LINKgroup continues to live up to its reputation of being a European leader in education: This year, we are creating significant turning points designed to fundamentally transform education
Judging by the beginning of the year, 2021 at LINKgroup will be marked by revolutionary ideas supported by participation in important educational events around the world.
This January alone, LINKgroup actively participated in creating the European and global education scene by participating in more than 10 global, European and local conferences, panels, summits, webinars and festivals that welcomed the biggest and most prominent names in education, science, business, politics, technology, etc. With a thorough approach that yields results, LINK continues to strengthen its international education strategy while actively updating it with crucial elements which will soon be experienced by anyone who is in any way involved in the education process, not just in Serbia but throughout the world.
Education strategy blending different competencies that are essential for one’s development
In order to create an education strategy that will go beyond theory, it’s necessary to approach it from various angles so as to cover topics which, at first glance, aren’t related to education but actually have a significant impact on it. Therefore, the LINK education strategy includes not only essential academic competencies, but also equally as important digital, social and emotional competencies designed to complete one’s entire education process.
Because of the COVID-19 situation, LINKgroup is continuously enhancing and updating its education strategy, adapting it to new challenges and implementing concepts designed by our internal and external experts. At the very beginning of the pandemic, we were one of the few in the world who managed to switch to online teaching in all schools within the Alliance in a single day and without any losses. Our students and teachers had absolutely no problem switching to remote learning via the Distance Learning Platform, given that they have plenty of experience with this approach.
We’re integrating global conclusions drawn from current topics affecting science and education
We are actively updating our educational strategy in order to, as soon as possible, implement it in all schools, faculties and academies operating under the LINK edu Alliance.
Here are some of the global events we’ve taken part in:
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos
Education in uncertain times
Each January, global leaders and the most powerful politicians, business people and academics in the world attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where they discuss global issues. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Forum took place online, from January 25 through 29 via Skype, and apart from the most prominent world leaders who addressed the newly created situation, LINKgroup’s representatives also took part in the meeting. The theme of the meeting was “A Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust”, with focus on creating impact, rebuilding trust and shaping the policies and partnerships needed in 2021. What we found particularly interesting were discussions “Reimagining Education” and “Improving Science Literacy”, which generated new ideas and defined global education strategies more closely.
Conference: What Future for European Robotics?
How robotics affects children?
How useful are robots in today's age? Can their efficiency overcome the fact that they might be able to displace human workers on a large scale? How do robots affect children, what’s their role in education and will AI bring us?
As regional leaders in the implementation of robotics in education, we were greatly pleased to take part in a European Commission conference that highlighted the potential Europe has to become a global leader in the next wave of digital transformation.
#LearningPlanet festival
How to take care of yourself and others?
On the International Day of Education, celebrated on January 24, UNESCO and the leading global organizations arranged #LearningPlanet festival which we attended. This event aims to raise environmental awareness and promote the ways in which people should take care of each other and the planet.
European and local conferences and initiatives on the development of digital skills
Conference: European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH)
We were honored to be among the first to partake in European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH), a conference that provides participants with an opportunity to network, exchange ideas and discuss the future of digital transformation, one of the most important processes promoted by the EU and implemented by LINK in its institutions through the LINK Innovations department.
The Digital Education Futures Initiative at Cambridge
Cambridge has also recognized digitalization as a key factor for the future. Taking into account that we have been Cambridge University partners with accredited Cambridge schools for nearly 20 years, we gladly took part in the Digital Education Futures Initiative at Cambridge, which reveals what the future of education looks like and how modern technology can compete with new education models. This initiative explores different uses of digital technology in education by designing new pedagogical possibilities that were previously either difficult to implement or unknown.
Conference: Be the Ambassador of Your Local Cultural Heritage
At this international conference LINK presented the international projects in which it participates together with its schools and the Institute for Contemporary Education: Tesla Ways, SpeakER, ClimActNow, dBIas and Citizen 2.1.
Conference: New Literacy for a New Age
We have actively participated in events in Serbia. At the New Literacy for a New Age conference about media and digital literacy, critical thinking and the safe use of the Internet and online platforms, which took place January 26 in Novi Sad, the participants discussed how technological literacy is not the same as technological agility, and how important it is to deal with fake news.
Project: Capacity Building in Higher Education
Erasmus+ project for capacity building in higher education
As partners, LINK schools take part in numerous Erasmus+ projects through the ICE Project Center. The schools also participated in Capacity Building in Higher Education, a project that advocates the modernization, internationalization and accessibility of higher education. Erasmus+ helps organizations (mostly partnering educational institutions) to improve the quality of their higher education and adjust it to labor market requirements, as well as to acquire new educational programs and engage in regional integration…These projects raise our aspirations as well.
Fresh ideas from interactive webinars on education of the future
LINK also took part in three webinars on the uncertainty of future education.
Finland is synonymous with top-quality education. One of the steps of the cooperation we initiated with the project of bringing Finnish education to the region was participation in the webinar Reinventing Education & Ensuring Future Skills: Edtech Solutions from Finland. On the same day, we took part in the webinar The Latest EU VET Policy and the Future of VET, which focused on EU’s vision and goals when it comes to vocational education and training.
The same topic was covered from a different angle at the interactive online webinar What Will Education Look Like in the Future? two days later. Events from last year have accelerated our process of acquiring and developing technology and made us wonder whether education systems can keep up with this level of progress.
LINK’s new education strategy
At LINKgroup, each employee is devoted to the improvement of education at a global level. Participation in these events, the exchange of experiences, and the creation of new strategies is our small contribution to the transformation of education which we strive for on a daily basis.
Staying up-to-date with the latest educational trends, creating and implementing innovative educational solutions, and developing new strategies will provide our students with the best possible education and a successful future.
This is a clear vision which LINK has followed for almost 25 years and continues to realize with each new step. We are particularly glad that there are more and more of us each day on this revolutionary educational journey; that the LINK edu Alliance keeps growing, and that the vision of the new education is a reality that’s spreading globally.
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