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DeSIRe - Development of Soft Skills at Higher Education Institutions of Armenia and Georgia in Compliance with the 21st Century Labour Market Requirements

1011288042023Capacity Building in higher educationongoing
Countries: AM|GE|ES|FI|DE|IE · Grant: €795,598

Project summary

This project has been resubmitted taking into account the constructive feedback provided by the professional reviewers of the EACEA. Adopting a holistic approach to teaching and learning has become an asset to well-rounded education striving to develop whole individuals possessing both transferable soft skills (SS) and academic skills. The former give the latter flexibility to develop and keep up-to-date in an ever-changing world. Therein lies the actuality of this project which aims at bridging the discrepancy between the SS offered by Armenian and Georgian HEIs and those demanded by the labour market. The academic programmes of most ARM and GE HEIs are still rooted in traditional scientific learning methods primarily employed to enhance students’ subject-specific abilities and skills. In this sense, SS are at a disadvantage because they are not sufficiently developed or timely updated in line with recent trends in education and rapid changes in labour market requirements, especially when it comes to their teaching methodology, content, and assessment. To attain a more advanced level of SS-based knowledge and competences at HEIs, 10 SS modules are to be designed and implemented into the formal and non-formal education in line with Tuning Methodology from a student-centred and a labour-market-demand perspective through the physical and virtual mobility of staff. 5 SS ECTS-compliant modules will be incorporated into specific courses or academic programs of HEIs, and the other 5 will be realized through MOOCs as part of synchronous and asynchronous education, thereby offering efficient lifelong learning opportunities to stakeholders, including more vulnerable segments of society who need reskilling to forge personalised learning and career pathways. The project intended outcomes include 5 SS Modules incorporated in 80 academic programs; 160 academic courses updated; 480 trained academ./admin. staff; 5 MOOCs impacting 500 students; 8 equipped SS Labs; 2 SS Manuals.

Project partners (15)