vet-he bridge between vocational and higher education

TLÜ Haapsalu Kolledž, Lihula mnt. 12,Haapsalu 90507; Tel: 472 0240;

e-post: [email protected]; http://www.hk.tlu.ee

Haapsalu 2010

VET-HEBRIDGE BETWEEN VOCATIONAL AND

HIGHER EDUCATION

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.hk.tlu.ee/



Haapsalu College of Tallinn UniversityEve Eisenscmidt

Director of Haapsalu College





The beginning…

• The mayor of Haapsalu and the director of Tallinn Pedagogical University (later Tallinn University) signed an establishment treaty on the 20th of May 1998 marking the opening of a university college in the Western Region of Estonia.

• The college has brought together the needs of the region and the possibilities of the big university – Tallinn University.





Our curricula• 1998. Elementary School Teacher (I and II school stage,

Master level);• 1999. Information Technology, 2001 Bachelor level, since

2006 Applied Computer Science, professional higher education;

• 2002. Public and Business Management, Bachelor level;• 2003. Government and Administration, Master level;• 2004. Educational Guidance, Master level;• 2008. Health Manager, professional higher education;• 2009. Traffic Safety, professional higher education;• 2010. Handicraft Technology and Design, professional higher

education





Why is it considered a valuable resource to have universities represented in regions?

• Regionally balanced and sustainable development in Estonia;

• Qualified, innovative and continuously self-educating people as prerequisite for success;

• Availability of learning possibilities;• Higher education, research and development, regional

policy design;• Institutions of higher education play a crucial role in

making less developed and fringe areas more competitive and sustainable.





Regional college

Region Estonia

Municipalities

General schools

Vocational Schools

Companies

Counties

Other universities

Tallinn

Tartu

Pärnu

…

As bridge of cooperation

Regional college – a bridge of cooperation





What are the benefits of a regional college for the region?

• to help avoid the outflow of the population to bigger towns;

• to help raise the educational level of the community members;

• to help increase the locals’ competitiveness in labour market;





The functioning mechanismKnowledge application:

Regional college

Universities

Region

Kn owle dg e

Willingness

companiesmunicipalities

schools

etc

Information forresearch

Studies





RIFA projectIntegrated development of vocational and higher education

curricula in Lääne region– Applied Computer Science and Natural Tourism Management

Eva MakienkoLecturer of Public and Business Management

RIFA coordinator





RIFA project (02.2007 – 06.2008, 17 months)

• The project was financed by ESF• The main goal of the project was to develop an integrated

study model between vocational and higher education in order to:– raise the quality of education– provide continued learning possibilities from vocational to higher

education• The project’s model is applied in two specialties:

– Applied Computer Science and Computer Services– Business and Public Management and Natural Tourism

Management





The specific goals (1)

The development and piloting of an integrated study model between vocational and higher education based on the curricula of Tallinn University Haapsalu College and Haapsalu Vocational Education Centre

The development of specialties based on the needs of Lääne region (training, connection between regional needs and the students’ independent tasks/thesis)





The specific goals (2)

Raising the quality of practice in enterprises through networking and mentor training for enterprises

Enhancement of lifelong learning in the region through providing better access to higher education and flexible study opportunities for working and less mobile people





Applied Computer Science work group• Haapsalu Vocational Education Centre, a Computer

Services curriculum based on basic education• TU Haapsalu College, an Applied Computer Science

curriculum for applied higher education (based on secondary education)

• The main challenge was to find opportunities for integration between the different levels of curricula

• The tools for integration: a test and an individual recognition scheme





Natural Tourism Management work group• Haapsalu Vocational Education Centre, a Natural Tourism

Management curriculum (based on secondary education)• TU Haapsalu College, a Public and Business

Administration bachelor degree curriculum (based on secondary education)

• The main challenge was to find out which parts of curricula are possible to integrate

• The tool for integration: an individual recognition scheme





RIFA integrated learning model (2007)

Additional module

Research

General subjects

Introduction

specialty

specialty 2y

(based on higher education)

I

Entrepreneurship module – I level

II

Leadership module – I level:

Planning, development, anlysis

1 y

General subjects

Introduction

II level of spec.

