DVV International office in Kosovo in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science in Kosovo, organized the Virtual Lifelong Learning Week from November 30 to December 04, 2020.
This year, the Lifelong Learning Week was organized virtually due to the global pandemic COVID-19. Therefore, in order to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19 and to identify further steps for development, during and after the pandemic, the Virtual Lifelong Learning Week was organized. This event brought together various stakeholders in the field of education in the Republic of Kosovo, respectively students and teachers, leaders of educational institutions, policymakers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, to discuss issues of lifelong learning and adult education. The activities of the Virtual Lifelong Learning Week included a two-day conference, where on the first day representatives of institutions were invited to discuss topics including adult education and lifelong learning for sustainable development, innovative approaches and digitalization of education in Kosovo during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as about the importance of technology in overcoming adult education problems in pandemic times, all these topics divided into different sessions during the day. While on the second day of the conference the speakers discussed about the recognition of prior learning respectively the importance of accreditation, validation and recognition of prior learning for sustainable development and the topic of the last session which was the digital transformation of education. Further activities within this event included open presentations to the general public about career education skills for life, community learning and working, the importance of digital and entrepreneurial skills for life and the last day which consisted of three different sessions for the promotion of training programs in the field of information technology by training centers in the country.
Representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science were invited in the first sessions of the Virtual Lifelong Learning Week. The role of MES, namely the Division for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education is crucial in policy making, strategic planning, identification of needs and proposing various measures for the advancement of vocational education and training, and adult education. To discuss the digitalization of education during the pandemic and the importance of technology, representatives from the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education (AVETAE) as well as representatives from vocational schools were invited as speakers. Further, to give their contribution to this conference as important stakeholders in the field of education, representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Environment, and Riinvest Institute were invited as well as a representative from the Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo (EARK). In this conference, there were also guest speakers from the National Qualification Authority to present about the processes of verification, validation and accreditation of vocational education and training qualifications, focusing on the component of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), for which the coordinator for RPL in VTC Gjilan was also invited to contribute to this conference.
In these sessions of the virtual week many conclusions and recommendation where reached :
• Adapt the education process by emphasizing the importance of career guidance and counseling, with a particular focus on lifelong learning, which begins in preschool and continues throughout life.
• Give more attention to lifelong learning and volunteer work as they are of great importance in the personal and professional education and development of everyone, regardless of age.
• Continue training of all Pre-University Education teachers in Kosovo for the ECDL program, as well as monitor the work of certified teachers in this program.
• Implement the project for digitalization of schools, giving priority to equipping schools with new ICT equipment.
• Establish a legal mechanism for recognizing the validity of ECDL certificates in the scoring system for enrollment in the 10th grade and in university.
• Schools must collaborate with ECDL certified teachers to share their experience with school colleagues.
• Schools should use some autonomy to integrate ECDL into the school.
• To reduce the digital division, joint accessible community centers and systematic training for teachers and civil servants should be established to acquire the necessary skills.
• The entrepreneurial patent should not be part of the curriculum only formally, but its implementation should be postponed due to its great importance. The use of the entrepreneurial patent in the education system in Kosovo would create a culture of entrepreneurship in society, bringing numerous economic benefits, both for students and for our country.
• Functionalize the e-Education platform that is under the management of MES to enable the access and use of this platform.
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