On 28-30 March, HERAS Plus supported a three-days workshop for the senior management of the University of Prishtina (UP) and the respective working group members which is task to revise the Statute. The support includes also international expertise who brought into attention the international perspective and comparative view that shall be taken into consideration by the UP during the revision process.

At the event, it was stated that the revised Statute shall help the UP to establish a framework that guarantees the well-being of students, academic staff, and people dealing with scientific work and the broader community, to affirm sustainable performance of higher education, and to contribute to the development of the higher education sector in Kosova. Statutes are far from being merely sets of formal rules. Instead, they are value-oriented documents. Therefore, it is crucial that the revised statute mirror developments in the surrounding society, correspond with state-of-the-art tendencies in education, and meet requirements posed by outer agents (e.g., government, labour market, international agreements like those of ENQA and EQAR, macro-level documents like SDGs).

The National Stakeholder Conference on Social Cohesion and Equality in Kosovo, held on March 7th, coincided with National Teachers Day and marked a significant milestone for the Programmatic Partnership “Research capacity building to strengthen Empirical Education Research on Social Cohesion and Equity in Kosovo (EduReaKos) – funded under the HERAS Plus Programmatic Partnerships Scheme.” This partnership is coordinated by the University of Graz in partnership with three Public Higher Education Institutions in Kosovo: University “Isa Boletini” Mitrovica (UIBM), University “Ukshin Hoti” Prizren (UUHP), and University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” (UP). The conference aimed to highlight issues related to educational equality and bring them to the policy agenda, focusing on large-scale assessments of data from PISA and TIMSS.

During the opening session, Mr. Aqim Emurli, HERAS Plus Team Leader, emphasised that this project (funded by HERAS Plus) is highly significant because it addresses crucial issues related to Human Rights and Gender Equality. He further commended the project’s achievements and emphasised the valuable capacity-building opportunities that emerged from the collaboration, particularly for the young researchers involved.

Additionally, Mr. Qerim Qerimi, Rector of the University of Prishtina, emphasised the conference’s importance as a contribution to advancing education in Kosovo, beyond its academic and research purposes. He expressed gratitude for the continued support offered by HERAS Plus.

The EduReaKos project has focused on capacity building, collaboration, and networking to strengthen young academics’ empirical education research and research competencies in teacher education and related disciplines. These efforts aim to build a robust knowledge base on social cohesion and equity within the Kosovan schooling system. The project’s research outcomes have been presented at four international conferences in Austria, Armenia, Germany, and Norway, in the form of a keynote, a symposium, four papers, and three posters.

HERAS Plus organized one-day tailor made trainings for University “Haxhi Zeka” of Peja and University “Hasan Prishtina” of Prishtina on 10 May 2022 and 12 May 2022 respectively. The trainings were delivered and facilitated by Ms. Katja Žibert Kamšek, HERAS Plus international expert.

The participants of both Universities have been trained to improve the design of the learning outcomes of study programmes and courses. These improvements will enable students to develop more complex skills, such as problem-solving, designing ideas, etc. Consequently, the study programmes will become more attractive, and graduates will be better skilled to address the challenges they will meet in future.

These trainings also provided the opportunities for how teachers can plan teaching, learning and assessment methods according to the learning outcomes so that students have a greater chance to develop these skills.

Finally, the trainings gave some insights into how quality assurance mechanisms could help assure that the relevance of the learning outcomes is regularly checked and updated and that teaching, learning and assessment methods are continuously evaluated and updated to best support students in developing intended skills.

One of the nine research projects awarded with the Research Grant from HERAS Plus: “Air Pollution in Kosovo – impact on human health and Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices (KAP) and Perception on air pollution” in partnership with the Medical Faculty of the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” (UP), Medical University of Vienna and Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje meet on the 28th -30th March 2022 with the purpose of validating health and air pollution data collected in Kosovo.

The project aims to assess the impact of air pollution on respiratory disease in children and evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of outdoor air pollution in Kosovo. We are very excited to see the results of their work in upcoming scientific publications with the established evidence on the impact of air pollution, which will benefit policymakers.

