RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS

• BeFlex
• Adult education trends and issues in Europe
• REFINE
• UNFOLD
• DOLCETA and DOLCETA Plus
• Associations Project
• EQUIPE
• CEA-N
• Indicators
• ELLPROFT
• ICETEL
• TRANSFINE
• ODELUCE
• ALPINE
• ITES
• CEPROFS 2
• University Centre for Continuing Education of Journalists
• CEPROFS
• ELISC
• TheNUCE-Dis
• F2000
• TheNUCE

BeFlex. Benchmarking Flexibility in the Bologna Reforms.

This project aims to monitor the development of university lifelong learning in the reformed structure of higher education qualifications (the Bologna process), report to next meeting of the Bologna ministers in London in 2007 and promote ULLL as envisaged by their Bergen meeting in May 2005.

For further information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

Adult education trends and issues in Europe. Restricted tender number EAC/43/05.

EUCEN participated in this project led by EAEA (the European Association for the Education of Adults) to produce a report on the current state of adult education in Europe. Pat Davies represented EUCEN and wrote the sections of the report relating to the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning. The full report - Adult Education Trends and Issues in Europe - can be found following this link.

The report was designed to inform the Communication being prepared by the Commission (DGEAC): 'Adult Learning: Its never too late to learn' which was published around the end of 2006. EUCEN has now prepared a response.

REFINE, REcognising Formal, Infomal and Non-formal Education. Joint Action proposal.

The aims of Refine are: to test the tools for a European methodological framework for the recognition of non-formal and informal learning (as recommended by the Transfine project funded under the first Joint Action call); to foster trans-national and trans-sectoral collaboration; to build mutual trust in the practices and procedures. The primary target groups are practitioners, managers and policy makers at institutional, regional, national and European level; the indirect target groups are those with no or few formal qualifications but with skills acquired outside the academy. Refine has 17 partners - universities, vocational training, adult education and youth organisations and involves 12 countries, 5 of which bring experience from the Transfine project. Each country co-ordinator has between 2 and 8 associate partners, a total of 60 organisations including employers and social partners, each of which will act as a 'laboratory' to test tools for recognising non-formal and informal learning with 4-5 real candidates. The results of these tests will be compared: how they have been used in the different settings and different countries, the common elements, the necessary variations for different national and sector contexts, how they can be improved. There will be a virtual meeting place on the web and 2 live meetings in autumn 2004 and autumn 2005, the latter will also be a dissemination event.

For further information, please contact Pat Davies.

(Click on the logo to visit this project's web site).

 

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2003 - 2005: UNFOLD "Understanding New Frameworks of Learning Design". Coordination action.

The aim of this project is to enable Europe to take the lead in the creation and exploitation of the next generation of eLearning system. The goal is to overcome the limitations of the current generation of eLearning systems by accelerating the adoption, implementation, use and further development of open standards that (1) support multiple as well as single learners and (2) support a wide range of present, as well as future, pedagogical models

EUCEN will be a partner in this project and have a role of disseminator.

For further information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

(Click on the logo to visit the official web site).

 

 

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DOLCETA, Developing on-line consumer education and training for adults. DGSANCO (Health and Consumer Affairs).

This is a 2 year project that will create 2 web-based modules of consumer education: one generic module on European consumer rights and redress and one specific one on financial services. The modules will be in all official languages of the EU and will cover the 15 Member States.

DOLCETA Plus was a continuation project to adapt the 2 web-based modules for the 10 new Member States.

The Project Management group is integrated by:

For further information please contact Pat Davies.

(Click on the logo to visit this project web site).

2003 to 2005: Associations project. EAC/37/02/33.

With this project EUCEN will help to provide the networking infrastructure that is a pre-condition for bringing about the developments necessary to promote economic competitiveness and employability, to extend lifelong learning opportunities in higher education, to combat social exclusion and to develop the cultural life of citizens and communities.

The overall aim of the project is to bring lifelong learning closer to the central mission of European universities by improving and extending the services available to existing members of EUCEN, by increasing the membership to include more institutions that are not yet addressing the lifelong learning agenda, and by developing partnerships with key stakeholders and decision makers at European level.

