Transversal Skills in Dentistry: Content and Language Integrated Learning Approach The project focuses on establishing transnational synergies between higher education institutions (HEIs) and partnerships with professional organizations in the field of dentistry to develop and pilot a new study course that provides opportunities for students to acquire transversal skills and competences to increase their future employability. The project facilitates an increasing permeability between educational establishments and partnership organizations to bridge the gap between higher education and labour market in order to share competences in promoting cross-sectional cooperation. The objectives of the project are 1) to perform the analysis of the present demands required by the labour market in the field of dentistry; 2) to develop a survey on the synergies between education and labour market aimed at re-evaluating the academic and domain-related competences to match them with the transversal skills required for the professional community; 3) to use the survey results in order to develop relevant methodology for the target groups, as well as to design teaching and learning materials to equip students with the transversal skills required in the professional setting; 4) to use ICT-based technologies in developing OER for the benefit of gaining and validating the new skills; 5) to implement blended mobility in order to employ the relevant methodology approach, teaching and learning materials in dentistry and OER by using the English language as a medium of international communication. The University of Latvia, Latvia and the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, the Netherlands and the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, School of Accounting and Administration, Portugal are the direct project participants. The Association of Dentists, Latvia that works in cooperation with the Association for Dental Education in Europe and Association of Physicians of Latvia are the indirect project participants. The following activities will be carried out: 1) evidence gathering in the project participants' organizations; 2) devising teaching methodology for the development of the course Dentistry and Language Integrated Learning; 3) developing teaching and learning material; 4) creating a project website; 5) implementing blended mobility of HEIs students. The CLIL methodology will be used to develop the course Dentistry and Language Integrated Learning, which is an innovative approach at tertiary level that will assist the relevant target group to acquire the subject of dentistry in English. The methodology employs a needs analysis, interviews, document analysis, and structural observations as the research instruments for collecting qualitative and quantitative data. The project aims at reaching the following results: 1) survey report on synergies between education and practice intended for the students with hands-off experience in dentistry; 2) manual on the CLIL methodology for the course Dentistry and Language Integrated Learning; 3) project website; 4) training content; 5) materials and OER for the course Dentistry and Language Integrated Learning; 6) leaflet in the form of a brochure. The expected impact on the direct target group/end-users is: a) acquired knowledge and transversal skills through the study of cases in dentistry using English for instrumental purposes nationally and transnationally; b) increased number of the OER users; c) increased knowledge of professional diversity in the area of dentistry, English language competence, and digital competence. The planned impact on the indirect professional organizations is a) established synergies; b) integrated good practices into HEI courses; c) graduates having gained hands-on experience; d) increased opportunity for professional development using the OER. The expected impact on the project participants is: a) increased professionalism to work at EU level; b) adopted methodology and innovative practices to satisfy the current labour market needs by integrating ICT methodologies; c) reinforced synergies between HEIs and professional settings at national and transnational levels. The expected longer time benefits are a) sustainable OER support the study programmes in dentistry; b) OER provide a cost-effective opportunity for disseminating knowledge; c) OER offer access to learners with disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities, thus ensuring their equity and inclusion.
In the context of the project, it was crucial to bridge the gap between higher education offer and labour market demand in terms of the acquisition of transversal skills in dentistry. The objectives of the project were 1) to analyse the present labour market demands required in the field of dentistry; 2) to develop a survey on the synergies between education and labour market aimed at re-evaluating the academic and domain-related competences to match them with the transversal skills required for the professional community; 3) to use the survey results in order to develop relevant methodology for the target groups; 4) to design teaching and learning materials to equip students with the transversal skills required in the professional setting; 5) to use ICT-based technologies in developing OER for the benefit of gaining and validating the new skills; 6) to implement blended mobility in order to employ the relevant methodology approach, teaching and learning materials in dentistry and OER by using the English language as a medium of international communication. The project participants were the University of Latvia (UL) (Latvia), the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Department of Preventive Dentistry (the Netherlands), and the Centre for Intercultural Studies, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, School of Accounting and Administration (ISCAP) (Portugal). The profile of each insititution was: 1) the UL contributed with its expertise in designing methodology for a simultaneous acquisition of dentistry and the English language and developing teaching and learning materials in clinical dentistry. 2) ACTA’s contribution was in integrating clinical research in understanding the processes that sustain oral health and preventive dentistry. 3) ISCAP’s expertise in e-learning environment allowed the project to place the developed outputs on the Moodle platform as well as to ensure the visibility of the project and its results on the designed website. The learning/teaching activity, that is, blended mobility of higher education students with the students from the UL and ACTA as participating organizations was carried out in the Summer School "Dentistry and Language Integrated Learning" hosted by the University of Latvia in Riga, Latvia from 28 August to 01 September, 2017. The project implemented three face-to-face meetings in the partner countries and virtual meetings in order to enhance cooperation and communication among all project partners.In order to gather the research data, Output 1, an online survey was administered and a database with contacts of professional organizations was drawn up. For the production of Output 2, a questionnaire was used to study the CLIL approach used at HEIs, to explore the available literature, and design a CLIL approach framework in dentistry. To develop Output 3, a web strategy for the dissemination of the Project outputs was established and solutions proposed to make use of the e-learning platform and a project website was designed. For devising the training content (Output 4), the proposed course content was verified with experts. To create the OER materials (Output 5), the analysis of the domain specific language use was done, the identified core terms, materials were verified and adjusted to the target audience in dentistry. For the dissemination of the Outputs and longer-term benefits, a leaflet was drawn up and spread to the relevant stakeholders. The project has achieved the following results: 1) The survey report on synergies between education and labour market, and a database with contacts of professional organizations was drawn up; 2) The manual on the CLIL methodology for the course Dentistry and Language Integrated Learning has been drawn up; 3) The project website http://paol.iscap.ipp.pt/erasmusendent/ that helps to disseminate the intellectual outputs and good practices has been created; 4) the training content for the course Dentistry and English Language Integrated Learning was created; 5) The teaching/learning materials and OERs for the course have been developed. 6) A leaflet has been designed to disseminate the intellectual outputs produced. Longer-term benefits for the target groups are: a) acquired knowledge and transversal skills through the study of cases in dentistry using English for instrumental purposes nationally and inernationally; b) increased number of the OER users; c) increased knowledge of professional diversity in the area of dentistry, English language and digital competence. The impact on the project participants is: a) increased professionalism to work at EU level; b) adopted methodology and innovative practices to satisfy the current labour market needs by integrating ICT methodologies; c) reinforced synergies between HEIs and professional settings at national and transnational levels.