The seventh international EUMETCAL Workshop will be held 5 – 9 March 2012 in Exeter, United Kingdom, hosted by the UK Met Office.

The workshop will begin Monday 5 March in the morning and finish on Thursday 8 early afternoon. The time between Thursday afternoon and Friday 9 March is reserved for Eumetcal Steering Group meeting and possible side meetings.

The objectives of this workshop are to improve the skills of Eumetcal national trainers and to improve the training interaction and cooperation within Eumetcal.

In this workshop we will particularly focus on assisting the trainers to improve their training skills through various learning sessions and practical exercises. This «Train the Trainer» component of the Workshop aims at helping the workshop participants with various training challenges. These training sessions will be coordinated by Eumetcal PATT (Pedagogic Assistance To Trainers) Working Group.

The PATT training sessions will be focused on developing trainer skills in order to improve training. The sessions will be concentrated on the following topics:

  Competencies – developed by Jeff WILSON

  Designing Learning activities – developed by Ian BELL

  Online skills – developed by Luciane VEECK and Pat PARRISH

Sessions will contain presentations and group activities.

This workshop will be an ideal opportunity for participants to network with the other trainers and subject matter experts and to be involved in establishing the new thematic Working Groups for the next Eumetcal Programme phase, beginning 2013.

Eumetcal VII workshop will be the main event for Eumetcal trainers in 2012. UK Met Office offers a fantastic venue for an inspiring workshop. We hope see a many of you in Exeter in March 2012!

Some financial support for participants coming from Eumetcal member institutes will be available.

Workshop Themes

1. Trainer Support

Trainer support is the key area in the current and next Eumetcal Programme phases. We welcome proposals on

 Pedagogical aspects in training

 Networking the national trainers

 Emerging training needs in near future

 The best practices for online and distance learning

 Student motivation

 Measuring the impact of training

2. Technological Applications for Training

This theme aims at collecting initiatives on the choice of appropriate technological solutions for training. We encourage proposal submissions on i.e.

 Use the Learning Management Systems (LMS)

 Web authoring solutions

 Digital training repositories

 Online meeting software

 Web site solutions.

3. Training delivery

This theme focuses on the core activity within Eumetcal, the provision of courses and modules for advanced training. The aim of Eumetcal in the future is to improve the meteorological staff skills over specialized services, such as marine, aviation, warning services, etc. We are looking forward to receiving proposals on:

 New initiatives for meteorology, climate or related training

 Innovative learning activities

 Learner experiences of training courses and events

 Certification of meteorologists

4. Cooperation

With this theme we wish to emphasize the importance of cooperation across various training institutions for mutual benefit. We welcome your proposals on the following topics:

 Cooperation experiences between training institutions and training programmes

 Proposals for collaborative projects

5. Eumetcal Working Groups

With this special theme we want to acknowledge the valuable work and results that have been achieved within the Eumetcal thematic working groups during the current programme phase. We are expecting presentations particularly on the following topics:

 Evaluations of particular WG activities 2007-2012 – what has worked, what has not worked?

 Suggestions for working arrangements in the future

Practical Information

Workshop Location

The Workshop will take place at UK Met Office, Exeter, UK.

Workshop Fees

Attending the Workshop does not require any registration fee.

Financial Support

Limited travel support will be available for workshop presenters coming from the member institutes.

Language

The entire Workshop will be conducted in English language. No translation will be available.

Accommodation.

Please see the accommodation information in the workshop registration form.

Workshop Registration

Workshop Registration closes 1 February 2012.

Proposal Submission

Proposal Submission closes 1 February 2012.

We have reserved rooms at the Holiday Inn Exeter:http://www.expressexeter.co.uk/.

With the quote «MCO» rooms are available with UK Met Office rate of £65 per person per night. Please contact the hotel for booking.

How to get to Exeter:http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/contact/in-exeter

Important Dates

 15 November: Registration and proposal submission opens

 15 December: Preliminary Programme published

 1 February: Registration and Proposal submission closes

 15 February: Final Programme published

 5-8 March: Eumetcal 7th Workshop

 8-9 March: Eumetcal Steering Group Meeting / other side-and post-workshop meetings

Looking forward to seeing you in Exeter!

The Eumetcal Workshop Programme Committee