results of European projects
LINQ 2013: Call for Papers Published
The call for papers for the 2nd European Conference on "Learning Innovations and Quality" (LINQ 2013) has been released. LINQ 2013's motto is "Innovations and Quality: The Future of Digital Resources". All interested interested researchers are invited to submit their work by the paper submission deadline of February 4th, 2013.
The 2nd European Conference on "Learning Innovations and Quality" (LINQ) has published a call for papers for its upcoming conference in Rome on the 13th and 14th of May 2013. LINQ is the leading annual European Conference on learning innovations and learning quality: organized by the University of Duisburg-Essen, LINQ attracts participants throughout Europe and the successful LINQ 2012 in Brussels was also able to welcome experts from Asia, America and Africa.
This year, LINQ 2013 and its motto “Innovations and Quality: The Future of Digital Resources” addresses and invites experts active in the field of Innovations and Quality in Lifelong Learning (LLL): potential points of access to this field include new learning methods and design, Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), quality standards and certification, human resources development, competences and skills, digital resources, learning materials, and online collaboration and communities. Through these themes, LINQ 2013 will bring together an international audience of various academic and professional backgrounds, providing the foundation for a rewarding exchange of knowledge and experience. Interested researchers and organizations are thus welcome to submit their best work on the conference topics (in detail below) by the 4th of February 2013 (paper submission deadline).
“The dialogue at LINQ 2012 in Brussels demonstrated several critical points of potential development regarding the relationship between learning quality and innovation,” says Christian M. Stracke, LINQ Conference Chair and international ISO Convener for learning quality from the University of Duisburg-Essen. “This year’s motto emphasizes the importance of digital repositories and their usage in lifelong learning and improving learning innovations and learning quality. We look forward to meeting researchers and practitioners from Europe and all over the world interested in sharing and presenting their inventive approaches!”
The LINQ 2013 call for papers invites all experts and practitioners to contribute to LINQ’s dialogue through the submission of high-quality papers describing fully-developed results, on-going work or innovative concepts related to the following topics:
• Innovations and future trends in Learning, Education and Training (LET)
• Quality improvement and learning outcome orientation in LET
• Harmonization of innovations and quality development in LET
• Digital resources, online repositories and metadata for online objects
• Web 2.0, Social Media and Online Communities for LET
• Open access, open educational resources and user-generated content
• Technology‐Enhanced Learning for schools, universities and lifelong learning
• Learning quality in vocational education and training and HR
• Implementation of learning innovations and quality improvements
• Knowledge, innovation and ideas management in LET contexts
• Standardisation of LET design, production and services
• Quality management, standards, and certification in LET
• Competence and skills development in lifelong learning
• Quality and standardization of learning assessment and evaluation
Submissions of papers related to the conference (max eight pages) must be sent by February 4th, 2013, using the official LINQ template. All papers will be reviewed by the international scientific LINQ Programme Committee through double-blind peer review. Submitters will be informed of their acceptance by the 20th of March 2013. All accepted papers can be presented at the LINQ conference, will be published in the official proceedings of the European conference (with ISBN) and distributed to all conference participants as well as throughout Europe. Specific guidelines and requirements can be found on the conference website at www.learning-innovations.eu.
Attendance at the European conference "Learning Innovations and Quality" (LINQ 2013) is subject to a conference fee (early bird rate: 90 €) and requires registration through the LINQ website, as places are limited. The conference fee includes all provisions including a warm 3-course lunch, the coffee breaks, the conference bag, and the official conference proceedings. At least one author has to register for the publication of an accepted paper.
Overview of the important dates:
- Paper submission deadline: 4th of February 2013
- Notification of acceptance: 20th of March 2013
- Camera-Ready copy due: 31st of March 2013
- LINQ Conference days: 13th and 14th of May 2013 in Rome
For the latest information on the conference, please visit and like the LINQ Conference Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LINQConference and follow the LINQ Conference Twitter account at www.twitter.com/LINQ_Conference. Direct enquiries and full papers can be sent to the LINQ Conference Manager Mrs Anne-Christin Tannhäuser, at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Germany, via e-Mail to: anne.tannhaeuser (at) icb.uni-due.de
New VET and E-Learning Standard NP4512:2012 Now Available
The European Lifelong Learning Programme research project Q-Cert-VET has announced the availability of the new and tested VET standard NP4512 - “Training Management System, Including Technology-Enhanced Learning – Requirements” for certification bodies and training institutions.
