Fachhochschule Kärnten - Spittal an der Drau

First CUAS Language Badge

The First CUAS Language Badge promotes language competence of CUAS employees with a clear learning path, structure and supports lifelong learning.

Objectives

The main goal of the First CUAS Language Badge is to improve the language skills of the employees of UAS Carinthia. The UAS Carinthia positions itself as a regionally anchored university with international connections and orientation and attaches great importance to furthering internationalization. In this respect, the First CUAS Language Badge is an important prerequisite for expanding international partnerships and actively participating in international projects. The project motivates employees to take advantage of the variety of options to further their education. After completing each badge module, employees receive a partial certificate. The system motivates them to continuously develop their language skills in order to receive a badge certificate at the end. Moreover, the introduction of the tool also brings benefits for FH managers. They receive a tool with clear and measurable development goals for employees as well as a time schedule for achieving these goals, which they can use in the annual reviews.

Background

For UAS employees, the badge is a clear learning path with structured self-development in concrete areas that creates motivation for lifelong learning. For UAS managers, a tool with clear and measurable development goals as well as time schedules for employees has been created. The badge is open to all employees, including external lecturers. As many measures (English Café, support for a guest from abroad) take place on site, the participation figures to date show that these are more likely to be used by full-time lecturers or administrative staff. In addition, the references to the badge on the social media accounts of the individual employees result in further positive aspects with regard to the image building for the institution. Furthermore, the project is also intended to serve as a pilot project to create a framework for larger projects such as Microcredentials.

(Implemented) Activities

Implementation of 5 modules: - Individual or group coaching to improve the language skills of the employees - Participation in the English @ CUAS course to improve language skills - Support for newly arrived employees or implementation of English Café sessions or internationalization activities@home - Participation in a language course abroad - Participation in staff or faculty mobility programs or virtual exchange programmes to improve language and intercultural skills Employees have 2 years to complete the 5 modules and the badge issued is then valid for 3 years.

Results

The introduction of the First CUAS Language Badge has positive effects on the visibility of employees' competencies. These can not only be recorded internally in the annual reviews, but can also documented and presented on various social media channels.

Lessons learned

The implementation of the First CUAS Language Badge has produced important findings. On the one hand, the visibility of the acquisition of competencies is improved by the tool, which can contribute to the further motivation of employees and managers. Furthermore, it shows that the bundling of less time-consuming offers leads to them being used more often. Another important learning is that the pilot project can be transferred to other competence areas in order to support the development of employees and managers in different areas.

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