Introducing the new IIEP Global Campus

The new IIEP micro-credential systemis based on learning hours and is aligned with the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).

One IIEP credit is earned through 25 learning hours. A core training course is measured as four credits or 100 learning hours.

"To be a micro-credential, it has to have clear intended learning outcomes, and these learning outcomes need to be measured and assessed against transparent criteria. So that means that if you take a course, you need to know what you will be learning, and we need to be able to measure that," says Pont.

The credits may also later be portable and used at another institution, Pont says.

A diploma in a foundations programme is awarded after completing 18 credits, and a specialized diploma with specific theme courses requires 30 credits.

With a 60-year history in training, IIEP's courses have been developed with professionals in all corners of educational planning and management in mind, Pont said. A flexible curriculum with online and hybrid courses will also now make it possible to reach more people.

"They can do their training while working, and the courses have shorter time frames. The idea is that they can enhance their knowledge on specific topics, and they don't need to travel, and in terms of funding it's easier. It's simpler," she said.

Ninety percent of participants in follow-up surveys say that they are using what they learned in the courses in their day-to-day work.

"We want people to succeed, and have developed the new diploma this way," Pont said.

"It's quite international and at the end, people are very, very engaged with their learning and they want to be part of our alumni network, and they want to continue working together."

Pont's team includes learning designers specialized in creating courses that combine online presentations, exercises, and testing with case studies and hands-on experience.

For an education leadership seminar focused on implementation, for example, participants are asked to visit a school to understand how to bridge the gap between policy and practice.

"The pedagogical approach is focused on people who are working, so we use a lot of case studies, teamwork and adult learning approaches that are based on practice so that they can use it in their own work," Pont said.

"Most of our learners, when they finish, say that they now have the tools and they have the confidence, the self-assurance to be able to do this," she added.

"In theory, when you do effective planning that is focused on implementation, this can result in better learning outcomes in schools."

Throughout her career, Beatriz Pont has worked on education policy, education change, and school leadership internationally. As Global Training Lead at UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), she currently leads a team of specialists to develop the IIEP UNESCO Global Campus and teaches selected courses, such as the new Education Leadership Seminar. Her work focuses on strengthening the capacities of education policy-makers and planners to analyze and formulate sound education policies and implementation plans.

Prior to joining IIEP, she worked at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, where she launched and led OECD countries' education change and implementation support and worked with many different countries in their school improvement reform efforts. She also spearheaded a comparative series on education reforms, Education Policy Outlook, on school leadership, equity and quality in education, and adult learning. Previously, she was a researcher in the Economic and Social Council of the Government of Spain.

Pont teaches Comparative Education Policy at Sciences Po School of International Affairs, Paris, and has written numerous articles and keynotes internationally on leading education change.

Education

• PhD in Political Science, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
• MA in International Relations, Columbia University
• BA in Political Science, Pitzer College, Claremont, California
• Honorary Doctorate, Sheffield Hallam University

After serving as Deputy Training Coordinator at the IIEP-UNESCO Latin America and the Caribbean Office from 2019 to 2020, Mariana Clucellas is currently the Training Coordinator, responsible for team management and the organisation and supervision of regular and customised training programmes and courses.

She began her professional experience in civil society organisations. From 2000 to 2003, she worked at the United Nations Development Programme as Academic Assistant for the National Human Development Report. In 2005, she joined the IIEP-UNESCO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean as a consultant, participating in the design and implementation of training programmes in educational policy planning aimed at ministry officials in the region. She has taught at the University of Lanús and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Argentina. She was also a consultant at the National Institute for Teacher Training in Argentina and coordinator of the Planning Area during 2016 and 2017. She then joined the technical team of the National Directorate of Educational Policy Planning (DNPPE) at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Technology of Argentina until 2019.

She has participated in research related to teacher training and the integration of ICT in education. Additionally, she has authored materials on educational policy planning and management.

Education

• MA in Education, Harvard University
• Postgraduate degree in Non-Profit Organisations, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina
• BA in Political Science, University of Buenos Aires

Khalil Bahloul est expert en formation agricole rurale et pour le secteur informel pour la PEFOP de l'IIPE-Pôle de Dakar.

M. Bahloul intervient dans le développement, la gestion et l'administration d'une offre de formation en pilotage et gestion de l'EFTP ainsi que dans l'appui aux pays partenaires dans l'analyse, la planification et la mise en œuvre de leurs politiques de formation professionnelle.

Il a 19 ans d'expérience dans le secteur de la formation professionnelle. D'abord Ingénieur principal formateur, il a occupé par la suite plusieurs postes au sein du système de formation professionnelle en Tunisie : responsable pédagogique, directeur d'établissements de formation, formateur des formateurs. Il a participé également à des activités d'analyses des dispositifs, stratégies et des opérations de mise en œuvre et d'implantation des programmes de formation professionnelle.

M. Bahloul est Ingénieur en science agricole et porteur d'un DEA en production animale.