Project title: Virtual Albanian European Universities Exchange - VALEU-X, Grant agreement nr 2019  - 1976  / 001 – 001, Project N°: 610360-EPP-1-2019-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP

Aims and specific objectives:

VALEU-X offers HEIs in the partner country Albania a chance to explore, implement, and disseminate Internationalisation at Home practices to increase their students' and staff exposure to an European and international academic, economic, and societal contexts. A comprehensive capacity building programme will be developed and implemented to facilitate intensive know-how transfer between the consortium members to address the problems of: limited physical academic mobility, limited international perspective in university teaching modules, gap between learning outcomes and job market needs, and ineffective use of ICT in formal higher education in Albanian HEIs. Project activities are planned based on solid expertise and best practices of European HEIs and intensive with Albanian HEIs to achieve the following concrete aims:

- Introduce and promote learner-centered teaching and learning methodologies: Social collaborative learning approaches are proposed based on constructivist and connectivist learning methodologies to encourage learners’ interaction and active knowledge construction for a long-lasting learning impact (Jonassen, 1996). Well-constructed project-based learning activities will be implemented to facilitate permanent active students’ engagement throughout the learning process (Blumenfeld et al., 1991).

- Modernise teaching practices in Albanian HEIs with innovative technologies: Virtual Collaborative Learning (VCL) arrangements are proposed as an effective mean to improve students’ professional competence, team competence, media competence, and intercultural awareness. It demonstrates a considerable potential to modernise formal higher education by integrating students in inclusive blended learning environments using networked social technologies (Tawileh, Bukvova, & Schoop, 2013).

- Augment internationalisation at home with “Virtual Mobility”: Modern ICT-based international academic exchange approaches are proposed to overcome limited physical academic mobility between Albanian and European HEIs and provide Albanian students and academic staff with an international experience at their home university using affordable flexible technologies (Tawileh, 2016). Well-designed “Virtual Mobility” settings and proven best practices will be adopted to meet partners’ needs and priorities (Villar-Onrubia, & Rajpal 2016).

The specific objectives of VALEU-X are defined as follows:

1. Qualification of academic staff at Albanian HEIs on modern pedagogical and didactical methodologies for innovative virtual teaching and learning settings .

2. Support Albanian HEIs in adopting and implementing effective ICT-based internationalisation at home activities and integrate Albanian HEIs in a global network for “Virtual Mobility".

3. Qualification of administrative staff at Albanian HEIs on adopting and recognising Virtual/Blended

Mobility as part of their institutional internationalisation strategy.

For more detailed information on the project click on the following link: https://valeu-x.eu/