"In the field of vocational education and training (VET) quality has become one of the most relevant issues. Besides regulation patterns, curricula that fit the demand by labour markets and reliable and efficient organisations for the delivery of VET, one crucial ""input variable"" is the professionalisation of teachers working in the field of VET. For the quality of teacher training the mode in which teachers are trained has become more and more complex since teachers need to be (1) experts in their vocational field (2) pedagogical/didactical experts who know how to teach effectively; (3) and they also need to know what young people to be trained expect when they start their career.The project addresses these issues and wants to contribute to establishing a profound didactical understanding and underpinning of VET teacher programmes/courses in the Ukrainian universities taking part in the project. Didactical and organisational inputs come from three EU countries with strong experience in VET teacher education. The project aims at newly created or revised curricula for VET teacher courses taking account of modern didactics, the importance of pedagogy in general, and also internship regulations that ensure that future teachers also can gain practical experience in schools and companies before they start their career. Hereby, the involvement and commitment of vocational schools/colleges and companies will be a crucial objective of the project.It is intended that the project can contribute to raise awareness of securing a modern VET teacher education system in Ukraine, that it will underline the general social and economic importance of this professional group and that it will contribute to raising the status of teachers in the Ukrainian society in general. Besides, long-term impacts can be seen in a more functional and quality-minded approach to VET delivery in schools and companies."

This project deals with governance in vocational teacher education (VTE). The professionalization of teachers working in the field of VET (vocational education and training) is considered to be more complex than in the general education system as here the relevance of teachers’ competences not only has an impact on learners (vocational students), but also on the quality of VET as such and its functionality for the employment sector. An overarching quality criterion is to ensure that expectations of vocational schools and the motivations and competences of future teachers can be aligned. This ‘matching problem’ is materialized by the ‘theory-practice gap’ as the ‘users’ of VTE qualifications, being the employers of future teachers, are normally not involved in setting up or at least influencing how teachers are trained and how whatever they learn at university can be linked with and applied to in the classroom. This one-sided institutional reality explains why teachers do not feel well prepared for their future occupational destination.PBG (partnership-based governance) is seen as an instrument to tackle this problem by including VET schools in activities such as curricula development or teaching methodology, and it even could mean establishing a governance system based on partnerships reaching beyond these two stakeholders. Since decentralisation is a major aspect of current Ukrainian VET policy, PBG in VTE fits into the political agenda, by questioning traditional roles of responsible institutions.The project aims at developing and piloting governance structures between the Ukrainian partner HEIs and regional VET schools. The focus is on overcoming the theory-practice gap between university education and teaching requirements in VET, and on setting up governance in a new, i.e. partnership-based manner between relevant institutions in VTE. The project aims at creating awareness for a modern VTE system in Ukraine, and at raising the status of teaching profession.

The project aims to implement a sustainable and effective system of distance education (DE) as a separate and independent form of education in the activities of the Eastern Partnership countries.A well-designed system of DE in the higher education institutions (HEIs) will address many important issues related to future challenges that arise in education under the behavioral, personal, ideological changes of generations and technological transformations of the labor market. At the same time, the system of DE in HEIs creates all the necessary conditions for the implementation of the principle of barrier-free education and creates a safe learning environment in today's pandemic realities.The existing system of DE in Ukrainian and Moldovan HEIs will be improved and comprehensively reorganized taking into account the experience of European partners universities. The Project is focused on the creation of institutional departments in HEIs, the development of distance teaching methods and teaching materials, and training of teaching staff. In the complex, it will contribute to the systematic design of DE, as a separate independent branch of education, which will develop the professional competencies and soft skills of students, by the needs of the labor market.The project is conditionally divided into eight stages: 1.Establishment of project management2.Background research of DE3.Development of methodology for providing DE4.Development of institutional and organizational support of the DE5.Improvement of the DE system6.Testing the DE system7.Monitoring and quality assurance of the DE system8.Ensuring sustainability of the project in Ukraine and MoldovaThe expected results are the following: 1) creation of structural subdivisions in HEI partners of DE; 2) creation of a training product for the DE training; 3) development and methodological support of educational courses; 4) creation of laboratories for DE; 5) pilot launch of distance learning MAs programs.

The aim of the project is to contribute the modernization of higher education systems in Ukraine by introducing National Centre of Teaching Excellence for the promotion of European educational innovations.Specific project objectives are the following:1) to de-monopolize formal systems of university teachers’ professional development and certification in Ukraine by establishing of independent National Centre of Teaching Excellence and its 8 branches, as well as creating their network, focusing on enhancing the quality of university teaching;2) to introduce the professional university teachers’ certification programs based on European good practices and education innovations for ensuring teaching excellence;3) to develop and pilot a new teaching excellence curriculum, including courses syllabi, which are permeable with educational needs of Ukrainian academic community and resulting in professional certification of university teachers;4) to develop professional standards for university teachers and draft for regulating for teacher attestation.National Academic Council is to be formed. Benchmarking research on teaching excellence will be conducted, the report is published. Retraining of the academic and administrative staff (78) for NCTE will be conducted on special retraining program by the specialists from WrUT, UVSQ and TNU.8 NTCE branches will be established and well-equipped. Multilateral agreement will be signed.A curriculum will cover 4 modules on Innovative Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Academic Integrity for Excellent Teaching, Blended Learning Techniques for Teaching Excellence, Linking Research and Teaching in HE. Sample of courses syllabi and certification methodology will be piloted for 40 university teachers from Ukraine. MOOC in Teaching Excellence will be launched to improve dissemination effect.Proposals to legislation will be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to validate TE curriculum and certification.

Reason for project: 1. Since implementation of Bologna system, students have responsibility to take initiative in managing their academic careers, but they lack the resources to deal with problems arising along the way2. Universities in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine struggle to provide democratic systems for dealing with conflict and student appeals3. Many student conflicts remain unresolved due to unclear or ambiguous administrative proceduresExpected outputs:1. Written materials (training guides in each regional language) on best practices in student advocacy systems are created in collaboration with EU partners2. New student advocacy procedures and guidelines are produced and accepted by non-EU partner universities3. Ombuds Office established in each non-EU partner university4. Ombudsperson from each university trained5. Students, staff and faculty from each university trained on procedures and ombuds office functionsImpact: 1. Students and instructors have full access to the democratic spirit of the Bologna Process for resolution of their academic and administrative issues2. Students and faculty/staff become aware of their rights and responsibilities3. University administrations become more efficient and effective as conflicts lessen and resolution processes are streamlined