Practice

Research

Vocational Education

Higher Education – short cycle level III

specialty 4 y

(based on basic education)

Applied Higher Education

Vocational Education

Bachelor studies





Development of Applied Computer Science Curriculum

Janno KriiskaHead of IT Department





ICT Curricula in Haapsalu College• 1999. Information Technology (Diploma);• 2001. Computer Science (Bachelor level); • 2006. Applied Computer Science (professional higher

education);

At the moment:• 58 active students;• 96 graduates;• 89% of graduates are working in the ICT sector;• 22% are working in the ICT sector in Läänemaa.





Bachelor vs Professional HE curriculum• Since 2004, a number of discussions took place regarding

the development of Computer Science curriculum with Läänemaa County IT Council and Development Centre;

• Additionally there was a round table discussion including representatives from various academic institutions participating in ICT training.

• It was recognised that in a regional college it is reasonable to provide a more practical form of IT education – professional HE.

• In 2006 the first group of students started their studies according to the new Applied Computer Science curriculum.





Why Professional Higher Education?• More flexible – closer cooperation with employers,

companies and other partner institutions in the region;• More competitive – concrete focus (niche) on multimedia

studies provides something different;• Better response to labour market needs – bachelor

studies do not provide specific professional skills in 3 year programme;

• Possibility for joint curricula development in cooperation with Haapsalu general schools and HVEC;

• Remarkably expanded practice capacity which enables the students to be better prepared for entering the labour market.





Practice system development

Applied Computer Science

15 ECTS

Ente

rpris

e Pr

actic

e I

Ente

rpris

e Pr

actic

e6 ECTS

Elec

tive

Prac

tice

3 ECTS

Ente

rpris

e Pr

actic

e II

15 ECTS





Objectives of the new programme

• To provide basic knowledge in the field of computer science;

• To provide basic knowledge for developing and administrating the ICT infrastructure;

• To provide more specific knowledge in the field of multimedia in order to create hypermedia based solutions;

• To provide the best facilities in order to compete effectively in the labour market and to be motivated for continuing education and professional development.





The profile of graduates• hypermedia programmers;• web programmers;• web designers, administrators and moderators;• user interface designers and programmers;• graphic designers and desktop publishers;

The graduates may also work as information managers or system and network administrators in small or medium-size enterprises.In addition the graduates are able to continue in MA level studies.





Second big step in curricula development• The second main curricula development took place during

the RIFA project from 2007 to 2008;• The main idea (in ICT field) was:

– to provide continued learning possibilities from vocational to higher education;

– to raise the quality of the similar curricula in HC and HVEC;– to identify similar prioritised thematic areas (Multimedia,

Programming, Databases and Information Systems, Computer Systems and Networks);

– to avoid duplications in similar curricula in HC and HVEC; – to raise the quality of the practice systems in HC and HVEC;





Curriculum development through RIFA project (1)Activities:• Joint seminars for IT experts, teachers, professors

(curriculum development and quality improvement); • Study tours to other schools in Estonia and Finland;• Developed course descriptions for the curriculum

(avoiding duplication and identifying prioritised thematic areas);

• Multimedia, Programming, Databases and Information Systems, Computer Systems and Networks module development in cooperation with HVEC.





Curriculum development through RIFA project (2)

• E-course development (supporting integration and coherence of IT curricula);

• Mapping Lääne county’s enterprises providing internships for students from HC and HVEC;

• Mentor training for practice partners;• Introducing and advertising the two curricula to potential

students and employers;• Developing a variety of helpful materials.





