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Mon, 05/09/2016 - 09:22

During the first trimester of 2016, the institute INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), a joint research institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Technical University of Valencia (UPV), submitted a proposal to the Erasmus+  Programme Capacity Building in Higher Education: FOSTERC.

Focusing on the National priorities fixed by Belarus, the main aim of FOSTERC is to support the modernisation of governance, management and functioning of Belarusian Higher Education Institutions.
For that, FOSTERC will:
• Provide indicators for conceptualize learning outcomes in terms of competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes)
• Upgrade and improve innovative training methods and the development of pedagogical creativity
• Equip Belarusian Higher Education Institutions with the necessary information tool to facilitate the implementation of internal and external quality assurance systems/guidelines
• Modernize the systems and practices of data collection and analysis in the Belarusian HE system through the development of an integrated 'Management Information System' improving HEIs' management in teaching and learning activities.

The Technical University of Valencia (UPV, Spain) represented by INGENIO(CSIC-UPV) is the responsible for coordination and project management. Dr. Adela García Aracil permanent academic staff at INGENIO is the project coordinator.

The associate partners will be:
• 3 European Universities: Lietuvos Edukologijos Universitetas (LEU – Lithuania), U. w Bialystok (UwB – Poland), Turun Yliopisto (U.Turku – Finland)
• 8 Belarusian Universities: Belarusian State University (BSU); Yanka Kupala State U. of Grodno (YKSUG); Belarussian State Pedagogical University (BSPU); Francisk Skorina Gomel State University (GSU); Grodno State Agrarian University (GSAU); Polotsk State University (PSU); Brest State University (BrSU); Belarus State Economic University (BSEU)
• Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus
• National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE – Belarus)
• University Solutions, SL (USSL – Spain)

In spite of Belarusian higher education has a good level of development and quality, it has been formally isolated of the main trends of European higher education. The new situation (full integration in the Bologna process)requires a special attention of European cooperation programmes in order to support advances in the modernisation of Belarusian universities. This is an historical moment when the cooperation and support of other European universities is crucial for developing a climate of understanding among Belarusian and the rest of European universities. The activities addressed in FOSTERC will promote the shift towards input/content to output/outcomes in Belarusian Higher Education
Institutions. Training workshops and training visits will provide good practices to Belarusian institutions to integrate learning outcomes into full model of education. Moreover, FOSTERC will provide benefits for the consortium both to the EU programme- and partnercountry groups and will allow developing, transferring and integrating practices and policy recommendations.