Suchergebnisse

ESPONTrain -"Establishment of a transnational ESPON training programme to stimulate interest to ESPON2013 knowledge"- has been a Priority 4 ESPON project aiming at making ESPON2013 knowledge operational in a coordinated and transnational way for practical use, through a specifically designed ESPON Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The Project Consortium was comprised of ten ESPON European Contact Points (ECPs) – Greece as Lead Partner and nine Project partners (Italy, Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Malta). The main aim of the ESPONTrain Project was to develop the first ESPON educational platform -a distance learning tool- making ESPON knowledge accessible and familiar to a targeted public, including postgraduate students and practitioners/stakeholders through a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). For this purpose the ESPONTrain partners prepared and delivered a specific ESPON course design where a set of teaching material based on a number of applied research and targeted analysis ESPON Projects was developed. This ESPON VLE activity was offered to higher education institutions at postgraduate (Masters) level as well as to public and private professionals and policy makers in 10 ESPON countries. ESPONTrain developed six thematic teaching packages (TTPs) based on eight Final Reports of ESPON Priority 1 and Priority 2 projects (see list below). In each ESPONTrain country at least three thematic packages were adapted to the VLE and taught by training experts selected at national level by each participating ECP, through an open nationwide call, following a set of common selection criteria. The trainers came from relevant academic fields and being familiar with ESPON knowledge as well as adequate experience with teaching and e-learning. The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) was built around an open source Moodle platform. Using this tool, the trainees were able to study and consult the available educational material guided by the training experts, either through asynchronous or synchronous learning (teleconference meetings). Apart from studying the teaching material, students could interact, share opinions, ask questions related to the study text as well as to the topic in general practice, test their knowledge in quizzes and confront it with the latest outcomes produced within the ESPON 2013 programme. They were also asked to carry out final assignments as part of their final evaluation. The ESPONTrain Project was highly transnational, including countries from different geographical areas (namely Northern Europe, Central Europe, Mediterranean Region and the Balkans) using the experience of different ECPs, either universities or governmental bodies, on the concerned themes and issues. Exchanges between the trainers and the coordinating ECPs were facilitated by the Lead Partner ́s central Technical VLE Team, based in Athens. ; N/A

The ESPONontheRoad project was a Transnational Networking Activity (TNA) of nineteen ESPON Contact Points (ECPs) with the aim to bring ESPON results closer for decision-making and thus increase the capitalisation of the ESPON Programme. During a year, participating ECPs brought ESPON closer to the local and regional level, and to citizens in physical and virtual forms. The project built a bridge between the issues on a local level and scientific evidence on EU territorial development policy themes. After taking stock of the most recent policy issues in each national context, ECPs formed transnational working groups to have a common understanding of the messages coming from ESPON results. These working groups designed the most appropriate and efficient form of communication for their target groups. In this way ESPON results were put into the macroregional context of West, South, North and Central-Eastern areas, and both the content-related and the organisational tasks were organised in a balanced way. The activity report summaries the goals of the project, presents how they were implemented and what are the lessons learnt. It concludes with recommendations for the future.