Interact News

   
 
 

 

 

November, 2009

• The content and design of the pilot training session in Romania is finalized.
• On November 24-25, the final pilot training session of ICC Training Module and Learners’ Handbook was held at Romania Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bucharest. There were about 30 participants from different business areas. Two-day training included seven sessions on different ICC units from the Training Module. Some project partners and ICC trainer from Finland also took part.
• On November 26-27, the Final Partner meeting was held in Bucharest, Romania with all the partners participating. The last work stage (review of the outputs, dissemination, exploitation, external evaluation, sustainability of the project outputs) as well as the Final Project Report was discussed.  
• On November 30, INTERACT project lifecycle came to an end.

 
 

October, 2009

• The content and design of the pilot training session in Finland is finalized.
• On October 5-6, the second pilot training session of ICC Training Module and Learners’ Handbook was held at South Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce. There were about 15 participants from different business areas each day. Two-day training included seven sessions on different ICC units from the Training Module. Project managers from Latvia and ICC trainer from Romania also took part.
• CDs with the content of the Learners’ Handbook are made and sent to the partners.
• Partners are getting ready for the Final Partner meeting in Romania at the end of November

September, 2009

• The content and design of the pilot training session in Latvia is finalized.
• On September 17-18, the first pilot training session of ICC Training Module and Learners’ Handbook was held at Latvia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with Baltic Bright Training and Consulting. There were about 20 participants from different business areas. Two-day training included seven sessions on different ICC units from the Training Module. Project manager and ICC trainer from Finland also took part.
• Printed copies of the Learners’ Handbook and Training Certificate are sent to the partners involved in training.

August, 2009

Newsletter

• On August 4, a mock training session was held at Latvia Chamber of Commerce and Industry to test the ICC Training Module and Learners’ Handbook.
• The Learners’ Handbook and Training Certificate are sent to be printed.
• Project e-newsletter 2 is sent to partners for dissemination purposes.
• The course content for training in Latvia has been developed.
• Quarter 7 of the Project lifecycle has come to an end and time sheets, expenditure and dissemination reports are due by September 15.
    

July, 2009

• The amended version of Learners’ Handbook has been designed and proof-read.
• Project Newsletter 2 is being compiled
   
  Sample Training Certificate is being developed and designed.
• Working group meeting of Latvia ICC content developers and ICC trainers is held to finalize the consistency of the Training Module, Learners’ Handbook and Guidelines for Use.  

June, 2009

• Quarter 6 of the Project lifecycle has come to an end and time sheets, expenditure and dissemination reports are due.
• Partners, trainers and associate partners have brought the reviewing of the project outputs to an end.
• The External Evaluation Interim report on the project outputs - Training Module and Handbook, has been received for consideration. Partners study the recommendations. 

May, 2009

• Partners, trainers and associate partners have been working on reviewing the project outputs to improve their quality.
• The design of the Learners’ Handbook is being further improved.
• Interact has attracted another associate partner - Constantin Brancoveanu University from Pitesti, Romania. Their representative Tudorel Popescu will be involved in disseminating the project and reviewing the Project outputs – the Training Module and Learners’ Handbook.
•  BA School of Business and Finance also gets involved into    
   reviewing the Project outputs – the Training Module and Learners’ Handbook.

April, 2009 

• A draft design of the Learners’ Handbook is prepared.
• A Skype conference is held on April 8 to discuss the latest project activities and practical issues of participating at the 3^rd Partner Meeting and Valorization Conference on April 22-24 in Tallinn, Estonia.
• INTERACT presentation and materials for the workshop are being prepared. 
• INTERACT team holds the 3^rd Partner Meeting on April 22, 24 in Tallinn, Estonia during the 20^th SPACE Conference. Project team reviews the previous work stage and discusses the tasks for the final stage of the project.
• Valorization Conference of INTERACT project outputs takes place on April 23 in Tallinn, Estonia during the 20^th SPACE Conference. INTERACT presents a paper giving an overview of the project, its progress and outputs, as well as runs a workshop presenting one of the units of the Training Module.
• INTERACT takes part in Education Fair during the 20^th SPACE Conference disseminating the project outputs – Interactive Training Module and Learners’ Handbook.  
• External Evaluation of INTERACT project outputs and their quality set off. External Evaluation Strategy developed by Vilnius College of Higher education is presented to INTERACT team. Project partners fill in a questionnaire, as well as do oral interviews assessing the project activities and the quality of outputs.
  
  March, 2009

• Quarter 5 has come to an end and the staff time sheets, financial and dissemination reports are due.
• The adapting of the Training Module to interactive environment has been completed.
• The work group meeting of Crystal and Baltic Bright took place in Birmingham on March 26-28
• As of March 1, Vilnius College of Higher Education (VIKO) ceases to be an associate partner of INTERACT project.
• INTERACT is looking for an external evaluator of the project outputs.
• Learners’ Handbook is being designed. 
• The 3rd Partner Meeting and INTERACT participation at the Valorization Conference in Tallinn are being prepared.

February 2009

• The Project Leaflet in English, Latvian, Romanian and Finnish has been printed and sent to partners for dissemination.
• The Training Module is further developed in an interactive environment.
• Learners’ Handbook has been completed.
• The ICC trainers have been identified in Finland and Romania and have been involved in reviewing the ICC content of the Training Module.
• The Work group meeting of Baltic Bright and Crystal has been postponed for mid March.
• INTERACT has received the assessment of the Progress Report. It says the project “addresses the criterion with all aspects of high quality”. Hurray for INTERACT team!

