WP.1 CONCEPT OF UNIVERSITY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Before starting direct project activities, it is necessary to study the situation deeper and to organise managerial structure of the project. For this reasons establishment of a Coordination Council, unified all the project participants, is planned. Under supervision of the Council, collection of important data will be realized, and a special meeting to discuss the results of researches on the state of university management in NIS partner countries will be organized.

1.1. Collection of a library on EU experience of UIM:  Collection of a library on EU experience of university information management.

1.2. Analysis of existing University management systems: Analysis of existing University management systems in the partner countries, propositions for their optimization, elaboration of the model of the recommended university management system, preparation of a requirement specification for the corresponding software. Analysis of information flows at the PC universities.

1.3. Academic Council: Academic Council will consist of representatives from each of the consortium member. Main task of the Academic Council will be elaboration of the Strategic Plan for improvement of the University Information Management System.

1.4. Conferences on university information management: Meeting of Academic Council administrative bodies in Dnipropetrovsk. Discussion of the results of researches on the state of university management in NIS partner countries and EU universities, development and affirmation of a Strategic plan.

 

WP.2 EU TRAINING COURSES FOR YOUNG PC TEACHERS AND DEVELOPERS

Young teachers, who will be responsible for further courses on information technologies in university management, will be selected, trained in English, and retrained in the field information management in Koblenz and Lublin. After return, they will disseminate new knowledge at home universities during special seminars.

2.1. Selection of NIS universities staff for training: Selection of NIS universities staff for training in EU.  IT specialists, academic and administrative staff of partner universities (skilled in information technologies or management) will be selected for retraining. Selection criteria will be their IT skills and their language proficiency.

2.2. Intensive language courses for the selected staff:  2-month courses of English will be organized for getting knowledge on Information Technologies and Information Management with the usage of video-, audio- materials, textbooks, etc.

2.3. Selected participants retrained in EU:  Selected staff (5 persons from each partner university ) will participate in 1–month courses at partner universities on learning university information management methodologies and technologies to gain European knowledge and experience in European University Information Management System.

2.4. Seminar presentation at the home universities: Meeting of the retrained group members with colleagues to share gained knowledge. Retrained participants will have an opportunity to present the model for the future University Information Management System. All the introduced motions by university’s colleagues will be discussed and taken into consideration for further development.

 

WP.3 UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (UMIS)

Modelling and design of a distributed University Management Information System – UMIS. Information system will be developed as an important instrument of collecting and analyzing information about university activities. A special computer laboratory will be arranged for System’s development. The System is expected to become a part of existing university information management systems and to support:

  • Information about students, their marks and ranks;
  • Planning education process cycle.

3.1. Questionnaires for the all partner countries: Questionnaires for the all participating partner countries

3.2. Study of students’ needs: Students’ needs will be defined and analized.

3.3. Software groups with students’ participation:  Software groups will be formed with participation of young teachers and students.

3.4. UML model of the UMIS, its programming: Modelling and design of a distributed University Management Information System – UMIS. Information system will be developed as an important instrument of collecting and analyzing information about university activities. A special computer laboratory will be arranged for System’s development.

3.5. Installed and adapted UMIS: Implementation of the software to NIS universities’ practice by the IT- Centers of the universities

 

WP.4 INNOVATION AND EDUCATIONAL IT CENTERS AT THE NIS UNIVERSITIES

Special Centers (for teaching and for innovation activity) will be established at each partner country university. Plans of development and statutes of the Centres will be elaborated. The Centers will be equipped and their staff will be retrained at the EU universities.

4.1. Business Plans of the Centers: Development and publishing Business plans of the Centres which consist of the main items of the developed Strategic Plan on ways towards for improvement of the University Information Management System.

4.2. Web-sites of the IT Centers: Development and promotion of web-sites of the IT-Centers. Web-sites will be designed just from the start of the project. The first version will include initial information about the IT-Centers and plans of their development. Then the web-sites will be maintained beyond the lifetime of the project by collection of all new information about the IT-Centers and plans of their development.

4.3. Retrained IT centers staff in EU:  Administrative staff of each IT-center will be selected for future training on university information management at the EU universities. The selected staff will be retrained at the EU universities, participate in courses of modern information management technologies.

4.4. Equipment for the IT-centers’ offices: All the necessary equipment will be selected and purchased to organize the work places for the staff of IT- Centers at all partner countries universities.

4.5. Business process reorganization: Reorganization of business processes of IT- Centers, changing their staff structure, taking into account the information technology to be used in the future.

