KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Representatives of Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) led by Marianna Harutyunyan, Vice-Rector for HR Management and International Cooperation at ASPU, participated in the workshop of the Erasmus+ Fostering Socially Distanced and Inclusive on-Campus Education in Armenian HEIs (eCAMPUS) project.

The project partners are not only Armenian universities, but also universities from Europe, among them the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal), Universita Degli Studi di Genova (Italy), and Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan (Sweden). This allows boosting international cooperation that promotes the exchange of experience and joint development in the field of digital education.

The aim of the two-day event was to discuss and present the process of maintaining social distancing and increasing inclusiveness in the educational system in Armenian HEIs, and to address issues related to the quality of online and digital education.

The "eCAMPUS" project will help improve the education system and introduce innovative solutions in the education sector, thanks to which it will be possible to combine social distancing and inclusive education.

Special programs and courses are foreseen under the project aimed at maintaining social distancing and improving the education system, including a number of innovative learning strategies and techniques
Another key objective of the project is development of benchmark standards for e-learning multimedia platforms and provisions for smart classroom models for AM HEIs (SMARTclass) to promote effective and inclusive learning environments, technology-enhanced instructional models and to ensure equitable access to digital learning resources and tools for all. The project will have a significant impact not only on the national level, but also on the institutional and European levels.

At the national level, the project will provide ratified DCF (Digital Competence Framework) and NCF for digital TLA (teaching, learning and assessment), revised IQA (internal quality assurance) standards relevant for digital TLA, benchmark standards for e-learning multimedia platforms, technical specification for the common course registration and student progression e-platform, and enhanced inclusiveness of AM HE.

At the European level, the project will ensure best practice and experience sharing, peer learning, networking, and long-term oriented cooperation with EU partners promoting further integration of the AM HE system into the EHEA.

And at the institutional level, more than 120 teaching and administrative staff of AM HEIs will gain enhanced skills and competencies in digital TLA and QA. Also, it will provide a functioning NCF for professional development of the teaching staff engaged in digital TLA, 8 smart classrooms for technology-enabled education, and enhanced quality of digital TLA.