D.10.7 Dissemination Conference - Conference Minutes

Transcription

1 Project No LLP GR-LEONARDO-LNW D.10.7 Dissemination Conference - Conference Minutes Effective Writers & Communicators Project September 2015 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication (deliverable) reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein Project No LLP GR-LEONARDO-LNW

2 Table of contents Introduction... 3 Organization of the conference... 5 Preparation... 5 Invitation... 7 Conference sessions... 9 Session 1: Welcome The conference day... 9 Session 2: Opening remarks The EWC Journey... 9 Session 3: EWC project An Overview Session 4: EWC course Benefiting young professionals Session 5: EWC course Serving real market needs Session 6: Learner experiences Conference results Conference evaluation ANNEX I: Invitation ANNEX II: Press release

3 Introduction The Dissemination Conference of the EWC project was a public event that took place in Brighton, United Kingdom, on 11 th of September The event was organized by Brighton Students' Union and was hosted at the Cockcroft building of Brighton University. The conference was attended by 40 participants, including project partners, university students, EWC course trainees, SMEs, trainers and other stakeholders. Conference City Country Conference Overview EWC Dissemination Conference Brighton United Kingdom Date 11/09/2015 Venue University Of Brighton Cockcroft Hall, Cockcroft Building, Moulsecoomb Campus, Lewes Road, Brighton Participants Aim 40 participants Dissemination of project s results and outcomes The aim of the Dissemination Conference was the formal public launch of the project s finalized material and products, and to offer presentations of lessons learned from the project experience and the significant issues that have emerged The conference agenda was pre-agreed by all partners and the final version was circulated to them by the WP12 leader (BSU P12). 3

4 The agenda included the following sessions that mainly focus on welcoming all conference participants, explaining them the aim of the event and introducing them to the EWC project: Registration, Welcome session and opening remarks An overview of the EWC project Two presentations that introduce the audience on how the EWC training course benefits both young professionals and all real market needs Finally, the dissemination conference is completed through reviewing learning pilot sessions and allowing for the pilot participants/ trainees to describe their own experience in the EWC journey. 4

5 Organization of the conference Preparation The meeting was held in Cockcroft Building of University of Brighton. The venue was fully equipped with the necessary audiovisual equipment for conducting a conference. In more detail, it included: o o o o o o o o Approximately 100 Seats Lighting Laptop with connectivity to projector Video projector Projection Screen Microphone System and wireless microphones Secretarial equipment Wi-fi free access to all participants Additionally, banners and posters with the project s logo were placed at the entrance of the venue and the room, where the conference sessions were held. 5

6 Moreover, support material about the programme and individual folder with the logos of the Project was formulated and distributed to the attendees. The folder distributed to the audience included conference s agenda, a notebook, a EWC flyer and a questionnaire, through which all participants could express their opinion and evaluate the event. There was also the secretariat of the Brighton s Student Union and technical support staff as well, coffee breaks and lunch, photographing of the participants and the conference sessions. 6

7 Invitation For release of the EWC final conference, Partner 12 (BSU), responsible for the organisation of the event, prepared both a general invitation and an individual invitation template, which was providing information about the place, time and agenda of the Workshop (Annex I). The invitation was available on Brighton Students Union website and was circulated to the Partner s 12 dissemination list. Moreover, all partners circulated and distributed invitations to their contact lists, by focusing on the following target groups: Business trainers Colleges In-house training providers Universities Chambers of Commerce Universities Educational Agencies and Commissions Consultants Media Best performed pilot participants Other local pilot participants Moreover, the invitation came with the second press release, in which there was a short description of the program and its objectives as well as an announcement for the event (Annex II). Finally, consortium s dissemination list was informed for the final event details on the 4th of September, through an that was providing them with a link to the final agenda of the conference. 7

8 A number of people registered to the conference thought the online form which was available at the website of the BSU: 8

9 Conference sessions Session 1: Welcome The conference day The EWC Dissemination Conference began with an opening speech by Ross McNally, the CEO of University of Brighton Students Union. Mr McNally welcomed all the attendees and made a short presentation of the conference agenda and the way the whole day progresses. He introduced all partners the audience and he explained the way the dissemination conference is connected to the international networking workshop that was planned to take place right after the dissemination conference. Session 2: Opening remarks The EWC Journey Representing the Project Coordinator CMT Prooptiki from Greece, Tasos Mastroyiannakis, proceeded with a short presentation of The EWC Journey. The CMT partner talked about how the idea of the project was conceived and how it was translated into a project that could be funded under the Life Long Learning EU Programme. He highlighted that the idea for developing a project that addresses actual market needs in affordable vocational training programmes with ultimate goal to enhance the soft skills of young professionals, increase their competences and competitiveness and finally support youth s mobility in a globalized labour market finds its premises on CMT s own experience and needs as a standard SME. 9

