The guests were welcomed by the Rector of the Vytautas Magnus University, Professor Juozas Augutis, who shared in his welcoming speech the history of the establishment and development of the ZVO and also noted that the educational institution is one of the most liberal universities in Lithuania.
During the week, the participants of the conference learned about the structure and management of educational activities at the Vytautas Magnus University (vice-rector for academic work, Dr Simona Pilkene), the system of continuous education (the head of the educational department, Mykola Lukošiene, and the chief of the Center for the Development of Professional Competencies, Dr Ayste Ragauskaite), directions professional development of teachers in the system of ensuring the quality of education (Dr Isabelle Savitzkene), principles of personnel management policy and the importance of professional development of teachers (head of the human resources management department Maria Karosaite), directions of dissemination of information regarding the development of professional competencies in the community of academic and non-academic personnel (Hintare Visockite).
Under the guidance of Raimonda Zinkavichene and Gabriela Viduolite from the Center for Training and Development of Professional Competences, project participants drew up maps of challenges and opportunities for the development of professional competencies and the head of the Center for Communication and Technology Transfer, Edvinas Samis, presented prototypes developed by University researchers and organized a discussion on areas of cooperation between science and business.
In turn, the participants of the UTTERLY project presented their universities and the peculiarities of the professional development of teachers. Within the framework of the meetings with the management of Vytautas the Great University and Ukrainian partners, they discussed promising directions for international cooperation.
Also, a partner from the Center for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education of the University of Bayreuth (Germany) Nikolai Teufel talked about the system of continuous professional development of teachers in higher education institutions in their country. His colleague, Nadine Jachmann, presented the XRCampus project and the possibilities of using augmented reality (XR) in education.
We are convinced that the participation of the UTTERLY project team in this event at the Vytautas Magnus University was valuable for the exchange of knowledge and experience between the universities. The event became a platform for studying advanced approaches to teaching and developing professional competencies and also contributed to the support of international cooperation in the conditions of martial law.
