Abstract:

E-ViEW is an EU project funded under the LLP programme. The aim of the project is to design, develop and pilot a European Virtual Campus (VC) aimed at learners in the workplace. The project originated from the partners’ joint belief that in order to deliver education of high quality, the constant evolution of the workplace must be taken into consideration. This will open new possibilities for flexible learning and teaching for European managers.

The focus of E-ViEW is to enhance learners’ management skills and competences within a European context. The project partnership is made up of the University of East London (coordinator), the National College of Ireland, ATiT in Belgium, the University of Porto in Portugal and the University of Lodz in Poland.

The project began with an analysis phase. Each academic partner conducted a user needs analysis in order to get to know the requirements of the target groups specifically related to European WBL and VC. Each university conducted this study into VC, pedagogy, ICT, accreditation and learners support with three target groups: employers, employees and representatives of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The partners also undertook a comparative analysis of existing provision within the scope of the project priorities. This was to ensure that the results would not duplicate already existing solutions. The results were compiled, compared and then used to lay the foundation for the further development of the project activities, and most specifically, the pilot phase which takes place in the first half of 2012.

In order to ensure that project results are of high quality and to gather some initial feedback from experienced practitioners before the project entered its crucial piloting phase, the partnership held a meeting with experts in the domain in the latter part of 2011. They represented key stakeholders outside the project partnership. They assessed the work that had been undertaken and formulated recommendations in order to help the E-ViEW consortium to better exploit their outcomes in this domain.
Development specifications and learning models have been prepared that led to the creation of pilot course modules. These modules are currently being tested with employees in the UK, Poland, Portugal and Ireland in pilot activities that also involve employers. These modules address relevant management topics aimed at trainee managers in European enterprises and have an emphasis on working at European level.

Each partner is delivering a pilot activity targeting chosen management competencies. This stage of the project is being carried out in two steps: first the local course on management competencies is piloted on the local platform of each HEI. Then students are required to carry out some international activities on the joint platform. The aim of this is to foster cooperation between learners from different countries. This experience of international cooperation is of great pedagogical value for these future managers, as it lays the foundation for their further work in the global economy.

The presentation at EDULEARN will bring together the conclusions derived from the previous stages and the expected outcomes of E-ViEW. These stages are:
• Creating a VC Framework for WBL
• Devising a sample model
• Piloting the course in UK, PL, PT, IE
• Presenting an online handbook with a complete description of the experiences gained in creating and delivering this course in the VC Framework for WBL

Keywords:

Work-based learning, virtual campus.