Architectural discussions and exchanges during the EnRHEd mobility
From 24/09/2023, a delegation of four lecturers from the University of Rwanda – College of Science and Technology (CST) are spending a mobility period in Italy at the Department of Architecture of the University of Parma. As teaching staff members from the UR, participants to the mobility have been invited to participate in the teaching staff training session titled “Capacity building in the field of Internationalization: Architectural teachers’ training at the University of Parma”.
This exchange, which is fully part of the exchanges planned in the framework of the WP2 “Revision of current curricula and set up of new programmes” of the Erasmus+ Project EnRHEd, guarantees a direct and personal exchange between Rwandan and Italian lecturers who, through this face-to-face exchange, are confronting and supporting each other to implement new teaching activities in Rwanda and define new curricular programmes at the University of Rwanda.
In order to achieve these objectives, the architecture team of the University of Parma, composed not only of lecturers but also of several PhD students and some staff members of the architecture department, has planned a series of exciting activities to be carried out together with the team of Rwandan lecturers. Among the many activities, we mainly highlight the many proposed exchange meetings, in which the different teams were able to discuss and compare their teaching activities and knowledge transferred and to be transferred to the Rwandan students. In addition, visits to laboratories and participation in curricular courses of Architecture were planned for students enrolled in the UNIPR school, with specific interventions on architecture from the perspective of Rwandan colleagues. In addition to these activities, numerous bilateral meetings were also held with professors, lecturers and stakeholders from the Italian field in order to provide, from a theoretical as well as a practical point of view, the most comprehensive overview of Italian, European and even international architecture.
Briefly, the 30-days training for teachers is including the following activities:
- Attending lessons of Master Programs related to Architecture;
- Sharing experiences and ideas in the development of new programsin the field of Architecture with colleagues at the University of Parma;
- Visit of the University Campus;
- Preparation of exercises/lab activities for students;
- Preparation of teaching/learning materials;
- Sharing teaching experiences with colleagues in the same fields at the University of Parma;
- Innovative didactic approaches, problem solving and E-learning.
The sponsor of the entire trip, including flight tickets, accommodation, meals, stipend, is the European Commission by funding the afore mentioned Erasmus+ Project EnRHEd – “Enhancement of Rwandan Higher Education in Strategic Fields for Sustainable Growth”, according to the rules reported in both the Grant Agreement and the Consortium Agreement, which have been signed by University of Rwanda as partner institution.
