A Productive Dialogue between PhD Students and Academics for Sustainable Development of Modern Higher Education at the 1-st EUt+ ELaRA Conference "Technologies and Techniques to Support Sustainable Education in the Academic Sphere"

On 14 and 15 December 2022, TU - Sofia hosted the scientific and pedagogical conference entitled "Technologies and Techniques to Support Sustainable Education in the Academic Sphere", co-organized by the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics  at TU - Sofia and TU - Dublin. It was held within the framework and constitutes an integral part of the initiatives of the European Laboratory for Pedagogical Action-Research and Student-Centered Learning (ELaRA), WP3, Task 3.4 of the project EUt+. More than 60 participants throughout the consortium (academics, researchers, students) attended the event in hybrid mode (on-site: at Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov Hall, the National Centre for Mechatronics and Clean Technologies, and the Library and Information Centre, and online: on Zoom).

The forum was officially opened by the Rector of TU- Sofia, Prof. Eng. Ivan Kralov, PhD, DSc. and by the Vice-Rector Research and Development Assoc. Prof. Eng. Lidia Galabova, PhD who congratulated the organizers on the ambitious initiative and wished every success to the participants who made more than 40 presentations for the two days of the conference. A welcome address was also delivered by Ms Lyubov Kostova, Director of British Council - Bulgaria on the occasion of the 30-th anniversary of the opening of the British Library and Resource Centre at the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics -TU-Sofia. The keynote lecture was given by Dr. Paed. Prof. Velta Lubkina, Riga Technical University.

The aspirations of the organizers (Assoc. Prof. Ivaylo Peev, PhD, Sen. Lect. Todor Todorov and Dr Lucia Morales) were to offer a creative space vibrant with participants’ voices debating over innovation and change, thus building a bridge between past achievements, knowledge and expertise, on the one hand, and further investigation, on the other. The special focus of the event was also on promoting the student voice within the context of sustainability with a student-centered approach.

 The active participation of representatives of the European academic community from TU-Sofia, Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski", National Academy of Art - Sofia, Todor Kableshkov University of Transport - Sofia, University of Library Studies and Information Technologies - Sofia, Rakovski National Defence College - Sofia, Technological University Dublin, Cyprus University of Technology,  Riga Technical University, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca - Romania generated a truly productive dialogue, reflecting the pedagogical experience of the colleagues across Europe, and presenting a whole range of attitudes and  viewpoints, thus showing the multifaceted picture of contemporary higher education. Besides the theoretical considerations, many of the contributions also offered a more practical insight into a large number of relevant pedagogical and methodological issues.    

The programme of the academic initiative also incorporated two artistic events: the kinetic metal sculpture installation "Technological Spaces. A Labour of Sisyphus" by the sculptor and woodcarver Georgy Velikov, and the painting exhibition "Colourful Illusion" by the painter and jeweller Ms Zinaida Zhelyazova, which brought in a lot of artistic spirit, enjoyment for all senses and plenty of good mood for both participants and guests.                                                                                                                                    

It is with particular pleasure that the organizers would like to express their special thanks to the Management of  TU-Sofia, the Management  of the Scientific and Research Sector, the Press-office, the Library and Information Centre, The Students’ Hostels and Canteens Department,  as well as to all colleagues without whose unreserved and wholehearted support this event would not have been possible.  

VIDEO(BG)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-hxiGJcHbs

VIDEO(EN) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R2sJRgBfuQ

Researchers from three continents shared their ideas for sustainable education in the academic sphere at the 2^nd EL@RA (EUt+) Conference  "PEDAGOGY 5.0 - creativity, entrepreneurship, flexibility and thinking outside the box" - 14-16 December 2023

This year’s edition of the international scientific forum of the European Common Laboratory for Pedagogical Action Research and Student-Centred Learning (ELaRA), within the framework of the EUt+ initiative, was co-organised by the Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria), Technological University Dublin (Ireland), the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

On behalf of the Academic Management of the Technical University of Sofia, the forum was opened by Prof. Eng. Lidia Galabova, PhD, Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Integration, who extended a warm welcome to all participants and guests, pointing out that "this initiative is important for strengthening international cooperation and promoting  joint research and applied work among researchers, doctoral students and graduates across the universities, members of the Alliance who are involved in the activities aimed at standardising the quality of training and of the educational services provided. Today’s forum raises a number of relevant issues, such as the entrepreneurship and enterprise in higher education. It is encouraging to observe students who need the new knowledge and skills necessary for the present-day labour market attend and participate in the conference. In fact, it was this scope of themes that were addressed in the numerous panels and presentations, such as AI and sustainability of the contemporary educational and technological innovational processes. Not only are these topics modern, but they also assume major significance as being directly related to our daily lives, which makes them pivotal both to business and to society as a whole".  Prof. Galabova wished all participants and guests productive work, creative ideas and new avenues for future cooperation, research and common projects.

