TuCAHEA project

Idea of the TuCAHEA project

Tuning of educational structures in Europe began in 2000 as the project connecting political goals of Bologna Process with Lisbon strategy of reforming of the higher education. Over time Tuning turned into process of revision of approaches to design, development, introduction, an assessment and improvement of quality of realization of the second and third steps of a cycle of programs. Results of Tuning, and also its tools are presented in a number of publications where establishments and academicians are offered to test and use them in own conditions. Tuning was developed and intended for higher educational institutions.
The name Tuning reflects idea that the European universities have no and uniformity in the programs of the higher education or any uniform approach to their construction shouldn't achieve, and it is simple to look for rapprochement and mutual understanding points.
Protection of rich variety of the European education is paramount for Tuning which doesn't seek to limit at all independence of the academic and branch experts or to destroy the local and national authorities.
Tuning is focused not on structuring educational process, and on its subject domain, that is on the content of training. While educational systems first of all are an obligation of the governments, responsibility for structure of education and its contents bear first of all higher educational institutions and their teaching structure.
Bologna Process conducts to reforming of educational systems in all countries of Europe as a result of adoption of the political decision on association of various national systems to Europe in one uniform system. This reform served as the beginning of new discussions among institutions of higher education of such questions, as comparability of educational process from the point of view of their structure, programs and approaches to training, that is, all that circle of issues with which Tuning deals.

The main goal of the project – to make a contribution to development of space of the higher education of Central Asia, according to the European space of the higher education, to take into account and to estimate specific requirements and capacities of the region as a whole and the partner countries in particular, responding thus to the requests of the higher education in particular and all society as a whole.
The project was conceived as accession of Central Asia to process Tuning which is based on methodology widely developed by teachers of higher education institutions in common with students, graduates, administrative workers, employees and the staff of the ministries. The purposes of TuCAHEA are: expanded use of competence-based and basic tools and instruments of improvement of quality of development of training programs, improvement of regional systems of the higher education, creation of a platform of an exchange by knowledge and development of instruments of improvement of quality in the region as a whole and in each certain country, and also support by low bodies of creation within regions of compatibility and compliance to the European space of the higher education; creation pilot Tuning of groups on the subject directions which will prepare grants of the user and will be points of support of key sectors; carrying out trainings for the staff of the ministries, teachers of higher education institutions and independent experts in use of competence-based and basic tools; exchange of students in and outside the region and improvement such necessary for the organization of mobility of tools, as improvement of quality and transparency of recognition. One of the important purposes of the project is creation of information centers on dissemination of knowledge about the Tuning project both in the capital, and on the periphery of each partner country.

The main results which it is provided to receive it during project work: expansion of knowledge of process Tuning, inclusion of Central Asian space of the higher education in a wide international context of Tuning, increasing knowledge of existence of instruments of improvement of quality and transparency of recognition for the purpose of creation of base of future cooperation, implementation of a wide range of consultations both on the general, and on separate subject competences, preparation and the publication Tuning of Development in the subject directions; development of descriptors of programs of preparation on the basis of competence-based approach, in view of the description of the profiles which have been already developed within the Tuning project and taking into account a qualification framework of ENIC-NARIC Network. And as a result, developing points mentioned above, creation of base of Central Asian space of the higher education, a Central Asian qualification framework and use of system of the credits.

