OSUN event: Student-Centered, Democratic, Engaged: Classroom Challenges and Practices

May 12, 2023

During the training that took place on April 25, 2023, at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in collaboration with the Open Society University Network (OSUN), we took the time to get to know Matyas Szabo better, the Senior Program Manager at the Yehuda Elkana Center for Higher Education of the Central European University (CEU).

Matyas Szabo graduated with an MA from the sociology department of CEU in 1994. And as he likes to say, he never left this place after graduation. He lived and worked for three years in the Czech Republic, where the university he graduated from, before moving to Budapest at the CEU. Two years ago, he continued his work in Vienna. For over twenty years, he has carried on High Education Professional Development for university teachers, initially in course design, curriculum development, syllabus writing, student assessment, etc. Then, through various international development projects, he came across the concept of student-centred and participated in multiple projects.

Now, this concept of student-centred is really in his training area and, as he said:

“I would like to develop here at AUCA.”

This is his third visit to Kyrgyzstan, but the first time he has seen the current campus. During this visit, he moderated discussions about student-centeredness. To explain its link with AUCA, Matyas Szabo reminds us that the CEU was founded in 1991 by Georges Soros, one of the principal founders of AUCA. He claims that AUCA sent some outstanding graduate students to pursue their PhD with them. On the other hand, since the establishment of OSUN, the Open Society has always had close ties with AUCA. There is currently more and more activity with AUCA and the CEO members of this network.

Matyas Szabo considers OSUN to be an excellent network between universities. As a mission, universities must promote the values of the Open Society and contribute to the development of countries, especially emerging democracies. These universities must cooperate within the OSUN network, where perfect coordination exists. The idea is to use the strength of the institutes for the best.

« I think that within this OSUN network, a couple of universities like CEU and AUCA already have established relations that are more like bilateral relations and bilateral projects.”

Matyas Szabo explains that OSUN has now developed a network everywhere. Many projects have emerged, and much money has been invested. It is now a question of sustainability and how this network will survive in the long term.

He is committed to socializing all the values of the Open Society, bringing them to the network of universities. These are values such as cooperation, individual student voice, critical thinking, etc. When he goes to AUCA or other universities in the network, the first undeniable thing is to share the same values. He mainly does faculty development workshops. A fundamental matter for him is to respect students and diversity and learn from each other (teachers and students). Sharing is an idea and an essential value. Another significant matter to him concerns teachers: they must be very enthusiastic about what they do, that is, the question of passion and self-reflection.

 

Since this Tuesday, April 25, Matyas Szabo was invited for training; it was also an opportunity to know the participants’ points of view.

Nargiza Abdyrakhman is a history teacher at TSI and AUCA. She graduated in 2019 AUCA from the Department of Anthropology. And since her graduation, she has been teaching the history of Kyrgyzstan.

She decided to participate in the workshop because it was developed within the framework of OSUN, AUCA's partner. She considers that it can help teachers to develop their skills thanks to sharing from foreign partner universities, but also from the experience of AUCA teachers.

« Today, all activities were useful, what kind of assessment we can use, etc. Also, a big topic afternoon about the usage of AI in teaching and learning and how we can manage with this new technology.”

 

For Nargiza Abdyrakhman, this type of workshop is essential for teachers in modern society because they need to develop every day. There is much information, and you need to read and set yourself to stay competitive to teach students knowledge and remain at a high level. This is why this teacher is looking for a way to continue to develop every day, and this workshop is, according to her, an excellent way. Of course, training takes a long time and is sometimes tricky, but you have to try.

This workshop type is essential for Nargiza Abdyrakhman to learn from her colleagues from foreign universities, network, and socialization. It’s an opportunity to meet new people, talk with them, and bond. It is not only about meeting colleagues from foreign universities but also about getting to know your colleagues better and exchanging exciting ideas with each other.

« I will try to continue to keep in touch with these people and learn more from them.”

 

 

 

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