Virtual Innovation and Training for Advancing Faculty Leaders, Digital Competencies, and Research Excellence

forthcoming

VITAL – Virtual Innovations and Training for Advancing Faculty Leaders, Digital Competencies, and Research Excellence – is a strategic capacity-building initiative developed in direct response to the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange call for the Neighbourhood East region. Designed to empower early-career faculty in Georgian and Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), VITAL addresses long-standing structural gaps in mentorship, academic leadership, digital pedagogy, and research development. These challenges, often rooted in post-Soviet academic legacies, include hierarchical governance structures, limited access to career development opportunities, and insufficient institutional support for pedagogical or research innovation. In response to these challenges, VITAL project introduces a sustainable, scalable faculty development framework grounded in core European values such as inclusivity, virtual collaboration, intercultural dialogue and academic integrity. Drawing on the expertise of EU partners and regional HEIs, the project integrates transformative training, virtual exchange, digital tools, and mentorship models to support lifelong learning and sustainable institutional changes. The project is built around four strategic objectives: 1. Enhancing career development through soft skills and academic leadership training tailored to early-career faculty; 2. Strengthening digital competencies through digital and AI-integrated pedagogy; 3. Advancing research and evidence-based faculty development by embedding peer mentorship, methodology workshops, and co-authorship opportunities; 4. Reinforcing European values in institutional practices through policy integration and inclusive leadership frameworks. These objectives are implemented across five interconnected Work Packages, using a phased model that moves from diagnosing institutional needs to enhancing individual competencies, refining training modules, embedding sustainable practice and disseminating results.