Consortium:
Universities - project coordinators:
Europe: University Groningen, Netherlands, Prof. Robert Vagenar
Europe: university Pisa. Italy, Professional Catherine Ayzeks
Project manager:
Ingrid Van der Meyer, Groningen University
Project participating universities:
47 partners, 34 universities of Central Asia, 5 ministries, 8 universities of Europe
Kazakhstan – 6 partners – Kazgasa, KAZEU of T.Ryskulov, MUIT, the HAG of E.A. Buketov, Auezov SKSU, Kyzylorda state university of Korkyt At, RK Ministry of Education and Science.
Performers:
Country the coordinator, the coordinator of MUIT – Zakirova G. D.
The coordinator of KAZEU of T.Ryskulov – Sapargaliyeva B. O.
The coordinator of M. Auezov SKSU – Yefimova I.
Coordinator of KAZGASA-Abilov B. A.
The coordinator the HAG of E.A.Buketov – Karstina S.G.
The coordinator of Kyzylorda state university of Korkyt-at – Kenshinbay T.I.
RK Ministry of Education and Science – Narbekova B. M.
Project development
Organizational meeting of TuCAHEA in Brussels, on November 20 and 22, 2012
The central group TuCAHEA, leading and coordinating groups of the project (the prof. Robert Vagenaar, the prof. Anne Cathérine Izaax make. At the first meeting plans of work for 2012-2013 were approved, the main documents of the project are discussed, dates of carrying out country and plenary meeting of consortium are defined.
Following the results of the first meeting of participants of the project at each partner university organizational events were held: the working groups are created, all fundamental documents (Methodology of Tuning, Project handbook, project Directory, materials of other projects on Tuning, etc.) were discussed
February, 2013
The first Country meeting on the basis of KAZGASA with participation of all coordinators of the country, representatives of all chairs and the working group of KAZGASA is held.
The list of the General competences (Generic Competences) developed by the Kazakhstan partners for discussion and the statement at Plenary meeting is result of meeting.
Are distributed according to the available specialties Subject Specific Area:
Business: KazEU, SKSU
Economics: KazEU, IITU
Engineering: KazGASA, SKSU
Environmental Protection and Food Safety: SKSU, KazGASA
Humanities (History): KSU, KKSU
Language: IITU, KazEU
Law: KSU, KKSU
Natural Sciences: KKSU, KSU
Teacher Training and Education: KKSU, KSU, SKSU

April, 2013
The first plenary meeting of consortium (in Almaty, on the basis of MUIT)
At Plenary meeting:
-were discussed and approved the List of the General competences for Central Asia;
-work on discussion of Specific competences on 8 subject domains (economy, the right, business, education, environmental protection, studying of languages, history, engineering) is carried out
Meetings of the working group on development of competence-based approach in the educational directions of higher education institution are held;

September, 2013
First training visit to universities of Europe (Gent University, University Pisa).
In the training program – a meeting with representatives of the European commission (Ms Alba Chiara Tiberi, Tempus Project Advisor, Peter van der Hijden, European Commission DG Research and Innovation), acquaintance to procedure of introduction of methodology of Tuning at university Gent (Belgium), university of Pisa. Participants of training carried out the analysis of carrying out consultations, key questions for country meetings were defined, tasks for the Second plenary meeting are defined.

October, 2013
The second country meeting on the basis of the M. Auezov South Kazakhstan State University of is held:
1) Results of carrying out consultations on the general and subject consultations on the basis of the graphic analysis are discussed.
2) Recommendations for creation of "Guidelines and Reference Points" ("conceptual frameworks") of for the TuCAHEA Subject Areas are developed: Template and explanations for discussion"
3) Participants of the Second plenary meeting in Bishkek are defined.
Tempus is carried out by national office project monitoring according to the monitoring plan. On monitoring all coordinators of partner universities, representatives teaching and the student's collective of M. Auezov SKSU participated. The condition of work of universities on implementation of tasks of the project was analyzed

March, 2014
On March 13-14, 2014 at the Karaganda state university of E.A.Buketov the third country collection of the project "In the direction took place Is central - to Asian space of the higher education: Tuning structure and formation of culture of quality". Participants of a meeting were: project coordinators - the International University of information technologies, the Kazakh economic university of T. Ryskulov, Kazakh Head Architecturally - Construction Academy, the Karaganda state university of E.A.Buketov, Kyzylorda state university of Korkyt-At, Auezov SKSU. And also the expert George Novak took part in work of the third country meeting from university Uppsala (Sweden).
During the third country meeting matrixes in the directions were presented: economy, business, and philology, to engineering, education, natural sciences, food safety and environment protection. The results on the performed work and the further plan of action within the project are summed also up