International university network meets for the first time

"Get together" was the motto of the first online meeting of the new international network of universities in technical communication. For the tekom international advisory board for professional development and training, it was a great opportunity to catch up with both new and familiar peers.

Text by Yvonne Cleary Daniela Straub

Inhaltsübersicht

Image: © Roman Hermann

There were over 30 participants from across Europe from industry, professional organizations, committees, and universities. It was also really exciting to hear about their common ideas and shared enthusiasm for this new academic community.

In order to help make the network relevant, the board developed a questionnaire to learn more about people’s current stage and expectations. Thus far, 40 respondents are interested in taking part. The majority listed new networking opportunities as a major incentive, but they also mentioned specific ideas such as working on common projects, accessing resources, mentoring or support for teaching. Table 1 shows the whole list of answers.

Table 1: What support or benefits would encourage you to participate in a university network?

 

We were delighted to find that participants were highly enthusiastic. Together, we established the following needs:

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