During May 03-07, 2022, Technical University of Dresden hosted the Staff Observation Visit and Project Management meetings in the framework of the VALEU-X Erasmus+ CBHE Project. EPOKA University was represented by Dr. Esmir Demaj, Head of the Department of Business Administration, Dr. Nertil Mera, Head of the Department of Banking and Finance, Mr. Tekim Peza, Administrator of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and PhD cand. Besjon Zenelaj. The activity was intended for Kicking-off the international VCL, Shadowing, Workshops & Observation at TUD. Among others,

• The Local Virtual Collaborative Learning VCL course activities were finalized, an experience where 100 Bachelor students from EPOKA University joined for 1 semester.
• The project consortium kicked-off the International Virtual Collaborative Learning (VCL) course activities where students from the MSc in Business Administration study program will team-up with other peers from Albania, Germany, and Slovenia in a virtual case design to pitch their solutions to the Ecotourism sector in Albania. 
• The innovative teaching and learning infrastructure of TU Dresden was observed and the group met with the Pro-Rector for Technology Transfer and Internationalization to discuss about how to further enhance the excellent collaboration we have had so far.

The event started with a Kickoff meeting and a welcoming speech from Professor Eric Schoop and Mattis Altmann who stated the importance of the project and gave important insights about Virtual Collaborative Learning via platforms enabled by communication technologies, and how we can stimulate collaborative learning in general and virtual collaborative learning specifically.

Next, the International Virtual Collaborative Learning (VCL) course activities to be organized with master students from Albania, Germany, and Slovenia were kicked-off in a hybrid setting with physical and virtual participants. The agenda was followed with a training on Flipped Classroom, Digital Teaching and Learning. The activity ended with a workshop on the importance of intercultural collaboration. Representatives of each partner university met with the Pro-Rector for Technology Transfer and Internationalization at TU Dresden and his team to discuss about how to further enhance the collaboration between our institutions and they congratulated us on the further initiatives already taken for future projects.

Afterwards the group attended a detailed visit to the library of TU-Dresden. The library, alongside the very large collection of online journal and sources, had a very rich archive of around 5.6 million printed sources with more than 200 personnel engaged in its functioning. The group visited the Transparent Factory of Volkswagen Group in Dresden where the electric model ID-3 is currently being manufactured. During the site visit the group observed the assembly line of the parts of ID-3 model. During the visit, the factory engineers hosting the group shared some insightful information about the process and some innovative ideas they plan to implement in the near future.

The next stop of this program was a best practice for hybrid teaching and learning in the Knowledge Management course of Professor Schoop. During this event TUD students delivered their well-structured project presentations on the skills and capabilities that are required in virtual learning. The presentations were followed with discussion and feedback from both sides.

During this visit, the group also attended some informal meetings with Albanian and Foreign entrepreneurs in the city of Dresden.