Fulfilment of project objectives will be realised through 3 core thematic work packages and 2 supporting work packages, while a maximum interconnection of the work is conceived by the project methodology. The research work underpins the university capacity building and policy improvements while the management, communicaiton and dissemination ensure the quality, progress measurement and enhanced impact of the project work.
The starting point for the project will be to create a sound research, provide baseline and evidence about the market position of Montenegrin universities for the study programmes in English. The initial data collection will be designed to also provide sufficient baseline data for all the project activities, i.e. for monitoring. The data collection will be based on literature research (published data), data existing in the universities' information systems and those which can be updated by new development / upgrade (teachers' skills related to EMI and time availability) and data collected through market survey.
A formative assessment study at each 12 months will explore how is EMI being implemented in the Business and Economics undergraduate programme of the Faculty of Economics as the first study programme in English which will start from September 2023. It will also result in a research paper, and together with other planned studies it will be the basis for creation / adaptation of capacity building initiatives.
Analytical base will be enforced also by the benchmarking studies with EU partners which will provide input for policy briefs for university internal regulations, capacity building activities for teachers and students – with attention given also to migrant student, as well as for the national level regulations.
A package of capacity building activities will include visiting teachers’ strengthening of the pilot EMI programme, teacher domain knowledge specialisations, provision of teaching material and equipment, intercultural trainings and events, students’ scholarship scheme, student and staff mobility – with special actions aimed for migrant students. Mid and long term improvement of the first EMI study programme will be framed as a policy brief for the improvement of the programme, teachers’ skills and teaching materials, which will serve as a basis for the next re-accreditation process of the programme.
Underpinning the whole internationalisation process, in particular the introduction of study programmes in English language, is their appropriate legal regulation. The project will work with international partners on the exchange of knowledge for developing sound legal framework which will facilitate the accreditation process, enrolment of students and the course of their study and evaluation of study programmes.
The whole project will be carried out in close partnership of Montenegrin and EU partners and representatives of different sectors – universities, public authorities, an NGO and an international organisation. Communication and dissemination activities will be designed in such a way to enable dialogue and collaboration both internally, with students, professors, their representatives and policy makers, and externally – with potential students, ex-students, ex-visiting professors, businesses and all who can provide valuable opinion about directions how to improve the quality of study programmes and their international position. Certain communication and dissemination actions will be targeted towards general public in order to spread the impact towards international and multicultural dimension of the Montenegrin society.
