects; made a study visit to the University of Saarland (Germany), King Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain) and the University of Palermo (Spain), where they got acquainted with real examples of best practices and best practices in distance education implemented in European universities, exchanged views and their own vision of the development of various aspects of higher education.
Therefore, the speaker emphasised the importance of the DEFEP project in promoting international cooperation and sharing best practices in higher education. He underlined how the project enabled the participants to gain valuable insights into EU approaches to distance education, which play an important role in shaping the future of higher education in Ukraine.
