Centre for Educational Growth

University of British Columbia (Canada)

We have cooperated with Prof. Andis Klegeris, the head of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at Okanagan Campus of the University of British Columbia, Canada, for many years. The cooperation aims to strengthen the RSU academic staff’s expertise in designing study courses, assessing learning outcomes, implementing problem-based learning, and exchanging ideas on joint initiatives in research.

The European University Association (EUA)

RSU is a member institution of the EUA with the CEG coordinating the cooperation on learning and teaching.

We work in Thematic Peer Groups with other European universities. These promote the study and exchange of institutional practices to develop written recommendations for European universities on how to improve learning and teaching each year. We also annually participate in the European Learning & Teaching Forum, organised by EUA, where the most up-to-date higher education development trends are discussed and the Thematic Peer Groups present their work.

From 2020 to 2022, the CEG participated in the Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European Universities (LOTUS) project. This project was co-financed by the European Commission to support the implementation of Common European Higher Education Area reforms, enhancing capacity building and strategic change management in higher education institutions across Europe. We conducted research, developed materials, and organised seminars that support strategic learning and teaching innovations in education policy and universities in collaboration with universities, ministries, university associations, student and employee organisations, rectors' councils, and other partners.

The following sources are useful in daily work and when planning development for innovations:

• EUA publications
• EUA YouTube channel

Koç University Office of Learning and Teaching (Turkey)

We have established a close collaboration with the prestigious Koç University in Istanbul. The CEG cooperates with the Koç University Office of Learning and Teaching in the following directions:

• participation in international forums and working groups for representatives of higher education;
• implementation of continuing education for academic staff;
• transformation of the study process in the context of challenges posed by the Covid pandemic;
• mutual consultations to promote a pedagogical approach;
• the validation/evaluation of educational materials that have been developed; 
• the integration of digital solutions in the study process.

National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Ireland)

In cooperation with the National Forum of Ireland, we promote international cooperation and organise educational seminars for academic staff from RSU that address the importance and possibilities of international cooperation: 

• strengthening the culture of lifelong learning;
• modernising pedagogical practice;
• exchanging experiences and ideas among academic staff;
• involving students in inter-university initiatives;
• carrying out joint research;
• applying for and implementing projects;
• sharing educational materials through the Creative Commons licensed collection of open educational resources, The National Resource Hub. 

Arcada University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

We have broad and interdisciplinary cooperation with Arcada University of Applied Sciences:

• we work together with the School of Business and Healthcare and the School of Engineering, Culture and Wellbeing in several Erasmus+ projects, developing the integration of the Skills Monitoring System created by RSU into study programmes;
• we cooperate with the Patient Safety and Learning Centre in the implementation of simulation scenarios in the study process;
• we strengthen the mastery of the academic staff of both universities in planning and implementing a competence-based pedagogical design in study courses by pooling the experience of the CEG and Arcada learning support specialists.

The Centre of Expertise in Learning and Teaching at the University of Twente (Netherlands)

We cooperate with the Centre of Expertise in Learning and Teaching at the University of Twente by organising onsite and online experience exchange visits on:

• the national framework of the pedagogical qualification of academic staff;

• the organisation of continuing education of academic staff;

• the provision of pedagogical support for the creation of innovations in the study process;

• international trends in the modernisation of study programmes.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

We are developing the following projects within the Latvian Educational Innovation Lab’s Strategic Education Innovation Project Support Programme in cooperation with mentors from MIT:

• A digital platform for the unified skills monitoring system of Rīga Stradiņš University and Latvian medical institutions;
• Crisis communication simulation games in the healthcare sector.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jameel World Education Lab (MIT J-WEL)

Our learning and teaching experts have trained in the MIT J-WEL programme What is a course? 2023 J-WEL Course Design Workshop on how to develop a course design.