Course description

DIES - INTERNATIONAL DEANS' COURSE

LATIN AMERICA 2020/21

 

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), the Universities of Saarland (Germany) and Alicante (Spain), in cooperation with the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation (AvH), are jointly organizing the DIES-International Deans’ Course for Latin America.

This intensive training course is part of the DIES program (Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies) which has been jointly coordinated by the DAAD and HRK since 2001 ( www.daad.de/dies/en).

Saarland University and the University of Alicante are the academic coordinators of the course. Both institutions have been cooperating for a long period of time, including projects for the evaluation, development and improvement of university management in Latin American higher education institutions.

 

Course Content, Methodology and Schedule

The key objective of the course is to bring together a group of about 25 newly elected Deans and Vice-Deans from Universities in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Peru in order to enable the participants to tackle the challenges of holding a deans’ position.

Issues such as Strategic Faculty Planning, Financial Management, Quality Management and Human Resources Management will be key parts of this course, which will also include a soft skills workshop. The course will be conducted in English and Spanish.

Methodology will be strictly practice oriented and mainly based on case studies. Personal experience as a university manager will greatly contribute to this course and active participation will be necessary. Participants are expected to develop a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for their own faculty, which will comprise the characteristics and strategies for the faculty, the role of the dean and the underlying administration and procedures in the thematic areas of the course. In this framework, participants will develop and work on concrete measures to implement the strategy in their own faculty. The basic elements of the SAP will be introduced in the first part and the continued work on the SAP will be supported by distance coaching and via online webinars (Part II). Part III will offer participants the opportunity to reflect on the implementation of their faculty strategy and other reform projects discussed by the participants during parts I and II.

The following list shows the dates of the different modules and webinars in-between:

       Module 1: 22nd-26th November 2020.
       Module 2: 29th November to 3rd December 2020.
       Webinars: Online seminars between January and February 2021.
       Module 3: 22nd to 26th March 2021. Option A: Germany; option B: online.

Note: The location of module 3 will be selected before 12th February 2021 in the case the module can be taught onsite.
 

 

Participants’ Profile

  • Participants mostly hold the position of a Dean or Vice-Dean and are  working not longer than 2-3 years in this position.
  • Participants are aged between 30 and 50 years;
  • Active and excellent English and Spanish language skills (speaking and writing)
  • International experience;
  • Participants are from universities of the following countries Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Peru.

 

Funding

During module 3, participants will potentially be guests of the University of Saarland. The following expenses will be covered by funds of the DAAD provided through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in case it can be taught onsite:

  • Travel costs (according to DAAD regulations): flights.
  • Accommodation and joint meals during the presence phases.

Expected co-funding: Participants must cover local transportation in their home countries, visa costs and possible additional per diems for the duration of the workshop.

 

Contact Details

International Deans’ Course Latin America

info@idc-latinamerica.com

Tel. +34 965 909718 (University of Alicante)
Tel. +49 681302-71121 (Saarland University)

 

Roberto Escarré

University of Alicante

International Project Management Office
Torre de Control, Planta Baja
03690 - San Vicente del Raspeig
Alicante, Spain

Tel.: (+34) 965 909718
Teresa Amido

Saarland University

International Office
Campus A 4.4, Room 2.36
66123 - Saarbrücken
Saarland, Germany

Tel.: (+49) 681 302 71121