The Q-Cert-VET project has announced that the standard NP 4512:2012 "Vocational training management system, including technology enhanced learning – requirements” is now available after initial testing and publication. Due to approval of certification scheme OEC010 by the Portuguese Institute for Accreditation (IPAC) on November 23rd, all certification bodies can apply to IPAC for accreditation and thus gain the ability to certify training institutions with the standard. Furthermore, all training institutions can now request accredited certification for their management system, if it has been implemented in accordance with the requirements of NP4512. “We are very satisfied with the progress of the standard and the potential it has shown in the first pilot-tests,” remarked Christian M. Stracke, scientific coordinator of the Q-Cert-VET project and ISO Convener of the international standard committee ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36 WG5 Quality Assurance and Descriptive Frameworks, “thus it is with great joy that we announce its general availability to all relevant certification bodies and training institutions.”
Q-Cert-VET partners in Portugal, Germany, and Romania responsible for pilot-testing have been active since the beginning of the public inquiry phase last April. Pilot-testing began in Portugal with the initial version of the standard in the Portuguese language, allowing for punctual testing without the need for translation. Two different training companies in Portugal, Prisma and iZone, have been using the standard to assist in structuring their training programmes. The Prisma Training Institute, located in Lisbon, has adopted NP 4512:2012 to its various training offers in the fields of IT and project management. iZone Knowledge Systems, also located in Lisbon, is using the standard in similar fields. Their use of the standard provided the first feedback on its practical advantages, helping to prepare the standard for its international application at Q-Cert-VET pilot-testing partners in Romania and Germany. They now await auditors to examine their implementation of NP4512 and to determine that it fulfils the prescribed requirements.
The implementation process of the Portuguese Standard NP4512:2012 at the Regional Training Centre for Local Public Administration Cluj-Napoca has been systematically and successfully carried out. Active preparations for the pilot test started in July 2012, before the Romanian version of the NP4512:2012 had been delivered and the actual implementation process could be started, the Romanian project team prepared themselves by getting familiar with ISO 9000:2005 and ISO 9001:2008, since CRFCAPL possessed no implemented quality management system and thus no experience with the terminology and requirements of such standards. However, this lack of specific knowledge proved to be no impediment at all for the conduct of the pilot testing. According to CRFCAPL, once the project team became acquainted with the Portuguese Standard all worries were lifted – the new standard successfully extracted the structure and requirements of ISO 9001:2008 and integrated them into the context of training institutions. Thus, most of the requirements seemed very precise and self-explanatory to the CRFCAPL team. The more complex requirements are accompanied by notes explaining terms and statements which could give raise to uncertainties. All of these, together with the very useful annexes which add informative value to the standard, provided great help during the implementation process. As soon as the training centre concludes its preparations, auditors trained in NP4512 will investigate its implementation in the Romanian context.
In Germany, Q-Cert-VET pilot-testing partner Helliwood Media & Education is underway with the implementation of NP4512 through certification scheme OEC010. Helliwood is currently identifying and defining the processes and sub-processes required for the structure of the new standard. As Helliwood had already implemented another standard, the “Quality Mark E-Learning” (QSEL), a comparison of the QSEL with the NP4512 made particularly evident the innovative aspects of the new NP4512 standard. The new standard fits Helliwood’s needs for E-Learning very well – their typical work processes include the development, implementation, and maintenance of professional multimedia and E-Learning applications for clients and in cooperation with different partners projects within the fields of learning and literacy, media competence, and community. As with the other pilot-testing companies, auditors trained in NP4512 will examine their implementation of the new standard, to ensure that the proper steps have been taken and that Helliwood’s identified work processes fit its requirements. Thus an example case for the applicability of the standard in the German national context will be established.
