EURASHE organised a Seminar on Lifelong Learning (LLL) titled ‘Lifelong Learning at Professional Higher Education Institutions: New Learners, New Approaches‘ in Bled (Slovenia) on 15-16 October 2009. It is organised by EURASHE and the Association of Slovene Higher Vocational Colleges (ASHVC). Underneath are further information on:
(Photograph: CC by-nc-sa by r12a)
Day 1 – Thursday 15 October 2009
09.30 – Registration for Seminar attendants and contributors
10.00 – Welcome address by the organisers and hosting institution
Lars Lynge Nielsen, President of EURASHE
Meta Dobnikar, Ministry of Higher Education
Janez Šolar, director of Vocational College for Catering and Tourism Bled
10.40 – Developments of Slovene Higher Professional Education and Vocational College Higher Education sector (LLL)
Meta Dobnikar, Ministry of Higher Education
Zdenka Steblovnik Župan, President of AVCRS
11.00 – Coffee break
11.20 – Trends and changes within the society, new challenges, new needs (Samo Pavlin, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
12.00 – Responses of Higher Education institutions to the new challenges (Michel Feutrie, President of EUCEN)
12.30 – Lunch
14.00 – Lifelong Learning from the point of view of professional HE: EURASHE working agenda on LLL
LLL strategies: Progress and Setbacks in institutional practice (Adina Timofei, EURASHE researcher)
15.00 – Coffee break
15.30 – Two parallel break-out sessions on items identified in the study:
Tools & Technology for new learners/teachers in Higher Education (presentation of tools DayAct , group discussion)
Implementing the Bologna process into HEI – example of good practice (Marjan Velej, coordinator of the IMPLETUM project)
17.00 – Feedback from the workshops
19.00 – Dinner at the Bled castle
Day 2 – Friday 16 October 2009
09.30 – Segmenting the market, specific requirements of specific groups of learners (Richard Thorn, IoTI, Ireland)
10.00 – Marketing and promotion among the potential learners (Diarmuid Hegarty, President of Griffith College, Dublin, Ireland)
10.30 – Students’ view – reflection by a Slovene graduate of LLL courses (Milka Smrdelj-Topic, adult student at the Vocational College of Wood Technology School Maribor)
11.00 – Coffee/tea break
11.20 – Workshop on New (active) methods of teaching/learning for new learners (Terence Clifford Amos, Canterbury Christ Church University)
12.30 – Plenary Closing
13.00 – Farewell Lunch
EURASHE has in the past few years set up annual seminars specifically devoted to lifelong learning, in which we focused on the different ‘stakeholders’. The Bled seminar on lifelong learning, is now laying the focus on the ‘new learner’, after dealing with the higher education institutions as providers, the employers and the more traditional learners in our previous seminars. This focus on the ‘new learner’ fits into our longstanding commitment to lifelong learning, even before it became part of the official ‘Bologna’ agenda. It is to be explained by an attention for the socio-economic background of the untraditional learner for whom (higher) education is either an economic necessity or a means for advancement in society.
With ‘Bologna’ and the link to the Lisbon Agenda the attention for new groups of learners has become even more stringent. The Communiqué of the Bologna Ministers gathering in Leuven on 23 April this year put a more than usual focus on lifelong learning and explicitly linked it to the social dimension, through widening access, and as an integrated part of the higher education reform. “Widening participation shall also be achieved through lifelong learning as an integral part of our education systems. Lifelong learning is subject to the principle of public responsibility.
The accessibility, quality of provision and transparency of information shall be assured. Lifelong learning involves obtaining qualifications, extending knowledge and understanding, gaining new skills and competences or enriching personal growth” (The Bologna process 2020 – The Leuven Communiqué, 2009). In the Leuven Communiqué, lifelong learning was identified as one of the higher education priorities for the coming decade, and it therefore should be one of the key areas for a stocktaking of the implementation of the Bologna reform in higher education institutions, along with other aspects like the social dimension, mobility, employability of graduates, etc.
Lars Lynge Nielsen - Born 1948, Copenhagen, Denmark. Holds an MA in Psychology from the University of Copenhagen. Lars Lynge Nielsen joined EURASHE in 1998. Previously he held a number of senior positions in... Read more
Richard Thorn - Richard is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (he holds Bachelor and Doctorate degrees in science) and the Institute of Public Administration (MA in Public Management). He has published over... Read more
Stefan Delplace - Stefan Delplace became the Secretary General of EURASHE in 2004, a position he occupied until 2014. He represented in the Bologna Follow-Up Group and several of its working and coordination... Read more
Meta Dobnikar - Meta Dobnikar works at the Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology. Dr Meta Dobnikar is currently (from Feb. 2009) Head of the Sector for HE at the Ministry of... Read more
Zdenka Steblovnik Župan - Excellent connoisseur of international professional higher education, specialized in Short Cycle Higher Education, head of School Centre Maribor Higher Vocational College, vice-president of Woodworking Association of Slovenia, former president of... Read more
Diarmuid Hegarty - Diarmuid Hegarty is the President of Griffith College in Ireland. He is also Chairman of the Friends of the Vocal Arts.
Marjan Velej - Marjan Velej is Coordinator of the IMPLETUM project. Mag. Marjan Velej obtained his BSc and (scientific) MSc degree at the Faculty for Mechanical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana where... Read more
Mitja Drenik - Mitja Drenik from DayAct, CEO is the entrepreneur and author of personal development methodologies and the concept of human resources under the feedback loop. Since 1997 Mitja is engaged in... Read more
Irena Amič Ravnik - Irena Amic Ravnik is the Director of DOBA (Faculty of Applied Business and Social Studies in Maribor) Faculty of Academic Programmes.
Janez Šolar - Janez Šolar has been director of Vocational College for Catering and Tourism Bled.
Terence Clifford-Amos - Terence is an International Consultant has spent more than 20 years in higher education in the UK and still holds a visiting lectureship at the Université Catholique de Lille, France.... Read more
Michal Karpíšek, Secretary-General of EURASHE - Michal Karpíšek is the Secretary-General of EURASHE since June 2016. Within this role Michal has been engaged in policy and representation activities at EU level focused on higher education learning,... Read more
Milka Smrdelj-Topić - Milka Smrdel-Topić is an adult student, Vocational College of Wood Technology School Maribor. Milka Smrdel-Topić is an adult student of Vocational College of Wood Technology School Maribor, Slovenia Lives with... Read more
Adina Timofei - Adina Timofei was a researcher at EURASHE, working on a project on the implementation of lifelong learning strategies at Higher Education Colleges in Flanders. This project comes as a follow-up of the... Read more
Michel Feutrie - Michel Feutrie is currently Professor in Sociology of Education at the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille (USTL) and President of European University Continuing Education Network (EUCEN). He has... Read more
Samo Pavlin - Dr. Samo Pavlin is researcher in the area of Education and Employment at the University of Ljubljana. He is also Principal of National Research programme “Sociological aspects of sustainable socio-spatial... Read moreOrganisers
Association of Slovene Higher Vocational Colleges (Association HVC) - Skupnost višjih strokovnih šol Republike Slovenije (SKUPNOST VSŠ) The Association of Slovene Higher Vocational Colleges (Association HVC) was founded as a public institution in 2005, when its Establishing Act was... Read more
European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) - EURASHE is the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education that offer professionally orientated programmes and are engaged in applied research within the Bologna cycles. EURASHE represents universities of applied sciences... Read more