Düzce Provincial Directorate of National Education

About Düzce Provincial Directorate of National Education

Düzce Provincial Directorate of National Education is a public education authority operating under the Ministry of National Education in Türkiye. The Directorate supervises and manages a comprehensive educational network including kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, vocational institutions, public education centres, and vocational training centres.

The institution is responsible for the execution, development, monitoring, and inspection of formal and non-formal education activities across the province. It operates through a structured administrative framework including a Director, Deputy Directors, Education Supervisors, Branch Managers, district directorates, teachers, and administrative staff.

The Directorate has an established Research and Development (R&D) Department, founded in 2009, which is responsible for EU project planning, strategic development, educational research, and project implementation at local and international levels. It is accredited in School Education and Vocational Education and has extensive experience in KA1, KA2, KA210 and KA220 actions.

Role in WE ARE IN VR

As project coordinator, Düzce İl MEM holds overall responsibility for:

• Strategic project governance
• Administrative and financial coordination in accordance with the Grant Agreement

• Quality assurance and monitoring
• Supervision of work plan implementation (24 months duration: 01/12/2024 – 30/11/2026)

• Ensuring coherence between intellectual outputs, dissemination strategy, and European priorities

The Directorate ensures that project activities such as software development, teacher training modules, evaluation meetings, integration workshops, and dissemination events are implemented according to the GANTT structure.

Expertise Relevant to the Project

Düzce İl MEM brings substantial expertise in:

• Foreign language education reform
• Innovative methodology development
• Integration of technological tools in education (including VR and AI-oriented approaches)
• Teacher professional development
• EU project management and transnational coordination

The Directorate has implemented 15 EU-funded projects since the establishment of its R&D unit. It has coordinated and partnered in strategic partnerships focusing on refugee integration, vocational training, digital education, autism education, and mobility actions.

Its experience in addressing systemic challenges in foreign language education—including lack of speaking practice, student motivation issues, and insufficient digital resources—directly informs the conceptual foundation of WE ARE IN VR.

Contribution to Project Activities

Within WE ARE IN VR, the Directorate contributes to:

• Development of innovative foreign language teaching methodologies
• Integration of VR technology into school-based language practice
• Design and implementation of teacher training modules
• Monitoring and evaluation tools for measuring student progress
• Establishment of a sustainable cooperation platform for foreign language teaching

The institution ensures coherence between pedagogical objectives and technological innovation, particularly in strengthening students’ speaking skills and self-confidence through immersive virtual environments.

European Added Value

The transnational dimension of the project responds to shared European challenges in foreign language education, including multilingualism, student motivation, and digital transformation.

Through coordination of partners from Türkiye, Spain, Italy, Romania, and the Netherlands.

Düzce İl MEM facilitates:

• Cross-country exchange of best practices
• Development of scalable VR-based language learning models
• European-level dissemination and sustainability strategies

Its position as a regional education authority ensures systemic impact beyond individual institutions, contributing to sustainable innovation in school education at European scale.