For more information on the Q-Cert-VET project and the standard NP4512, as well as more specific information concerning its pilot-testing phase (upon its conclusion), please visit the project website at www.edu-certification.eu/, like the project’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/QCertVET, and follow the project Twitter account at twitter.com/#!/QCertVET for the latest project news.
European Conference on Quality in VET Practices and lessons learnt from successful EQAVET implementation at national level
In 2010, the EACEA issued a call for proposals “to support national projects for the development of a national approach to improve the quality assurance of vocational education and training systems by promoting and developing the use of the European quality assurance reference framework in vocational education and training (EACEA/09/2010). ”Five pilot projects were selected. These projects tested EQAVET as an instrument to promote a shared culture of quality assurance.
For their testing, the projects chose to target different systemic levels:. The projects mostly focused on national contexts of initial VET and continuous professional development. The projects were expected to develop original approaches to Quality Assurance by adopting the EQAVET framework. Consequently, they had to do stocktaking and description of existing practices and current initiatives, design, develop and implement Quality Assurance at the chosen level, use, implement and maintain of tools and methodologies, design a broad and specific communication campaign and establish lasting stakeholders relations.
Making an inventory of results and outcomes
The projects approached EQAVET from a wide perspective. They have prepared stocktaking and inventory reports, manuals for quality assurance, curricula and certification process for quality managers, communication strategy for involving stakeholders in Quality assurance and Guidelines. These documents contribute to a growing of the amount of needed information, innovative examples and guidelines on the implementation of EQAVET at different systemic levels (institutional, VET providers and schools).
The projects also tested their approach and tools towards developments and combinations of the existing quality cultures . The work of the pilot projects was a crucial opportunity to get stakeholders on board on quality issues at a larger scale.
Aims of the conference
The conference will host 150 persons bringing together representatives of the national ministries, stakeholders (social partners, VET providers, sectoral representatives, industries VET learners and chambers) and multipliers (Lifelong learning programme National Agencies).
The main aims of the conference are to
- Offer an overview of the results of the work of the EQAVET projects;
- Share methods and tools elaborated by the projects;
- Take stock of the common challenges;
- Reflect on the needs for further development of EQAVET.
The outcomes of the conference will be presented in detail in the next issue of the EQAVET projects Newsletter in February 2013
New service unlocks project information on CORDIS
The European Union has some of the world's best research facilities and most accomplished researchers. Harnessing their full potential will help turn novel ideas into jobs, green growth and social progress. To facilitate this, the European Commission finances, either wholly or partially, a wide range of individual research and technology development projects. Details about many of these can be found on the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) - the primary information source for EU-funded projects.
A new Projects Service, launched on 16 January 2012, will enhance the role of CORDIS. Designed not only to be a comprehensive reference point for project participants, coordinators and stakeholders, the service will also make information and data available to wider audiences.
CORDIS has project records covering a myriad of science, technology and research-related fields and topics. Dating from before 1986 to the present, they relate to not only the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), but also previous Framework Programmes. The new service will use the breadth of the CORDIS repository as a base to bring together a wide variety of information related to individual projects, including:
- project details such as description, funding, programme;
- project results such as documents, reports, summaries;
- links;
- publications;
- multimedia;
- information and details on project participants.
The new Projects Service will unlock content, standardise the presentation of project information, and help users to find out more.
Project records are added to the database once they are made available to CORDIS by the Commission service responsible. The new service provides tools and pointers that can help filter and facilitate search queries.
Even when a project has finished, specific project information can help with result development, the planning of new initiatives, the indication of new research avenues and more.
For more information, go to http://cordis.europa.eu/projects/
Poland's best learning mobility projects awarded in Sopot
"Mobility from Childhood to Seniority" was the theme of the EDUinspiration Awards, which was organised by the Polish National Agency for the Lifelong Learning Programme. In the category "institutional mobility" the first prize went to "Giving Heart to European Senior Citizens", a Leonardo da Vinci project from Nowy Sącz which partly focused on home-care for elderly people. In the category "individual mobility" the first prize was given to "Creating E-learning Courses – Hands-on Tools and Practical Tips" which allowed Beata from Poland to do a Comenius in-service training in Malta.
