Advancing Digital Maturity in Croatia’s Higher Education System

Annex C. Stakeholder events

Summary of stakeholder events

Three main stakeholder events took place over the course of the project, in addition to the kick-off and closing events for the project.

The OECD team, in conjunction with the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education, organised an international expert seminar in May 2022 to discuss best practices on investment in digital infrastructure. It brought together a range of stakeholders to discuss potential principles and criteria for public investment in digital infrastructure. Three international experts on digital infrastructure in higher education (Mr. Kerr Gardiner, Dr Paul Bacsich and Dr Kevin O’Rourke) who provided intellectual support to the project presented preliminary findings of their research. Table C.1 shows the agenda for this event.

Table C.1. Agenda for the international seminar on delivering effective investment in digital infrastructure

Monday 23 May 2022 09:30 to 12:30 – Ministry of Science and Education (hybrid)

Timing	Topic and speakers
09:30 –10:00	Opening of the seminar and remarks from project partners Welcome and opening remarks from CARNET Remarks from Ms Oana Dumitrescu, Directorate General for Structural Reform Support, European Commission Overview of the seminar by Dr Gillian Golden, Education and Skills Directorate, OECD
10:00 –10:40	Digital infrastructure in higher education – the state of the art Speaker: Mr Kerr Gardiner, Higher Education Consultant, KGCL. Mr Gardiner will present an international perspective on the state of the art of digital infrastructure in higher education, with a focus on European countries. The presentation will be followed by an opportunity for the audience to address questions to Mr Gardiner.
10:40 –11:20	National-level review of technical infrastructure in higher education – the Irish experience (virtual presentation) Speaker: Dr Kevin O’Rourke, Review Chair, Technological University of Dublin Dr O’Rourke will present an overview of the process and lessons learned from Ireland’s National Review of Higher Education Technical Infrastructure. The presentation will be followed by an opportunity for the audience to address questions to Dr O’Rourke.
11:20 –12:00	Principles and best practices for prioritising investment in digital infrastructure in Croatia (virtual presentation) Speaker: Dr Paul Bacsich, Chief Executive Officer, Dualversity Dr Bacsich will propose some best-practice principles and advice for Croatia to follow with regard to investing public funds in digital infrastructure in its higher education system, with a particular focus on the prioritisation of funding for public investments on network and computing infrastructure. The presentation will be followed by an opportunity for the audience to address questions to Dr Bacsich.
12:00 – 12:30	Panel discussion – the way forward for Croatia Moderator: Dr Gillian Golden, OECD Higher Education Policy Team

Two additional stakeholder events were held in January 2023. The first of these events was an international seminar on supporting high quality digital education. The seminar brought together experts from Croatia, Hungary, and Ireland to discuss the standards, supports and practices that can help to ensure the quality of digital higher education. Table C.2 shows the agenda for the event.

Table C.2. Agenda for the international seminar on supporting high quality digital higher education

Thursday 26 January 2023, 09:30 to 12:45 – Ministry of Science and Education (hybrid)

Timing	Topic and speakers
09:30 –09:40	Opening of the seminar Welcome and opening remarks from the Ministry of Science and Education Remarks from Directorate General for Structural Reform Support, European Commission
09:40 –10:15	Emerging standards, supports and practices for digital higher education – international view of the state of play Dr Gillian Golden, OECD Dr Golden will present key messages from the OECD’s research on the emergence of standards, supports and practices that can support the development of high-quality teaching and learning across higher education systems. An open question and answer session with the speaker will follow.
10:15 –10:55	Developing comprehensive quality assurance policies and practices for digital higher education– the Hungarian experience Prof. Valéria Csépe, Hungarian Accreditation Committee (MAB) Professor Csépe will present the recent experience in Hungary with development of new policies and practices to assure the quality of digital higher education. An open question and answer session with the speaker will follow.
Coffee break 10:55 – 11:15
11:15 –12:00	Supporting higher education institutions to build capacity for improvement of digital teaching and learning Dr Terry Maguire, former Director of the Irish National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Dr Maguire will share her perspective on essential elements that need to be in place to support successful improvement processes.
12:00 – 12:45	Panel discussion: recent developments and the way forward for Croatia Initial intervention: Aleksandra Mudrinić Ribić, CARNET, e-University project Followed by open discussion with audience and panelists
Refreshments will be served at the end of the seminar

A workshop for higher education institution leaders and key stakeholders also took place in January 2023. The purpose of the workshop was to pilot the draft guidelines for institutions developed as part of the project activities (see Annexes A and B). Participants from higher education institutions as well as the Ministry for Science and Education, CARNET and the Agency for Science and Higher Education attended the workshop. With the support of the workshop facilitators, they considered current challenges and potential strategies for improving institutional and system wide digital maturity – in terms of leadership, infrastructure, competence, and culture. Table C.3 contains the agenda for the workshop.

Table C.3. Agenda for the pilot workshop with higher education institutions

Friday 27 January 2023 09:30 to 16:00, Hotel Dubrovnik, Zagreb

Timing	Topic and speakers
09:30 – 09:45	Welcome and introductions
09:45 –10:45	A model for evaluating digital maturity Session lead: Gillian Golden, OECD Facilitators: Dragana Kupres (CARNET), Prof. Predrag Pale (UNIZG) Presentation of the digital maturity model and results of its application Small group discussions– reflecting on the model and current position of digital maturity Reporting from groups and final reflections
Coffee break 10:45 – 11:00
11:00 –12:30	Developing high quality online and hybrid education Session lead: Terry Maguire (external consultant) Facilitators: Dragana Kupres (CARNET), Prof. Predrag Pale (UNIZG) Presentation of the institution guidelines for the development of high quality online and hybrid education Small group discussions – reflecting on putting the guidelines into action Reporting from groups and final reflections
Lunch break 12:30 – 14:00
14:00 –14:45	Planning and executing digital infrastructure investments Session lead: Gillian Golden Facilitators: Dragana Kupres (CARNET), Prof. Predrag Pale (UNIZG) Presentation of the advice for institutions on investment in digital infrastructure Small group discussions – reflecting on putting the guidelines into action Reporting from groups and final reflections
14:45 – 16:00	Bringing it all together – collaborating for change Session leads: Terry Maguire, Gillian Golden Summary of the key messages from the workshop sessions The importance of collaboration and working together Open discussion and reflection from participants