The Partnership

University of Silesia

The University of Silesia in Katowice is one of the largest and most dynamically developing public universities in Poland. Founded in 1968, the University of Silesia quickly established a reputation as a vibrant academic institution and an important interdisciplinary research hub. With a tradition of launching new programs to best meet the needs of rapidly changing labour markets, the University of Silesia offers students a variety of programs and specialized fields of study. With outstanding research teams and well-equipped laboratories, we are an important player in the global research arena. The University of Silesia serves over 22 500 students in full-time and part-time studies and it already has 250,000 alumni, among which there are outstanding personalities in many fields. Our community consists also of almost 2,000 teachers and researchers. The University of Silesia also offers numerous doctoral degree programs (18 disciplines in 6 fields) which allow students to deepen their knowledge of various disciplines and provide them with opportunities to conduct interesting and innovative research projects.

The role in the project – Leader

The contribution/benefits that the institution will gain thanks to participation in the project

Networking across multiple universities in the teaching and research space
Developing the social role of the University
Sensitization in the education process to the needs of the local community
Supporting the local community in solving their problems
Improved skills in developing evaluation tools
Developing the ability to create and operate e-learning courses for local communities

LUMSA University

Founded in 1939, LUMSA is the 2nd oldest University in Rome and, presently, has 9000 students (10% international), 120 full professors and 289 external ones. Located in 3 Departments, LUMSA offers 19 B.A. and M.A degree programs in Law, Economics, Politics and Modern languages; Human Sciences – Communication, Education and Psychology. In the last Ministerial Research Assessment, LUMSA scored first in law and social sciences and was at the top of many other fields. LUMSA awards PhD degrees in social policy, law, psychology, education and economics, classified as highly “innovative” by the Italian Minister of Education. All training programs, including PhDs, are open to international students. LUMSA University’s commitment to Service-Learning formally started in 2014 with the establishment of the Postgraduate School EIS (Educating to Encounter and Solidarity). The School, whose academic board is composed of Italian and international members (Europe, Africa, Asia, America, Australia), includes 4 areas of activity: Training – Research – Publications – Networks. The first important activity of training is spreading SL within LUMSA University. Almost 100 students undertake SL/ e-SL projects every year. EIS collaborates with the Italian Ministry of Education and with many foundations and associations of the Third Sector in Rome (ELIS, Italian Red Cross, Scholas Occurrentes, Caritas, among others).

The role in the project

Within the e-SL4EU project, LUMSA coordinates the tasks related to defining design principles and quality elements to create a blended training course for trainers who want to offer their students the implementation of e-SL projects.

The contribution/benefits that the institution will gain thanks to the participation in the project

To develop know-how on e-Service-Learning in Higher Education [IO1 – Leader: LUMSA]
To create high-quality training materials
To fill a technological skill gap in our Faculty
To help other universities fill the same gap
The virtual/extended Service-Learning projects

Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica

Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica (UMB) is a public university. It is a member of the European University Association and provides quality tertiary and further education in line with the development of science and practice needs, and develops new knowledge through creative scientific and artistic research. At the moment, Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica (UMB), is the leading university in Central Slovakia. It consists of 6 faculties (Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations, and Faculty of Education). The university offers a classic range of university education opportunities at all three levels and forms of studies in the areas of education, social issues, economy, law, politics, humanities and natural sciences, in the fields of international relations, economic specializations and mathematics. In addition, it also provides Anglophonic and partially Francophonic studies. UMB develops joint study programmes and has contacts with major foreign universities, where the students have the opportunity to complete part of their studies. Therefore, UMB graduates are efficient in finding their place in the labour market at home and abroad. UMB is the first university in the Slovak Republic whose study programmes are part of the international CFA Institute University Recognition Program. It runs a Globsec Academy Center, a young leader incubator, supported by the world-class think tank of the same name, and the Talent and Research Center. Education at UMB, which is assessed positively by both students and employers, is provided by professionals and practitioners. The University has almost 600 university teachers, researchers, and around 7,000 students. International cooperation has been rapidly developing in recent years, mainly through numerous EU programmes, including the Framework Programmes. Most of research projects focus on multidisciplinary research, especially in the fields of socioeconomic sciences and humanities (sociocultural anthropology, sociology, economics, history, political sciences and education) and natural sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry and environmental sciences). Matej Bel University was granted the ‘HR Excellence in research’ award as the first Slovak institution. UMBimplements lifelong learning in various study programmes and forms from the UMB Children’s University to UMB’s Third Age University. In their leisure time, students can create a space for the various social activities provided by the sports clubs, artistic groups and student organizations run at the UMB. Among the UMB’s graduates and educators are several Olympic winners and their trainers, outstanding artists and scientists.

