Two AU projects, selected as examples of success in a European educational innovation project

ALICANTE, 4 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Two educational projects from the University of Alicante (UA) have been selected as examples of success in the CROCODILE program (Cross-disciplinary Academic Offer under the Erasmus programme), an Erasmus action in which the UA has participated together with Lithuanian and Bulgarian universities. and Polish.

CROCODILE aims to prepare organizational, substantive and methodological solutions that allow the introduction of an international and interdisciplinary academic offer that provides a "modern and effective" education, as indicated by the Alicante academic institution in a statement.

During the development of this program, two projects from the University of Alicante have been selected as "examples of success". This is the Summer Business Program summer course and the UA Permanent Training Center.

Specifically, the Summer Business Program, lasting four weeks and taught entirely in English, is the oldest of the Summer Courses at the University of Alicante 'Rafael Altamira', dependent on the Vice-Rector's Office for Culture, Sports and University Extension. It began to be taught in 2006 and is currently one of the most requested by international students.

In this course, intercultural learning is carried out between American and European teachers and students, through classes made up of students from the University of Missouri-Columbia (USA) and students from other European universities, which include the UA. This course alternates theoretical classes with visits to different companies in the province.

On the other hand, the organization of continuing training courses, run by the Permanent Training Center of the University of Alicante, dependent on the Vice-Rector's Office for Studies, Quality and Languages, has also been selected as an example of success. In this case, the know-how of the course organization has been valued, especially its quality assurance and financing.

This center highlights that the "extensive training offer of the University of Alicante is complemented by continuing training courses, which meet strict quality criteria and guarantee that the university keeps the knowledge demanded by the market up to date."

The CROCODILE project, started in January 2022 and ending this December, has been coordinated by the University of Silesia (Poland) and has had the participation of the University of Sofia (Bulgaria), the Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania) and by the University of Alicante.

The innovation of this project is based on the interdisciplinary and transversal approach to education. According to the results of the project, interdisciplinarity "is key in academic research, but its presence in education remains insufficient."

Therefore, the project aims to offer "systemic solutions that allow its students to participate in classes prepared and co-directed by specialists in various disciplines, which requires certain organizational innovations, such as the establishment of stable organizational conditions and an adequate legal framework to create a flexible offering that can be modified to respond to the changing needs and challenges of the world around us.

Likewise, it seeks to "develop a universal model for the organization of international didactic academic offerings, ready to be introduced in universities in different countries." It also aims to "exchange and promote good practices in the field of interdisciplinary and transdomain online teaching" and "enhance cooperation between the institutions participating in the project."

The recommendations of the CROCODILE project include that the interdisciplinary academic offer be directed to all partner countries and their higher education centers at all levels of study. It also recommends the implementation of interdisciplinary academic offerings through summer (or winter) schools, or in the form of "intensive mobility weeks", since, by scheduling classes in blocks, students acquire knowledge, skills and abilities in an more complete and faster and, therefore, more effective".

To contribute to the internationalization of these practices, the project concludes that the interdisciplinary academic offer of each partner country is designed by entities with similar competencies in the organization and management of the offer.

Another important recommendation is the harmonization of the organizational structure of these entities in each partner country because "thanks to convergence in this area, the flow of information will be facilitated, as well as the coordination of efforts aimed at standardizing the offer at an international level." .