Category: ProjectHp

Each year, through mid-scale projects, KUSA engages in projects that seek to support Kosovo’s education system and increase the quality of teaching and learning by innovation and technology. 2020 KUSA Project aims to support the higher education system by creating an innovative coding platform for computer science professors and students.

Today, students aspiring to become programmers have to undergo paper-based exams. In times of tremendous advancement in technology, delivering paper-based exams for to-be programmers is impractical.

Computer engineering students in many countries take their exams in platforms similar to their coding environment and result in better coding skills. Through Omnescode, professors can create tests to examine the students’ abilities in programming languages in a web application analogous to the setting they exercise, thus ending the old method of pen and paper exams.

KUSA is very proud to bring this solution to the education system in Kosovo by developing a product that answers the needs of the students and professors, and that opens the door to the digitization of the paper-based exams for all departments as it includes a word processor that allows students to write text, math formulas, and other specific tasks.

Once exercises and exams are digital, it will ease students’ writing code tasks and intensify their productivity. On the other hand, Omescode will save professors time and effort in printing out exams, which will be replaced with the web application.

Each year, KUSA aims to create an engaging environment for our Alumni and encourage them to contribute towards civil society involvement and development with regards to Kosovo’s reform efforts in economic, social and cultural spheres. One activity that fosters this principle is Alumni Talks. 

Alumni Talks is an annual activity, held four times during the year. It is designed with the idea of providing our Alumni members a platform to voice their thoughts, opinions or concerns with the U.S. Embassy. Based on the topic, participants will meet with representatives of different sectors of the Embassy. For instance, if the topic is Education, participants will discuss with policymakers from that sector.

In 2020, KUSA talks will be organized during the months of March, June, September, and December. Each month will have a different thematic. The topics for this year are organized as follows:

Education

Depolitization and Institutionalization

Environment and Energy

Kosovo Security Sector

If you have something to say in relation to the topics mentioned above, you are welcome to join our Alumni Talks sessions. This is a great opportunity for Alumni to network with different sectors of the Embassy, as well as meet Mr. Philip S. Kosnett, the US Ambassador to Kosovo. 

HOW TO APPLY?

To become a participant of Alumni Talks, you have to fill out an application form where you state your:

Contact information

The study program

Field of interest

Short description of the issues you want to discuss related to the topic.

We host up to 10 Alumni for each session. All alumni are eligible to apply regardless of your program. Alumni will be chosen based on the quality of their idea they will present on the application form.

Through this grant, the National Gallery of Kosovo tried to engage the young people in productive and artistic activities. Being part of this club gave them the chance to perform a number of activities that often are not included in the school curricula in our schools. The participants were exposed to many forms of creative arts such as photography, art installations, video art, lectures, zine, and visits to art exhibitions. All of these activities gave the young artists the chance to express themselves and to get more information about the visual arts that are applied today.

At the end of the project, an exhibition with all the artwork from the young people was held. There everyone showed the enthusiasm that has followed the project on every step and the happiest were the ARTEEN Club members, whose artistic creations left everyone in awe.

Since the approval of the “Law on the environmentally endangered zone of Obiliq and its surroundings”, it has been little discussed about the process of the implementation of the law.

In order for the inhabitants of Obiliq to know the rights this law brings to them, this small grant launched an informatory webpage called ligjiperobiliqin.info and organized round table panel discussion.

Through the establishment of the open-data webpage, the local communities and CSO can get informed in detail about all the aspects of the policies under this law and are provided with visual and simplified information on the 12 Articles deriving from the Law of Obiliq. This platform now can be used as a window where you can read or share your opinions, complain or ask any question related to the Law of Obiliq.

A round table panel discussion was also organized, where were present local decision-makers and representatives of institutions responsible for the implementation to talk about the challenges of the implementation of the articles that come out of this law.

The Directorate of Education in the Municipality of Prishtina has come to a decision for Primary Schools to spend 30% of their curriculum to extracurricular school activities. Therefore, with KUSA’s experience in Primary School Clubs from the project “Alumni Engagement through Extracurricular School Activities,” the Directorate and KUSA have reached an agreement to collaborate for the implementation of this project.

With this in mind, KUSA will organize a fair where the club’s organizational structure will have the chance to meet KUSA Alumni and different companies operating in Kosovo. The organizational structure is made up of 20-25 students, i.e. the club coordinator who is a full time professor at the school, the president and the vice president who are selected from the students. KUSA alumni will share their experience and expertise, whereas, the companies will share their work as well as the expertise that their company needs and values. Moreover, the clubs that will be established or re-activated are Art, Outdoor Activities, Technology and Debate Club. Therefore, through this fair, the schools will have a chance to develop a curricula for the club which they will follow throughout the school year.

The fair will be organized in the following weeks and KUSA’s help for the schools to develop these clubs will continue throughout the year.