ICT 4 distance conferences

Best Use of ICT Opportunities for Educational and Scientific Conferences in Global Crisis Situations

About the Project

ICT for Distance Conferences is a project implemented under the Erasmus+ program (project number: 2020-1-BG01-KA226-HE-094966). The project is aimed at improving the quality of higher education in conditions caused by crises similar to COVID-19. One of the specific characteristics of higher education as a means for the transfer of knowledge is the organization and conduction of educational-scientific conferences. The need for education and science to move entirely to a remote form due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has placed a number of universities that have achieved a high level of scientific and educational credibility in a state of lack of preparedness and ability to maintain the level of conference events. To help universities maintain their credibility, the partnership under this project, which involves university institutions from Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, and a Maltese organization specializing in distance education, will focus its efforts on illuminating the specifics of distance learning in the context of organizing conference events. In order to achieve this, the project foresees the preparation of one intellectual output, which is the basis of project implementation, and the conduction of two trainings and three hybrid conferences, all providing insight into the separate components of the organization of educational and scientific virtual conferences. The aspiration of the partners is to achieve a significant regional, European and international impact. To this goal, the Intellectual Output document will be produced in Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian and English.

 
 
Partnership

- National Sports Academy "Vassil Levski" (Sofia, Bulgaria)
- National University of Physical Education and Sport (Bucharest, Romania)
- Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Nis (Nis, Serbia)
- AcrossLimits Ltd. (Naxxar, Malta)

Duration

18 months: 01/03/2021 - 31/08/2022

Activities

1 Intellectual Output (a document containing Guidelines for Organizing and Conducting Educational and Scientific Virtual Conferences)
2 Short-Term Joint Staff Trainings (involving university teachers and aimed at increasing their understanding of the specific approaches and dimensions of quality of virtual conferencing)
3 Multiplier Events (hybrid conferences conducted by each of the three university institutions with the support of the organization from Malta)

Intellectual Output

Guidelines for Organizing and Conducting Educational and Scientific Virtual Conferences
Part I: Organizational Practices in the Conduction and Realization of Educational and Scientific Virtual Conferences
Part II: Infrastructure for Successful Virtual Conferences
Part III: Lecturers and Audience - Tips for Successful Scientific Presentation and Communication
Part IV: Visibility and PR

Target Group

Higher education institutions
Note: With some adaptations, the Intellectual Output could additionally benefit the whole education system as a whole, creating a prerequisite for increasing the use of distance conferencing in the learning process through the newly acquired digital knowledge and skills of teachers at lower educational levels.

Striving for innovation

Project
Goals
&
Added
Value







Overcoming Crises

Actively confronting obstacles in the educational process in emergencies such as the COVID-19 crisis, exploring the benefits of remote conferencing and the best practices in the area of virtual learning and exchange of scientific ideas.

Quality eConferences

Providing a basis for objective evaluation of the quality of digital conferences as a means of furthering the development of education and science.

 

Virtual Awareness

Promoting digital awareness and Increasing the use of remote conferencing in the learning process through newly developed digital skills of academics, scientists and teachers.

Qualification

Increased qualification of lecturers, who represent an active part of the participants in conferences organized in digital form.

 

Knowledge Transfer

Improving the communication of scientific knowledge between higher education institutions, scientific organizations, the private and public sectors, and the general public.

 

Widespread effect

Providing access to the project’s Intellectual Output at regional, European and international level through open access to the Intellectual Output, which will be produced in English, Bulgarian, Romanian and Serbian.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.