IDEA-net is an EU funded unique partnership of several European universities and institutions, coordinated by IDEA Center of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Together, we are establishing a community of practice on inclusion, diversity, equity and access. One of the multiple ways we are connecting with other educational institutions’ staff and researchers is by our LinkedIn group, called: An alliED Network for Inclusion in Education.
The alliED Network for Inclusion in Education is a public LinkedIn group for education practitioners and other experts developing capacity on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in higher education.
Expectations
Joining the alliED Network on LinkedIn is for anyone willing to exchange shared experience implementing IDEA practices at institutional, faculty or policy levels. This group is coordinated by the IDEA-net project which, since September 2022, has put together:
- An online database of 50+ IDEA offices, services, programmes and leadership roles from around the world.
- Nine-step guidelines towards establishing a centralised IDEA office.
- Piloted methods for designing institutional IDEA training and support.
Conversation starters on the application of these deliverables are being curated on the LinkedIn group, via our newsletter and our webinars. Over the longer term, IDEA-net team envisions the development of more universally applicable capacity building models on IDEA training and support. It is therefore a key priority for our team to enable meaningful dialogue and engagement towards this aim.
More about why we have launched this network
Firstly, we believe that international cooperation is a valuable asset to support IDEA practices to develop sustainably. We are seeking to increase impactful IDEA training and support as our project is in its final year.
Currently, the project is piloting IDEA workshops at partner universities in Belgrade, Ljubljana and Zadar. The methodology for these workshops is being developed by ECHO (Expertise Centre for Diversity Policy) – an organisation with 30 years of experience capacity building IDEA in the Dutch education system.
University College Dublin, another partner in the project, contributes participatory universal design approaches, particularly through the Guidelines for an IDEA office. Erasmus University Rotterdam, as coordinators of the IDEA-net project, brings its longstanding expertise in leading IDEA from vision to implementation.
The Knowledge Innovation Centre is proud to be leading this Community of Practice and the project’s dissemination. It is committed to continuous dialogue, resource sharing, and professional development in education.
Curious about the LinkedIn group? Feel free to join our discussions and the good practices and resources we are sharing: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14406541/
