The sixth RSU School of Junior Academics session begins

On 2 October 2024, the sixth session of the School of Junior Academics began at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU). 26 lecturers from 11 departments will begin their studies at the School.

One lecturer from the Department of Rehabilitation, the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, and the Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry, two lecturers from the RSU Red Cross Medical College, the Department of Pharmacology, the Institute of Public Health and the Statistics Unit, three lecturers from the Department of Internal Diseases and the Department of Paediatrics, four lecturers from the Faculty of Social Sciences and five lecturers from the RSU Latvian Academy of Sport Education are part of this year’s group.

The School of Junior Academics is open to lecturers with up to five years' teaching experience. The programme runs for four months, both on-site and online. It is a unique opportunity to gain comprehensive knowledge and skills essential for improving the quality of higher education. Participants will learn how to design a course, how to develop a system for assessing learning outcomes, different learning and teaching methods, and how to develop interactive course content. One of the important elements of the learning process is classroom observation - the mutual observation of lectures and classes, which allows participants to look for the best solutions together and to share successful examples.

Positive impact on personal and professional growth

So far, 116 RSU lecturers have graduated from the School of Junior Academics in the five previous sessions. The aim of this programme is to provide lecturers with tools to not only improve their work, but also to share the skills and knowledge they have acquired in their departments, contributing to the modernisation and development of the study process. The feedback from the participants of the School of Junior Academics so far attests to the high value of the programme and its positive impact on personal and professional growth.

At the opening ceremony of the new session, RSU Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Assoc. Prof. Dins Šmits emphasised that institutions such as the Centre for Educational Growth that provides targeted support for lecturers to improve their pedagogical competence, do not exist in other universities in Latvia. He also expressed his gratitude for the work done by the Director of the Centre and the initiator of the idea of the School of Junior Academics, Assoc. Prof. Nora Jansone-Ratinika and her team.

It is not just about learning, it is also about knowledge sharing

‘This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Centre for Educational Growth! I am happy that one of our dreams of establishing the School of Junior Academics has come true, and that for the sixth time, lecturers will be able to improve their skills,’ said Jansone-Ratinika.

‘My wish for the new colleagues is that they not only acquire knowledge, but are also able to use this knowledge independently - this is very important in the work of a lecturer.’

Educational Growth Innovation Manager Raimonds Strods noted that the School of Junior Academics is very important for the development of RSU, as the University’s graduates have not only become more skilled lecturers, but are also actively involved in research and taking leading academic and administrative positions.

Participants of the RSU School of Junior Academics are encouraged to take the initiative to help modernise the study process by sharing best practice as well as learning and teaching strategies beyond the programme.

The School of Junior Academics has been running since 2019

Since 2014, the RSU Centre for Educational Growth has been supporting lecturers in developing their pedagogical competence by offering a wide range of training courses. In 2019, with the support of the ESF project ‘Strengthening the Capacity of Academic Staff at Rīga Stradiņš University’, the Centre for Educational Growth established the School of Junior Academics, which serves as a support platform for lecturers at the beginning of their academic careers.