SciDev.Net

An International Training Program on "INFORMATION":

STIMULATE = Scientific and Technological Information Management in Universities and Libraries:
an Active Training Environment (Edition 9)

The program is planned to take place mainly in Brussels, Belgium, for 3 months, May – July 2009:
Language used is English.
Our motto is “Helping educators and innovators to advance knowledge and to enrich lives”

Context and evolution of the program:
The initiative has been approved by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) and is sponsored by the Belgian Government (the directorate named DGOS since December 2002). This fits in a series of similar international training activities that have been organized since 1991, named MIST 1, 2, 3, KNOW-HOW, and STIMULATE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

This initiative is aimed primarily at persons with a university degree (Bachelor or Master), who work in universities, information and documentation centres, and libraries, including of course university libraries, and who have a few years of practical experience.

The term Active Training Environment in the title of the training program reflects our wish to create an environment in which each participant is stimulated to get involved actively, supported by the lecturers and the infrastructure provided by the training program. This fits well into the general, worldwide trend away from "teaching" to "learning management".

Aim / goal of the training program:
This International Training Program offers a stimulating learning environment to information experts in the area of science and technology, who are in the early phase of their career. The aims are to sharpen their skills in collecting, storing, retrieving, presenting and managing information. This can be of great benefit to the teaching and research activities going on in their institute and to the further development of their organisation and region.

This initiative corresponds well with the basic, general aim of all the International Training Programs that are supported by VLIR: to train young scientists and professionals from developing countries in a domain that is relevant for the further development of the country, and to stimulate the participants to transfer their increased knowledge and skills to their colleagues and other stakeholders in their home country.

More specific objectives of the training program:

 

• to provide participants with a clearer view on the importance of information in general and for their environment in particular, and on how to manage information;        

• to learn the participants to cope with modern technology, in view of the increasing importance of ICT;

• to guide them in retrieving information that is publicly accessible on an international scale; and

• to learn them to store, organise, present, manage, publish information resources at personal, institutional, regional or national level.

After being actively involved in this International Training Program, every participant will have improved the ability:

 

• to appreciate and explain the importance of access to information for their organisation

• to present information to users and potential users, using appropriate information technology

• to train interested persons in the use and management of information, using appropriate presentation techniques

• to contribute to the planning of the (further) development of an information service

• to communicate through the Internet with users of information, information providers, colleagues,…

• to apply quantitative methods in decision making related to information systems and services

• to retrieve information from the Internet

• to store information for later retrieval and access by potential users, using information technology

For fuller details about the program including scholarships/grants and registration please see attachment.