On October 2-6, 2023, within the framework of the Erasmus+ MultiEd project, representatives of the project partners visited Aston University (Birmingham, UK). Project coordinators Kristjan Klauks and Oleksandra Golovko represented the University of Tartu (Estonia). Hans-Werner Huneke presented Heidelberg University of Education (Germany). Ukraine was represented by the state expert of the Directorate of Vocational Pre-Higher, Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Maryna Mruha, as well as project participants from eight universities of Ukraine and members of TESOL Ukraine. The program of the visit and its organization was carried out by Susan Garton, Professor of Aston University.
Five intense working days allowed the project participants to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the multilingual and multicultural educational environment of Aston University, learn from the experience of British colleagues how to implement multilingual education, apply modern teaching technologies, namely the effective use of artificial intelligence resources in the educational process and approaches to assess students’ learning outcomes, and share the results obtained during the project.
The project participants had the opportunity to discuss important issues of modern education with Aston University professors Nur Hooton, Gayatri Patel and Chris Umfreville. Visiting professors from the University of Michigan, Donald Freeman and Kathleen Graves, shared their scientific findings and practical experience during the seminars.
Within the framework of the visit, Ukrainian project teams participated in the meeting with employees of the Birmingham City Council dedicated to Ukraine support.
The study visit to Aston University provided an opportunity to be immersed in British culture and demonstrated the need for Ukrainian universities to participate in international projects. They contribute to the development of professional competencies of participants, expand the possibilities of intercultural communication in the academic environment and direct the further dissemination of results among Ukrainian educators.
