Enhancing and Validating Service-Related Competences in Versatile Learning Environments in Western Balkan Universities (e-VIVA)

Project Duration: 3 years

Budget: €993,581

Project Period: November 15, 2018 – November 14, 2021

Brief Description of the e-VIVA Project:

The e-VIVA project addresses the development of students' skills, facilitating and validating their competencies in formal and informal learning contexts. It aims to create a blended learning approach to facilitate and validate the development of service-oriented competences in informal learning contexts within higher education institutions and workplace learning environments.

Specific Objectives of the e-VIVA Project:

Identify and analyze approaches for skill verification and methods to promote permeability between higher education and professional practice.
Develop and refine comprehensive ICT-based assessment and validation systems.
Enhance existing validation and certification systems.
Develop and implement rich software for the development and validation of service-oriented competences.
Implement the e-VIVA assessment and recording system.
Establish sustainable collaboration among relevant target groups and stakeholders.

Expected Outcomes of the e-VIVA Project:

300 students will strengthen and validate their service-oriented competences.
45 academic staff members will develop their teaching skills in blended learning methodologies and competence-oriented practices.
Development of competence-oriented curricula.
Increased use of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) as an integral part of settings in formal learning environments.

e-VIVA Team from ISPPI:

Prof. Dr. Mirjana Borota Popovska

Prof. Dr. Mirjana Borota Popovska is a full professor and head of the Center for Development of Management and Human Resources at the Institute for Sociological, Political, and Legal Research, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. Her professional work is oriented towards scientific research and teaching in the field of organizational sciences: management and strategy, human resource management, business ethics, professional and career development, organizational behavior, and change. She has participated in and led numerous scientific and applied projects mainly in the field of organizational sciences and management and has published numerous scientific papers in academic journals and conferences. Additionally, Prof. Borota has extensive practical experience as a consultant and trainer. From 2018 to 2021, she was the coordinator of the ISPPI team and a member of the management board of the e-VIVA project.

Dr. Aneta Cekić

Dr. Aneta Cekić is an associate professor of political sciences at the Institute for Sociological, Political, and Legal Research, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, with research interests focused on interest groups and lobbying, European politics, democratization, and ethnic conflicts. She is the head of the doctoral studies in Political Sciences - Democracy in Conditions of Globalization and the coordinator for UKIM of the Joint Study Program in Political Sciences in English - Integration and Governance, which is implemented in partnership with several European and regional universities. Currently, she is the national coordinator of several international scientific research projects. In 2010, she had a one-month study stay at Ghent University, Belgium, and in 2013 and 2014, a postdoctoral stay at the University of Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Marija Topuzovska Latković

Dr. Marija Topuzovska Latković is an associate professor of human resource management and research methodology for business and management at the Institute for Sociological, Political, and Legal Research, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje. She is the head of the study program of the second cycle in Human Resource Management and the head of the Department of Organizational Sciences at the Institute. She has published more than 30 scientific papers/publications in the field of management in domestic and international scientific journals and monographs published in the country and abroad and actively participates in domestic and international scientific meetings and conferences. As a leader or member of a research team, she has participated in several national, regional, and international projects (UNESCO Participation Program, Horizon 2020, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Erasmus+, Civica Mobilitas, GIZ, Westminster Foundation for Democracy). As a member of a working group, she directly participated in creating the National Strategy for Networking, Cooperation, and Reducing the Brain Drain of Highly Educated and Skilled Personnel (2013-2020). She is part of the list of experts for (re)accreditation of study programs in higher education in the Republic of Montenegro, with a decision from the Agency for Control and Quality Assurance in Higher Education from December 2018.

Project Partners:

The leading partner is the University of Tirana from Albania. The consortium includes 9 countries and 16 partner institutions from Western Balkan countries and other EU countries such as Germany, Austria, and Portugal.

The team of institute professors participating in this project consistently applies these principles in the current postgraduate studies in Human Resource Management.

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