Project Planning and Management Tools in International Projects: Chapter 1. Nutshell in a nutshell
Chapter 1. Nutshell in a nutshell
This blog is written as a part of Nutshell project (2020-2023). The aim of the project is to improve and develop processes and tools for higher education institutions (HEIs), supporting them when applying for, as well as managing international EU or global projects. Through the project the partners benchmark and evaluate differences in project planning and management processes. The tools developed within the project will be available for other HEIs on an international level.
The project partners are University of Economics, Prague; University Ljubljana; CESIE – European centre of studies and initiatives, Italy and Humak – University of applied Sciences, Finland. The project is funded by the European Union Erasmus+ programme (KA2 – Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, KA203 – Strategic Partnerships for higher education). Initially the project was to be realized from November 2020 until the end of 2022. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the start of the project was postponed and the project continued until spring 2023.
There will be three blogs published. First this blog, telling more about the Nutshell project. Second, a blog about using a gantt chart and the last one, a blog concerning project communication.
The project objectives
The focus of the Nutshell project was on developing the processes and mechanisms of EU projects in HEIs. The needs arose from the fact that there were no clear project variants and document templates collected in the HEIs involved in Erasmus+ projects.In addition there was a need to share best practices among the partners and their networks, and to develop communication practices in international projects. The aim was to increase the partner capacity for international project management. (Nutshell 2020.)
The target group was HEIs and their networks.In order to reach the objectives, the project consisted of 4 work packages. The aims of these were 1) to increase the staff and PhD students knowledge and competencies of the processes of projects, 2) to identify the problems in HEIs concerning project management, 3) to exchange best practices between the project partners and their networks and 4) to identify the best practices and share them as a toolkit. (Nutshell 2020.)
The implementation during the project
Many different types of activities were carried during the project to support reaching the objectives. One of the main outputs was Erasmus+ Project Management Toolkit for Higher Education Institutions that was tested during the project. Also training was offered to members of the target group. The processes of the participating HEIs were optimized within the international offices. Training was provided to HEI staff members both academic and administrative staff during which the toolkit was developed further. In addition guidelines for effective communication and networking strategy among institutions was developed. (CESIE 2020.)
The finalization
All of these outputs have been achieved and have helped the partner institutions to develop their project management processes. Also during the project several partner organisations of the partners have been contacted and the tools shared to them. In addition, Humak as well all all other HEI partners HEIs, will use the materials developed and tested during the project, in teaching and as materials for project management courses.
The project is now in the dissemination and finalization phase. The project partners are satisfied with the results and the materials developed. They have made it easier to plan further projects in cooperation with other HEIs, as well as with the organizations participating in Nutshell-project.
Sources
CESIE 2020. Project Nutshell. Seen 19.5.2023. https://cesie.org/en/project/project-nutshell/
Impastato, Caterina 2023. Manage Erasmus+ projects more easily with the Toolkit for universities. CESIE News post. Monday 15 May 2023. https://cesie.org/en/news/manage-erasmus-projects-more-easily-with-the-toolkit-for-universities/
Humak 2020. Nutshell – Quality assurance of international project management and cooperation in the field of higher education. seen 19.5.2023. https://www.humak.fi/en/hankkeet/nutshell-quality-assurance-of-international-project-management-and-cooperation-in-the-field-of-higher-education/
Nutshell 2020. Project proposal. Not published.
Nutshell 2023. The Nutshell Project Management Toolkit for Higher Education Institutions. Seen 19.5.2023. https://cesie.org/en/resources/project-nutshell-toolkit/v