A wide range of activities will be undertaken to achieve these objectives: the development of a web-based resource library, the creation of working groups on topics and themes of current interest, the preparation of new project proposals, improved conference participation, seminars on 'hot topics', study visits, consultancy services, new marketing materials, published articles, visits and presentations at events in non-member universities and other organisations, the development of partnerships with other key European associations, bringing together established and emerging national networks and representation of the association at the European Commission, etc.

For more information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

2002-2005: EQUIPE "European Quality in Individualised Pathways in Education". Grundtvig 4 Proposal.
100291-CP-1-2002-1-PT-GRUNDTVIG-G4.

The main aim of this project network is to take forward the work of the Socrates project (1998-2000) – European Quality in University Adult Learning – ‘EQUAL’. The EQUAL project involved mutual evaluation visits between partner institutions to compare and analyse their quality projects in university adult and continuing education. The main outcome was a handbook on quality in university adult education.

EQUIPE will continue and enrich that work, developing it into a package of tools in different media, exploiting the expertise of the team involved in the earlier project and adding new partners in additional countries. In addition, the original project focussed on quality issues around some aspects of the services and courses provided by the universities; this new project network will address the missing elements on the supply side but will focus primarily on quality issues around the individualised learning pathways from the perspective of the learners. Thus it will promote the dissemination of concrete products and contribute to the dissemination of good practice in lifelong learning.

Led by the University of Porto, with EUCEN as Coordinator. 25 member universities will be partners in this project network.

For further information, please contact the EQUIPE project office.

(Click on the logo to visit the official web site).

 

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CEA-N, Consumer Education for Adults Network. Grundtvig 4 proposal.

Consumer education is needed to deliver the knowledge, skills and values to help adults cope with life, understand their rights and make informed decisions and obtain redress.

Consumer education is an important EU and United Nations priority. In most country's formal education systems however, it is not a single discipline in its own right, but a cross-curricular subject involving most of the school curriculum. Its impact and support at governmental level varies across countries and so projects and networks (particularly Europe-wide) are essential to bring practitioners together and disseminate good practice.

Consumers are asked to be critical and informed consumers but may not know how to acquire the appropriate skills The formal school system in many countries has failed to deliver these skills and values and adults need consumer education through both formal and informal means. With increasingly varied societies consumer education will help to produce active responsible citizens, while citizenship is an essential element of the delivery of consumer education to adults.

Increasing globalisation and business power necessitate ethical and sustainable business practices and dialogue with an informed, educated and empowered consumer will strengthen the market place to the benefit of both consumers and business.

EUCEN will be an Associate Partner in this project.

For further information please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

2003 to 2005: INDICATORS "Developing and testing Indicators for monitoring and measuring stakeholder organisations in Learning Cities and Regions". R3L iniciative.

This project proposes to develop and test Lifelong Learning indicators to help stakeholder organisations and Learning Cities and Regions measure and monitor progress and performance. The stakeholders include Schools, Universities, Adult Education Organisations, Teacher Training Insitutions and Local Government itself. A secondary, but no less important, output will be an expanding network of European expertise centres focussing upon issues relating to the Learning City and Region.

INDICATORS will use as reference sources

1. Previous work done in Commission projects, including TELS (Towards a European Learning Society) and NewTELS,
2. Lifelong learning expertise centres, existing Learning City and Region networks (eg NewTELS) and Lifelong Learning NGOs
   
3. Books and papers , including the prospective project advisor's books on Lifelong Learning and Learning Cities, Learning City Conference Reports, Commisson papers and sources from the internet

The indicator audit tools will be comprehensive and based solely on Lifelong Learning criteria, covering all relevant domains and allowing city/regions and many organisations to audit themselves as 'Learning Organisations', thereby enabling them to play their part in the development of the Learning Region. A website will be created for data delivery, analysis and dissemination. Several of the partners, including the project advisor, Professor Norman Longworth, were involved in the Commission's policy development process, which resulted in the R3L programme.

