OBJECTIVES & AIMS

Vision & Mission
The ETNITE project strives to achieve a breakthrough in the human resource potential available by supporting the ITS EduNet, a self-sustaining, pan-European organisation established in Budapest in May 2004 which will offer validated training material in order to enhance the technical skills, knowledge and general awareness of ITS. The aim is to produce a decisive impact on European ITS implementation through:

• raising the level of technical and professional competence in the ITS field
• producing educational resources for trainees and professionals, for both the public and private sector
• promoting the development of e-learning methodologies where appropriate
• increasing the general awareness of ITS among transport professionals - especially public sector decision makers and students for career potential
• ensuring the direct transfer of ITS R&D results into teaching resources
• exploiting existing ITS applications as demonstration sites for teaching purposes.

ETNITE will also provide a way of supporting European industry by ensuring the availability of state-of-the-art know-how and by promoting the world-wide reputation of European ITS products and services.

ETNITE will facilitate the creation of mechanisms for speeding up the development and implementation of high-quality ITS projects. While supporting the ITS EduNET, ETNITE will provide the following resources in order to facilitate the progressive extension of this Network:

• organisational and technical tools
• market assessment evaluations
• best practices
• dissemination actions

ETNITE is targeted at organisations active in ITS training and education in Europe, including universities and institutes. It is aimed that these organisations will use ETNITE results in terms of:

• common best practices
• shared efforts in preparing material for training and education
• access to new training material on ITS
• cooperation within the network.

Nonetheless, the main target group is the end users of the improved ITS education and training resulting from ETNITE. This includes:

• students at various levels involved in ITS
• trainees and professionals (lifelong education)
• public sector employees (local authorities, transport operators)
• private firms (including SMEs), transport consultancies, etc.

Over the long term, the greater and more efficient use of ITS fostered by ETNITE should contribute to long term improvements in transport provision and accessibility in Europe, as well as improved efficiency, safety, environmental protection and social inclusion. 

Objectives
While aiming to improve the scope and quality of ITS training and education in Europe, ETNITE has three objectives:

1. The creation of a trans-European network for facilitating the exchange of experience related to ITS training and education. This will be achieved not only by ETNITE partnership, but also a specific Memorandum of Understanding. The network will be open to all qualified partners interested in contributing and is intended to last beyond the duration of the ETNITE project.
   
2. The production of good practice guidelines for ITS training and education, including new forms of teaching and learning. ETNITE will develop best practices for more effective processes in ITS training and education including curricula development as well as teaching and learning methods among European universities. The overall co-ordination of educational resources at the European level will be also addressed. All of these activities will produce a better awareness of the increasing importance of ITS and its potential.
   
   As a consequence, more students and young people will be attracted to improve their skills and competence in ITS due to the visible opportunities for mobility and employment throughout Europe.
   
3. The demonstration of the effectiveness of the aforementioned network and guidelines developed.

ETNITE will identify how to improve the quality and effectiveness of the training material related to the complex and fast-evolving field of ITS. It will develop recommendations for European organisations/networks for ITS training and education. This combination of high-quality and up-to-date training material coupled with a support network will facilitate a continued vocational and lifelong acquisition of skills and the consolidation of technological and organisational changes. 

ETNITE will also address how to exploit the results of the numerous relevant national and European research projects on ITS and how to most effectively bring them into the training and education programmes. This includes how to continuously update materials according to the evolution of the research and developments in the ITS field. The transfer of state-of-the-art knowledge to companies (including SMEs), public administration and decision makers will contribute to improved competitiveness and entrepreneurship, also stimulating new employment possibilities. 

Priorities

1. New forms of learning, teaching and basic skills in ITS vocational and educational training. Since ITS consists of several subjects of study, it is essential to understand the needs of students, employees and decision-makers in terms of ease of access and the overall effectiveness of the teaching material. This is the starting point for identifying more suitable and innovative forms learning, including e-learning, virtual labs, networked simulations, and distance-learning interactive courses.
   
2. Valuing learning. Criteria for the identification, assessment and recognition of different types of learning regarding ITS will be developed: a common position within the Network of universities and interested organisations at the European level will enable lifelong learning and the recognition of specific curricula and experiences in Europe.
   
3. Guidance and counselling. ETNITE best practices will be the basis for teacher training and orientation. In addition, ETNITE will aid career councellors with the most up-to-date information on new and emerging occupations in the ITS domain. Web-based training guidance will be considered and assessed.
   
4. Agreed best practices. There is little evidence of agreed best practice of new learning and teaching methods for ITS education and training at the European level today.

ETNITE and its proposed future network will further investigate the required skills and needs and will produce a document of recommended good practices including new learning and teaching methods for overcoming the difficulties of the present situation.

In terms of vocational training, ETNITE will produce a document of recommended best practices and promote these at the national level. It will also produce a feasibility study for a permanent European organisation or network for ITS Training, Education and Outreach”. Its aim will be to strengthen the scientific and technological excellence available within the EC by creating teaching resources and exchanging knowledge at the European level on a continuous basis.

ETNITE Impact
The impact of ETNITE in the short term is expected to be the increase of the general awareness of ITS among transport professionals - especially key public sector decision-makers and students (to build career potential). At the same time, the availability of best practices should start a positive process for developing the skills required to deal with the complex technical, organisational, and economic aspects involved in successful ITS projects.

For the medium and long term, ETNITE is expected to produce a mechanism for speeding up the development and implementation of high-quality ITS projects and  enabling the rapid transfer of  knowledge from  research projects. In addition, it is aimed at ensuring the dissemination of emerging standards and EC initiatives, such as eSafety.

ETNITE will also foster improved, flexible training methods suitable for professionals in industry (short courses, distance learning etc), so that training provision is much better matched to need. This should have a significant impact.