As part of the visit, Prof. Moshamer, head of the Environmental Health Department at the Medical University of Vienna, met with Ph.D. students and held a lecture with Medical Students from the University of Prishtina. The project team also met with experts from the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure.

The Research Grants’ aim is to promote international scientific cooperation and networking between Researchers from Austria, Kosovo, and the Western Balkan region, in the thematic areas of the call, as well as empower young and early-stage Kosovan researchers at Public Universities to get engaged and benefit from the knowledge and shared expertise, whilst building on original scientific contribution.

On 16 February 2022, HERAS Plus completed a series of tailor-made trainings and coaching sessions in the Project Cycle Management (PCM) for the academic staff of the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” (UP).

This final event was addressed by Rector of UP, Mr. Naser Sahiti, Head of Austrian Development Agency office in Prishtina, Ms. Sandra Horina, HERAS Plus Team Leader, Mr. Aqim Emurli and UP Vice-Rector for International Relations Ms. Albulena Blakaj-Gashi. They congratulated the 20 selected academic staff on the successful completions of this program, their hard work and commitment. An official ceremony on distributing certificates took place as well.

During the period 2021-2022, HERAS Plus organized three tailor made trainings as well as coaching sessions for the 20 selected academic staff of UP, which were grouped in four teams and worked closely in developing four project proposals. The four teams build their capacities on PCM and were mentored thoroughly on advancing these concrete proposals and ready for fund-raising

This program, was designed jointly by HERAS Plus Team and the UP leadership and is part of the earmarked fund expert support for strategic development of the public universities.

On 17 November 2021, the project HERAS Plus launched the Baseline Assessment Report for the University “Haxhi Zeka” in Peja. The Report is a concise, but comprehensive, overview of the University’s current institutional development. The assessment is made in nine different dimensions. In addition, the BA identifies a significant number of areas for improvement, which are expressed in the form of Recommendations with clear mechanisms and indicators.

In addition, the BA provides an i) overall picture of the university development, by defining and presenting baseline information on the key university development areas; ii) data analysis on the available progress indicators in the key university development areas; iii) Provide recommendations with certain suggested interventions for university development on the next strategic framework on the years to come;

The event was attended by the senior management of the UHZ Peja, academics, students – whereas addressed officially by the Rector, Mr. Armand Krasniqi, and by the Team Leader, Mr. Aqim Emurli. The Team Leader, Mr. Emurli noted that the Baseline Assessments (BA), have been conducted for six public Universities in Kosovo. The key recommendations that emerged from this assessment are expected to be supported by the Project based on the earmarked funds for public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Whereas, the Rector, Mr. Krasniqi, praised the Project for useful and systematic work in the higher education sector in Kosovo, in general, and for the specific and relevant support provided to public universities.

The event concluded with the ceremonial signing of the MoU between the Project and UHZ Peja, thus setting the frame for a well-structured cooperation.

On 11-12 November 2021, the Project was happy to conclude a two-day workshop with the University of Prishtina (UP), which focused on assessing the ways to develop a viable performance evaluation system for academic staff. The workshop was attended by the UP Rector and his cabinet, members of the Steering Council, Deans and the General Secretary. The event was organized and conducted under the patronage of the HERAS Plus Team Leader, Mr. Aqim Emurli, and Rector of the University of Prishtina, Mr. Naser Sahiti.

The Project, has engaged international expertise to develop a Roadmap document advising the leadership of UP on how to measure the performance of the academic staff. The draft Roadmap was presented by the HERAS Plus Project, international expert Ms. Kristiina Tõnnisson, whereas the workshop offered an occasion to collect feedback and comments. The feedback collected during the event will be used in the process of finalizing the Roadmap document.

The draft Roadmap presented during the event provides a short overview of the main arguments around performance evaluation of academic staff. The paper suggest that there are mostly four main reasons for evaluating the academic staff: (1) to know the strengths and weaknesses of the staff in order update and promote certain skillset and knowledge of the staff on ongoing basis; (2) to be able to differentiate staff according to their teaching preferences, loads, capacities, developmental needs, research, salaries etc.; (3) to create a culture of ongoing quality improvement to keep pace with the rapid development around the world; (4) to be competitive with other HEIs around the world.

