Student Support and Development Services

Start Date: October 2012

Duration: 24 months

Brief information and main objectives:

The project aims to establish in target Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Azerbaijan, Israel advanced and up-dated services to students and alumni according to the best European practices, able to meet the challenges of a globalised world. This objective will be achieved by enhancing human resource capacity and infrastructures.

After an analysis of the needs and constrains, 30 staff members of partner countries (PC) universities will travel to the European Union for a two- week study visits in order to share experience and know- how for planning and administering services support for Career planning, Student Life Services, Academic guidance, and Orientation, Mentoring and mobility. The competence acquired will be discussed and disseminated in the countries in order to design an Action Plan and start the pilot organization of services in each target university. After the six month pilot stage, All Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will share the results and present case studies for the identification of the models that best fit with the organizational and decisional local situation. Training sessions and additional workshops will be organized by the EU representatives to assist PC universities in designing and proposing strategic plans and future development of Student Support and Development Services. (SSDS)

The project will also develop a website that will not only be used by the partnership for the project results development and assessment, but will also offer, in local languages and in English, all the documents, as student surveys methodology tools, reports, training materials, handbooks and case studies for a wide dissemination of project aims and the results and the involvement of students, relevant stakeholders from all the countries involved. The project evaluation and the direct involvement of student s will provide the opportunity for a better focus on the Action Plan, develop the quality culture and put the basis for a continuous international cooperation for the up-date and improvement of the strategy and methodology and the start-up of further future activities.

Coordinator and partners:

Coordinator:

Universita’ Degli Studi Dell’Aqulia

Partners:

Middlesex University

Fondazione dell’ Universiteta degli Studi

Baku State University

Khazar University

Qafqaz University

Shota Rustaveli University

Akaki Tsereteli State University

Ilia State University