Periodic Reporting for period 3 - RItrain (Reseach Infrastructures Training Programme)
Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-03-31
The overarching goal of RItrain is to identify the competency requirements for the professional management of European research infrastructures (RI) and design a training programme to fulfil these requirements. Our highest priority is those professionals who are already working in research infrastructures, including directors, project managers, heads of HR, legal representatives and communications experts.
EMMRI has been designed as an executive programme at the EQF 8 level (post-doctoral level) for participants with relevant working experience. A pilot Masters’ course has been run and subsequently assessed with the aim to report on whether the course met its objectives, RIs have been engaged effectively, and the pilot process has been effective. An International Advisory Board composed of external experts have been arranged for external review and quality assurance. The final version of the curriculum syllabi has been released. WP5 developed a continuing professional development programme for the current generation of managers of RIs through a combination of webinars and staff exchanges. These provided training material that served as case studies for EMMRI. The close synergy between WPs 4 and 5 has been enormously beneficial to both WPs.
RItrain organised an end of project workshop, entitled ‘Building Leadership in European Research Infrastructures - common challenges, best practices and future perspectives of RI staff training’. It brought together participants of the RItrain knowledge/staff exchanges, EMMRI ‘students’ and a wide range of RI representatives from over 40 RIs, as well as funders, policymakers and educators.
The impact of this project is threefold: on professionals’ development and competitiveness, on RI interconnectedness and on gender equality.
Next to the Masters programme we developed and implemented a staff and knowledge exchange programme. In total 7 staff exchanges and 1 knowledge exchange workshop were organised giving access to several docens of people. Through the programme participants from research infrastructures have received tailored training. The strength of the knowledge/staff exchange programme is the opportunity to bring together managers from research infrastructures that are diverse in their subject area, organisational structure and developmental stage.
Thirdly a webinar programme was established giving access to 48 Multimedia Learning Objects: 9 Webinar-Interviews, 27 Webinar-Lectures and 12 Live-Webinars all on management issues of RIs. 33 Multimedia Learning Objects are published and freely available on the project website and through our YoutTube channel, 15 are available on the EMMRI Learning Platform.