Aims and objectives

The educational system in Iraq and Iran is facing many challenges such as lack of professional skills and competencies of teachers, lack of efficient methods and lack of teacher’s ability to respond to challenges of the 21st century, weakness of methods and applications, inadequate access to technology and lack of sufficient knowledge and ability to exploit technology. PC universities have overcome these challenges by preparing relevant and updated policies and programs.

The aim of OPATEL consists in establishing and developing a center to train staff and students in IR&IQ universities by using Online Platform for TEaching and learning to be as a hub for using best practices in ICT in education, as well as raising competencies of lecturers and teachers by enhancing the learning processes of students.

Wider Objectives:

1. Establish a well-equipped center for E-Learning in partner unis

2. Transfer EU-experience in areas of E-Learning, skills development and merge new generations in this experience.

3. Training and follow up with staff and students on how to develop, share learning objects, and collaborate their courses, presentations and exercises on online platform.

4. Improve quality of teaching and learning by building the capacity of universities how to evaluate, develop and design e-courses.

5. Enhancing cooperation with EU partners through mutual visits to develop strategies how to move from teaching to learning and developing scalable sustainable solutions.

The use of Online Platform will steer the education, technical ICT in the right direction. Training of staff to enhance and develop their abilities, will promote reform and modernization of higher education in both countries.

Through this platform, partner universities will have a new vision in education systems and this will enhance quality and relevance of higher education. They publish their results to other universities in the region. Training coaches mentors continuously through EU trainers, this will achieve the application of means and methods of modern and innovative education and training.

Accordingly, the transfer of EU-experience in areas of E-Learning in education will be applied. This solves problems of usage of E-Learning in education; participants create and publish common methodology and documentation for lifelong learning, E-learning and training for Iran and Iraq in accordance with EU-Standards. 3 languages will be used in the project: Arabic, Persian and English. Many factors will be used for dissemination and success of OPATEL such as press and media; presenting progress via websites; participation of staff and students, governmental support participation of ministries of high educations and other HEIs.

Project activities and Methodology

Thus, the general objective of the project improving the quality of teaching and learning at the Iran and Iraq universities through incorporating technological tools in consistence with pedagogical best practices and by building the capacity of the universities to evaluate, develop and design e-curricula, as well as raise the competencies of individual lecturers and teachers to become ability to use the ICT and ELearning for teaching. Another target of this project is building a strong and deep connection between higher education, teachers, students and society. Specifics of target groups like teachers, lecturers and administrators in Iran and Iraq.

A set of activities proposed and the working methodology to be used for achieving the objectives:

1. Review, state of the art, Agreement and Network between partners

   • Project start up activities

   • Prepare operation plan and methodology to develop and update the strategies used to ensure the sustainability to use ICT in Teaching and Learning

2. Assessment studies for the needs of teachers, lecturers and administrators

   • Analyse and identify different entities to utilise ICT in education

   • List of needed skills in ICT and E-Learning

   • Nominate IT specialists at consortium universities

3. Purchase of teaching equipment and bibliographic material

   • Selection of equipment: All partners in Iran and Iraq have select the equipment for the project.

   • Implementation of the Platform for E-Learning Systems as a center to train the staff , teachers lecturers and later students.

4. Make E-Learning System an integrated part in educations and teaching

   • Develop teaching and learning programs for the Staff, teachers, lecturers and administrators.

   • Training courses to train staff, lecturers, teachers and administrators in competency based learning.

   • Developing E-Learning System and integrate it effectively in practice and application in the teaching and learning at the universities

5. Quality control and monitoring

   • Quality control, monitoring and budgetary control

   • Check of quality assurance and evaluation plan courses materials & courses placement and courses

   • Project task supervision, result evaluation, a verification of targets and success indicators that have

6. Project Dissemination

   • Opening of the project via Internet, social media and ministry of high educations

   • Prepare and conduct internal/external information events, mid-term/final conferences

   • Participation in annual erasmus project meeting.

   • Distribution of project documentation material (Media, banners, flyers, Facebook), seminars and workshop

7. Exploitation of results and sustainability

   • Involve the public/private universities and ministry of high educations

   • Make the E-learning is mandatory to use in teaching

   • Courses sustainability in long-term perspective

   • Work on the development of this rule on an ongoing basis and update equipment and staff development

   • Workshop on broader strategic options as follow-up project activities

8. Coordination and management of the project

   • Project management & coordination meetings, steering committee meetings

   • Activity & result monitoring & Evaluation

   • Activity and budget planning and budget control, reporting.

As the project manager, HTWK is responsible for overall operation of the project and its smooth running, financial and administrative management including the preparation of budget and reports, timelines and accomplishment. A Steering Committee composed by one representative for each partner of project will be formed. It will be responsible for project management and monitor the progress of all activities.

