Plan "Risk Society vs Sustainable Development Goals"

1. Inter-university cooperation for interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity

ECA strives to become truly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary HEI to facilitate internationalization and active learning. ECA has been granted the Certificate “Agreement on Good Practice in Attracting Foreign Students and Providing Studies” concluded between the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Latvia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Christian Academy. The Agreement stipulates that “the Academy has a good experience to attract foreign students and to promote positive image of the country of Latvia, to promote the international recognition, quality and competitiveness of Latvian higher education through its activities”. ECA has undertaken to provide data on its activities in the European Union Universities’ Platform U-Multirank Institutional Ranking.

According to the mentioned ranking U-Multirank ECA is ranked among the best 7 universities in Latvia.

In 2022 U-Multirank Ranking ECA has obtained eight higher (A) rankings.

ECA is involved in research consortiums regarding social work and caritative social work:

• Klaipeda University (LT),
• Malmo University (SE),
• St. Ignatius Loyola University of Applied Sciences (LT),
• Bialystok University (PL),
• Warszawa University (PL),
• Ben-Gurion University of Beer-Sheva (IL).

Study program in Bible Art benefits from teaching and learning cooperation agreements with:

• Vilnius Academy of Arts (LT),
• Orthodox Academy of Crete (GR),
• Jan Matejko Art Academy in Krakow (PL),
• Strzeminki Art Academy of Lodz (PL),
• Latvian Academy of Arts (LV),
• University of Pecs (HU).

2. Future-oriented education

The choice for a future-oriented teaching model is based on activation and a matching structure of the academic year. For this reason Academy has 5 goals:

• Active learning,
• Integral approach to students’ personality,
• Curricula which combines classical Judeo-Orthodox Christian anthropological approach to personality and active citizenship within the European Social Agenda framework,
• An integrated approach to European higher education area,
• Sustainable study goals.

How we understand curricula of the future?

We are inspired by the Judeo-Orthodox Christian anthropological approach to human personality and latest research findings in humanities and social sciences. Students are taught to be socially responsible, they receive couching how to connect different fields of knowledge, practice and science beyond the boundaries of their own field.

We work with very traditional disciplines, but in line with social agenda and social evolution globally. We connect conservative, classical areas of knowledge but work for personalized approach to students. The merging of Art makes students creative also for future.

Regular updates of the European Social Agenda are included are renewed in both the Bible Art study programs and Social work study programs.

How do we understand integral advising of our students?

Offering students opportunity in their studies and personal development we advise them holistically. That takes the student’s learning and life situation into consideration. The caritative cohesion and interaction between students, also between professors, researchers, are reinforced regularly. Emphasis on academic progress and academic success, resilience are important for motivated learning. These aspects support each other.

Integrating advising in living and learning is connected with career counselling.

3. Digitalization

Digitalization at the Academy has 5 goals:

• Integration of blended learning,
• Integration of accumulated assessment,
• Digital transformation,
• Digital transformation of Lifelong Learning (LLL),
• Digital transformation in future through Senate bodies’ Lab.

How we understand physical and digital education together?

Our partner in European Commission networking organization EZA (“European Center for Workers’ Questions”) asked the Academy to take the initiative during the Covid-19 pandemic to organize international seminars using only technological online means. Thanks God we were forced to switch into digital first!

Based on the lessons learned from this we want to evolve towards an merge of physical and digital education. Face-to-face instruction will, of course, retain its rightful place since we stay human and personal. But we will be using technologies in a specialized and quality blended education. Integration and flexibility are central to this. Even whole program of Iconography is available now for online studies in webinar form.

We are developing ideas to facilitate interactive and collaborative learning as well as multi-locational learning as much as possible. To achieve a true digital transformation of our education, we will simultaneously redesign our educational organization. We go for flexible support and professionalization by ECA Lab-Learning.

We stay for harmonized combination of technologies and physical education.

4. Sustainable development goals

Sustainable development goals will be implemented in applied research and education.

4 goals:

• We strengthen internal activities around Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),
• We offer opportunities for a system-oriented approach to sustainability,
• We involve society members at large through different interfaces,
• We financially stimulate sustainability research of our teachers.

We organized inter-universities Intensive Course on sustainable development goals in Nordic and Baltic countries.

We educated students to understand topical issues of society today (migration, inequality, anthropological identity crisis, ecology etc.). We consider different solution strategies by application of the Judeo-Orthodox Christian view on personality combined with scientific knowledge and connections between the various views on the complexities involved.

The course was modular. The different modules and individual videos were used in lectures.

In 2024/25 we are coordinating Nordic and Baltic countries’ research consortium cooperation with VID-Specialized University (NO) and Ansgar University College (NO) and St. Ignatius Loyola University of Applied Sciences (LT) providing personalized approach to the responsibility about our planet, water consumption, pollution etc.

5. Transversal skills

Inclusive Academy: ECA strives for an inclusive, respectful and safe learning environment.

ECA has signed cooperation agreement with Ministry of Education and Science, Latvia, against educational inequality and increase of diversity and inclusive engagement of students and staff. It means intense collaboration in workshops, diversity internships, volunteer work, etc. In doing so ECA is aiming its role in diverse society and commitment to promote inclusive education and social engagement.

6. Lifelong Learning

Thanks to Lifelong Learning we offer high-quality training for everyone who also wants to continue to develop their mind.

4 goals:

• Development of an Academy for Lifelong Learning (“Open Academy”),
• Work with alumni for funding model for different courses,
• Development of Lifelong Learning research platform (fulfilling the idea of “Open Academy” in future) as backbone for LLL,
• Micro Credentials and stackable credits.

In line with the mentioned goals in research we make the Academy as a high-quality LLL offer for experienced adults/professionals. We will organize joint working group with partner institutions and will operate through LLL department which right now offers different courses for specialists (social workers, artists, pedagogues, nurses, clergy, etc). In the period from 2022 – 2023 we worked out the contours of an “Academy for Lifelong Learning” (working name). That clearly positions the initiatives in the field of Lifelong Learning. We explored the possibility of evolving towards associations of our alumni as well with LBAS (Latvian Free Trade Unions Association).

We are constantly building the university of applied sciences and we want to develop a combined or complementary offerings in areas of employment for our students.