Participation of the Foundation Tempus in the European project PROFFORMANCE

The Foundation Tempus has become a part of the international project “Assessment Tool and Incentive Systems for Developing Higher Education Teachers’ Performance” (PROFFORMANCE) consortium. Below you can find the additional information about the project.

Project topic

What are the goals of the strategic documents aimed at teaching and learning at the European and national level? How can this be translated into everyday practice in the field of higher education? What do the managements of higher education institutions, students, economic and social partners expect from teachers? How do the experts from different countries see each other’s practices and teaching methods? What criteria are there? How to find a balance between the role of the lecturer and that of the researcher, as well as the role in the socio-economic context? What are the flexible career paths focused on higher education teachers? How can the work of teachers be evaluated and encouraged? What good practices exist in this area at national and European level?

In order to resolve these questions, the PROFFORMANCE project has been designed, and was approved by the European Commission. It will be implemented until May 2022.

Project team

The international consortium consists of six full and four associate partners, who will utilize their capacities to support innovative activities in the field of higher education. Apart from the Republic of Serbia, institutions from Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Portugal, as well as international organizations are participating in the project. The project is coordinated by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the Foundation Tempus from Hungary. The project also includes about 30 experts in this field who come from all participating countries. In addition to the participation of the Foundation Tempus itself, the project also includes external experts, teachers of higher education institutions in Serbia. In addition to teaching practice, the experts bringto the project significant expertize in the field of international cooperation and quality standards of higher education in Serbia.

Activities and work plan

The project started on June 1, 2020, with a two-year mandate until May 31, 2022.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparatory activities are taking place in an online format. In the autumn, the consortium will conduct the research of educational institutions and existing assessment methods, as well as incentive measures for the development of teaching staff.

Experts and partners will develop  the criteria for teacher evaluation through three expert workshops. A questionnaire will also be developed, on which the teacher’s performance assessment tool will be based. The tool will be designed so as to consist of several customized versions that can be used by teachers, but also by students, institution management and relevant partners. The tool will be tested at selected universities, with the help of the engaged experts. Based on the acquired insights and feedback from higher education institutions, the final version of the tool will be developed, which will be offered free of charge for use by higher education institutions.

The project also aims to collect best teaching practices through an international competition, based on defined criteria. International examples of good practice will be visible in a publicly available and searchable database.

Finally, the experts will provide a set of recommendations for improving and encouraging the teachers’ work and performances, at the institutional, national and European levels.

The Foundation Tempus, with the significant support of experts in the field of higher education, will take part in most of the planned project activities.

Additional information

More information about the project can be found on the project website at this link, while the most important information you can follow on our website.