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Aims and objectives

Define the concrete aims and objectives of the project / network and describe the ways in which the situation set out under the previous point will be changed and the specific needs will be addressed by the project / network.

The overall project objective is that social work students (future sw professionals) will be more competent to meet the needs of a knowledge based, intercultural, social cohesive European society, by means of an international bachelor social work specialization realized via a Virtual Campus, an international sw learning community. The specific objectives are: 1. International bachelor specialization in social work, implying -              realization of a shared/tuned framework for this specialization; Bologna aligned and tuned with relevant national quality standards; -              developing module on community work/ development); -              pilot execution of new cw/d module, in the Virtual Campus setting, with 55 students. 2. A Virtual Campus intermediating/serving this specialization as an international learning community, implying -                              functional and technical upgrading of the existing VIRCLASS system and facilities into a Virtual Campus; -              upgrading the competences of the technical/media staff involved; -              developing Virtual Campus learning materials (for community work/development as a pilot); 3. To assure the quality of 1 and 2 by a quality guide (applying relevant national and international quality standards), internal quality reports, the assessment of the cw/d pilot and a programme evaluation by an external evaluator. 4. To disseminate, promote and create public awareness in a planned way (dissemination plan) about the project results by means of contributions to conferences, articles in relevant journals, magazines etc., within the partner’s countries as well as via the EUSW and other relevant networks, including those of other professional sectors for which the developed Virtual Campus concept can be relevant. A conditional specific objective is an adequate project organization which can obtain the planned results. This is done by a dedicated consortium of partners (which to a great extent already cooperates), an experienced contractor, a team of 5  work package leaders (WPL) and the active involvement of all partners arranged by working agreements (working plan, framework agreement etc.), managed and monitored.

What will this project produce?

The most important result aimed at is that major steps forward will have been made in the realization of an international specialization in social work, which is really addressing European issues of social cohesion and intercultural dialogue, being issues of major importance for (future) professional social workers in Europe. International cooperation between (future) professional social workers is a necessity for this and an international Virtual Campus an excellent tool to realize that objective, also because physical international mobility often is problematic. A Virtual Campus then, as an international multifunctional learning/communicating community, is a major step beyond an international virtual classroom, in which many partners already have some experience by their VIRCLASS cooperation. Consequently, specific project output/products and results related to the defined work packages (section 5) are:  WP1 -          Report on international specialization sw in a Virtual Campus setting, consisting of a kind of  SWOT analysis for this specialization in the different partner countries and conclusions/suggestions how to proceed taking into account the national and international (including Bologna) regulations; -          Framework agreement between the project partners (based on previous point). WP2 -          Curriculum plan community work/development as a pilot for the international specialization via Virtual Campus (15 ECTS). External experts will be sub-contracted to support the work of the project partners; -          Pilot course cw/d executed (55 students, 5 teachers); -          Pilot will be evaluated in a report. WP3 -          Increased Virtual Campus competences for technical/media staff (5 days’ training); -          Virtual Campus learning materials produced (6 short screen lectures, 10 visual/audiovisual triggers, 1 video based case). WP4 -          Consortium contract, regulating partners’ work and use of products; -          Working plan, defining the precise work/responsibilities of partners and fine-tuning the project plan once approved; -          Project budget, formalizing the approved project budget; -          Annual project reports produced (for EU and partners); -          Meetings, seminars, conferences organized and executed (development, management, disseminations purposes); -          Financial/administrative model for sustainable Virtual Campus produced. WP5 -          Promotion materials for sw students produced and distributed; -          Awareness raising activities executed for professional sw organizations and for HEI authorities and other faculties to indicate benefits of Virtual Campus concept. WP6 -          Quality guide produced to assure process/product quality; -          Internal evaluations organized and reported; -          Assessment of pilot cw/d executed and reported; -          External programme evaluation executed and reported. WP7 -          Dissemination plan developed and agreed upon between partners; -          Presentations on specialization and Virtual Campus prepared and executed (in partner countries); -          Conferences / participation in relevant network conferences; -          Papers, articles in relevant professional journals/magazines produced

What is the approach adopted by the consortium to develop the work of this proposed project?

