Education & Research Group
NORTH SEA COMMISSION EDUCATION & RESEARCH GROUP REPORT - 2001
Background
This is the first report of the Education and
Research Group to be presented at an Annual Business Meeting of the North
Sea Commission.
In order to judge initial interest in this
field, a preliminary meeting was held on 3 December 1999 at Viborg.
Subsequent meetings have been held on 7 April 2000 at Hengelo, 18/19
September 2000 in Brugge and 8/9 February 2001 in Aabenraa.
The Education and Research Group was formally
approved as a technical group of the NSC at a meeting of the Executive
Committee on 16 February 2001.
Organisation and chairing of the
group
For first two meetings, the group was run by
Karen Greve Somerset of the NSC secretariat in order to begin discussions on
the setting up of the group and to formulate initial proposals for its work.
The meeting of 18/19 September 2000 was chaired by Michael Momyr of Sør-Trøndelag
Fylkeskommune, Norway, who is the current vice-chairman of the group. At the
meeting of 8/9 February 2001 the chairing arrangements were shared between
Michael Momyr and Joop Boertjens of SNN Groningen, The Netherlands, who has
taken on the role of chairman of the group. Ann Brown of Suffolk County
Council has taken on the role of group co-ordinator.
Group membership
The meetings of the group have attracted
increasing attendance, approximately 20 members attending each of the
meetings during the last year. In addition, interest is shown in the work of
the group by approximately 50 people representing 29 organisations in
different areas of the North Sea Region.
The membership comes from a diverse set of
backgrounds, some working in public authorities and others who represent
single institutions or organisations which provide education or develop
educational processes or methods. This is not seen as a disadvantage,
however, as the group was set up in order to provide a positive forum for
co-operation in education and research in the North Sea region.
The balance of the group at present is
strongly towards members with some responsibility in the field of education,
and educational organisations. Some of these have a research interest or
function, but in general this area is under-represented within the group.
The group is considering how to attract more members with a research
interest, and also how to define a common focus or research interest which
will provide useful and feasible participation in the activities of this
group. Terms of reference At its meeting of 8 February 2001, the group
agreed its terms of reference. These set out the aims and proposed actions
of the group, and are attached to this report. The group plans to hold
meetings at least twice a year, and use of ICT will be encouraged to enable
sub-groups to communicate and meet in a virtual setting between official
meetings in order to advance work on projects and matters of benefit to the
North Sea Region.
The main aims of the group centre around
promoting, facilitating and co-ordinating cross-border and transnational
co-operation on education and research in the North Sea Area. Within these
aims, the group plans to exchange experience and expertise, and to provide
examples of good practice.
In addition, the group plans to raise the
profile of education and research interests and to lobby for their inclusion
in discussions within the NSC leading to policy and programme formulation,
amongst others the NSC Interreg III programme.
It is recognised by group members that the
field of education and research is likely to impinge on activities, projects
and discussions held within the other NSC technical groups. In order to
promote mutual understanding and potential benefit across the technical
groups, the Education and Research group aims to keep its members in touch
with the work of the other groups. As a first move towards this, at the
group's next meeting in Suffolk involvement has been invited from local
members of the Business Development and the Culture and Tourism groups.
Communications
An email distribution list has been compiled
in order to provide an easy correspondence route and networking for group
members. In addition to email communication, the group is hoping to use the
NSC website for sharing information and resources and to facilitate
discussion.
Projects
In the course of its initial work, the group
has proposed eight projects, seven of which are now at various stages of
development. A list of these projects is attached to this report.
Many of these projects involve some form of
ICT, which will enable wider participation by potential partners from the
North Sea region.
Distance learning and its application within
the concept of lifelong learning forms a recurring theme, involving new
developments to provide support for organisations and students who will take
part in this form of learning.
It is also planned to promote student
mobility by developing measures to make it easier for students and the
organisations which support them to locate and plan for work placements and
projects.
However, the first project which was proposed
by a group member is for a conference planned to take place in June 2002 in
Schleswig-Holstein, which will focus on business development and vocational
training. It is planned to use this conference to publicise and promote the
work of the group alongside other contributions which are sought from a
wider set of organisations from the North Sea Region. However, this
conference will run only if funding is identified and secured to support it.
Further development of the work of
the group
The work of the group is considered to be
wider than the projects which have been planned, although these will feature
as a focus for subgroups which identify themselves. The aims of the group
are set out in the terms of reference, and include the promotion of the
North Sea area as a coherent region in the context of co-operation in
education and research. The nature and spirit of this co-operation will
evolve as the work of the group develops, but it is likely to involve
networking, learning from each other, exchanging experience and best
practice and providing a platform for cross-border and transnational
co-operation.
The group has a strong interest in
identifying any appropriate area of Interreg IIIB funding which will enable
its work to go ahead more effectively. This however, may prove to be a
complex task as a result of the categories determining the four priorities
of this funding. The group has begun an exercise to collate and circulate
the experience of its members who have participated in a range of European
funding programmes relevant to education and research. Early investigations
seem to indicate that any such funding available for the work of the group
may be difficult to access.
The group has quickly developed a mutually
supportive approach, and is keen to move ahead with the development of its
work. The next year will be crucial in establishing concrete outcomes from
its initial plans, and in the promotion of its projects through the proposed
conference in June 2002. The next meeting of the group is to be held in
Suffolk on 11/12 October 2001.
Ann Brown Co-ordinator,
Education & Research Group
24 April 2001
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