Wittenborg's Research Centre Periodic Event Kick-off Meeting

13.11.2021

Progress Update on Erasmus+ Projects

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences’ Research Centre held its maiden block session on 8 October. The agenda of the meeting was threefold: Progress Updates of ongoing European Union funded projects, EuroCHRIE 2022 Conference in Apeldoorn and the Post-Master's Programme at Wittenborg.

The session kicked off with Wittenborg’s CEO Maggie Feng, introducing the three EU-funded projects of which Wittenborg is the coordinator. In addition to the coordinating role, Wittenborg also contributes to the development of project outputs with its in-house expertise and knowledge. Feng explained that the aim of the Research Centre session was to bring together researchers at Wittenborg to get acquainted with the ongoing projects and a call to support the scientific contributions to the various projects in the form of academic publications, as well as collaborating with each other with respect to research activities. The session continued with Wittenborg’s Assurance of Learning Manager, Kriszta Kaspers, reporting on the progress of Project IQAinAR (Enhancement of Internal Quality Assurance of Education in teaching, learning and assessment in HEIs in Azerbaijan & Russia), followed by senior lecturer Dr Gilbert Silvius reporting on the publication of a scientific article written as part of the 1st Intellectual Output within Project INFURI (Innovation in the Furniture Industry in the era of Circular Economy). EU Project Coordinator Aydan Ismayilova also presented the progress on other works done within INFURI and another EU-funded project, Eco-Systems of Open Science Schooling.

EuroCHRIE Conference

The session also introduced the EuroCHRIE conference to be hosted by Wittenborg in Apeldoorn come October 2022. Speaking about the conference, Feng, who is also the Director of EuroCHRIE conferences, encouraged researchers with interest in the theme of the conference to submit papers for approval for presentation during the event. While “Thrive on Innovation and Entrepreneurship” is the theme of the annual event, Feng highlighted that EuroCHRIE is an important and sociable platform for knowledge sharing, development, and research. She is hopeful this conference will be turned into a networking moment opportunity for lecturers of applied sciences and rectors from other hotel schools. The annual conference is set for 24-27 October, 2022, in Apeldoorn.

The Post-Master Programme at Wittenborg was also a focal point that was discussed during the session. The Director of Wittenborg's Doctoral College, Dr Ad Kil, emphasised that the two-year programme was targeted to enable for proper planning and preparation that will equip the participants with the research skills necessary for writing research proposals and subsequently completing their PhD programmes.

The research centre periodic event was attended by most of the active researchers at Wittenborg and the next session is expected to take place on 22 November, 2021.