VCSE Guidebook/How to promote the VCSE-model/Dissemination strategy

5.2. Dissemination strategy

One of the objectives of the VCSE-project is the dissemination of the VCSE-model as a successful ‘best practice’ of a virtual campus to educational staff and senior-level decision makers at European universities. Dissemination of the VCSE-model to these target groups serves various purposes:

• informing the target groups regarding virtual mobility in general and raising awareness of the benefits of the VCSE virtual campus model in particular;
• correcting negative images of e-learning and virtual mobility among the target groups and enlarging the basis of support for virtual campus initiatives, such as the VCSE, at European universities;
• raising interest among the target groups to become involved in virtual campus initiatives, either as part of the VCSE or by starting a virtual campus in other fields of study with a strong European (international) dimension and scope for intercultural dialogue

The VCSE partnership uses a variety of relevant media and fora as channels for dissemination of the VCSE-model to educational staff and decision makers at European universities. These range from more passive to more active in reaching out to the target audience:

• 1. project website
• 2. publications (conference proceedings, journals, books; printed and/or online)
• 3. conferences and symposiums (national, international)
• 4. networks (direct mailings, informal person-to-person contacts, small group meetings)
• 5. on-site workshops

A specified overview of the dissemination activities is provided in the Annex to this chapter. Whereas channels 1-4 are common ingredients of almost any dissemination strategy, the on-site workshops can be considered as a novel and innovative approach. Therefore, this chapter focuses on our experiences with on-site workshops.