Today, 1st March 2007, KMi has a new Director, and the European Association for Technology Enhanced Learning has a new President. "It has been a busy day", explains Peter Scott, "and looks as if it is going to get busier".
Peter was appointed by the Open University to take the Knowledge Media Institute into its third phase, after 10 years in which KMi has become a flagship for innovation in knowledge and media research.
"Our first Director, Professor Marc Eisenstadt, created a vision of Knowledge Media as the creative bridge between the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of work and learning. Our second director, Professor Enrico Motta, established KMi’s international reputation for research excellence. As the third Director of this great institution, my vision is to build upon those first innovation and research phases with a third ‘development’ phase. We will still be as innovative. We will still do the best research. But we also have the best technologies in the world – so let us put them to work".
EATEL, the European Association for Technology Enhanced Learning, is a non-profit association under the German Fiscal Code with its seat in Hannover, Germany. Amongst its articles, it aims to disseminate high-quality TEL resources, facilitate the transfer of research results, and to foster co-operation among researchers and providers in technology enhanced learning. Elected as the first President by unanimous acclaim of all founding members at the EATEL inaugural event today in the Austrian city of Vienna, Peter says that "Europe is leading TEL reseach and practice, and the new Association will help us to focus that activity. We are doing some exciting things, and we have some more exciting things planned. Watch this space!"
"At the EATEL launch party I was already approached by The President of the Ariadne foundation, Professor Erik Duval to see if we should start a "President/Directors Club", joked Peter.
Another busy day.