BACKGROUND

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are challenged to maintain quality and innovative education for large student numbers while working with lower budgets, and to accommodate the needs of a great variety of learners. As a consequence, new course and programme delivery modes emerge at universities. Such activities set the foundation for inclusive blended learning and teaching methods as modernized and dynamic models for the HEIs. By doing so, HEIs are adequately transforming to the needs of modern era, by promoting better student experiences, greater personalisation and significantly higher efficiency.

Digitalizing the higher education can be regarded as one of the fundamental challenges imposed on relevant institutions. Through careful choice of project partners, BENEFIT fuses both experience and structural competencies. Moreover, all project partners have relevant experience in implementing projects that involve promoting digitalization and inclusion of ICT-based teaching methodologies. By introducing innovative models of collaboration and cocreation for novel education, the Consortium members share the experience in dual learning programmes. Furthermore, as they are all fundamentally based on traditional teaching methodologies, the inclusion of E-learning platform as part of the educational process and its implementation can be regarded as one of the key activities.

OBJECTIVES

Implementation of BENEFIT sets an overall objective of implementation of blended learning in HE, so that students will experience more inclusive, adequate environment, while eliminating any potential offsets to their educational progression. BENEFIT addresses two intertwined horizontal priorities and one specific HEIs related priority. Successful implementation consists of achieving:

– H1: Inclusion and diversity in education, training, youth and sport.

– H2: Digital transformation by developing the necessary capacities,
resilience and readiness.

– HE: Modelling modern, inclusive and socially responsible HEIs.

Specific project objectives include:

– Developed and evaluated framework for blended learning and evaluation practices for inclusive higher education,

– Upgraded courses that that follow blended learning and evaluation practices for inclusive higher education, and

– Workshops for teaching and training staff (through the BLINC) to create skills for blended and inclusive education.

BENEFIT targeted and involved a wider range of individuals, institutions and organisations, with a specific focus on:

– Students with disabilities to ensure a more inclusive educational process, and

– Teaching and administrative staff at respective project partners HEIs,

but not excluding indirect target groups such as:

– Students and teaching staff at other EU HEIs,

– Ministry of education and other government bodies, and

– Other institutions at secondary and primary level.

RESULTS

The project delivered the following results:

– the BENEFIT European analysis – report of the current state of inclusive higher education in project partner countries, including relevant statistics, factors and future trends,

– E-tool for inclusivity (ETI),

–  Blended Learning Inclusive Model (BLINC) resulting in its short curriculum course (3-6 weeks modular implementation), complete framework and guidelines for designing inclusive blended courses, 4-6 learning units complete with specialized content, exercises, materials and methodology for evaluation alongside translations in English, Macedonian, Greek, Croatian and Bulgarian, and of course

– the project website enabling the project Consortium to share all relevant information to the interested stakeholders.