BAlkan Distance Education Network (BADEN) is an association founded to contribute to research, development and use of professional knowledge via e-learning and distance education. It is an association of teachers and researchers from different universities in the Western Balkans. BADEN currently has more than 300 members and takes active part in civil and academic society. It also collaborates with universities, institutes, companies, and other organizations outside the Western Balkans area. BADEN members foresee the future society where education is accessible to all, no matter where they are; society where modern technologies give opportunities for permanent improvement and keeping pace with requirements of the modern labour market. BADEN is official certification body for eLearning courseware with Epprobate international quality label.
The main BADEN objectives include:
- Continuous development of informatics society in the region of Western Balkans and worldwide through improving and promoting quality of teaching and learning,
- Modernization of education through regional and international cooperation, by connecting institutions and individuals as well as by exchange of information and knowledge in the fields of e-learning and distance education,
- Alignment with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA),
- Raising the level of pedagogical and technical knowledge and skills in line with future technologies,
- Strengthening of educational and civil sector for successful application of modern technologies in learning and teaching,
- Fostering and cherishing research spirit for further development of education,
- Strengthening of responsibility within pedagogical practice,
- Contributing, through advancing education, to more effective employment and improvement of economic development,
- Raising social awareness about the role and significance of new learning technologies in all aspects of formal and nonformal education.
To meet its objectives the BADEN network is focused on the following main activities: improving and promoting quality of elearning and distance education in line with new technology development; promoting regional and international cooperation; increasing pedagogical and technical knowledge and skills in higher education, tuning into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA); strengthening of educational and civil society readiness; raising social awareness of the relevance of formal and non-formal education for employment and improvement of economic development; encouraging and fostering the research spirit for further development and innovation.
BADEN is primarily an association of university teachers and experts in technology supported teaching, development and evaluation of various advanced educational tools, as well as digitalization and entrepreneurial domain in Western Balkan. Current focus of its members is primarily on the development, use, and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, especially Generative AI tools, in higher education.
The organisation has a lot of experience in various forms of formal and non-formal education, through the development of professional seminars and micro-courses aimed at providing learners with the skills and knowledge required by the modern labour markets, as well as the promotion of digital technology entrepreneurship. A majority of previous initiatives targeted young people and the accumulated experience from previous projects makes an invaluable asset for the project team to work with young people in higher education settings. In addition, all teachers from the BADEN network have experience with EU projects, including timely delivery and innovative results. Moreover, teachers and researchers who will be involved in this project have a strong expertise and a lot of experience in the development and use of AI-based educational tools. They also have a plenty of experience in teaching AI topics to both IT and non-IT students.
Key persons:
- Jelena Jovanovic is a Professor at the Department of Software Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Centre for the Science of Learning & Technology (SLATE) at University of Bergen, Norway, and an Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Learning Analytics at Monash (CoLAM), Australia. Her current research focus is on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) based methods and techniques, including machine learning, network analysis, and natural language processing, towards better understanding and supporting learning, primarily self-regulated learning and collaborative learning in higher education settings. She has a lot of experience in mentoring students on topics at the intersection of AI and education and has been one of the faculty leads for the three latest Doctoral Consortia at the Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) conference
- Vladan Devedžić is a Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Belgrade. He is the founder of the research group focused on Artificial Intelligence (GOOD OLD AI research network). He is a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) at the Department of Technical Sciences. His continuous professional goal is to bring together ideas from the field of Artificial Intelligence / Intelligent Systems and Software Engineering. His current interests include artificial intelligence, programming education, software engineering, and technology-enhanced learning. His international research cooperation and collaboration record includes universities and research institutes from EU, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India and China.
- Bojan Tomić is a Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Belgrade. His research interests include Software engineering, Computer science education, AI in education, Soft skill assessment and grading, Digital Credentials Rule-based systems, Explanation facilities and Software testing.