Practice system development

Applied Computer Science

15 ECTS

Ente

rpris

e Pr

actic

e I

Ente

rpris

e Pr

actic

e6 ECTS

Elec

tive

Prac

tice

3 ECTS

Ente

rpris

e Pr

actic

e II

15 ECTS

Practice of Multimedia 7 ECTS

Elective Practice 8 ECTS

Enterprise Practice 8 ECTS

Practice of Network Administration 7 ECTS





Cooperation and common practice between HC and HVEC

Aimar LintsLecturer of Multimedium

Applied Computer Science Curricula Advisor





Practice modules

• Multimedia Practice (II semester), after main multimedia and web design courses;

• Elective Practice (III semester), after main programming and graphic design courses;

• Practice of Network Administration (IV semester), after Cisco Networking Academy and Information System courses (joint practice with HVEC);

• Enterprise Practice (VI semester), after completion of all courses except Diploma Thesis





Cooperation between IT departments in HC and HVEC• The advisor of Applied Computer Science curriculum

participates as the representative of HC in the work of HVEC’s admission board;

• The representative of IT department of HC participates in the committee that evaluates students’ final papers;

• TU teaching staff is involved it teaching specialisation courses in HVEC;

• Joint networking practice for mixed groups from both schools.





Networking practice• The main goals are to share the experiences of network based

studies; test the students’ competence and develop teamwork skills• The practice takes place in the computer labs of HC and HVEC. The

topics are network building ; solving network problems and creating communication.

• http://tigu.hk.tlu.ee/tehtud/2010/rif08/v6rgupraktika/tootajad.html• http://ithaldus2010.blogspot.com • http://veeb2010.blogspot.com • http://meedia2010.blogspot.com



http://tigu.hk.tlu.ee/tehtud/2010/rif08/v6rgupraktika/tootajad.html

http://ithaldus2010.blogspot.com/

http://veeb2010.blogspot.com/

http://meedia2010.blogspot.com/



The defense of joint network practice

• Takes place outside the schools and in the form of a seminar, includes the participation of employers, experts, and guests.





Course transfer

• The student of HVEC presents the copy of final certificate to the advisor of IT curriculum of HC;

• Through individual counselling the courses that are transferable are discussed (mainly basic courses);

• Some courses that have more content matter can be passed easier (by only doing the final paper/exam/practical task).

• Students create their individual study plans.





Recommendations

• VET students should create e-portfolios that reflect their former studies and practical skills





Haapsalu Vocational Education Centre

• Students 815• specialties 16• Since 2009/2010 vocational education centres apply

national curricula (based on national vocational standars), where compulsory contents are described

• National IT related VET curricula were developed in cooperation with TU HC teaching staff (multimedium, programming)





Other examples• HVEC has existing cooperation contracts with Tallinn

School of Economics and Lääne-Viru College through which the students can use the simplified model of VÕTA (RPL Recognition of Prior Learning) .

• This means that the courses of I and II year studies in vocational education are transferred and the students only have to do the III year courses in order to get a diploma in professional higher education.

• This example only applies to specialties where high school certificate is required in vocational school admission. The students who come from lower secondary education can use VÕTA for transferring 20-40 credit points depending on the specialty.





Other examples• HVEC has similar contracts with IT College, Tallinn

Technical University and EHTE private school • The first step has been curricula comparison followed by

round table discussions with the representatives of HE institutions to get a better overview of the content matter

• Thanks to national curricula the compulsory modules of fields of study are the same all over the country and the schools are not allowed to change them.

• Therefore vocational schools can make no changes in the content matter of their curricula





Other examples

• The situation that more and more vocational schools’ graduates continue their studies in professional HE has caused professional HE to review their curricula to ensure smoother transfer from VET to HE.

• This means that the students can save time by using VÕTA





To HVEC using RPL (VÕTA)

• More and more HE graduates enter vocational studies. They either wish to change profession or want to educate themselves further in their chosen profession.

• In such cases VÕTA can be used mainly for transfer of general courses or practice

• Practice transfers are possible if the students has long-term experience with working in the profession

• In that case the document of proof is an employment contract, job description or self-analyses that describes the job





To HVEC using RPL (VÕTA)

• VÕTA is also used when students move from one VET school to another or from one field of study to another within their school





Thank you!



vet-he bridge between vocational and higher education

Documents

lihula mnt

beginningthe mayor of

university college

higher education curricula

big university tallinn

lne region

sustainable development

applied computer science