MINERVA

1. Understanding innovation

Proposals or activities addressing this orientation must have as their aim an improved understanding of the impact of ICT and/or ODL models on the organisation of learning/teaching and/or on the learning process as such. They may address classroom-based learning, distance learning modes, or the combination of both.

Proposals should contain elements of action-research and/or observation methodologies. Psychological, social, organisational, pedagogical or economic issues could all be subjects for thorough evaluation. Proposals concerned with carrying out comparative analysis or targeted studies at European level may also be submitted.

Examples of areas of common interest for co-operation at European level under this category include:

• The impact of ICT on learning processes (e.g. learners with special educational needs, advanced simulation tools); issues related to ODL and distributed learning environment (e.g. assessment, accreditation issues) ; collaborative learning and other innovative pedagogic approaches supported by communication among pupils or between learners and teachers or tutors; handling cultural and linguistic differences in learning contexts involving physical and virtual mobility; analysis of learners’ attitudes and profiles, including gender differences.

It should, however, be stressed that this list is indicative only, and proposals relating to other pertinent areas of interest may also be submitted.

2. Designing, developing and testing new methods and educational resources

Proposals or activities addressing this orientation should aim at providing methods, tools and resources necessary for the development of innovative learning environments. The methods, tools and resources developed should be of a generic nature, i.e. they should be easily transferable to other domains. Projects will be expected to demonstrate how such a transfer can be accomplished.

The following are some examples of the kinds of outcomes to which proposals under this category might be expected to give rise :

• Innovative methodologies for the collaborative design of educational multimedia materials at European level, involving public/private partnership; strategic approaches for the educational use of the Internet or other media and information sources; identifying and creating conditions for the adaptation and transfer of successful innovative approaches which have been validated at national or regional level.

It should, however, be stressed that this list is indicative only, and proposals relating to other pertinent areas of interest may also be submitted.

3. Providing access and support dissemination

Proposals addressing this orientation will be aiming at developing information services and systems on educational methods and resources involving the use of ODL and ICT, at a European level. Such services should take into account the existing information channels at regional, national and international level - including those provided by SOCRATES-supported projects (see point E below) - and build on them wherever possible.

The following are some examples of the kinds of outcomes to which proposals under this category might be expected to give rise :

• Support services with a view to providing targeted information to teachers, managers or decision-makers on issues of common interest;

• Access to information on educational multimedia products and Internet-based services, and to available assessments of these products and services in different contexts;

• Methods for establishing criteria and quality indicators for the description of information resources (notably those available via Internet) which are usable in educational contexts.

It should, however, be stressed that this list is indicative only, and proposals relating to other pertinent areas of interest may also be submitted.

Specific projects may aim at providing synthesis on the results of projects which have been selected under SOCRATES and other Community programmes on issues of common interest.

The European Commission will provide a general framework for dissemination. All project proposals should therefore provide for regular inputs for the on-line dissemination of project results and deliverables and for participation in electronic fora. Key deliverables, or at least an executive summary of these, would also need to be translated into the partners’ languages.

4. Activities to support the exchange of ideas and experience relating to ODL and the use of ICT in education

Proposals under this orientation will be concerned with encouraging the establishment of links at European level between producers, users and managers of education and training systems. Projects or activities may be focussed on specific issues such as the networking of resource centres, teacher education institutions, experts or decision-makers with a view to exchanging ideas and experiences. Networking between the educational sector and other sectors (research, social and cultural associations etc.) will also be encouraged, with a view to developing bridges between research and the more practical pedagogical world and to ensuring broad participation in a network.

Particular attention will be given to proposals containing projects or activities designed to identify common issues of European interest deriving from national initiatives and experiences. Such activities might include:

• Networking of resource centres with a view to discussing approaches to the use of ICT in specific traditional disciplines and/or its integration into the curriculum, as a transversal tool;

• Networking of experts in the field of distance learning on issues such as quality certification, models for the pricing of services, market opportunities.

It should,however, be stressed that this list is indicative only, and proposals relating to other pertinent areas of interest may also be submitted.

In all proposals, clear plans should be given in terms of the co-operation activities and envisaged encounters, building on the strengths of the partners. Such activities might, for example, include the organisation of conferences, workshops, fora, summer universities, etc. designed to help attain the objectives of the project and disseminate its results.

Moreover,though face to face meetings are an important part of such co-operation, the use of ICT is essential for ensuring a wide availability and the sustainability of such activities. It will therefore be regarded as a mandatory component in the activities proposed, and details of the way it is to be used should be contained in the proposals.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN MINERVA?

For projects under Minerva, a partnership must include at least one eligible institution in each of at least three participating countries, at least one of which must be a Member State of the EU.One of the institutions must act as coordinator.

• Resource centres or other organisations with expertise in the field of "ICT in education" and / or ODL.
  This may also include guidance or consultancy services, multimedia libraries, research centres, etc.

• All type of educational institutions and providers, in any sector of education;

• Distance education institutions (including open universities);

• Teacher training institutions;

• Associations of teachers and learners;

• Research teams working in the field of "ICT in education" and / or ODL;

• Academic/educational associations or consortia at national or European level;

• Organisations/institutions involved in educational innovation;

• Public and private publishers / producers / broadcasters and other actors in the field of ICT and multimedia.

HOW CAN I SUBMIT A MINERVA PROJECT?

The yearly deadline for the submission of MINERVA projects is the 1^st November. This is a two-stage application procedure. By this date the applicant institution needs to send a pre-proposal application at the Socrates Office in Brussels, copied to the Malta Socrates Agency. Although the European Commission will hold the final decision for the evaluation of these applications, it is very important that a copy is also sent to the Malta office, since it will be responsible for part of the evaluation for the application. A team of Minerva experts at the European Commission will evaluate the pre-proposal application, and if evaluated positively the applicant will be requested to present a full-proposal application by 1^st March. If the application is once again evaluated positively, the applicant will then receive a contract for the requested funds and can start with the project work.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE GRANT THAT I CAN APPLY FOR?

Each project will have a different remuneration, because the financial support the Community will provide is based on a cost-sharing basis. In the past the average yearly grant allocated to Minerva projects has been in the region of 150,000 to 200,000 Euros.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MINERVA PROJECT?

The following features will be taken into account as quality indicators:

• The relevance to the aims of the Minerva action;

• The innovative character of the project;

• The clarity of the educational concept underlying the project, and the clear definition of the learning environment which it targets;

• The transferability, sustainability or extension capacity of the processes or products involved;

• The transversal character of partnership, for example through the participation of different kinds of organisation or the collaboration of actors from different sectors;

• The quality of the experts who are to work on the project;

• The European dimension of the project, demonstrated in terms of the scale and scope of the project and / or the project's capacity to compare and cross-fertilize experiences obtained in various national (including regional) contexts;

• The proposals which stress the dimension of gender and / or which address the needs of learners who are disadvantaged because of personal disability, for socio-economic reasons or because they live in areas with a less well developed educational infrastructure.

DOES MINERVA GIVE GRANTS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES?

No, the aims of the Minerva action do not include the giving of grants to fund distance learning courses. The action is intended for the creation of these type of courses within the projects which can be submitted.