Internationalisation of Higher Education: impact of online, open education and MOOCs
Date: 31 January 11-12:30 and 1 February 13:30-17:00
Venue: EIPA - European Institute of Public Administration, Onze Lieve Vrouweplein 22, 6211 HE Maastricht
Registration: Event is for free and open to all. Please use this form to register as part of MID2017
Context:
In 1992 the Maastricht Treaty incorporated the principle of subsidiarity and the Lisbon Treaty added an explicit reference to the regional and local dimension. They underline the importance of regional development in Europe. Regional and local authorities in the EU make the majority of public investments. In 2013, subnational authorities made 60% of public investment, representing about EUR 200 billion. Education and innovation efforts at a regional and subnational level are essential dimensions in regional development. Even in an increasingly global education market, regional efforts are without doubt very important. Moreover, the recent education hype of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) demonstrated the relevance of regions. I.e. most MOOC initiatives in Europe seem best done at a regional or national level.
There is increasing evidence that a distinct European MOOC model is emerging. Already four independent European studies conclude that the European HEIs are much more involved in MOOCs compared to for example US and also that their reasons to invest in this new format differs in some aspects as well. It is argued that these differences between the U.S. and Europe might be related to the differences between higher educational systems, political environments and educational values.
However, differences amongst European countries and regions are observed. These are most likely caused by (the lack of) supporting policies of other regional stakeholders. Supportive policies seem to be a determinant factor in the uptake of MOOCs at various levels. Thus enhancing the potential for a more orchestrated response at both at European and national level. This is an example of the importance of a multi-level stakeholder approach. After the Maastricht Treaty this “multilevel governance” became a concept in comparative political science and European integration studies in the 1990s and since then has been applied with reference to shifts in power and responsibility between levels of government, including the EU, its Member States and sub-national authorities.
The SCORE2020 consortium organises a multiplier event focussing the globalisation and internationalisation of Open Education and MOOCs. This event focusses on the role of MOOCs in virtual mobility, credits for MOOCs, online programs and the need of cross-institutional collaboration and regional support centres. The importance of regional support centres on open education are discussed both at a policy level as well as show casing the various educational services such support centre offer to the region. This event is organised under the umbrella of Maastricht Innovation in Higher Education Days (MID2017).
Provisional program (presentation and speakers might still change)
Tuesday 31 January 2017 - 11.00 - 12.30: Strategic use of MOOCs in internationalisation
- “How MOOCs boost student mobility and increases cross-institutional programs" by Mark Brown, Director, National Institute for Digital Learning, Dublin City University
- "Making European diversity a strength: toward regional support centres by SCORE2020 consortium" by Darco Jansen, Programme Manager EADTU
Wednesday 1 February 2017 - 13:30 - 17:00: Internationalisation of Higher Education: impact of online, open education and MOOCs
- Introduction to MOOCs and internationalisation, Darco Jansen (Programme Manager EADTU)- MOOC and student mobility, Liva Vikmane (Vice President ESU)
- MOOCs as people networks – the experience ESPACE MOOC, Frederik Truyen (Professor, CS Digital - KU Leuven)
- Opening education to all: how to facilitate to all people, Tiberio Feliz Murias (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia)
- Teaching Training in Digital Competences and SLPs: Initial experiences at UNED using NOOCS (Nano Open Online Courses), Sebastián Rubén Gómez Palomo (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia)
- New ways of credentialing – credits for MOOCs, Tessa van Puijenbroek (TU Delft)
- Organisational challenges and opportunities for Open Online Education: Results of a group-concept mapping study, Martine Schophuizen (Open University of the Netherlands)
- Strategic partnerships for MOOC development by Darco Jansen (EADTU)
- Regional support centres for open, online education and MOOCs, Forum session led by Marco Kalz (UNESCO chair of Open Education, Open University of the Netherlands)