The aim of the competition was to highlight successful cross-border learning projects which received support from Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Grundtvig. These programmes offer the opportunity to acquire new competencies, learn languages, exchange experience and good practices. The end result will be higher quality of education across Europe.
The laureates were selected among 134 eligible Polish projects carried out between 2008 and 2010. The jury awarded six EDUInspiration prizes evaluating candidates in terms of effectiveness of the project, efficiency, impact, sustainability of results. In addition, the experts decided to award 12 honourable distinctions for the projects which demonstrated innovative approach in dissemination of the achieved results.
The awards gala was held on 18 October 2011 during the Mobility Conference in Sopot, Poland. Each award winning project received a statuette and a diploma.
The winning projects are:
Institutional Mobility
1st Prize
Giving Heart to European Senior Citizens
Jadwiga Wolska Post-Secondary School for Medical and Social Workers in Nowy Sącz
Project coordinators: Agata Piwowar, Barbara Kafel
Leonardo da Vinci (vocational education and training) - Initial Vocational Training
2nd Prize
Amazing Europe
No.1 Integration School Compound in Łódź, No. 67 Janusz Korczak Integration Primary School in Łódź
Project coordinator: Julita Skulimowska-Wilk
Comenius (school education) - Multilateral School Partnerships
3rd Prize
Community Based Rehabilitation in Neurology - Training Programme
EU Sp. z o.o.
Project coordinator: Anna Czernuszenko
Leonardo da Vinci (vocational education and training) - Partnerships
Individual Mobility
1st Prize
Beata Stępień
Creating E-learning Courses – Hands-on Tools and Practical Tips
No 1 Primary School with Integration Forms in Racibórz
Comenius Programme (school education) - In-service Training
2nd Prize
Iwona Przemyk
ICT for Collaborative, Project-Based Teaching and Learning
School and Preschool Compound in Studzienice
Comenius (school education) - In-service Training
3rd Prize
Piotr Sikora
Triple T – Theory, Teaching, Technology: Teaching and Learning with ICT
Municipal Office in Tarnowiec
Transversal Programme – Study Visit
Here is a short story of each of the projects.
Good Practices for Dissemination and Valorisation of Educational Projects
The DiVa consortium will carry out European studies about successful educational projects in its members countries /AT, BG, PT, IT, FI, NL/ as well as all over Europe. It will define criteria for evaluation of successful educational projects and will elaborate a best-practice catalogue.
DiVa action plan includes:
- Conduction of focus group interviews in order to develop special criteria for evaluation of successful educational projects.
- Development of database with projects in the sphere of education, culture and Europe.
- Evaluation of the projects and elaboration of the best practices which will be included in best-practice catalogue
- Development of handbook for dissemination, valorization and sustainability of educational project
- Preparation of recommendations to the EC
EDEN Website Unveils New Design and User-friendly Features
www.eden-online.org, the homepage of EDEN – European Distance and E-learning Network received a new outfit with special attention paid to enriched information access and networking support. Refreshed in the 20th Anniversary Year of the Association, the website provides easy navigation and access to Fresh News, the Members’ community portal, to Conference pages further the repository of conference papers and EURODL, the online e-learning journal.
The new portal reflects the Association’s commitment to openness and user-friendliness for enhanced networking. The innovative design is supported by award-winning open source technology and implemented changes requested by users. It provides structured and quick access to information academic publications including high quality articles of the European Journal of Open, Distance and E-learning as well as the latest news on events and results of European projects.
Eden-online.org launched its online networking and community service for members in the Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP Area) last year which is now integrated to the public website. The portal features impressive collection of conference keynote presentations and research papers published via the EDEN Conference Proceedings.
With the new portal, EDEN substantially improves communication services for members and partners, including social online community services such as Facebook, Twitter and Slide-share.