Distance learning courses in engineering in the EU-27

The European Union is facing a scarcity of skilled professionals in the field of nuclear energy, especially at the higher educational levels. This is mainly due to the worldwide reduction in public acceptance of everything nuclear in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents, occurred in 1979 and 1986 respectively. These accidents have led to a decreased interest in nuclear education and thus to a “generational gap”, where the skilled nuclear workforce is on the verge of retirement or has already retired, and the new generation of nuclear workers does not have the numbers to cover the needs of the industry. The present report, commissioned by the CAPTURE Action of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, has the aim of complementing other European initiatives in the field of nuclear Education & Training by analyzing the availability of eLearning courses in nuclear and nuclear-related fields across the EU-27. This report gives an overview of the eLearning tools and frameworks available on the market and analyzes the main types of eLearning. A list of the eLearning courses offered by Universities in Europe is presented, along with contact details and websites (situation as of the15th of April 2013). An electronic version of the list of courses will be published on the CAPTURE website (http://capture.jrc.ec.europa.eu/), and it will be updated every six months.JRC.F.4-Nuclear Reactor Integrity Assessment and Knowledge Managemen

Machines and machinations: The integrated care record service in the UK national health service

This paper examines the use of Actor Network Theory (ANT) as a lens to get a better understanding of the implementation of the Integrated Care Record Service (ICRS) in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Actor Network Theory has been deployed in various environments to achieve a better understanding of the roles of not only the humans but also the artifacts that constitute, in this case, healthcare networks of services and organisations. The theory is used as a means of supporting real world interventions, providing a richer understanding of complexities involved and thereby helps management to make better decisions. This study also explores Latour’s concept of machines as machinations, whose role is to translate other actors into the network. We propose ICRS as a fruitful empirical context for the use of ANT to support decision making for actors in health care provision. Actor Network Theory (ANT) is well-suited for use in the socio-technical evaluation of IS into the ICRS project because this approach treats human and non-human actors symmetrically. This approach facilitates a more thorough examination of the ways in which information technology is enabled or restricted in social processes

Setting priorities for EU healthcare workforce IT skills competence improvement

A major challenge for healthcare quality improvement is the lack of IT skills and knowledge of healthcare workforce as well as their ambivalent attitudes towards IT. This paper identifies and prioritises actions needed to improve the IT skills of healthcare workforce across the EU. 46 experts, representing different fields of expertise in healthcare and geolocations systematically list and scored actions that would improve IT skills among healthcare workforce. The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative methodology was used for research priority-setting. The participants evaluated the actions using the following criteria: feasibility, effectiveness, deliverability, and maximum impact on IT skills improvement. The leading priority actions were related to appropriate training, integrating eHealth in curricula, involving healthcare workforce in the eHealth solution development, improving awareness of eHealth and learning arrangement. As the different professionals’ needs are prioritised, healthcare workforce should be actively and continuously included in the development of eHealth solutions

Exploring the information seeking behavior of Greek graduate students : A case study set in the University of Macedonia

This paper describes a survey designed to determine the information seeking behavior of graduate students at the University of Macedonia (UoM). The survey is a continuation of a previous one undertaken in the Faculties of Philosophy and Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh). This paper primarily presents results from the UoM survey, but also makes comparisons with the findings from the earlier survey at AUTh. The 254 UoM students responding tend to use the simplest information search techniques with no critical variations between different disciplines. Their information seeking behavior seems to be influenced by their search experience, computer and web experience, perceived ability and frequency of use of e-sources, and not by specific personal characteristics or attendance at library instruction programs. Graduate students of both universities similar information seeking preferences, with the UoM students using more sophisticated techniques, such as Boolean search and truncation, more often than the AUTh students

Renewed e-learning oriented IHO Cat. B Hydrography Program (2020-) in Belgium

A study onhydrographic education in Belgium carried out a few years ago,pointed out a shortage in hydrographic training. Before the introduction of the new "Postgraduate in Hydrography", most hydrographic surveyors in Belgium work in one of the main Europeandredging companies where they received additional specific hydrographic surveying training.Therefore, in 2013, a 1-year English spoken curriculum degree of "Postgraduate in Hydrography" in Belgium was accredited by the IHO (International Hydrographic Organization). Then, in 2019, a renewed curriculum, including extensive e-learning facilities, was established.The program (Cat-B) is a cooperation between the Geography Department of Ghent University and the Institute for Hydrography of the Antwerp Maritime Academy, which is the hosting institute.The aim is to combine the compulsory theoretical courses with on-the-job training provided by partners in the industry to ensure maximum competences. All courses are lectured in English, and can be taken up over several years to facilitate part-time work. These procedures allow for a qualitative and professional, yet accessible program.The theoretical courses are taught on two different campuses, the campus of the Antwerp Maritime Academy (HZS) and a campus of Ghent University (UGent) based on the available expertise and infrastructure, thus ensuring the quality. As travel time between both cities is relatively fast (ca. 45 min. travel time by public or private transport) together with the boundary condition that both locations are never used on the same day, this presents no problems to the students. The navigation related topics are taught at the Maritime Academy while the geodesy/data management/geology and ICT related topics are provided by the Geography, Geology and Informatics Departments at Ghent University