Noteworthy, the Roadmap was developed with the support of international expertise taking into consideration some examples from other EU countries. The document identifies the most relevant criteria for academic staff evaluation. The criteria are grouped in four distinctive areas suggested for evaluation: (1) Teaching, (2) Research, (3) Institutional Development, and (4) Serving Society. Lastly, the draft Roadmap offers a proposal for the Performance Card.

In the scope of “earmarked fund” enabled support, ROARI is designed to regulate the utilization of the Research Infrastructure at University of Prishtina (UP) and enable inter-Institutional collaborations and cooperation with the Industry and Private Sector.

On 16 July 2021, Ms. Ilire Hasani Mavriqi, HERAS Plus Expert, presented the drafted Regulation followed by discussions with the Working Group members composed of Faculty/Unit Representatives, Data Management Officers and Management Officials such as Mr. Kurtesh Sherifi, Vice Rector for Scientific Research, Mr. Esat Kelmendi, General Secretary of University of Prishtina, and Mr. Avni Hajdari, Coordinator of Office for Sponsored Research and Projects.

The Regulation on Open Access to Research Infrastructure is expected to contribute towards increasing transparency and participation in research related activities within UP, increase international visibility and re-usability of research, whilst supporting emerging funder expectations and preparing towards joining the respective International Networks for Open Access to Research Infrastructure.

This activity marks the intensive work and cooperation between University of Prishtina and HERAS Plus Project in the scope of the “earmarked fund” enabled support in several areas.

On 29-30 June 2021 the Project HERAS Plus supported the University “Fehmi Agani” in Gjakova (UFAGJ) in reviewing and revising the internal legal acts of the University. The two-day workshop was in the context of both harmonizing the internal legal framework with the newly adopted Statute of the University and addressing the Recommendations from the Baseline Assessment conducted earlier this year with the support of HERAS Plus. In the framework of this activity, the Project provided expert input in various levels including text review, text commenting, consolidation and harmonization, as well as facilitation of working groups.

The Rector of UFAGJ, Prof. Ass. Dr. Artan Nimani, thanked the Project for systematic and consistent developmental support provided to the University so far, and expressed the interest for further cooperation with the Project in the process of implementing the recommendations that emerged from the Baseline Assessment. In the other side, on behalf of ‘HERAS Plus’, Thematic Coordinator for Higher Education, Mr. Nehat Dervishi, praised the university leadership, academic and administrative staff of UFAGJ for unwavering commitment in streamlining the University with the best European standards in higher education.

On 23-24 June 2021, HERAS Plus conducted the two-day tailor-made training on Project Cycle Management (PCM) for the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” (UP). The Project Team Leader, Mr. Aqim Emurli, and the Rector of UP, Prof. Dr. Naser Sahiti, officially launched the Program. Rector Sahiti, in his statement, expressed the commitment of UP leadership in enhancing the overall UP’s performance in relation to international cooperation including on matters related to quality and quantity of Projects and Partnerships. In the other side, the Team Leader, Mr. Emurli, congratulated the UP for engaging in advancing the position in areas related to international projects and partnerships. Further, Mr. Emurli elaborated the benefits that the selected team, the UP in general, will gain from this tailor-made HERAS Plus Program and encouraged the participants to make a maximum use of resources offered by the Project.

The workshop is the first event in the series of trainings and coaching sessions that the Project will offer to UP in line with the joint actions agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UP and HERAS Plus Project. The workshop was attended by 20 academic staff that were selected through a transparent process involving an open call and a careful review of applications. The Program, which is designed jointly by HERAS Plus Team and the UP leadership, aims not only to build the capacities of a selected team of academic staff on topics related to PCM, but also to develop a few viable and eligible Project Proposals.

The (two-day) workshop will be followed-up by another two workshops that are scheduled to take place until the end of 2021 and which will be paired with coaching sessions, planned to take place in-between the workshops.