CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPING, EVALUATING AND MANAGING AN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM ON LIFE LONG LEARNING

LLAF (life long learning in applied fields) is a three years program of collaboration between 16 institutions of higher education from eight countries. It is funded by the European Union (Tempus) and it deals with the challenges faced by universities and colleges which are interested in staying relevant in a world that is constantly changing. Experts from all these institutions belong to different applied fields (education, medicine, optometry, speech therapy, computer science and photographic communication) and they collaborate in developing a new curriculum or in adapting the existing curriculum in a way that will encourage meaningful and active life long learning . The innovative teaching methods that are created will enable students to construct their own learning by transferring knowledge and skills to real life situations. New syllabi, courses and activities are developed, assessed and piloted before being finally integrated in the curriculum of each institution that takes part in the program. This panel will present the challenges of developing such a type of curriculum, evaluating it and managing an international program of this magnitude.