Learning, Teaching and Training Activities

The fourth activity of the learning, teaching and training (LTTA C5) was successfully held within the strategic partnership project co-funded by the Erasmus+ program entitled „Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in era of digitalization“ - DIGI4Teach. A three-day workshop “Train the Trainers Workshop – Application of Digital Tools in Case Study Development” was held in the organization of the host institution University of Zagreb at three locations: the Faculty of Economics & Business, the Second School of Economics Zagreb and the Third School of Economics Zagreb in the period November 22-24, 2022. A total of 26 representatives of partner institutions participated in LTTA C5, along with the members of the host University.

On the first day, the dean of the Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb (FEB Zagreb) Sanja Sever Mališ, PhD and the DIGI4Teach project coordinator Nikolina Dečman, PhD addressed the participants with a welcome speech. The first lecture entitled “Digital transformation of the Faculty of Economics & Business” was given by Božidar Jaković, PhD, Vice Dean for students, study programs and digitalization at FEB Zagreb. Project coordinator Nikolina Dečman, PhD presented the activities and expected outputs of the project as well as the most significant results of the research conducted within the DIGI4Teach project among students and teachers in partner countries (Croatia, Germany, Poland and Serbia) on the use of digital technologies in the teaching process, with special emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of their application in teaching. 

Ernst & Young representatives, partner Filip Hitrec, senior manager Alem Ćorić and manager Andrija Stilinović, held a lecture on "Digitalization in Audit: Use of Audit Tools". The director of the Digital Solutions Division from the Financial Agency, Andreja Kajtaz, held a lecture on "Digital services through the accounting profession and beyond". The next lecture on the topic "Digital Transformation of the Croatian Tax Administration, e-services and their impact on teaching in the field of business economics" was held by representatives of the Ministry of Finance - Tax Administration, director general of the Tax Administration Božidar Kutleša and tax advisor in the Department for the development of application solutions and information systems Frano Barišić. Josipa Majić Predin, who is an external associate at the Faculty of Economics & Business of the University of Zagreb, addressed the participants via Google Meet. She introduced the participants to affective computing and its application in the teaching and held a lecture entitled “How can artificial intelligence (AI) be used in teaching economics and business?”. Each lecture and presentation were followed by an exciting session of questions and answers as well as discussions between participants and lecturers.

The second day was reserved for the presentation of different case studies that were created as a result of the training in previous teacher trainings, and in the preparation of which different digital tools were applied. Within this workshop, project members were educated how to use different digital tools when developing case studies (Canva, Padlet, Book Creator, Genially, QR code generator, Nearpod, PearDeck, Excel, Google Slides, SlidesCarnival, Quizlet, Kahoot, LearningApps, Answer Garden, Word art, Word wall, Brainscape, etc.) with a special emphasis on the "train the trainers" approach. The first case studies entitled "Business documentation in practice firms & Calculation of business travel" were presented by Zorica Hrgovčić, MA and Romana Rusek, MA from the First School of Economics Zagreb. Ivana Virovac Bilandžija, MA, Petra Bručić Barić, MA, Ivana Brnada, MA and Ivana Hlobik, MA from the Second School of Economics Zagreb presented case studies entitled "Introducing a new product line to the market & Graduation trip organization". The following case studies entitled "Real estate price analysis & Croatia as a tourism destination" were presented by Lada Tabak, MA and Jana Staroveški, MA from the Third School of Economics Zagreb. The last presented case studies entitled "Designing a logo for a practice firm & Analysis of credit indebtedness" were presented by Blankica Odak, MA and Sanja Dömötörffy, MA from the School of Economics, Trade and Catering in Samobor.

The last day of the training was divided into two parts. The participants spent the first part of the day in secondary economic schools in two locations, where students solved case studies on computers using various digital tools. Upon completion, all students were awarded certificates for participating in this activity. In the second part of the day, upon returning to the FEB Zagreb, Mateja Brozović, PhD and Marina Ercegović, PhD presented a case study about the application of digital tools in the field of accounting entitled “Financial Statement Analysis – Accounting”. At the end of the training program, Jakša Krišto, PhD presented the activities carried out by the Institutional Investors LAB and highlighted the digital tools that are used in the field of financial literacy and sustainable investments, giving a lecture on "Digital tools as a driver of financial literacy and sustainable investments: Case Institutional investors LAB".

