ICETI 2024
Professor Lela Abdushelishvili
International Black Sea University, Georgia
Practice-Based Teaching as a Win-Win Situation for Students Across Various Disciplines
Lela Abdushelishvili’s 25-year working experience is related to education and humanities. She is an associate professor at International Black Sea University and Caucasus University. She holds qualifications from Cambridge University (CELTA) and Harvard University (Harvard Bok Higher Education Teaching Certificate). Lela is also a corporate trainer and positive psychology consultant in the fields of human resources, leadership, organizational behavior, and business communication. She is an EU-certified trainer and a World Bank translator. She has translated Philip Kotler’s “Principles of Marketing” and Michael Armstrong’s “Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice” into Georgian. Lela has participated in numerous international conferences and serves as a review committee member. Her publications are in the fields of education, teaching methodology, business communication, and organizational development.
Associate Professor Igballe Miftari-Fetishi
International Balkan University, North Macedonia
Assessment in the AI Era: A Challenge or a Must in Contemporary Education?
Assoc. Prof. Igballe Miftari-Fetishi is an Associate Professor of English and Linguistics at International Balkan University in Skopje, North Macedonia. She earned her MA and PhD in English Language Teaching (ELT) from South East European University (SEEU) in Tetovo, North Macedonia. Currently, she serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Education at International Balkan University.
Assoc. Prof. Miftari-Fetishi is also the Editor-in-Chief of The International Journal of Education and Philology, and a member of both the Self-Evaluation Committee and the Ethical Committee at IBU. With 18 years of teaching experience in ELT to university students, she has conducted significant research and published numerous papers.
Her authored books and edited works include:
- “Defining Reading Comprehension from a Different Perspective: A Case Study with Higher Institutions in North Macedonia” (2022)
- A chapter in the edited book “Contemporary Issues in Language Teaching” (2022)
- “Connecting Professional Development to Classroom Practice: An Endless Journey” (2024), a collection of case studies and action research by Eliva Press.
She is also in the process of publishing another book titled “The Integration of Literature and the Skills in Academic Reading”.
Prof. Miftari-Fetishi’s research interests focus on contemporary teaching, teacher professional development, language and assessment, planning and instruction, as well as second language acquisition.
Yelena Istileulova
Socratic Lectures Symposium, University of Ljubljana
Innovative Methods of Teaching and Learning: Integrating Science, Arts, and Health Through the Lens of Time (using SMS approach)
Dr. Yelena Istileulova is a Fulbright scholar (USA: 2000/2001), an Oxford researcher (UK: 2001), and an International Policy Fellow (Hungary: 2003–2005). She is affiliated with several organizations, including the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), where she represents Slovenia in the EU-funded Bologna Hub Peer Support project for 49 countries. Yelena also participates in the Socratic Lectures Symposium (Faculty of Health, University of Ljubljana), FIBAA (Bonn), and works on the accreditation of global Asian universities. She is an evaluator for the European Commission and a STEAM ambassador.
Dr. Yelena earned her PhD from the University of Ljubljana in 2018, specializing in Higher Education Management. Her research and consulting work focused on internationally accredited business schools and global accreditation.
Yelena has received 18 international music prizes for her SMS compositions (Stories Based on Music about Scientists), a method she developed in 2012. In 2024, she was selected as the Global South Arts and Health Ambassador for Europe and Central Asia.