Cross-border Networks and Resources for Common Challenges in Education (SE478)
Funded by South-East Finland - Russia ENPI 2007-2013

Objective of the project

The overall objective of the project was to create the preconditions for an effective and informal educational framework of southeast Finland and northwest Russia.

Main activities

- Executing feasibility study to get a better understanding of the target groups' challenges. - Executing bench-marking of cross-border exchange to select best practices in distance vocational education, retraining and professional development. - To create a common up-to-date tool for practical implementation of accumulated experience in vocational e-learning. - Launching e-Skills Centre. - Carry out E-Training pilot projects.

Achievements

Project created the e-Skills Centre with the following infrastructure: technical architecture of the local and central nodes, multilingual distance learning system “Vel-Com” as the software basis for distance vocational education and cross-border partnership. A multilateral agreement on cooperation, “e-Skills Centre”, was signed between the partners within the project time. For the legal form of the e-Skills Centre, the partners have chosen a form of Partnership Agreement without forming a separate legal entity. A higher level of awareness of vocational distance learning and e-learning in general was supported by developing and launching the web portal www.ednet.ksob.ru that is intended to serve not only users in Finland and Russia but the wide public as well. The project has published several studies, research studies, and analysis that may be downloaded at the EdNet web portal. The project published the Finnish-Russian Glossary of Virtual and Vocational Training Terms which will also be available in e-form.