At the end of the official part of the training, the main conclusions of the LTTA C5 workshop were made about the use of digital tools in teaching and how they must be applied in order to make teaching and teaching materials as high-quality, dynamic and applicable as possible for both high school and university students. Recommendations for improving the teaching methodology in the era of digitization were given and the participants were awarded with certificates of participation. During the three-day training, active discussion was encouraged. In addition to the official part of the activity, the participants socialized at various social activities, where the project members further strengthened their cooperation and team spirit. The participants of this training especially emphasized that with this workshop they additionally strengthened their digital skills in developing case studies, which they will be more than happy to apply in the teaching process. All participants were really satisfied with the overall organization, lectures, presentations of various cases from almost all areas of the economy with the practical application of numerous digital tools, as well as the positive and inspiring work atmosphere that prevailed throughout the duration of the activity. In this sense, participants of the workshop expressed their gratitude to Nikolina Dečman, PhD and her entire team for the successfully organized LTTA C5 training.

The third activity of learning, teaching and training was successfully organized within the strategic partnership project co-financed by the Erasmus + program entitled "Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in the era of digitalization" - DIGI4Teach. An activity called Short-term joint staff training - Finance (LTTA C4) was held at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Economics and Business, Serbia, in the period 24-26 May 2022. A total of 16 representatives of partner institutions participated in LTTA C4, along with the members of the host University.

The first lecture entitled "Internationalization and digitalization of teaching and research at higher education institutions" was given by the Vice Dean for Finance and International Cooperation of the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, as well as the local DIGI4Teach Project Manager, Saša Ranđelović, PhD.

After the introductory lecture, the participants presented their institutions (schools/universities/faculties) and shared their teaching experiences in the field of finance with the use of digital tools (representatives of the project coordinator - University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business: Nikolina Dečman, PhD, Danijela Ferjanić Hodak, PhD, Marina Ercegović, PhD and Ivana Barišić PhD; representative of Stiftung Fachhochschule Osnabrueck: Gunther Meeh-Bunse, PhD and representatives of Cracow University of Economics: Adam Michalik, PhD and Krystian Bigos, PhD, representatives of the First School of Economics Zagreb: Zorica Hrgovčić, MA and Nataša Kozić Marjanović, MA; representatives of the Second School of Economics Zagreb: Ivana Virovac Bilandžija, MA, Ivana Brnada, MA and Petra Bručić Barić, MA; representatives of the Third School of Economics Zagreb: Jana Staroveški, MA and Marija Aračić, MA; representatives of Samobor School of Commerce and Catering: Blankica Odak, MA and Sanja Domotorffy, MA). A lecturer from the host university, Emilija Manić, PhD gave the second lecture on the topic “Exchange of digital teaching know-how between higher universities and secondary schools”. The third lecture on "Digitization of teaching using Moodle and CESIM simulations" was given by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, prof. Žaklina Stojanović. LTTA C4 hosts managed to offer licenses for the CESIM business simulation and participants had the opportunity to directly access the simulation platform and to get acquainted with the opportunities that this platform provides in the implementation of practical training and teaching.  CESIM platform is used as an example of the business simulation game inspirable both for students and teachers to share the knowledge on business decision making process through the digital tool. The afternoon part of the program included lectures by lecturers from the host University: PhD Velimir Lukić "Using enterprise resource planning software (SAP) in teaching finance" and PhD Dragana Draganac "Technology-enhanced teaching in behavioural finance". Each lecture and presentation was followed by an exciting session of questions and answers as well as discussions between participants and presenters.

The second day began with a lecture by PhD Nikola Njegovan (University of Belgrade - Faculty of Economics and Business), on "Enhancing teaching and learning experience using digital tools", after which the hosts took participants on a tour of the campus and presented organizational units that represent examples of good practice in digitalization of work and teaching process: Library, Start-up center, EKOF Business Lab and Creative Center, as well as IT classrooms and computer laboratories. The tour of the campus was led by representatives of the host University: Mladen Stamenković, PhD (Vice Dean for Science), Svetozar Tanasković, PhD and Nenad Stajić, MSc. After a short break, there was a lecture by representatives of secondary economic schools in Serbia: Biljana Urošević, MA, Fifth School of Economics in Belgrade and Marija Urošević, MA, High School in Kruševac on "Digitalization of teaching economics, business and finance - secondary school perspective".

The second day ended with a study visit to the Science and Technology Park Belgrade, where the participants had a great opportunity to gain insight into ways to encourage entrepreneurship among students.

At the end of the program, "Price Waterhouse Coopers" representative Vladislav Cvetković and a young fellow student from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, Dušan Cvetković, gave a lecture "Key digital competencies for successful career in finance - employers' and students' perspective".