 

WP.5 CONTINUED COURSES ON MODERN METHODS OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND IT TECHNOLOGIES

The young teachers, retrained at EU university, together with their colleagues, will prepare new courses for the future retaining curricula for university academic and administrative staff. The first pilot group of university staff will be retrained.
5.1. Teachers for the further courses: Selection of teachers from each of the partner countries university skilled both in computer science and theory of management who should prepare several subjects for the course.

5.2. Local libraries: Modern teaching equipment and literature will be purchased.

5.3. Concept of the course on university management: A concept for the course will be elaborated on the base of comparable analysis of existing courses at the EU universities, adapted to the special needs of the NIS universities. The concept will include first drafts of syllabi will be evaluated after the first retraining phase.

5.4. Selected teachers, retrained in EU: The teachers selected under 5.1 will be retrained at TNU participate in courses both as students and as teachers.

5.5. Course syllabi Methodology: Development of the course syllabus and of a package of teaching material, including adaptation of existing EU universities material, their approval by Academic Council.

5.6. Preparation of bilateral agreements: Preparation of bilateral agreements about exchange and co-ordination of the teaching material. Agreements will be signed for the purpose of exchange and co-ordination of the teaching materials, on the basis of the developed syllabus.

5.7. Organizing courses at the PC universities: Organizing first courses at NIS partner universities for representatives of administration from the universities, mutual exchange of experience within all member of the project consortium. Courses starts with support of coordinators from the EU universities. Administrators from EU universities will visit partner countires universities.

 

WP.6 DISSEMINATION

The dissemination strategy of the project is quit traditional. We plan to use tree ways: electronic tools, traditional mass-media, and conferences. Web-sites will be designed right from the start of the project by IT specialists and will be maintained beyond the lifetime of the project. Advertising campaign of the project (Publishing of brochures, project bulletins; regular cooperation with mass-media). Conferences in ministries devoted to university management.

6.1. Project web-site: Staff of IT-Centers, representatives of NMU

6.2. Information campaign in mass-media: Information about the project and developed University Information Management System will be distributed through mass-media at partner countries in order to share information about Tempus project advantages and to involve new sponsors.

6.3. Presentations at the Ministries: Organization and realization of presentation of the project in the Ministries of Education. The presentation materials will be prepared by partner countries universities. Presentations will be organized in Dnipropetrovsk (NMU), Minsk (BSU), Comrat (CSU) and Batumi (RSU).

6.4. 2 annual project bulletins: Publication of bulletin by members of each NIS universities, about current results of the project.

 

WP.7 SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability of the project is based on two approaches. First, all the project results (the curriculum, course syllabi, the Information System) should be officially approval (and accredit) by the national ministries. It is very important in the former USSR countries, which are still quite centralised. Second, a public movement for support of university management development should be organised. For this reason an International Association of University Management should be established.

7.1. Official approval of the project results: Official approval of the project results at the national Ministries. Presentation of the developed University Management System Software and the curriculum at the Ministries. Making terms with the Ministries of Education about the documents. Accreditation of elaborated procedures and instructions for partner countries universities.

7.2. International Association of the Centers: Association of Partner Countries universities that are interested in adaptation of developed university management to conditions of their institutions.

7.3. New curricula of regular LLL courses: New curricula of regular LLL courses for university teachers’ retraining.

 

WP.8 QUALITY CONTROL AND MONITORING

 

The main strategy of quality control and monitoring will be combination of day-to-day internal control by a special member of the International Council and annual review by independent experts. Compilation of requirements, specification. Documentation guiding in the project progress.

8.1. Annual reports of the Coordination Committee: Annual reports of the Coordination Committee about project progress. Experts on quality assessment , not involved in other project activities, will evaluate the project results twice: in the middle of first and second project year. We consider, that in such case it is not necessary to sub-contract special external experts (with more difficult management).

8.2. Reviews of external experts: Reviews of external experts on the project ongoing and results.

8.3. Mutual visits of the partner universities Representatives of the PC universities will visit their NIS partners.

 

WP.9 MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT

Project management will be organised as a combination of two levels: day-to-day management and strategic management. The first one will be realised by the project coordinator with his local team (executive manager, acconter, secretary). Consulting with other members of Coordination will be done mainly with use of electronic tools, or during special meetings. Strategic issues will be discussed during special coordination meetings, which will take place two times per year.

9.1. Coordination Committee: Coordination Committee of the project will be established.

9.2. Semi-annual coordination meetings: 4 coordination meetings will take place in Koblenz, Lublin, Le Mans and Amsterdam.

9.3. Everyday management and accounting: General and Local Management Committees will be established.