Twenty-seven students from eighteen different countries are currently studying at the University of Malta in what is their second semester in the Erasmus Mundus funded International Master in Adult Education for Social Change (IMAESC) course. Students will start their semester on February 5th, following an orientation week at University, during which they met different officials from the institution and the representatives of the different placement sites.
The University of Malta, through its Department of Arts, Open Commuities & Adult Education, is one of the participating universities in this joint master degree programme together with the University of Glasgow (lead partner), Tallinn University, Estonia and the Open University of Cyprus. This course is held under the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master degree scholarship scheme for three consecutive periods with a new cohort starting the course every September. The first semester takes place in Glasgow, the second in Malta and the third in Tallinn. The students have the option of attending summer school in Malaysia at the University Sains Malaysia during the summer months or else work as researchers at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg (UIL).
The course covers both theoretical and practical aspects of adult education with one of the two placements taking place in Malta during the second semester. The placement in Malta is co-coordinated by Professor Carmel Borg and Professor Peter Mayo.
The taught units during the Malta seminar are those of Adult Education and Difference, taught by Professor Peter Mayo, and Developing a Curriculum in Adult Education, taught by Professor Carmel Borg. While in Malta, the students follow an online course in Research Methods provided by the Open University of Cyprus (course leader: Dr. Georgia Solomonidou). Other themes/units tackled throughout the course include Introduction to Adult Education and Training (Professor Peter Mayo), International Issues in Adult Education (Professor Mike Osborne) and Psychology of Adult Learning (Dr. Catherine Lido), Adult Learning Placement (Dr. Bonnie Slade, Amanda Macdonald, Helen Martin) taught at University of Glasgow; Practical Aspects of Adult Education (Professor Larissa Jogi), Theories of Change (Prof. Triin Roosalu), Social Competences in Adult Education (Professor Larissa Jogi and Professor Kriistina Krabi), ‘Professionalization in Adult Education and Prior Learning Recognition (placement themes led by Professors Larissa Jogi and Marin Johnson) at Tallinn University. Students are also required to complete a dissertation.