After the working part of the training, the participants exchanged opinions on LTTA C4 and were awarded certificates of participation. During this three-day training, an informal discussion was encouraged, which resulted in strengthening cooperation among project members. Training and social activities during LTTA C4 were very well balanced. The training participants pointed out that with this training they gained many new insights and experiences, which certainly enriched their professional knowledge and improved their digital skills, which they will be more than happy to apply in the teaching process. The organization was excellent, with a lot of activities and presentations of eminent lecturers relevant to the topic of digitalization in the field of finance. Therefore, the greatest credit for the successful organization of the LTTA C4 training goes to Saša Ranđelovic, PhD and his entire team.

The second learning, teaching, and training activity was successfully organized within the project of strategic partnership co-financed by the Erasmus+ programme and entitled "Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in era of digitalization" - DIGI4Teach, despite the pandemic challenges. Short-term joint staff training – Trade and International Business (LTTA C2) was held at the Cracow University of Economics (CUE), Poland, in the period from 1st to 3rd February 2022. In total, 12 representatives from partner institutions took a part in the LTTA C2. The activities were also attended by the members of the host university.

The first day of the LTTA C2 started with official greetings and speeches by the Cracow University of Economics authorities: prof. UEK dr hab. Karolina Klecha-Tylec (Vice-Rector for Education and Students CUE); prof. UEK dr hab. Kinga Michałowska (Vice-Dean of the College of Economics, Finance and Law CUE); prof. UEK dr hab. Michał Głuszak (Vice-Director of the Institute of Economics CUE). The first lecture on “International business/trade studies and research at UEK/CUE” was given by the Head of the Department of International Trade Prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Wach. Afterwards, participants presented their institutions (schools/universities) and shared their teaching experience in the field of trade and international business by implementing digital solutions (Blaženka Knežević, PhD and Nikolina Dečman, PhD as representatives of the project leader, the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business; Veljko Mijušković, PhD as a representative of the University of Belgrade; Zorica Hrgovčić, MA as a representative of the First School of Economics Zagreb; Ivana Virovac Bilandžija, MA as a representative of the Second School of Economics Zagreb; Marin Romić, MA as a representative of the Third School of Economics Zagreb; and Blankica Odak, MA as a representative of the Samobor School of Economics, Trade and Catering). Two lecturers from the Department of International Trade: prof. UEK dr. hab. Agnieszka Głodowska and mgr Krystian Bigos gave the second lecture on “Teaching Digitalization of International Trade and International Business at UEK/CUE: Present Experience and a Way Forward”.

A study trip was planned in the afternoon of the first day. However, due to the pandemic situation related to COVID-19, it was impossible to visit Krakow Technology Park KPT and Business Hi-Tech Incubator physically. Instead of this, the activity took place online. The KPT representatives: Mr. Krzysztof Krzysztofiak (Director of the Technology Park Department) and Mr. Mateusz Kowacki (Business Development Specialist) were the online hosts.

The second day began with the presentation of the project implemented at CUE by prof. UEK dr hab. Bartosz Kurek (Department of Accounting) “MCHE: Education Cloud for Secondary Schools”. Afterwards, prof. UEK dr hab. Jan Brzozowski (Department of European Studies and Economic Integration) presented CASPAR: Center for Advanced Studies of Population and Religion; OWIM: Multiculturalism and Migration Observatory. In the next part of the workshops, representatives from companies implementing the gamification projects at UEK/CUE were invited. They gave the lectures entitled: “Use of Aribo platform for education: Why gamification?” by Ms. Anna Gąsiorowska (CEO of Aribo) and “Use of Gamfi platform for education: Marking students engaged” by Mr. Wacław Wykrytowicz (R&D Director of Gamfi).

In the second part of the day, the participants took part in the CUE Campus tour, including Jurta (created under the CASPAR initiative) and CUE library. This campus tour aimed to familiarize training participants with CUE's digitalization level and its digital library resources. Upon returning to the Campus building where the lectures were held, the International Trade Simulation Game was organized by dr Remigiusz Gawlik (Department of International Economics).

The last day of the activity consisted of two parts. The first part was a study trip: “Digitalization of Cultural Heritage of Kraków: Rynek Underground Museum”. The second part was training on “How to Teach E-commerce” moderated by mgr Krystian Bigos (Department of International Trade).

There was an official farewell at the end of the third day. The participants exchanged their views on the LTTA C2 and certificates of participation were given. During the 3-day activities, an informal discussion was encouraged and stronger cooperation among project members has been achieved. Participants emphasised a very good balance between the training and social activities during the LTTA C2.

All participants have gained a lot of new insights, experiences, and colleagues that have enriched their professional knowledge in the field and improved their teaching skills using digital technologies. All participants agreed that the organization was great, with a lot of activities and are sincerely grateful to Prof. dr. hab. Krzysztof Wach and his entire team.