EUCEN will act as evaluator and a channel for dissemination. For more information, please contact Mike Osborne at the University of Stirling.

2002-2005: ELLPROFT "European Life learning Professional Training". Grundtvig 1 Proposal.
100724-CP-1-2002-1-FR-GRUNDTVIG-G1PP.

ELLPROFT is built on the previous experience developed by the CEPROFS project. The objective of ELLPROFT is to set up a European Network for the Development of the Skills of Social Workers and Adult Training Specialists. The network will record the specific training needs of managers and trainers from the Continuing Education and Social Work Organisations in Europe. This analysis will be enriched particularly by the large amount of work carried out in this field, as well as by the varied experience of the partners. Two series of 10 seminars will be created on a European scale by the partnership. These seminars will cover the extensive thematic fields, all of which aim for a better service given to the adults, in particular to those who need special attention (adults needing social or professional advancement, distant learners, shift workers, handicapped people, migrants, economically, socially or professionally disadvantaged groups, people with family obligations etc). The 20 experimental seminars will run with an average of 15 participants and will concentrate particularly on:

• Social work and adult education management
• Adaptation to adult audiences
• New Learning Techniques and particularly those which make use of Information and Communication Technologies
• Educational practices adapted to different audience categories, in particular those which need special attention
• New needs, particularly those linked to the integration of outcasts of all natures
• Educational and social action policies, particularly those which come under "local development".

The multilateral partnership of this project guarantees that it will be of European dimension and also guarantees involvement with the main players of "Lifelong Learning". It is composed of:

• A European adult education network: EUCEN (European University Continuing Education Network, which groups together adult education bodies from European universities);
• A European network representative of the associations, of the local authorities and of the unformal sector : EAEA (European Association for the Education for Adults);
• 9 university adult education organisations, of which six were already partners of the ACEPROFS project in 2000-2001. We will make the most of their experience and the evaluations which were carried out on the training activities they tested in the environment of Continuing University Education;
• 6 social work training institutes integrated in European Universities;
• 3 private associations or institutions, each one disposing of a particularly interesting expertise to share in one of the spheres of application of Adult Training.

The 20 European seminars will be tested with an internal and external audience of the partnership. The various evaluations and experiences acquired will then allow the partnership to renew and develop even further the action of the ELLPROFT Network, beyond the three years of the project and without European grants.
Ten seminars will be realised from January to June 2004. A second round of ten seminars will happen in 2005.

This project is being led by the Université de Haute Alsace (FR).

For further information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

2002-2003: ICETEL "Improving Continuing Education and Training through e-learning". Preparatory and Innovative Actions: e-Learning Action Plan Proposal. Reference Number: AT 1 elearning 01 2.

Based on experience and knowhow of the project partners, the best approaches to eLearning have been identified and provided to a large target group via a thematic online guide on eLearning in University Continuing Education.

This guide ncludes:

• Guidelines for eLearning in University Continuing Education covering frequently asked questions and valuable application tips to help implementing eLearning in UCE;
• A "Virtual Discussion Forum" - an open platform which enables all interested parties to communicate and exchange information about implementing eLearning for UCE;
• Case studies on best practice of eLearning in UCE;
• Commented references to further information and reading, relevant contacts and links to experts and to other available information.
  

The project started during the EUCEN 2002 Autumn Conference in Vienna. The Vienna University of Technology led it and EUCEN was one of the 14 partners on the project.

For further information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

2002-2003: TRANSFINE "Transfert between Formal, Informal and Non-formal Education". Joint Action Proposal.

The project partnership is built around an inner circle of 5 European networks covering the fields of Socrates, Leonardo and Youth: EUCEN (lead partner), EAEA, FIEEA, AEFP, SEFI. The contractor is the Université de Sciences et Technologies de Lille and the project is coordinated by EUCEN.

The objectives of the project was: to collect, analyse and build on work already carried out at national and EU level in the 3 programme areas and across formal, informal and non-formal education; to investigate the feasibility of an integrated set of procedures for a system of transfer and accumulation of qualifications; to create, develop and propose the principles, methods and tools for such a system; and to construct a specification for pilot projects to test the proposals.