10 At the end of his speech, Mr. Mastroyiannakis urged all participants to engage in a constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas, which will be useful for all the attendees of the EWC conference. Session 3: EWC project An Overview Representing the CMT Prooptiki, Emmanouela Braoudaki, proceeded with the third session of the conference, which focused on presenting the aims, objectives of EWC project and the anticipated change in relation to current situation that is reached through this project. Moreover, she presented main EWC structure in terms of Work Packages and the methodology behind this project that frames all activities that allowed for the preparation and development of EWC project s main products, such as the e-learning course, the online 10

11 platform and the Social Networking Platform. Finally, the expected impact of all project s activities and main products on the main target groups was presented and the audience became aware of the contribution of EWC to young SME employees and entrepreneurs, SMEs, HEIs and VET providers and European decision and policy makers. Session 4: EWC course Benefiting young professionals Following, this overview of the EWC project, the next speaker, Milada Walkova - Technical University of Košice (TUKE), from Slovakia, introduced the benefit young professionals gain through becoming part of the EWC training course. In the beginning, TUKE s representative highlighted the importance of the role of SMEs for the European economic recovery and the key needs of the labour market for specific skills and competencies. Then, there was a focus on the innovative elements for higher education that are offered through s training course. Cognitive functioning, style of business writing and communication, project proposals preparation and grant application combined with a chance for professional networking seem to cover the gap that appears between what higher education offers and 11

12 what market and employers actually need. Session 5: EWC course Serving real market needs The next session was presented by Luc Broes European Network for Business Studies and Languages (SPACE), from Belgium and Simeon Toptchiyski, Bulgarian Development Agency (BDA) from Bulgaria. The two speakers focused on The impact and how the EWC course serves employers, employees, students, entrepreneurs and HEI/VET providers real needs was the main topic of the fifth session. The speakers explained that EWC training course builds up the efficiency of one s performance in his/ her job, the skill to act independently, the attitude of lifelong learning and the readiness to undergo training sessions. 12

13 Moreover, the impact of EWC on communication skills, on teamwork, on arguments building, on improving time efficiency on better conveying ideas and concepts to the audience and on increasing work credibility were introduced. Finally, the last part of this presentation aimed at reflecting some activities that took place in Bulgaria regarding dissemination and pilot process. 13

14 Session 6: Learner experiences The dissemination conference was completed with a review of learning pilots and quick-fire interviews with student participants, which was led by Jumbo Klercq - The Elephant Learning in Diversity, from Netherlands. In this session, the best performed participants from Latvia, UK, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Greece shared with the audience their experience on EWC training course. Session s leader interviewed the pilot participants, who provided the partnership with several useful comments and suggestions for further improvement. 14

15 Conference results The final dissemination conference provided a great opportunity to update stakeholders with the progress of the EWC project and it formed a very useful forum to consult with the target audience in a face-to-face event. As it was discussed, a range of stakeholders participated in this event, which was a formal public launch of the project s finalized materials and products. Moreover, this conference offered presentations of lessons learned from the project experience and the significant issues that have emerged and it was combined with a networking event, and business networking workshop, which was organised throughout the one-day conference, under WP11 exploitation of EWC project. 15

16 Conference evaluation The evaluation of the quality of the dissemination conference took place at external level. An evaluation questionnaire was given to each participant on his or hers registration to be completed at end of the conference and handed out to the registration desk. The participants feedback was critical to ensure that the conference s goals were met and assess the overall participants satisfaction. The following charts present the participants satisfaction rates on the evaluation questionnaires. Regarding the overall evaluation of the conference the overall participants response was very positive since 38% of the participants thought that the conference was Excellent, 50% Very good and 12% Good. Overall conference evaluation Excellent 38% Good 12% Very Good 50% 16

17 Regarding the venue of the conference all of the participants were satisfied since 46% thought the choice of venue was Excellent, 42% Very good and 12% Good. Venue of the conference evaluation Excellent 46% Good 12% Very Good 42% All of the participants found that the conference was useful in terms of informing them about the EWC project results and achievements since 50% responded with Excellent and 50% with Very good How useful was the conference in terms of informing you about EWC results and achievements? Excellent 50% Very Good 50%. 17

18 Regarding the degree of participants interest on the conference sessions and topics discussed 46% of the participants responded as Excellent, 38% as Very good, 12% as Good and a 4% as Fair. In what degree do you feel conference sessions and topics discussed were interesting? Excellent 46% Fair 4% Good 12% Very Good 38% 18

19 Finally, regarding the overall satisfaction level about the several speeches and presentations, 46% of the participants responded Excellent, 38% Very good, 8% Good and an 8% Fair. Overall satisfaction about several speeches and presentations Fair 8% Good 8% Excellent 46% Very Good 38% 19

20 ANNEX I: Invitation 20

21 ANNEX II: Press release 21

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