Overview and Analysis of Practices with Open Educational Resources in Adult Education in Europe

OER4Adults aimed to provide an overview of Open Educational Practices in adult learning in Europe, identifying enablers and barriers to successful implementation of practices with OER. The project was conducted in 2012-2013 by a team from the Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, funded by The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS). The project drew on data from four main sources: • OER4Adults inventory of over 150 OER initiatives relevant to adult learning in Europe • Responses from the leaders of 36 OER initiatives to a detailed SWOT survey • Responses from 89 lifelong learners and adult educators to a short poll • The Vision Papers on Open Education 2030: Lifelong Learning published by IPTS Interpretation was informed by interviews with OER and adult education experts, discussion at the IPTS Foresight Workshop on Open Education and Lifelong Learning 2030, and evaluation of the UKOER programme. Analysis revealed 6 tensions that drive developing practices around OER in adult learning as well 6 summary recommendations for the further development of such practices

Promoting learner autonomy through multiliteracy skills development in cross-institutional exchanges

This contribution presents findings from two empirical case studies, which followed a task-based telecollaborative learning format. Participants included student teacher trainees, tutors, and language learners from colleges/universities in Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The projects aimed at promoting learner autonomy through awareness raising of modes and meaning-making online and multiliteracy skills development based on hands-on analysis of web resources and social networking tools. It was hoped that this awareness would foster the teachers' own autonomy in virtual learning environments and enable them to design tasks which—in turn—would promote learner autonomy as understood by Palfreyman (2006): the informed use of a range of interacting resources in context. We argue that this awareness is reflected in enhanced multimodal communicative competence, i.e., “the ability to understand the combined potential of various modes for making meaning” (Royce, 2002, p. 92), and multiliteracy, with the latter allowing teachers and learners to realize the potential of blended and online only settings for language acquisition purposes. Ideally then, while becoming gradually more versed in multimodality and multiliteracy, learners can also take over more control and self-direct their own learning when working online (Benson, 2001) which are also characteristics of autonomy

Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution - A response to Industry 4.0 challenges

Many countries are now entering the stage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also referred to as Industry 4.0, in which technological advances enable significant changes in industry. Industry 4.0 will not only increase resource and time efficiency, it will also change the way people work. The Universities of the Future (UoF) project aims to address the educational needs arising from Industry 4.0 in Europe by creating educational offerings in collaboration between industry, universities, and public bodies. To this end, the project takes two approaches: the identifying of skills required for succeeding in the Industry 4.0 environment, and a report on Industry 4.0 challenges and education focusing on Finland, Poland and Portugal. This thesis serves as part of that report. One of the most important challenges is skilled labour scarcity, which has forced companies and countries to find novel ways to attract or create talent. For every professional, a good understanding of their own discipline is the basis for job performance, but it is also necessary to have the curiosity and motivation to continue lifelong learning, and to have a wider vision that allows them to understand complex problems or situations. Mastering the scientific process and developing creative thinking helps develop problem-solving skills. In addition, everyday life requires working effectively and communicating with people from different backgrounds, and the possibility to learn from our peers. Particularly when developing technology for human use, the synergy of work with people from different disciplines and backgrounds is key. Human work in the fourth industrial revolution is not meant to be discarded, but its role must transform in order to thrive and find new solutions to increasingly complex challenges

Promoting innovation in developing countries: a conceptual framework

The author provides a conceptual framework for approaching the promotion of technological innovation and its diffusion in developing countries. Innovation climates in developing countries are, by nature, problematic, characterized by poor business and governance conditions, low educational levels, and mediocre infrastructure. This raises particular challenges for the promotion of innovation. The latter should be understood as the diffusion of technologies-and related practices-which are new to a given context (not in absolute terms). What matters first is to provide the necessary package of support-technical, financial, commercial, legal, and so on-with flexible, autonomous agencies adapting their support and operations to the different types of concerned enterprises. Facilitating and responding to the emergence of grass-root needs at the local level is also essential. Support to entrepreneurs and local communities should be primarily provided in matching grant forms to facilitate the mobilization of local resources and ownership. It is of primary importance to pay the greatest attention to country specificities, not only in terms of development level, size, and specialization, but also in terms of administrative and cultural traditions. At the global level, major issues need also to be considered and dealt with by appropriate incentives and regulations: the role of foreign direct investment in developing countries'technological development, conditions of technologies'patenting and licensing, the North-South research asymmetry, and brain drain trends.Innovation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Research,Poverty Assessment,Health Monitoring&Evaluation

National research and development project on healthy universities: final report

This report presents the findings of a National Research and Development Project, undertaken by the Healthy Settings Development Unit at the University of Central Lancashire and funded by the Higher Education Academy Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre and the Department of Health. The aim of the project was to scope and report on the potential for a national programme on Healthy Universities that could contribute to health, well-being and sustainable development. The project comprised four strands: - Literature Review: A rapid review of relevant academic and policy-related literature conducted in order to clarify theory, scope practice and distil key contextual issues. - HEI-level Research: Comprising an overview audit and follow-up mapping and consultative research, this strand of the project provided an overview of Healthy University activity across English HEIs, generated in-depth data from a purposive sample of universities and explored perspectives on the potential development of a national programme on Healthy Universities. - National-Level Stakeholder Research: Using semi-structured interviews with nine key national stakeholder organisations, this strand of the project mapped current health-related roles and responsibilities and explored views regarding the potential development of a national programme on Healthy Universities. - Joint Action Planning and Reporting: In addition to reporting interim findings at relevant conferences and events, an interactive workshop was held with members of the English National Healthy Universities Network to present findings, validate data, inform the action planning process and secure further buy-in. The project highlighted that higher education offers enormous potential to impact positively on the health and well-being of students, staff and the wider community through education, research, knowledge exchange and institutional practice. It also suggested that investment for health within the sector will further contribute to core agendas such as staff and student recruitment, experience and retention; and institutional and societal productivity and sustainability. The research revealed the richness of activity taking place within HEIs and evidenced a rapid increase in interest in the Healthy University approach, pointing to a growing appreciation of the need for a comprehensive whole system approach that can map and understand interrelationships, interactions and synergies within higher education settings – with regard to different groups of the population, different components of the system and different health issues. There is a clear challenge involved in introducing and integrating ‘health’ within a sector that does not have this as its central aim, is characterised by ‘initiative overload’, is experiencing resource constraints and comprises fiercely autonomous institutions. However, there is also a widening recognition that such a system-based approach has significant added value – offering the potential to address health in a coherent and joined-up way and to forge connections to both health-related targets and core drivers within higher education. The report concludes that there is clear demand for national-level stakeholder organisations to demonstrate leadership through championing and resourcing a Healthy Universities Programme that not only adds value within the higher education sector, but also helps to build consistency of approach across the entire spectrum of education. It issues a number of recommendations with a view to responding to the findings and moving forward

Worldwide Workshop on Youth Involvement as a Strategy for Social, Economic and Democratic Development

Summarizes January 2000 discussions on building capacity in the field of youth service. Explores connections with social capital, economic productivity, adolescent development, marginalized youth, civic engagement, and policy. Includes country summaries