For further information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office or visit the TRANSFINE official web site.

ODELUCE "Open and Distance Education and Learning through University Continuing Education". Minerva Action.

ODELUCE was funded by the Socrates Programme of the European Community as part of the Minerva Action. Minerva seeks to promote European cooperation in he field of Open and Distance Learning and the role of communication and information technology (C&IT) in Education. A particular interest is in the extent to which the use of e-Learning can contribute to the social inclusion of disadvantaged individuals and marginalised communities.

EUCEN was involved in the dissemination of the results and assisted collecting case studies. The project ran up to the end of October 2003. For more information, please contact Alfredo Soeiro.

• Summary of the ODELUCE workshop at the Pécs Conference
  (17 May 2002).

ALPINE "Increasing Adult Education from European Universities".

EUCEN acted as a channel for dissemination. The project ran from 2001 to 2004. For more information, please contact Rob Mark.

Information Technologies in European Sport and SportScience (ITES).

EUCEN will act as a channel for dissemination. The project will finish in 2002. For further information, please contact Pat Davies.

European Training Centre for Managers of European Continuing Education Organisations (CEPROFS 2).

EUCEN acts as a joint co-ordinator and offers one module. The project will run until August 2002. For more information, please contact Arnaud Haeringer.

University Centre for Continuing Education of Journalists. TEMPUS IB_JEP-14425-99.

EUCEN is a partner in this TEMPUS project. The project started in 1999 and will finish 31 December 2001. For further information, please contact the EUCEN Executive Office.

1999-2001: THE "CEPROFS" LEONARDO PROJECT.

This project was led by the University Haute Alsace, Mulhouse – EUCEN was a partner.

This was a Leonardo project developing a set of modules for professional development of university managers and project leaders for UCE. Modules are available on:

• Les financements communautaires pour la formation
• European structural funds and regional development (university - enterprise co-operation in continuing education)
• Stratégies et structures de la formation continue universitaire (FCU)
• Démarche qualité en formation continue
• Guidance, Advice and Information in Continuing Education
• Valider les acquis professionnels et expérienciels
• Marketing and publicity for university continuing education (UCE)
• Technologies en mutation et pratiques innovantes pour la formation continue
• Enseigner avec les technologies de l'information et de la communication: quelle stratégie, pratiques et enjeux

Web: Leonardo Project Website
Contact: Arnaud Haeringer

1997-2001: THE "ELISC" LEONARDO PROJECT.

The European Learning in Small Companies (ELISC) project is led by the University of Stirling – EUCEN is the evaluator.

This project is focused on the development of web-based training programmes for managers of small enterprises. Partners include the Universities of Barcelona, Bari and Lapenraanta and a number of private sector enterprises.

Contact: Mike Osborne

1999-2000: THE "THENUCE-DIS" DISSEMINATION PROJECT
(D26203-CP-2-97-1-BE-ERASMUS-ETN)

For more information about this project, you can visit its website

1999-2000 F2000 "European Higher Education Expert Forum".

The purpose of this Forum was to consider how universities in Europe can best develop new education paths to respond to the rapid changes in European society.

On 24-25 January 2000 EUCEN organised this European Higher Education Expert Forum, ‘F2000’, on behalf of the European Commission.

Some 200 invited experts attended including rectors, deans and other senior managers from universities as well as various networks and stakeholder organisations operating at European level and of course members of EUCEN.

Madame Viviane Reding, the Commissioner for Education and Culture opened the event and assured the participants that the results of the conference would inform the Ministerial Conference in Lisbon in March, for the launch of the new Socrates programme.

The full report of this forum is available from the Commission.

• National Reports for 19 European countries, including: the definition of UCE, academic recognition, the suppliers and providers, financing continuing education, the organisation and regulation of CE, future developments, ...

• A European Report

• A Handbook of Management of UCE
• A European Observatory of UCE
• A Programme of Seminars, Workshops and Conferences
• ICT and Multimedia in UCE
• Dissemination of TheNuce Results
• The Third European Forum on UCE

For more information on these projects, you can visit its website