NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRENGTHENING THE KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICAL SKILLS IN ICT, PROVIDED THROUGH THE INAUGURATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND MULTIMEDIA LABORATORY

On  23 of March 2017, at the Center of Excellence in Computer Science and Information Technologies in Chisinau, took place the inauguration ceremony of a modern space of educational resources for students and teachers in ICT field. This space was endowed with the necessary equipment to make the process of learning and training of students and teachers in one based on the requirements of the ICT industry.

The Department of In-service training and Multimedia Laboratory have been created with the support of Austrian Development Cooperation within the project “Partnerships for quality and relevance in ICT vocational education in Moldova”, implemented by the Educational Center PRO DIDACTICA and National Association of ICT (ATIC). The budget for the establishment of the Department and Laboratory constitutes about 48 000 euro.

The Department of In-service training and Multimedia Laboratory  within the Center of Excellence in Computer Science and Information Technologies represents a model for centers of excellences in the country. Here, both pupils and teachers from 17 subordinated institutions and other beneficiaries will have access to various courses and trainings that will help to strengthen their knowledge and practical skills. In this context, the Department is endowed with technical equipment of last generation, among which 12 desktop computers  with operating systems licensed, three laptops, scanner and copier, interactive whiteboard and digital projector, educational programs and equipment that allows distance learning. The Multimedia Laboratory is equipped with 11 computers with design programs Adobe licensed, video camera, digital projector.

Also, within the department, IT teachers, and IT professionals will benefit from professional training courses, internships, in-service training sessions, the contents of which will be developed through partnerships with enterpreneurs from this sector. They will be invited to participate at assessing the professional qualities of their future potential  employees.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Corina Fusu, Minister of Education of the Republic of Moldova, Alexander Karner, Head of Country Office of the Austrian Development Agency, Rima Bezede,  President of the Educational Center Pro Didactica  and project director, Ana Chirita, Executive Director of National Association of ICT companies, Vitalie Zavadschi, Director of the Center of Excellence in Computer Science and Information Technologies, teachers, managers and students.

The project “Partnerships for quality and relevance of the ICT vocational education in Moldova“ is implemented during 2015 –  2018. The project aims at strengthening the education process within the vocational institutions that offer specialization in ICT, update curriculum to the current trends and requirements of the ICT market and the Moldovan economy, development of study materials, events and career orientation fairs in ICT field, etc.