A delegation from Vilnius University visits the CSIR and CEPRUD Centres of the University of Granada

A delegation from Vilnius University formed by 4 lecturers and training/distance learning consultants visited the facilities of the Centre for Computer Services and Communication Networks (CSIR) and the Centre for the Production of Resources for the Digital University (CEPRUD) of the University of Granada (UGR) from 16th to 19th January.

During the visit, the team consisting of Antanas Stonkus, training consultant and project manager, and the lecturers and distance learning consultants, Dovilė Balevičienė, Renata Bikauskaitė and Dainius Baliūnas, was able to learn first-hand about the activities and initiatives carried out by both Centres (CSIR and CEPRUD), their most important infrastructures (such as the Data Centre in the Mecenas building) as well as their work in the field of tools for teaching, MOOCs, teaching staff training, quality assurance, videoconferencing services, instructional designs and other aspects of teaching and learning technologies.

The Vilnius group is already collaborating with the University of Granada, and more specifically, the CEPRUD team, chaired by Gabriel Maciá Fernández, in the project “Optimization of the network of higher education institutions and improvement of the quality of studies by merging Šiauliai University and Vilnius University” funded by the European Social Fund Agency. The project seeks to improve study quality after incorporating Šiauliai University (currently Šiauliai Academy) into Vilnius University. As Antanas Stonkus declares “this visit, which has been possible thanks to the connection and collaboration through the Arqus Alliance, has been enormously interesting and informative for the project, and we very much appreciate the possibility of having been able to know everything that the University of Granada is doing in this field”.

During the visit, they have highlighted the great support that the CEPRUD team provides UGR professors to develop and implement their online training, and have been pleasantly surprised with all the possibilities that can emerge when there are a group of professionals working on the visualization of these courses as it occurs at the University of Granada.

In addition, teams from both universities have had the opportunity to exchange their experiences in carrying out innovation and teaching projects and to discuss their views and approaches to better respond to common challenges such as the adaptation to the changing needs of students and teachers with the emergence of new educational technologies or the most efficient ways of using technology in terms of economic and time resources. “Together, we have identified many ideas and projects for future collaborations in the field, for example, of educational resources”, says Antanas Stonkus. In addition, in the words of Renata Bikauskaitė “the field of teacher and staff training in digital tools and emerging education technologies is another potential area of cooperation among both universities”.

Not surprisingly, the Vilnius team recommends one hundred per cent this type of initiative to other colleagues in their sector or other areas of activity within their university: “It has been impressive to see what the University of Granada does to support their professors and academics in teaching digitisation, how they approach innovation, how they conceive and implement their projects. In short, it has really been a very productive experience in a city that is very much worth visiting”.