Here below you can find all master courses the University Centre offers. All courses are taught in 1-3 week modules running from August through June. See how the courses are organised in the teaching schedule for both programs. Usually 2-3 courses are taught at the same time, but students may only enroll in one course at a time.
The master courses are available to you whether you plan to pursue a degree or just take a course or courses. Please review the options for guest studies to determine how you can apply.
For further information, contact the Administrative Director of Education and Teaching.
Regional Policy Evaluation
- Summer 2026
- Instructor: Krišjānis Veitners
About the course
The course introduces the students to the hands-on practice of evaluation. The teaching is conducted through mini lectures, interactive sessions and occasional guest lectures and a field visit to a local development project. During the course, the students will get useful tips and tools for planning and conducting social research.
Instructor
Krišjānis is an independent Evaluation and Monitoring Expert from Latvia with extensive practical experience across Europe and the Baltic region. Krisjanis works as both a practising evaluator and an educator, and brings real professional dilemmas and field experience directly into the classroom. With close to thirty years of experience leading evaluations, impact assessments, and monitoring assignments, his expertise spans many sectors, including regional development, education, governance, research and innovation, social protection, migration and asylum, transport, housing, and culture. He has a sound knowledge of evaluation models and approaches, their practical application, and the use of quantitative and qualitative methods in evaluation. Krisjanis is also experienced in strategic planning and in developing monitoring and evaluation systems. Regular evaluator for UNICEF ECARO, EU-funded programmes, and national institutions. Founder and Head of the Board of the Latvian Evaluation Society and active member of European evaluation networks (EES, NESE). Krišjānis holds a Master's degree in Evaluation from Saarland University in Germany.
Learning outcome
The course provides an overview of the concepts, processes, and methods of policy and program evaluation in the field of regional policies. Students learn how to plan, prepare, and conduct an evaluation, as well as disseminate the evaluation findings of regional policies and development programs in various contexts.
On completion of the course, a student:
- can describe relevant concepts related to policy and program evaluation
- can define different types of evaluation stakeholders and their roles in the evaluation process
- can apply typical data collection and analysis methods used in regional policy and program evaluation
- can plan, prepare and conduct an external evaluation and self-assessment for a regional development program or a project
- can design data collection instruments (e.g. survey, interview questions)
- can design an evaluation plan and disseminate the evaluation findings effectively to the different stakeholders