Eumetcal Report 2007

Creating training cooperation and supporting continuous professional development of NHMS meteorological and hydrological staff

 The Eumetcal Programme is established to create cooperation and exchange of training material among members and to develop computer assisted learning resources specialising in blended meteorological and hydrological training for European NHMSs. The two main resources of the programme include the learning object repository (intraLibrary) and website which give access to training material originating from member and cooperating institutions and from the programme activities.

 In 1 July 2007 the third phase of the Eumetcal Programme started. The five-year phase will be even more dedicated to serving the needs of end-users and will be especially focused on the development of common training guidance (syllabi) and supporting the development and delivery of blended learning courses through the work of the seven Eumetcal Themed Resource Working Groups.

 The major effort in 2007 has been the introduction of blended learning courses aiming for continuous professional development of meteorological and hydrological staff. The first pilot course was held February-March 2007 on the topic of Aviation Meteorology by Météo-France, Academic Director Mr. Christophe Billard. The course had a strong interest; over 30 applications throughout Europe were received and 15 were selected by MF to participate in the course. It was divided into a seven-week distance learning and five-day classroom phase and was overall very well received by the students.

 The second course focused on NWP applications for forecasters and was carried out in October-December by FMI, Academic Director Mr. Vesa Nietosvaara. The course was a collaborative development with ECMWF, DWD, ZAMG, Met.no and a guest lecture from MSC. FMI received 17 applications and 15 were selected for the course that was also divided into a distance (see first image for a screenshot) and classroom phase at the DWD facilities in Langen. The course and especially the new approach with computer assisted learning were very well received by the students.

 Eumetcal successfully launched a new eLearning Platform (www.eumetcal.org/courses) for the learning process management of the Eumetcal blended learning courses and for collaboration between different Eumetcal Working Group members. The module on “Verification of Probabilistic Forecasts”, prepared by FMI and MSC was launched in late summer. This is a third module and complements the module on Forecast Verification.

 The Eumetcal Programme was presented in major international meteorological conferences and two new member countries were visited in early 2007. From the third phase onwards Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania are also full members of the programme. A cooperation agreement with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABoM) on the development and exchange of training resources was signed in November. Active cooperation with EUMETSAT has been continued and cooperation with ECMWF resulted in the successful third Eumetcal workshop.

 The third Eumetcal workshop for trainers and training managers of European NHMSs was a success with over 30 participants from 15 countries and excellent feedback from the participants. The workshop was held on 29-31 August 2007 at the ECMWF facilities in Reading, UK hosted by the ECMWF.

 In connection with the start of the Eumetcal III Programme and the third Eumetcal Workshop, seven new Working Groups were launched in the following topics: Satellite meteorology (chair José Prieto, EUMETSAT), Radar meteorology (chair Wilfried Jacobs, DWD), Hydrology (chair Jean-Michel Tanguy, SCHAPI), Numerical Weather Prediction (chair Vesa Nietosvaara, FMI), Aviation meteorology (chair Christophe Billard, MF), Severe Weather (chair Sjon Van der Tol, KNMI) and Tools and Technologies for Training (chair Jarno Schipper, ZAMG). These open working groups will define training course content for upcoming Eumetcal Courses and assess the current level and availability of training material within their domain.

 The Eumetcal website address is www.eumetcal.org