To continue the cooperation between European and Kurdish universities, a first series of thematic webinars was held between June 5th and July 10th, organised by UNIMED in collaboration with in collaboration with the University of Pisa, the University of Murcia and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The rationale behind this joint activity is to continue working on best practices exchange, to further strengthen the competences and skills of the Kurdish colleagues in a participative approach, and to maintain alive the collaborations put in place over the course of the recent years.
The webinar series
The webinars were organised to present to the Kurdish academic community a number of good practices on the core topics of the Kurdish MInisterial strategy for Higher Education: entrepreneurship and gender equality in higher education, internationalisation, Quality Assurance and accreditation.The online series was implemented with 4 synchronous lectures, scheduled on June 5th, June 12th, July 3rd and July 10th. Speakers in the webinars were: Alicia Rubio Bañon, Vice-Rector for Employment, Entrepreneurship and Society at the University of Murcia; Francesca Pecori, Manager of the Diversity and Equality Office at the University of Pisa; Annamaria Pulina, Staff at the Directorate for Education, Students Affairs and Internationalization of the University of Pisa, with a focus on Erasmus+ projects; Maria Jesús Periago Castón, Full Professor of Food Science and Nutrition, holding extensive experience in quality assurance, accreditation processes and internationalization.
The webinars were and are addressed to University leaders (Vice-Presidents for students’ affairs and scientific affairs), Directors of entrepreneurship, career and development centers and their staff, Heads of international relations offices and their staff, Directors of Quality Assurance, Bologna Process responsibles, academic and administrative staff. They saw the participation of up-to 300 attendees, with an average of 60 participants. Invitation to participate was shared with the UNIMED associated universities, the APPRAIS Partners but most importantly – thanks to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Kurdistan region of Iraq – participation was encouraged from all Kurdish institutions in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Webinars topics
Entrepreneurship in Higher Education. Universities play a fundamental role in promoting entrepreneurial education, implementing actions that foster innovation and entrepreneurship among their researchers, university staff and students, even undergraduate and graduate programs. New entrepreneurial activities at higher education level were shared by the University of Murcia as a way to contribute to economic growth by boosting employment, intensifying market competition and driving innovation.
The role of gender equality in the governance of universities. On another note, the second webinar focused on gender equality, to highlight the importance played by gender equality and the valorisation of differences in the definition of higher education policies, with the scope of promoting a new and more efficient model of governance in Academia. Through the case of the University of Pisa, it was shown the translation of the gender mainstreaming principles in the university strategic plan, to empower the performance in terms of economic objectives, better allocation of resources, efficiency and workplace well-being.
Internationalisation and quality: a circular process. The third webinar focused on quality assurance and its link with internationalisation of higher education, as a way to promote a vision in which internationalization is based on shared standards anda framework of common qualifications, thus enabling collaborations with higher education systems in other parts of the world. The University of Pisa showed that the link between quality and internationalization is twofold: internationalization is not effective without a quality improvement process, as quality in research and education is not effective without an international perspective. To be truly effective, the internationalization process must involve all institutional components, from research to training, from scientific dissemination to technology transfer activities, and mobility of students, teachers and staff.
Accreditation in Higher Education. Finally, the last webinar aimed to present on overview of the Accreditation process in Higher Education, including the accreditation at different levels: study programs, quality assurance and accreditation of the professors, through the case study of Spanish universities according to the nationallegislation and the work conducted by the ANECA (the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation in Spain). The University of Murcia presented the spanish case as a good practice.
Background
A Consortium of 5 European Partners and 9 Kurdish institutions have worked over the past 3 years to support the rebuilding and modernisation of the Kurdish Higher Education Institutions and the national HE system as a whole, through the APPRAIS project.
The project focused on strategic planning, Quality Assurance and Bologna Process implementation, with the overarching goal of institutionalizing good governance practices in Iraqi HEIs, enforcing institutional values and contributing to the international exposure of Kurdish universities.
After its end in January 2024, the Partners agreed to continue the mutual cooperation and the series of webinars is the first steps towards a sustainable model of international collaborations between European universities and the Kurdish Higher Education system.
Want to know more?
The series of webinars is accessible to all interested parties here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/11282726?share=copy
An overview of the webinar series is available here:
Booklet_APPRAIS-WebinarsDownload
