An interview with Nora Jansone Ratinika from Riga Stradiņš University in Latvia on the university’s Junior School of Academics, which provides teacher training in the form of a sequential experience.More information on Riga Stradiņš University’s Centre for Educational Growth and the Junior School of Academics is available online. On this and similar practices in leadership and organisation for teaching and learning at European universities, read the LOTUS project report.

Speakers

Dr. Paed. Nora Jansone-Ratinika is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Centre for Educational Growth at Rīga Stradiņš University. In her leadership role, she steers numerous study process innovation projects and actively contributes to both institutional and inter-institutional initiatives aimed at enhancing higher education. A key player in research and international partnerships, Dr. Jansone-Ratinika oversees and partakes in both local and international research ventures. Committed to fostering growth, she is involved in the continuing education of academic staff, functioning both as a facilitator and consultant. Additionally, she is also actively involved in working with healthcare students, delivering courses that address various pedagogical aspects across all study levels. Her areas of expertise in research and pedagogical work encompass study process innovations, learning and teaching strategies, technology-enhanced blended learning and teaching, quality analysis and assurance, and continuing education for academic staff. Always curious, she's continually seeking to explore new facets of educational collaboration, delving into higher education pedagogical practices and crafting recourses that empower educators. She holds a genuine belief that even a modest idea, when nurtured with care and intention, can evolve into a life-changing learning experience. This ethos guides the work of every instructional designer and HE quality expert within the dedicated team at the Centre for Education Growth of Rīga Stradiņš University.

Thérèse Zhang is the Deputy Director for Higher Education Policy at EUA. She works on topics related to higher education learning and teaching, including developments in the Bologna process, lifelong learning, digitalisation and internationalisation. Thérèse has experience in higher education policy/management and, more generally, project management in education and culture. When she first joined EUA in 2008, she worked in the field of quality assurance and institutional development. She was also the Programme Manager for the Institutional Evaluation Programme, and was involved in the development phase of EUA’s Council for Doctoral Education. More recently, she held the position of Project Manager at the Belgian French-speaking quality assurance agency, AEQES. Her earlier experience includes serving as a French teacher for several years. Thérèse holds a PhD in Romance Philology from the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, as well as a Master in European Studies from the same university. She completed part of her education at the University of Bologna, Italy, and as Visiting Researcher at Brown University, United States.