A three-day tailor-made training with University ‘Fehmi Agani’ in Gjakova (UFAGJ) on Project Cycle Management (PCM) took place during 12-14 September 2022.

Rector, Mr. Artan Nimani and HERAS Plus Thematic Coordinator, Mr. Nehat Dervishi, stressed the significance of this training for the UFAGJ as they officially launched the event. This specially designed program on PCM is considered a structural intervention in the path towards further institutional development.

The tailormade training aimed at building capacities of a selected team of UFAGJ academic staff for writing, monitoring and implementing projects. The program covered all the main subjects involved in PCM, whereas the delivery method was through presentations, group work and coaching. All the training sessions were followed with concrete examples in working groups.

The training was tailored and specifically designed for the needs of UFAGJ and is part of support provided to University based on the competitive fund for strategic development of public higher education institutions.

On 10 and 11 February 2022, a two-day workshop on “Effective Mechanisms for Monitoring the Implementation of Strategic Plan” was organized in support of the University “Fehmi Agani” in Gjakova (UFAGJ), and was specifically designed to meet the needs of the University.

The Rector Artan Nimani, who officially opened the event, stated that HERAS Plus is the most reliable partner of UFAGJ in the path to sustainable strategic development. In the other side, Mr. Aqim Emurli, Team Leader of HERAS Plus, called upon all the participants to make use of the expertise provided by the Project, thus, interact with the expert and the Project Team in the process of contextualizing  the discussions and exercises with the aim of achieving a maximum output from the workshop. The head of the UFAGJ Steering Council, Ms. Vjosa Mullatahiri, also attended the event. In her address, Ms. Mullatahiri, encouraged the University management to focus on developing a reliable Monitoring Report, which will create the basis for a potential revision of the Strategic Plan with the aim of further streamlining the strategic development of the University.

The workshop addressed the most relevant topics related to monitoring and evaluation principles, understanding indicators, use of assessment techniques, and sources of verifications of the strategic implementation. The workshop is a follow-up to the findings and recommendations of Baseline Assessment conducted last year with the support of the Project.

On 26 and 27 November 2021, HERAS Plus provided a two-day advanced training on Research and Publications to the University “Fehmi Agani” in Gjakova (UFAGJ). The training was addressed by the Rector of UFAGJ Mr. Artan Nimani and the project Thematic Coordinator for Higher Education Mr. Nehat Dervishi.

The tailormade training covered all the main topics related to the process of both conducting the scientific research and publication of research articles. In addition to presentations, the Project facilitated group work and coaching sessions in relation to concrete exercises.

The tailormade training is part of support to UFAGJ in the context of functionalizing its Didactic Center for Teaching Excellence (DCTE). DCTE is designed to offer support services in areas of professional and academic development to UFAGJ staff by providing advanced services for a sustainable, transformed and modern system of teaching, research, and leadership.

The tailormade training was part of support provided to UFAGJ based on the competitive fund for strategic development of public universities.

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On 30 September 2021, HERAS Plus conducted the first workshop in the context of expertise support that the Project is offering to the University “Fehmi Agani” in Gjakova (UFAGJ) in the process of functionalizing the Didactic Center for Excellence in Teaching (DCET).

DCET is designed to offer support services in areas of professional and academic development to UFAGJ staff by providing advanced services for a sustainable, transformed and modern system of teaching, research, and leadership.

This workshop marked the first event in the context of a tailor-made activity that aims at fostering mechanisms for sustainable development of academic staff and leadership at UFAGJ. The need for this intervention was identified in the baseline assessment conducted in spring 2021.

The Project is offering three national experts, one for each field, i.e. for teaching, research and leadership. The experts will work closely with the core team of UFAGJ in developing the program, including the actual training modules, and conduct training of trainers (ToT).

HERAS Plus has supported the working group (WG) on developing policies on applied science programs in the Kosovo higher education system. The WG meeting took place on 25 June 2021.

The working group, which is established by the Ministry of Education Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) in May 2021, is drafting an Administrative Instruction that will regulate the overall functioning of Higher Education Institutions offering applied science programs in Kosovo as well as the requirements and structures of such programs.

The WG consists of representatives of MESTI, the Vice-Rectors of seven public universities in Kosovo and HERAS Plus. MESTI’s decision to embark on this legislative initiative is a follow-up action to the findings and recommendations that emerged from the ‘Roadmap on Applied Science Approaches in Kosovo Higher Education’, which is a strategic and analytical document, which was closely supported by the project.