1st Best national practice and experience from Lithuania

General information

Name of the good practice:	WoW University – studies for unstoppable women of the future
Name of the organisations in charge:	WoW University – an innovative university for informal education of women. It is a community of professionals, professors and lifelong learning enthusiasts.
Website of the organisation	https://www.wowuniversity.org/
E-mail of the organisation	mes@wowuniversity.org
City	Vilnius
Country	Lithuania
Year	2019
Length of the project/practice	The 12-week course on an innovative platform, packed with theory and practise to help women get started in lifelong learning, preparing for the future.
Is the project/practice ongoing?	The project is ongoing
Link to the training program	https://www.wowuniversity.org/programa/
Language of the practice/program	Lithuanian

Presentation/Description of the method

The courses consist of practical and theoretical lessons taking place both online and in the real world. Lessons take various forms, from podcasts and meeting to virtual assignments. With a unique platform, courses are accessible to every woman. During the 12-week course women learn about creativity, self-discovery, collaboration and the realization of ideas. These are key soft skills that, according to research, will be more important than technical skills for career success in the near future. These modern courses are taught by Lithuania lecturers, scientists, writers and creators, who apply the latest techniques personally and can share even their work secrets. All the knowledge, experiences and skills that students learn and develop are holistic and easy to apply not only in their professional, but also in personal lives. The 12-week training course consists of:

12 lectures (each lasting 2.5 hours). A total of 30 hours of unique material. Lectures are designed to be easily understood by different women and involve them in applying the knowledge they have acquired. Teachers share not only knowledge, relevant information, but also examples of real situations. It also provide effective advice and practical homework, as university motto is: knowledge + experience = skills.
24 virtual mentor audio recordings (podcasts). WoW podcasts (conversations) are conversations with teachers, mentors and prominent people about how knowledge and self-reliance have helped them in different situations. These live 20-minute audio episodes that women can listen to on the way to work or daily activities.
12 homework. Each lecture is followed by weekly assignments, which are recommended until the day of the team assignment. During the course women will be able to discuss the tasks and their results in cozy virtual meetings with other participants.
12 team tasks (virtual meetings/calls). Sharing experience and open communication with one another is one of the most important parts of WoW University methodology. It allows women to discuss tasks without fear, share difficulties, or help each other to overcome them. Each week women are introduced to 4-6 other classmates and continue to interact with them in a closed class community. Teachers and tutors do not participate in the calls - this is the time for students to communicate with each During the course one person at least twice become the coordinator of such a call and it will learn to be a mentor, a leader. Virtual meetings are extremely useful and practical. Each week, WoW send women not only team tasks, but also guidelines on how to do them, as well as questions women will work on together.
6 question/answer sessions that women can watch live or at their convenience. After each week's lecture women are able to post their own questions that are answered during the Q&A session. Some of the questions teachers even answer personally.
6 inspirational WoW TV interviews. Women receive an interview where the WoW TV hero openly tell about lessons, challenges and obstacles encountered and share how they found motivation to move forward.
free lectures (limited number of places);
access to discussion group communication throughout the course;
the course community. WoW University community is a safe, closed environment designed exclusively for participants. It is a place where they can express their opinion without fear of being misunderstood or unheard. Women can discuss, share ideas and stories, discover interesting new people and new topics. Most importantly, they can receive strong and needed support.

General objectives

WoW University courses develop the skills needed in business and life today and in the future as creativity, ability to accept change, critical thinking, development of personal expertise, smooth communication, self-motivation, empathy and the ability to cooperate. The course focuses on teamwork and the development of practical skills in groups, bringing women together to develop new ideas or even start businesses. WoW University mission – to promote women learning all life, provide women a supportive community and help women grow in all areas of life.

Why it has been selected as good practice

This project was selected as an example of good practise because it is an innovative platform for informal women education. WoW University not only provides knowledge and skills development-based courses, but also it is a community.

Final comments

Wow University is needed, because women deserve more. We are living in the age of technology, but if we do not know how to use it properly it could become from opportunity to a threat. And the most important that women deserve comfortable conditions for lifelong learning.