Provide an overview of the work of the consortium during the lifetime of the project that summarises the key activities, milestones, management, monitoring and quality assurance

A major feature of the project is the team approach, which is a necessity to obtain shared, common results applicable for all participating partner universities, their students and staff and leading to increasing international cooperation in the field of social work. The team approach of 12 direct partners is reflected in all the work packages, also influencing meeting/communication costs (including traveling and subsistence / see overview presented in excel sheet). The team approach goes with clearly defined responsibilities allocated to the different partners according to their specific professional qualities and also includes the project management and coordination and related monitoring. This is described more detailed in the final paragraph of this section 4. The key project activities can be summarized in the following project stages 1.       Regulatory stage Developing and implementing an international social work specialization by means of an international Virtual Campus requires an adequate alignment with the relevant national and international  regulatory frameworks (internal regulations of participating universities, national legislation in the partner countries, national standards of accreditation, Bologna requirements etc.). These frameworks must be analyzed, obstacles be defined and commonly dealt with in a feasible development plan for the international specialization sw for all partners. This requires managerial, administrative and legislative qualities and input. (mainly WP1) 2.       Development stage This stage includes: o       Development of a curriculum plan, including the pilot cw/d (15 ECTS credits); o       Development of Virtual Campus audiovisual learning materials (including upgrading staff competences). Mainly WP 2, 3 and 4 (meetings of experts). 3.       Testing stage This stage includes: o       Pilot execution of cw/d module (55 students from partner universities, 5 teachers from different partners) using the new audiovisual learning material; o       Pilot evaluation This stage regards mainly WP2, WP3 & WP6. 4.       Dissemination & promotion The promotion activities are aimed at raising awareness amongst sw students about the importance/impact of this specialization for their future profession. Dissemination activities are aimed at sharing the project results with colleagues at sw faculties and inviting them to join and are also aimed at sharing the benefits of the international Virtual Campus concept with research bodies, international associations and colleagues outside the sw world (other faculties etc.). WP5 and WP7. Quality assurance is an ongoing process during the whole project, as described in WP6.

Impact and Sustainability:

(a) Who will use these outputs / products / results and how will the consortium reach them?
Please describe the intended users who will benefit from the project during the lifetime of the project, and after the project has finished. Explain how these users will be reached.

Short term target-groups: Describe the target group(s) that will be reached during the life of the project

The short term target groups are: students teaching staff technical/media staff social work university networks and non-social work university networks social work professionals ad. 1) A select group of 55 students who will participate in the international social work specialization and more particular in the pilot community work/development module (15 ECTS) by means of an international Virtual Campus.. The existing modules in VIRCLASS will continue to run the following years and will be included in the Virtual Campus  ad. 2) The teaching staff from the 12 partner universities which is directly involved in the development of the international specialization and in particular of the pilot module. Besides this group there is the special group of 6 teachers who will actually execute the pilot course. ad. 3) The technical staff which will be specially trained in developing Virtual Campus learning materials and who will actually do that for the pilot module. ad. 4) The social work university networks (like EUSW, the International/ European Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW/EASSW)) which will be informed about the results of the international social work specialization development and to whom the results will be disseminated. Non-social work university networks (so others academic/professional disciplines) will be informed about the concept development of an international Virtual Campus. ad. 5) Social work professionals will be informed about the international specialization and its impact for upgrading the quality of their profession by aligning it to European challenges related to social cohesion and intercultural dialogue.

How will this group / these groups be reached and involved during the lifetime of the project?

1) The students will be recruited through the regular recruiting procedures at the partner universities and additionally be selected by a special intake which is the responsibility of P1. 2) The teaching staff is selected by the partner universities according to their professional qualities and those required in the project. Cv’s of these staff members are included in this project proposal. Their involvement is secured by clear working appointments as well as by the international teamwork character of the project. 3) The technical staff is selected also by the partner universities. Involvement is secured also by providing them with a special training to upgrade their competences to produce international Virtual Campus learning materials, what they actually will do for the pilot module. 4) Mostly of the 12 project partners in this project mostly are also member of the EUSW, so there is a clear connection. EUSW as well as other relevant university networks and professional associations will be informed by the VIRCLASS- and EUSW website, as well as via EUSW network meetings. Non-social work university networks will be reached via colleague faculties at the partner universities, international websites, etc. 5) Social work professionals will be reached via articles in journals/magazines, presentations on conferences etc.

