3 years of synergy between project and teaching: VALEU-X final conference and GFF teaching award

After 3 years of intensive project work, the VALEU-X project now looks back on its last activity: The Virtual Balkans Conference in combination with the final Project Management Meeting. 

For a deeper impression of the project also check our promotional video: Promo Video VALEU-X

The International Conference “Virtual Balkans. Virtual Collaborative Learning in Higher Education” took place on November 30, 2022, at EPOKA University, Tirana, Albania in the context of VALEU-X project. It gathered 70+ participants among researchers with their almost 30 full papers and research contributions, representatives of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), academic staff, students, trainees, and international relations offices in Albania and the EU countries to discuss about,

• Innovative virtual teaching and learning settings for academic staff at Albanian HEIs;
• ICT-based internalisation at home, virtual exchange/mobility;
• Adaptation and recognising virtual/blended mobility as part of the HEIs` internalisation strategy.

© EPOKA University

The Plenary Session was opened by the Co-Chair of the Conference, Dr. Esmir Demaj who welcomed participants and gave a short guide about the Conference Programme.

Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Lisen Bashkurti from EPOKA University, Prof. Dr. Suzana Golemi from University of Shkodra, Prof. Dr. Benita Stavre from University of Korca, Dr. Ketrina Cabiri from European University of Tirana greeted and welcomed participants on behalf of the VALEU-X Project consortium partners.

Ms. Lenka Vitkova, Head of Good Governance and Rule of Law Section, from the Delegation of the European Union to Albania, and Ms. Ada Ramaj, the National Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Office in Albania highlighted the importance of the VALEU-X project for the higher education system in Albania.

Prof. Dr. Eric Schoop from Technical University of Dresden, delivered his keynote speech on virtual mobility as an instrument for internationalization at home in Albania, followed by a presentation of the VALEU-X project in a nutshell by Mattis Altmann.

© EPOKA University

Then, participants moved to the parallel sessions of the conference where 27 research papers were presented in 4 Parallel Thematic Sessions.

© EPOKA University

The conference was organized in 2 Onsite sessions and with both 1 Hybrid and 1 fully Online session, a novelty in terms of conference organizational technicalities and increased capacities stemming from the successful implementation of the project objectives. There were also 5 student contributions from the research seminar Information Management of the TU Dresden in the context of digital teaching represented whose contributions were appreciated by the professional audience. 

A synergy session, where other EU projects that display thematic cross topics with VALEU-X project introduced themselves with the aim to facilitate exchange among projects.

The conference was closed with a summary and wrap-up of conclusions from the conference by the session chairs, followed by commitments to endorse and multiplicate virtual collaborative learning pedagogical approaches.

In order to ensure the sustainability of the project results, further follow-up projects have been approved from the VALEU-X project that strengthen the internationalization of the Faculty of Business and Economics. The Chair of Information Management won a DAAD tender for student and staff mobility. In the next 3 years, up to 30 students from TUD Dresden and up to 30 students from EPOKA University (Albania) will be able to integrate one week of physical exchange with the respective partner university into their learning experience. In addition, the short stay of teachers is supported as well as up to 2 places for student exchanges for a whole semester. For more information, please see the following announcement, or contact the professorship directly:

Finally, in February 2023, the COWEB project will start, which was approved as the successor of VALEU-X in 2022 and will roll out the Virtual Collaborative Learning framework to promote Virtual Mobility from Albania to the entire Western Balkan region and is one of the Wester Balkan Capacity Building projects of the Erasmus+ funding line won at TU Dreden, along with the SMART project. 

We look forward to the future with excitement and thank all involved & committed partners, students and professionals as well as the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the TU Dresden for the award of the teaching module developed within the VALEU-X project.