HTWK and local coordinators will make strategic decisions about the development of the project and ensure that activities are well organized and completed on schedule and that all deadlines are met and objectives achieved. HTWK and local coordinators will also be responsible for authorizing the purchase of all equipment, customs duties and all connected paperwork.

Local coordinator UoD in visits all partner in Iraq for controlling and management the project, writing reports about project phases, make control about the bought equipment and send all reports to HTWK Local coordinator IAUSDJ in Iran visit all partner in Iran for controlling and management the project, writing reports about project phases, make control about the bought equipment and send all reports to HTWK. UoD and IAUSDJ visit HTWK more times and discuss all project phases and the need of the partners in Iraq and Iran.

EU partners (HTWK, UPAT,UPJS, P&B and Int@E) will visit all partners in Iraq and Iran more times for training, for quality controlling and for dissemination and exploitation of results and sustainability. EU partners visit Iraq and Iran in the same flight to spare the travel and stay cost. They travel between partners to train partners monitoring and and to check the progress of the project phases.

Expected Impact of the Project

Goal of this project is to establish a platform for E-Learning systems in each partner university intersted in using best practices in ICT in education, which target lecturers, teachers and administrators later students at universities in each partner country, in order to improve quality of teaching and learning, as well as improving skills and competences of lecturers and teachers, that will lead for encouraging both, top management and professors to adapt and join this project. Naturally, the impact ofOPATEL will continue and develop this Platform, so that all staff and students use this E-Learning System .

To ensure a broad impact on all target groups, dissemination of project results is organised through a layered approach:

1. Involving all institutions at partner universities.

2. Working via direct links to both HE Institutions and universities departments, and national governments. All partners in IR&IQ have good links to ministries (Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, ministry of educations). The results will be targeted directly to the ministries involved. The ministries advice for those overseeing networks of universities.

3. Institutions and organisations with which the partners have direct links (all universities, institutions and colleges, also all interested in ICT and E-Learning for teaching)

4. Through publications, presentations, participation to initiated activities, workshop etc.

Through organisation of workshops defined in WP Exploitation, all partners in IR&IQ seek to address local, regional, national and European decision makers.

According to the prioritization of objectives set up by project, the participation in the project is expected to have impacts as follows:

1. Improving quality and relevance of higher education by:

   • Partner universities in IR&IQ will hold capacity to develop, design and evaluate e-enabled curricula for their courses.

   • Create core groups with required expertise to lead development of high quality e-enabled curricula.

   • Strengthening of cooperation with ICT enterprises and regional authorities by development of courses aiming at upgrading knowledge and skills of employees in ICT and E-Learning systems

   • Higher efficiency in the administration and teaching by use of ICT and E-Learning System

2. Strengthening quality through visits and cooperation with the EU by:

   • Sharing open educational resources with partner institutions

   • Providing teachers, lecturers and staff with a different experience in different E-Learning Systems from the EU.

3. Linking higher education, research and business for excellence and regional development in ICT by

   • Building up knowledge alliances with regional and foreign universities and ICT companies to develop the learning system

   • Organization of educational activities to use the ICT and E-Learning Systems in teaching,

   • Participation of students and lecturers in real teaching problems.

Through the organisation of the workshops defined in WP Exploitation, all partner in Iran and Iraq seek to address local, regional, national and European decision makers.

According to prioritization of objectives set up by project, participation in OPATEL is expected to have impacts as follows:

1. Improving quality and relevance of higher education by:

   • Partner universities in Iran and Iraq will hold capacity to develop, design and evaluate e-enabled curricula for their courses using ICT and E-Learning System.

   • Create core groups with required expertise to lead development of high quality e-enabled curricula.

   • Strengthening of the cooperation with ICT enterprises and regional authorities by development of courses aiming at upgrading knowledge and skills of employees in ICT and E-Learning Systems

   • Higher efficiency in the administration and teaching by use of ICT and E-Learning System

2. Strengthening quality through visits and cooperation with the EU by:

   • Sharing open educational resources with partner institutions

   • Providing teachers, lecturers and staff with a different experience in different E-Learning Systems from the EU.

3. Linking higher education, research and business for excellence and regional development in ICT by:

   • Building up knowledge alliances with regional and foreign universities and ICT companies to develop the learning system

   • Organization of educational activities to use the ICT and E-Learning systems in teaching,

   • Participation of students and lecturers in real teaching problems

Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy

Dissemination of the project is ensured and planned from project start by many factors: involving press and media; presenting progress using websites; participation of ICT Staff, and governmental support relevance of the project for target groups (ensured by conditions performed by local project coordinators during the preparation of this proposal). Regular travels, workshops and video conferencing between EU partner, IR&IQ will facilitate exchange of findings and dissemination as stakehold