Long term target groups: Describe the target group(s) that will be reached after the project is finished

Long term target groups after project The project objective is that the international social work specialization via an international Virtual Campus is regularly embedded in the educational programs of the partner universities, which implies that it is a regular specialization for which social work students can opt. So, primarily the social work students of the partner universities will be the future target groups, moreover the partners want to disseminate the specialization to other interested social work faculties/universities whose students then also can participate in this international social work specialization. The international specialization is not a one time development event; it is a permanent process of renewing materials, adjusting and aligning it with recent relevant developments. This requires an active international community of teaching staff. The Virtual Campus itself is an excellent tool for that. So the continuing commitment of the teaching staff is both a necessity and an objective/target for the existing consortium of partners. This is relevant too for the technical staff. The social work professionals remain an important target group, for after all, the international specialization will be developed to assist them in ‘doing a better social work job’. Input from these practical professionals in the continuing process of curriculum development is a necessity as well as providing them with opportunities for re-training and upgrading in the future.

How will this group / these groups be reached?

Reaching long term target groups Students will be reached by the regular university information and communication means, with of course, a special link to the www.VIRCLASS.net, showing and informing them about the opportunities of a choice for an international social work specialization by means of a Virtual Campus. Teaching and technical staff will be engaged in the international specialization because it is a challenging part of their professional job of which international cooperation on a high professional level is a special requirement. It will provide them with opportunities for their own professional development as well. Social work professionals (individually as well as via their professional organizations) will be invited to provide examples, best practices, worst case scenarios, case studies and assignments to the international specialization. This will create commitment and involvement. Special attention must be paid to the alumni from the international specialization who has become professional social workers.

(b) How will the impact of this project be sustained beyond its lifetime?

The VIRCLASS consortium, of which many actual partners in this project are members, already has a kind of proven record in sustainability. Since 2003 the consortium has begun to develop and execute an international virtual classroom, consisting now of two e-learning modules, a virtual book, experienced teachers embedded in an internationally cooperating network. It also include an e-pedagogy course for teachers in HEI to secure recruiting more and skilled e-teachers. This project now is aiming at making considerable steps forward in this process by developing an existing set of ‘incidental educational modules’  into a true international specialization in social work, eventually possibly leading to an international bachelor and by developing the existing virtual classroom into a Virtual Campus, which is a multifunctional learning and communicating professional community. The university management of the project partners has committed themselves to embedding an international specialization in social work via a Virtual Campus in the regular supply of university programs. These, beyond any doubt, are formal university commitments to sustainability.     Sustainability is also related to continuous efforts to renew the contents of the program and keep it aligned with actual developments. The VIRCLASS record since 2003 shows that this consortium has constantly considered this to be one of its major professional responsibilities and has acted accordingly, as is shown by the progress made during the years it is in existence. Sustainability is also related to disseminating project results, engaging more universities in the international specialization. This is shown by the increase of participating universities compared to the number of VIRCLASS partners as well as the dissemination activities planned (also through the EUSW). Dissemination of results and research has been highly prioritiezed already in the VIRCLASS project and can be proven by a long list of conference presentations and papers and chapters in international books and journals (see www.VIRCLASS.net)

Who will produce these outputs?

Describe the consortium, demonstrating that all the skills required to undertake this proposed project are available.
Identify also, where relevant, specific tasks that will be sub-contracted to bodies outside the formal consortium.

The products and output described in a previous paragraph of this section organized in the different project stages (regulatory, development, testing and dissemination/promotion, including permanent process of quality assurance) will be produced by the project partners, in different combinations based on qualities needed. The qualities are summarized in section 2. As referred to before, many of the project partners already have a joint history of cooperation; bilateral, within the EUSW network and within the VIRCLASS consortium. Taking into account the project objectives and the number of project partners, it is clear that in order to produce the planned results; an effective and efficient project management is a necessity. The partners have agreed upon the following project management structure: -      P1 is the project manager / contractor and responsible work package leader (WPL) for WP3 & 4; -          P2 is responsible WPL for WP1 -          P3 is WPL for WP6 & 7 -          P4 for WPL for WP2 -          P6 for WPL for WP5 P1 is the overall responsible project manager and EU contact organization; the WPL’s assist in the project coordination and are specifically responsible for their WP, including monitoring the process and product realization. Partners participate specifically in the WP’s for which they can provide the professional qualities required (also see relevant cv’s). Where necessary to safeguard the quality, external professional expertise is sub-contracted (WP3, 4, 6) and for dissemination of results (WP 7)