contact

Information Society Research Institute

Address: H-1111 Budapest

Stoczek street 2-4.

St. building I/108.

Telephone: +36 1 463-2526
 

Telefax: +36 1 463-2547

rab.arpad@ittk.hu

impresszum

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

INTRODUCTION

This present project was initiated by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Information Society Research Institute (BUTE-ITTK). Since 2003 there is an information society higher education project in Hungary co-founded by the Ministry of Informatics and Communication and the Ministry of Education. In the framework of this project a network was established consisting of so-called Information Society Education and Research Groups (ISERG). These groups are located at different nationwide recognised universities and colleges in Hungary and also partly in the Carpathian-basin (more than 20 partners altogether). Every ISERG has research and teaching activities focusing on definite areas (e.g. social sciences, arts, natural science, industrial art etc.) based on a joint set of knowledge. Our vision is to create a “test bed” (with six other partners) to a Europe-wide network of education and research institution to foster diversified, yet strictly coordinated teaching and research activities concerning the information society.

The Network for Teaching Information Society (NETIS) project is funded by the European Commission under the Leonardo da Vinci Program. The project started on the 1st of November, 2006 and after the prolongation of the project in 2008 it lasts for 26 months until the 31st of December, 2008 with the participation of seven prominent, Europe wide recognised organisations (universities and research institutions) from six countries. BUTE-ITTK is the coordinator of the project. Our aim is to increase knowledge and competence of students on Information Society, and also broaden and deepen their understanding on the topic, by introducing a course on Information Society in tertiary education institutions.

Aim of the project

Our pilot project aims to raise awareness of new challenges and opportunities of the modern information society. We develop a curriculum, an innovative introductory IS course book and text book in different languages, available in both electronic and paper based format. The books will be conceived to be available in an e-learning environment with the help of an e-learning expert partner. We also plan to initiate an accreditation process in order to introduce the Information Society course in the normal curriculum at every school level subsequently the end of the project. We hope that this book will be a required material for all the university and college students in all countries. Develop an effective transactional partnership between educational and research institution is also an aim of the project. We consider dissemination of the products, methods, practises and results garnered from the projects very important therefore we lay emphasis on this from the beginning of the project until the end.

At the same time with the help of this pilot project we expand the nation-based ISERG network and start to build a frame for an international cooperation for teaching/researching IS and exchange experience in Europe (dissemination of good practices at European level). As the phenomena of IS are becoming global, their understanding demands global collaboration as well. The goal is to make the network an active network, by means of meetings, teachers and researchers exchanges and the creation of a resource website for the partners involved, to be made available to the European academic community at large. The main products of the project are curricula, a course book; a text book (printed version, and CD and e-learning format); blended learning courses and curricula; reports on methodological developments and evaluation of teaching. E-learning and other written project materials will remain available on the Internet following the project at least for 5 years.

The content of the 2 years long project is as follows:

• Segmentation: Further specification of main target group needs

• Course book: Developing an introductory course book

• Text Book: Developing and disseminating complementary text book

• E-learning transformation: Transforming the course book and text book into virtual form, and offer the content on e-learning platform

• Teaching: Test teaching of books in blended learning courses

• Evaluation and quality management of the project

• Valorization and dissemination of project products and results/methods