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EPICA Kick-Off Meeting

28 – 31 January 2018
Hunderfossen, Norway

The EPICA Kick-Off Meeting took place from the 28 – 31 January, 2018 in Hunderfossen, Norway and was organised by the project coordinator, the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), Norway.

It was attended by representatives of the partner organisations involved in the project: ICDE (coordinator), African Virtual University, ICWE, Makerere University, MyDocumenta, Open University of Catalonia and The Open University of Tanzania.

The aim was to discuss and provide an overview of the project scope and focus, identifying the goals of the EPICA initiative including expected deliverables for the project, analyse the project structure, identify project constraints - issues and factors, outline partner roles and responsibilities and evaluate the expected impact of the initiative.

Each partner made their own presentation, highlighting their expertise and role in the project, giving them an opportunity to get to know each other and set further steps for collaboration. They outlined their responsibilities, plans to deliver and possible issues identified to date.

 Further topics that were discussed are outlined below:

  • Introduction of the international state of the art of online, open and flexible education, by ICDE
  • The African context and EPICA, by AVU
  • The EPICA initiative structure, WPs, main milestones and budget, including the project-Lifecycle
  • To put all partners into context, the coordinator gave an overview of the EU framework, the contract, rights and obligations of beneficiaries (the partners), role of the European Commission, financial issues and reporting  
  • Urgent planning and start-up of user related activities
  • Alternative credentials, microcredentials, badges, with a skype intervention of an expert from University of California
  • WP1: Management, including partner meetings and best practices for project management - EPICA partners collaboration culture and internal rules, agreed standards
  • WP2: Business and sustainability plan, MYD with AVU
  • WP3: Dissemination, ICWE with ICDE
  • WP4: Pedagogical and Technological Requirements, MYD and UOC
  • WP5: Technological Adaptation, MYD with MK
  • WP6: Pilot, UOC and OUT
  • WP7: Validation, ICDE, UOC and AVU
  • The innovation side of the project, presented by MyD

All those present in the meeting emphasised the innovative nature of the EPICA initiative  and stimulating discussions went on long after the official part of the meeting was finished. Conclusions and the next steps forward for short and medium term were discussed and finalised.

Those present had the pleasure of enjoying entertainment activities such as the sleigh ride in the snow and the cross country skiing team building exercise.

The event was a great success for all parties and a very positive start to the project.  

Workshop Information: Please click here to download the full agenda.