In 2020, the world was faced with a pandemic, which made physical communication and collaboration practically impossible. In response, people turned to the virtual environment, using platforms such as Zoom, Skype, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams for work, education, and simply for family meet-ups. However, this rapid move towards the virtual world did not come without its problems. Educators found it difficult to transition to virtual lectures and virtual conferences without proper training and guidance.
This is where our Best use of ICT opportunities for educational and scientific conferences in global crisis situations (ICT 4 Distance Conferences) came into play. Submitted as part of the Erasmus+ Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices call, this 18-month project aimed at improving the quality of higher education and conduction of educational-scientific conferences through virtual means.
The Project Partners
Bulgaria – National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski” (NSA), Sofia
Romania – National University of Physical Education and Sport (UNEFS), Bucharest
Serbia – University of Niš, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education (FSFV), Niš
Malta – AcrossLimits Ltd, Swatar
Activies
The project partners worked on a document containing Guidelines for Organising and Conducting Educational and Scientific Virtual Conferences, as the main intellectual output (IO) of the project. Although this document is targeted at higher education institutions, some adaptations could be made to tackle other institutions within the education system. The document can be accessed here and is available in English, Romanian, Serbian and Bulgarian.
Complementing this document, two short-term joint staff trainings were held, involving university teachers. These training sessions aimed at increasing their understanding of the specific approaches and dimensions of quality of virtual conferencing.
Finally, the three university institutions of Sofia, Bucharest and Niš organised 3 hybrid conferences to disseminate the work carried out during the project, supported by AcrossLimits.
Snippets from the project’s Facebook page
Are you interested in learning more about this project?
Visit the project website here: www.ict4conferences.com
At AcrossLimits, we participate in various EU projects every year, contributing as technical partners creating digital online platforms, leading dissemination efforts, or providing our expertise in sustainability and exploitation activities. Through the years we have amassed significant expertise across diverse fields including eLearning, eHealth, eGovernment, education, health, robotics, energy, entrepreneurship, gender equality and social inclusion.
Do you have a project idea which you would like to share with us? Contact us on [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]
In the meantime, you can check out our past and current projects here.
