The UAB participates in the ECIU University Forum in Kaunas
Over 200 people from 14 ECIU University member institutions, with a Ukranian delegation as special guests, participated in the ECIU University Forum held at the Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania on 6 and 7 June. The UAB was represented by a total of 15 people, including students, lecturers and administration and services staff, five of whom presented different sessions.
«Working together was very enriching and created a high degree of belonging and identifying with this new community to which we all belong and are helping to build: the ECIU University».
For two days, the ECIU University Forum offered workshops, debates, and sessions with the goal of shaping the future of education and innovation in Europe, and providing opportunities, generating ideas, establishing connections and, most importantly, empowering the members of the ECIU University community.
Mireia Galí, head of the ECIU office at the UAB, explained that working together «was very enriching and created a high degree of belonging and identifying with this new community to which we all belong and are helping to build: the ECIU University».
Five persons from the UAB offered successful sessions on good practices: Núria Casaldàliga, head of the Libraries Service, spoke on a repository of challenges; Ramon Vilanova, lecturer at the School of Engineering, shared an exemple of co-designing continuous learning micro-credentials with local agents; Sílvia Blanch and Jordina Fornell, from the ECIU office at the UAB, offered a challenge in a workshop format to experience challenge-based learning; and Daniel Campos, lecturer in the Faculty of Science, shared an example of teaching innovation.
Salim Menaceur, enrolled in the master’s degree in Education Policies for Global Development and member of the UAB delegation at Kaunas, explained that «the experience was incredibly enriching and provided me with valuable knowledge on collaborative international education. I was particularly impressed with the innovative approaches of CBL and the best practices for gamification in education, as well as the opportunity to come in contact with students and lecturers from the whole ECIU alliance».
«For me, the ECIU University is a huge opportunity», added Marcos Lascurain, student ambassador for the UAB at the ECIU University who is currently studying the bachelor’s degree in Contemporary History, Politics and Economics. «It is a chance to connect with people, grow both academically and personally and gain skills I never thought I would acquire during my years here at university», he continued. Lascurain also explained that «here you meet and interact with people from very different backgrounds, countries and cultures. You learn to work together, respect one another and find common grounds so that you can reach your goal. That is one of the most important things the ECIU University has taught me».
With education for a resilient and sustainable society as this year’s theme, the forum provided a place to debate many issues and propose more than one way of finding solutions. Participants moved around three different spaces and attended several sessions, and were able to use this opportunity to exchange ideas and search for new solutions.
In this sense, Salim Menaceur explained that «as a researcher in education policies, I gained valuable knowledge of the latest trends and challenges within education, which has enriched my work and research even more. The conversations and exchanges with other participants were very gratifying and invigorating».
Between sessions, participants were able to connect and exchange stories about the ECIU University. All of them different, but with one thing in common: the ECIU University has challenged their way of thinking and opened up new horizons.