PUET participated in the Ukrainian-British Forum “Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education”
On December 4, 2019, the Ukrainian-British Forum “Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education” was held in Kyiv. This forum is the first in a series of activities in a new three-year program aimed at improving the quality of teaching in higher education in Ukraine.
During the forum, participants got acquainted with the best British and Ukrainian practices, discussed the need for universities to improve their teaching and how national policy would facilitate this process.
The purpose of the forum is to launch a national platform for professional discussion and exchange of best practices on improving teaching in higher education.
The event began with a welcome speech by Simon Williams, Director of the British Council in Ukraine. The forum consisted of four key questions:
teaching excellence as a priority for the development of the European Higher Education Area and national policy in Ukraine;
professional development of teachers of higher education institutions in Ukraine: status and needs. The results of the study of the state and needs of teaching and training of teachers of Ukraine can be found in more detail: http://www.britishcouncil.org.ua/sites/default/files/ ukraine_higher_education_teaching_excellence_needs_analysis_report.pdf;
a presentation of the UK’s experience in improving higher education teaching. Thus, the priority areas for the development of teaching staff at UK universities are research and improvement of teaching skills;
presentation of the experience of the universities of Ukraine on the professional development of teachers. The participants of the forum were presented the experience of three Ukrainian universities (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Borys Grinchenko University of Kyiv, Ukrainian Catholic University) of organization and programs of professional development of employees.
During the Forum, the British Council introduced a new Program aimed at developing excellence in teaching and learning in higher education in Ukraine.
The purpose of the Program is to improve the quality of higher education by developing the institutional capacity of universities to improve teaching and learning. The Program will be implemented over the years 2019-2022.
Partners of the British Council in Ukraine in the implementation of the Program are the Institute of Higher Education of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine and Advance HE (United Kingdom). The program is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.
Expected results of the program:
creating a national platform for professional discussion and exchange of best practices;
formation of a network of teachers and university administrators ready to implement changes in their own teaching practices and to exchange effective practices among colleagues;
support for the implementation of institutional projects to improve teaching and learning.
