Online Meeting of AFISHE Program Working Group for External Evaluation

July 24, 2024

In the framework of Erasmus+ CBHE program "Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries Education for Green Deal in Armenia and Ukraine: FROM EDUCATION TO ECOLOGY," which is jointly implemented by the International Scientific-Educational Center of NAS RA, Armenian National Agrarian University and Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS RA, an online meeting of the AFISHE working group was held on July 23. More than 20 representatives from partner institutions participated in the meeting.

The online meeting's objective was to carry out an ongoing external evaluation of the AFISHE program, with a focus on identifying the satisfaction of the teaching staff members with the content of the training program, operational issues, and training modules as a part of their participation in the international training course.

The external evaluation was initiated by Gharib Harutyunyan, PhD, Associate Professor, an independent auditor of the AFISHE program, founder of the Compass Research, Training and Consulting Center NGO.

During the meeting, an interactive discussion was held with the participants to share their thoughts and impressions about the international training course, as well as to generate suggestions for improvements to enhance the further effectiveness of the trainings.

Nearly all of the participants expressed their satisfaction with the content of educational materials, the advanced experience and willingness of the trainers, the accessibility and relevance of the teaching methods, and the theoretical and practical components of the two-week trainings they attended at the University of Dubrovnik (Croatia), the University of Porto (Portugal), and the Agricultural University of Slovakia (Nitra). All these factors later on contributed to the improvement of the development of training modules. It was also underlined that the visits to various fisheries laboratories, organized for the participants during the training, provided the participants a general overview of the fish farming complex operation and industry.

Through the training course the establishment of a platform for international cooperation and the exchange of the best practices among the participants was also highlighted during the meeting, which made it possible to continue close cooperation with international experts, discuss and receive necessary guidance on emerging issues.

An agreement was also reached to organize regular meetings between the participants, to familiarize each other with the content of the developed educational modules and to enable all lecturers to have a comprehensive and complete understanding of the content and subjects taught within the framework of the Master's education program in Aquaculture and Fisheries.

ISEC NAS RA Public Relations and Career Department