Varkey George - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Varkey George
Generally, project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are mandatory actions throughout the project p... more Generally, project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are mandatory actions throughout the project planning, implementation and conclusion phases. Although the terms monitoring and evaluation go together, evaluation is usually conducted after the project is completed and is typically included as part of the project report, while monitoring is a continuous process of ongoing data collection and feedback. This aspect is often neglected. Although M&E guidelines for practitioners are in abundance, and advocacy for the use of specific models of M&E are aplenty, there is a deficit of scholarly publications on M&E of capacity development projects in higher education in particular. Furthermore, research guiding future M&E endeavours based on lessons learnt before and during the pandemic, is found wanting. The three authors, in different roles, are part of an Erasmus+ co-funded project that aims to build capacity for curriculum transformation through internationalisation and development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). COIL is an inclusive approach to provide all students with virtual internationalised learning experiences without having to travel. Taking an insiders' perspective and sharing our experiences in this project, this paper should inform future M&E of capacity building projects.
Origin and Spatial Distribution of Fluoride in Aquifers of Ambalapuzha Basin, Alappuzha District, Kerala, South India
Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, 2016
Adapting a capacity-development-in-higher-education project: Doing, being and becoming virtual collaboration
In November 2019, scholars and practitioners from ten higher education institutions celebrated th... more In November 2019, scholars and practitioners from ten higher education institutions celebrated the launch of the iKudu project. This project, co-funded by Erasmus+1, focuses on capacity development for curriculum transformation through internationalisation and development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual exchange. Detailed plans for 2020 were discussed including a series of site visits and face-toface training. However, the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the plans in ways that could not have been foreseen and new ways of thinking and doing came to the fore. Writing from an insider perspective as project partners, in this paper we draw from appreciative inquiry, using a metaphor of a mosaic as our identity, to first provide the background on the iKudu project before sharing the impact of the pandemic on the project's adapted approach. We then discuss how alongside the focus of iKudu in the delivery of an internationalised and transformed...
This paper is based on a case study which has transformed the size and shape of a rather small en... more This paper is based on a case study which has transformed the size and shape of a rather small entrepreneurial exercise. The paper adopts an inductive rather than a deductive approach and makes discussion of clusters of experiences in the light of available theory. The adopted strategies were not originally informed by theory other than mere attempts at innovative and creative strategies, driven by a passion to solve some of the issues that the young South African democracy was facing. Nonetheless, as I have been later reading the theories and writings on social entrepreneurship, I can see that the adopted strategies fall well within the theoretical framework which were developed from such previous experiences by other social entrepreneurs and writers on the subject, and thus validates the strength of the theories of social entrepreneurship.
Generally, project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are mandatory actions throughout the project p... more Generally, project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are mandatory actions throughout the project planning, implementation and conclusion phases. Although the terms monitoring and evaluation go together, evaluation is usually conducted after the project is completed and is typically included as part of the project report, while monitoring is a continuous process of ongoing data collection and feedback. This aspect is often neglected. Although M&E guidelines for practitioners are in abundance, and advocacy for the use of specific models of M&E are aplenty, there is a deficit of scholarly publications on M&E of capacity development projects in higher education in particular. Furthermore, research guiding future M&E endeavours based on lessons learnt before and during the pandemic, is found wanting. The three authors, in different roles, are part of an Erasmus+ co-funded project that aims to build capacity for curriculum transformation through internationalisation and development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). COIL is an inclusive approach to provide all students with virtual internationalised learning experiences without having to travel. Taking an insiders' perspective and sharing our experiences in this project, this paper should inform future M&E of capacity building projects.
Origin and Spatial Distribution of Fluoride in Aquifers of Ambalapuzha Basin, Alappuzha District, Kerala, South India
Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, 2016
Adapting a capacity-development-in-higher-education project: Doing, being and becoming virtual collaboration
In November 2019, scholars and practitioners from ten higher education institutions celebrated th... more In November 2019, scholars and practitioners from ten higher education institutions celebrated the launch of the iKudu project. This project, co-funded by Erasmus+1, focuses on capacity development for curriculum transformation through internationalisation and development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual exchange. Detailed plans for 2020 were discussed including a series of site visits and face-toface training. However, the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the plans in ways that could not have been foreseen and new ways of thinking and doing came to the fore. Writing from an insider perspective as project partners, in this paper we draw from appreciative inquiry, using a metaphor of a mosaic as our identity, to first provide the background on the iKudu project before sharing the impact of the pandemic on the project's adapted approach. We then discuss how alongside the focus of iKudu in the delivery of an internationalised and transformed...
This paper is based on a case study which has transformed the size and shape of a rather small en... more This paper is based on a case study which has transformed the size and shape of a rather small entrepreneurial exercise. The paper adopts an inductive rather than a deductive approach and makes discussion of clusters of experiences in the light of available theory. The adopted strategies were not originally informed by theory other than mere attempts at innovative and creative strategies, driven by a passion to solve some of the issues that the young South African democracy was facing. Nonetheless, as I have been later reading the theories and writings on social entrepreneurship, I can see that the adopted strategies fall well within the theoretical framework which were developed from such previous experiences by other social entrepreneurs and writers on the subject, and thus validates the strength of the theories of social entrepreneurship.