The role in the project

Within the project we are in the role of a project partner. We lead e-SL guidelines for community partners and evaluation methodology and materials for the assessment and communication of e-SL’s communities impact.

The contribution and benefits of participation in the project

We hope that we will develop the international cooperation between partners, develop cooperation between faculties at MBU (Faculty of Education + Faculty of Arts + Faculty of Economics) and increase the knowledge in e-service-learning. We expect that we will increase engagement of our teachers and students in e-SL and we will create results that we can use also in the future for SL development.

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb is the oldest Croatian university and also the oldest university in South East Europe – founded in 1669. It has more than 70,000 students, which is almost 50% of all students attending public universities in the Republic of Croatia, 30 faculties, 3 academies, and the university center “Croatian Studies”. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFZG) offers 92 university study programs, has 590 academic staff and more than 7,000 students.

The role in the project

FFZG team will lead PR2: Training materials and supporting training tools for academics for the adoption of e-SL to build inclusive higher education systems. FFZG team offers expertise in instructional design, service-learning, use of emerging technologies (robotics and Minecraft) in creative, critical, competent and inclusive ways, digital storytelling, games with a purpose (GWAP) design, computational thinking, design thinking, learner experience design and learning analytics for support of distance learning.

The contribution and benefits of participation in the project

The benefits that FFZG will gain from this project are the digital empowerment of its teachers and upgraded knowledge of e-SL methodologies.

University Politehnica of Bucarest

University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB) is a dynamic and innovative community of 30,000 students and 2,700 academic staff, committed to achieving sustainable excellence in research and education. It is the largest S&T university in the country, with its 15 faculties, 2 departments, and 83 state-of-the-art research laboratories. By performing top-level fundamental and applied research, offering high-quality educational programs, and maintaining strong ties with the industry, UPB is strongly engaged in delivering a quality learning experience. By performing top-level fundamental and applied research, offering high-quality educational programs, and maintaining strong ties with the industry, UPB offers great opportunities for the entire academic community.

The role in project

Within the e-SL4EU University project, Politehnica of Bucharest is responsible for facilitating methodologies for trainers to support the students in the execution of the e-SL projects and will actively contribute to the development of all PRs.

The contribution and benefits of participation in the project

Participation in the e-SL4EU project is a great opportunity for UPB to strengthen its internal capacity to design service-learning activities and foster innovation in higher education pedagogy.

ValueDo

ValueDo is a consultant company, based in Florence, specializing in activities of European, national, and regional project management and also in entrepreneurial education.

The role in the project

Within the project eSL4EU, ValueDo offers its technical assistance for project and risk management activities. The experience gained in the Erasmus+ program allows the company to confidently take responsibility for the technical coordination of the project, supporting all partners in dealing with administrative and financial issues and the University of Silesia for organizing, planning, and reporting on all meetings.

The contribution and benefits of participation in the project

We believe in innovation: supporting HEIs with great expertise in e-service learning and experiential learning will enrich their knowledge and competencies in the field of university education and training. We care about the importance of building inclusive higher education systems that can support people with fewer opportunities and where HEIs foster equity and equality. The project represents a valuable opportunity to gain expertise in the field of university education and allows us to explore the possibility of other project ideas, expanding our network.