Nearly 40 presenters took part in the two-and-a-half-day programme of the event which was attended by over 200 guests - on-site (at the Conference hall of the Library and Information Centre of the TU-Sofia),  and online - on ZOOM. Particular interest was generated by the two Discussion panels: the first one entitled "The Transformative Impact of Technology on Society", moderated by Dr Lucia Morales (TU-Dublin) and  featuring the keynote speakers Dr Jon-Hans Coetzer, Dr Murat Gulmez and Mr John O’Connor, and the second one entitled "Education & Health", moderated by Dr Jon-Hans Coetzer (UNITAR), and featuring the keynote speakers  Dr Gerard Colleran, Mr Olegs Tucs and Ms Alexandra Severino, who addressed a broad range of relevant issues on the agenda of the European society, such as modern technologes and their impact on education and human health.

The second day of the forum was opened by Prof. Eng. Desislava Ivanova, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Informatics, who delivered a presentation on "Pedagogy for Education 5.0 - Challenges, Trends and Opportunities" highlighting the growing importance of pedagogical interaction for improving the quality of education in the dynamic 21-st century. Professor Ivanova is the initiator of creating and launching a new Bachelor’s and Master’s Programme  in Pedagogy of Teaching in Mathematics, Physics and Informatics  at  TU - Sofia. The programme is unique nationwide for its combination of the three directions in one pedagogical profile.

Due to the considerable interest expressed in participating in the forum, an extra day (Saturday, 16 December) was added to the originally planned two days (14 and 15 December). Along with the last round of presentations delivered by the contributors, the third day was also dedicated to dynamic interactive discussions, announced in the programme as Research Event Conclusion, in which conference feedback was collected and analysed, and future goals and planned events such as workshops, seminars, summer schools and conferences for the forthcoming year 2024 were mapped out.

The event was moderated by Senior lecturer Todor Todorov,  DFLAL, TU-Sofia, who received deserved recognition and sincere praise from organisers and participants alike for the highly professional comments, the concise, yet highly informative introduction of the presenters and the smooth transition ensured from topic to topic. Mr Todorov shared his impressions of the event from the front row, "It was a great pleasure, and at the same time an exceptional responsibility, to moderate the two days of the conference and to be able to present to the demanding national and international audience in a balanced way the multicoloured palette of topics, equally valuable for the provided theoretical insights into the issues discussed, and for the shared concrete practical observations, project activities and outcomes, curriculum design etc. offered by contributors.

What is particularly rewarding and inspiring to note is the fact that each year the activities of ELaRA receive ever increasing popularity and acclaim at international level, which is demonstrated not only by the growing number of participants and presenters, but also by the extended geographical spread they come from - this year’s edition included representatives not only from Europe but also from Asia, South and North America.

There is no denying that the Second ELaRA Conference was a much awaited and welcomed forum which significantly broadened my horizons with regard to the entire range of topics covered, and further boosted my curiosity and motivation for implementing the latest Pedagogy 5.0 developments in my daily teaching practice. Summing up, the conference was undoubtedly both a professionally and personally rewarding experience."

The scientific forum was accompanied by four cultural and social events, namely, three exhibitions: a painting exhibition "Christmas Lights" (14 December) celebrating the upcoming Christmas holidays and featuring the artist Zina Zhelyazova, an exhibition of applied works made from wood and recycled materials "Aesthetics of Recycling" featuring students from the "Hristo Botev" Vocational School and the head of the Centre of Applied Arts Mr Ivan Ludzhov (14 December) - all held in the "Techne" gallery of the Technical University - Sofia. In the evening of the second working day of the forum (15 December), a contemporary art exhibition, wood sculpture, featuring the Association "Group 9", called "ECHO Industrial 5.0" and arranged in the foyer of the National Centre of Mechatronics and Clean Technologies at TU - Sofia, was opened, followed by a cocktail party, which was also the Christmas party of the main organiser of the event - the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics, TU-Sofia.

The organisers consider the event a success regarding the achievement of the goals they have set with holding the scientific forum - to initiate a dialogue on topical issues concerning contemporary education with the participation of researchers and lecturers, students and PhD students from Bulgarian and European universities, and, this year also from universities in Asia, South and North America. It is of key importance that the programme of the event is harmoniously complemented by a range of cultural and social events highlighting various aspects of national cultures, customs and traditions, while introducing at the same time another point of view that would promote the ideas of modernity through another medium of expression, as is the language of art. This will create a more informal setting for the representatives of the academic community to meet and freely exchange ideas, planning out future collaboration activities in their academic pursuits and research projects.