Transnational meetings
Conclusion meeting within the DIGI4Teach project
held in a hybrid form
On February 28 and March 1, 2023, a transnational (conclusion) project meeting was held in a hybrid form at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Economics and Business within the Erasmus+ project “Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in era of digitalization” - DIGI4Teach. At the meeting, which was attended by a total of 21 representatives of partner institutions from Croatia, Germany, Poland and Serbia, the results and further steps in the implementation of this project, aimed at the development of capacities for the use of digital tools in teaching economics and business, were analyzed.
The first day of the Conclusion meeting began with official greetings and speeches by representatives of the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Economics and Business: Žaklina Stojanović, PhD (Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business) and Saša Ranđelović, PhD (Vice Dean for Finance and International Relations and local DIGI4Teach Project Manager). After the introductory part, the first presentation was given by the project coordinator, Nikolina Dečman, PhD (DIGI4Teach Project Manager, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business) on the overall project goals and objectives, progress and challenges caused mainly by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed by a discussion on further steps and activities involving all partners representatives.
The second agenda point was dedicated to the handbook’s final preparation – summarising the structure, format and contents, as well as assigning the roles and tasks for its completion. This also included the presentations of case studies given by the representatives of the Stiftung Fachhochschule Osnabrück, the Cracow University of Economics and the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Economics and Business. Moreover, representatives from the Third School of Economics in Zagreb and Samobor School of Economics, Trade and Catering presented research analysis as an output that will be included in the final publication.
The second part of the first-day agenda dealt with the project sustainability, visibility and dissemination of results. The key dissemination and communication tools and activities were presented by the representatives of the University of Zagreb and the First and Second School of Economics in Zagreb. The first day ended with closing remarks, discussions involving all partner representatives and an introduction of the second day's agenda.
The second day began with the presentation of the Quality Management Report, given by the University of Zagreb representatives which covered the review of the quality management tasks and outcomes, monitoring and quality control, activities to be completed according to the project application and the role of the Quality Management Committee. The final point in the agenda was the preparation of the final report. The presentation of the purpose, form and scope of the final report as well as tasks and deadlines were given by the project coordinator representatives from the University of Zagreb. The key instructions and recommendations for the preparation of inputs for the final report were given and the responsibilities of each partner were agreed on.
The meeting was concluded with the closing remarks by the project coordinator, Nikolina Dečman, PhD summing up the work done so far and the tasks ahead needed to complete the project successfully and fulfil all the objectives set in the project application. The coordinator also emphasized the excellent cooperation and teamwork within the consortium.
Transnational kick-off meeting within the DIGI4Teach project held online
Within the strategic partnership exchange of good practice, a project entitled "Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in era of digitalization" (acronym: DIGI4Teach) co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union (Key Activity 2 in the field of vocational education and training), an introductory transnational project meeting was held on 26th and 27th November 2020. Within the transnational meeting, the project framework and course of the project activities, general contractual conditions, financial aspects of grant implementation, and obligations of dissemination of the project activities and results, as well as experiences of the existing use of digital tools in the field of vocational education and further steps within the project were presented. The working part of the meeting also included presentations of experiences of the current use of digital tools in the field of vocational education, the opportunities and challenges of teaching in the context of digital transformation were discussed, and as a result of active discussion conclusions on how to successfully deal with future challenges were presented. Furthermore, the participants were introduced to future steps and activities related to the joint training of teachers involved in project activities that will be implemented within the project. The project coordinator is the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business that hosted this meeting. The meeting was opened with a welcoming speech by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics & Business, associate professor Sanja Sever Mališ, Ph.D. and was closed by the Vice Dean, associate professor Kosjenka Dumančić, Ph.D. The Vice Deans congratulated all the organizations involved in this project and wished them a lot of success in carrying out the project activities. The project manager, assistant professor Nikolina Dečman, Ph.D. moderated the meeting, while all the project members from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business team presented the above-mentioned topics.
The transnational meeting was held in a virtual environment via the Google Meet platform. The meeting was attended by the representatives of all the project partners organizations: Cracow University of Economics (PL), Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Management, Culture and Technology (DE), University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics (RS), First School of Economics, Second School of Economics, and Third School of Economics from Zagreb, School of Economics, Trade and Hospitality from Samobor and the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business.
The DIGI4Teach project lasts 18 months and was started on 1st November 2020. The main objectives of the project include: (1) improvement of teaching skills and teaching practices in different economic disciplines with special emphasis pointed out to the era of digitization by sharing existing good practices and analysing use of new digital teaching and learning technologies in vocational education of economists; (2) encouraging digitalization in participating organizations; and (3) increasing students satisfaction with acquired knowledge and skills in developing their own entrepreneurial ideas and better inclusion in the labour market. The exchange of good practice between the project partners is expected to respond to the challenges associated with the use of digital technology in teaching economic disciplines and thus enable students to be more prepared for the challenges that await them at higher levels of the education system as well as in the labour market. Given the set goals, a pleasant working atmosphere throughout the transnational meeting as well as the involvement of all representatives of project partners’ institutions in active discussion, it is expected that the partnership between higher and secondary education institutions will contribute to the development of teaching skills that will stimulate creative thinking and further support the entrepreneurial spirit of vocational education students.
The transnational meeting is followed by preparations for the learning, teaching, and training activities planned for 2021.
** The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.