ACCESSIBILITY AND USABILITY OF INTERNET AMONG POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL TRAINEES OF POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL INSTITUTE (PGMI) PESHAWAR

This study is quantitative in nature. It is conducted to determine the approach of Postgraduate Medical Trainees towards internet use. This study is carried out at Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The main theme of this piece of document was to examine the purpose, location of internet usage by Postgraduate Medical Trainees along with the Problems being faced during the browsing of internet. This study will also try to know the satisfaction level of these medical trainees. Data was collected through questionnaires. A total of 235 copies of questionnaires were distributed, out of which 231 copies were received with response rate of 98.29%. The findings of the study revealed that most of the trainees use the internet for entertainment purposes followed by enhancement of knowledge. Slow internet speed and lack of access to certain websites are the major obstacles to the use of internet. Training and orientation sessions, hands-on practice on online searching techniques, use of HEC digital library and provision of high bandwidth fiber optics internet are the tools with the help of which potential internet usage can be promoted and developed

Experts on e-learning: insights gained from listening to the student voice!

The Student Experience of e-Learning Laboratory (SEEL) project at the University of Greenwich was designed to explore and then implement a number of approaches to investigate learners’ experiences of using technology to support their learning. In this paper members of the SEEL team present initial findings from a University-wide survey of nearly a 1000 students. A selection of 90 ‘cameos’, drawn from the survey data, offer further insights into personal perceptions of e-learning and illustrate the diversity of students experiences. The cameos provide a more coherent picture of individual student experience based on the totality of each person’s responses to the questionnaire. Finally, extracts from follow-up case studies, based on interviews with a small number of students, allow us to ‘hear’ the student voice more clearly. Issues arising from an analysis of the data include student preferences for communication and social networking tools, views on the ‘smartness’ of their tutors’ uses of technology and perceptions of the value of e-learning. A primary finding and the focus of this paper, is that students effectively arrive at their own individualised selection, configuration and use of technologies and software that meets their perceived needs. This ‘personalisation’ does not imply that such configurations are the most efficient, nor does it automatically suggest that effective learning is occurring. SEEL reminds us that learners are individuals, who approach learning both with and without technology in their own distinctive ways. Hearing, understanding and responding to the student voice is fundamental in maximising learning effectiveness. Institutions should consider actively developing the capacity of academic staff to advise students on the usefulness of particular online tools and resources in support of learning and consider the potential benefits of building on what students already use in their everyday lives. Given the widespread perception that students tend to be ‘digital natives’ and academic staff ‘digital immigrants’ (Prensky, 2001), this could represent a considerable cultural challenge

Teaching DfA core knowledge and skill sets; experience in including inclusive design

The purpose of this document is twofold. Firstly it is to present the teaching pilots that were undertaken by members of the network, and describes the pilot setting and the material taught, as related to the taxonomy of Design for All knowledge and skill sets developed in previous deliverables. Each pilot indicates topics taught and to which categories of the taxonomy they belong. Furthermore, student expectations and reactions to the DfA teaching pilots are described by means of the information gained from questionnaires. In this way the taxonomy is evaluated by the teaching pilot experiences for robustness in completeness and usefulness. The second purpose of this exercise is to highlight best practices in, and possible obstacles and other challenges to implementing and maintaining of Design for All courses and modules in a range of higher education schemes, so that education policies and strategies may be informed accordingly. Both of these objectives help to further the work on recommendations for curriculum work on Design for All, in terms of content and in terms of sustainability

Transnational education: global location, local innovation: a report produced for UUKi

Transnational education (TNE) is the delivery of an educational award in a country other than that in which the awarding body is based. It can include, but is not limited to, branch campuses, distance learning, joint and dual degree programmes, fly-in faculty, or a mix of these, often referred to as blended learning. The UK’s higher education TNE offer is growing in terms of both scale and strategic importance, and TNE is becoming a core component of many universities’ strategic approach to international growth. The large majority of UK universities (84%) now deliver TNE to over 700,000 students worldwide with this number having increased year on year since 2007/08. This means that the UK higher education sector now provides qualifications to more students overseas than to international students in the UK (approximately 450,000). The increasing scale of activity belies a huge variety in the types of TNE partnerships being developed by UK institutions. Drivers for engagement with international partners are diverse, relating to international strategies, to research priorities and to student and staff mobility. This publication aims to illustrate the breadth of engagement by highlighting 17 examples of TNE partnerships involving UK higher education institutions