Despite all the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the first project learning, teaching, and training activity was successfully organized within the project of strategic partnership co-financed by Erasmus+ entitled "Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in era of digitalization" - DIGI4Teach. The activity called Short-term joint staff training - Accounting (LTTA C1) was held at the Hochschule Osnabrück, University of Applied Sciences, Campus Lingen, Germany in the period from 26th to 28th October 2021. The activities were attended by two members of each of the seven organizations involved in the project, which represents a total of 14 realized mobilities, and the activities were also attended by members of the host university.

The first lecture on "Impressions from Covid driven digitized semesters" was given by the Dean of Studies at the University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Michael Ryba. Afterwards, a lecture on "Smart success and aspects of digitized self-learning" was given by Kathrin Wanninger, a Research Associate from the Learning Center at the University of Applied Sciences. The project activities were then continued with team building, the purpose of which was to get to know and bring together the participants of the activity, held by the professional trainer Stefanie Drees. In the second part of the day, the guest lecturer was Daniel Struckmeyer, a consultant at DATEV eG, who gave a lecture on "Digitized resources in accounting for vocational schools and universities - Status quo and future perspectives“. DATEV eG, among other things in its portfolio, offers software for accounting, personnel management, business consulting, tax computation, office and company organization. After an interesting lecture, the topic of applying DATEV software was continued, since it is also actively used by professors from the University of Applied Sciences. Prof. Dr. Gunther Meeh-Bunse, Local Project Manager at the University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Marion Titgemeyer and Katja Luer, LL.M. introduced the participants to their own example of practical teaching using the DATEV system through a lecture entitled "Combining accounting and taxation in digitized teaching". At the very end of the working day, the representative of the University of Belgrade, Assistant Professor Dragana Draganac, PhD presented digital teaching methods and tools in accounting that are applied at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade. 

The second day began with a tour of the BBS Lingen Wirtschaft Vocational High School. The host was headmaster Heinz Gebbeken who presented examples of practical teaching methods through the digital aspect of modern teaching. After visiting the high school, a lecture on the application of the SAP accounting information system was given at the Lingen Campus by Marianne Hennies and Gladies Merheb on behalf of Refratechnik Holding GmbH. The topic of the lecture was "Corporate Reporting - Digitized State of the Art and Implications for Young Accounting Professionals". After the lunch break, the guest lecturer was tax law expert Tim Lühn, LL.M., on behalf of Volbers Vehmeyer & Partner, a tax advisory and audit firm. The lecture was on the topic "Innovative accounting and tax advisory in Lingen - challenges in cross border (tax) and accounting with special emphasis on IT tools". In the second part of the day, the participants visited the library within the Lingen Campus where the library manager presented the digital aspect of the books and scientific papers searching engine and took the participants through the library. Upon returning to the Campus building where the lectures were held, representatives of the project leader, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Assistant Professor Mateja Brozović, PhD and Postdoctoral Researcher Ana Rep, PhD, as well as the representatives of the First School of Economics Zagreb, Romana Rusek, MA and Tomislav Polić, MA, presented digital methods and tools of teaching accounting that are applied in their organizations. 

The last day of the activity began with a lecture on "Teaching the digitized case study DATEV - accounting for SMEs - Müller & Thurgau" held by Prof. Dr. Gunther Meeh-Bunse from the University of Applied Sciences. Participants had the opportunity to attend and actively participate in the class and, together with students, get acquainted with the accounting program DATEV. In the second part of the day, Aron Rodriguez, Account Manager - Academics and Michelle Karavias, Industry Research Head, from the globally known agency Fitch Ratings and Fitch Solutions, joined the video call from London with the topic “Rating Agencies as Receiver of Accounting Reporting: The Rating Process and the Digitized Fitch Connect Data Base”. After an interesting lecture, the participants visited the TPZ Theater, which was presented by the theater director Nils Hanraets. Participants were also able to hear about theater pedagogy through a very useful workshop that is applicable in all aspects of team building and working with all ages. After an interesting workshop, the presentation of digital teaching methods and the application of digital tools at the Cracow University of Economics was held by Prof. dr hab. Agnieszka Głodowska. The last project activity was in the form of a historical and cultural tour of the city of Lingen, where participants were introduced to the historical culture and heritage of the city of Lingen. The tour was arranged by Kivelinge city tour and farewell, which ended the first learning, teaching and training activity within the DIGI4Teach project. All participants left with a lot of new knowledge, experience and acquaintances that enriched their professional and private status. Also, all participants are sincerely grateful to Prof. Dr. Gunther Meeh-Bunse and his entire team for a great organization and a multitude of activities.