January 2009

• The English version of the Project Leaflet has been designed and translated into Latvian, Romanian and Finnish.
• ICC content of the Training Module has been finalized.
• The Training Module is further developed in an interactive environment.
• Learners’ Handbook is being developed.
• Work group meeting of Baltic Bright and Crystal is being prepared at the end of February
• INTERACT has registered for the 3^rd Partner meeting and Validation conference hosted by SPACE in April, 2009 in Tallinn.

December 2008

• Project Leaflet  is being developed and designed for disseminating the project outputs
• More units of ICC content of the Training Module are developed. ICC content is being reviewed.
• The Training Module is further developed in an interactive environment.

• MIS (Management Information System) is finally launched to provide an easy platform of information and document exchange among partners
• Project Newsletter is being disseminated through the networks of project partners
• More units of ICC content of the Training Module are developed. ICC content is being reviewed
• Interact website design is updated.

• A pilot interactive unit of the Training Module

  A pilot interactive unit of the Training Module is launched at http://www.crystalpresentations.com/interact/vle
• Interact applies for the education exhibition held during SPACE 20^th Annual conference in April, 2009 in Tallinn, Estonia, to further disseminate the project and its outputs.
• Interact team produces the Progress Report which is finalized and sent to EACEA

October 2008

• Newsletter

  The Newsletter is sent to partners for dissemination purposes and published on Interact website. Newsletter (press to link)

•  Interact has submitted abstracts for the paper and workshop on the outputs at SPACE April conference next year in Tallinn.

• The work group meets in Riga for a two day meeting on October 21-22 to discuss the progress of ICC content and template development. 

• A Skype conference is held on October 28 to review the developed material and discuss topicalities of the project.

September 2008

• Quarter 3 has come to an end and time sheets, expenditure and dissemination reports are due
• The project Newsletter has been designed and sent to printing. 
• The work group is drafting the content for the first set of templates and adapting them to interactive environment.
• Abstracts for the INTERACT paper and workshop at April conference and partner meeting are being prepared 
• INTERACT portfolio is published on the website of European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

August 2008

• The project Newsletter has been drafted. 
• The work group is drafting the content for the first set of templates.
• More critical incidents on ICC have been collected.
• BA School of Business and Finance, Latvia has become another associate partner of the project and agreed to contribute to reviewing the ICC content of the templates.

 
July 2008

• The follow-up tasks after the 2^nd Partner Meeting are finalized
• The minutes of the 2^nd Partner meeting have been drafted
• An initial meeting of ALTO and Crystal workgroup has taken place to outline the immediate steps in producing the outputs of the project – interactive templates with ICC content

 June 2008

• The first work stage – the launch of the project and needs analysis has been successfully completed. The total of 210 responses has been received to the online questionnaire not only from project partner countries but also from a number of other EU countries.
• More input into the needs analysis was made by the results of interviews with internationally experienced business people in Chamber countries.
• An informal assessment of the situation in the field of cross cultural training and the use of interactive communication tools in Chamber countries was also made. The conclusions drawn prove all over again that the one (ICC) or the other aspect (ICT), or indeed for some partner countries, both aspects of the outputs of the project are innovative in partner countries.
• More cases or critical incidents to illustrate different cross cultural situations are being collected.
• The 2nd Partner meeting was held on June 26-27 in Seinajoki, Finland attended by 9 representatives from all partner organizations. The external consultant Barry Tomalin from IH London was also present. 

May 2008

• The needs analysis is coming to a close – by the end of May 175 responses have been received to the online questionnaire and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania is unsurpassed. Well-done! 
• Oral interviews with internationally experienced business people are being held in partner countries to provide more input into the needs analysis.
• Preparation for the 2nd Partner meeting has started.
   

 April 2008

• An intensive needs analysis on ICC awareness among entrepreneurs and research into the local market have started in all partner countries, especially in those countries which are represented in the project by Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

• Vilnius College of Higher Education has agreed to join INTERACT Project as an associate partner.

• Interact website has been launched.  

March 2008

• Several versions of the needs analysis questionnaire are developed and discussed by the partners.

• The final version is built into an online interactive format. The project logo is agreed on.

• The website layout and design is being developed further.

• On March 28 a Skype conference is being held among partners to catch up on the latest developments.

• Next set of immediate tasks is discussed – collecting cases to demonstrate the role of ICC training, assessing the existing ICC training possibilities, as well as ICT tools in each partner country. .

February 2008

• The kick-off meeting is held in Riga on Jan 31 – Feb 1. It is a successful team building event and discussion about all the important project documents. The tasks are set for the first work stage of the project – Needs Analysis and Research.

• A range of important tasks are begun – the development of the needs analysis questionnaire, designing of the project logo and website.

• The next partner meeting is agreed to be held – June 26-27. It will be held in Finland and will finalize the results of the first work stage of the project.

January 2008

• The kick-off will be held on January 31- February 1 in Riga.

• The Work Program, Time Schedule and Partner Tasks are worked out and sent to partners.

• The proposed Agenda for the kick-off meeting is discussed and finalized among partners.

• Most of the Partner agreements are signed.

December 2007

• December 1: the official set-off date of the project

• The coordinating institution Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) sign the grant agreement for the project action lasting for two years December 2007 – November 2009.

• Partner agreements and other documentation are being prepared.