This is the perfect time for Wikimedia to establish close collaboration and networking contacts between the Wikimedia movement and UCL Louvain-la-Neuve University in Belgium, and generally raise awareness that the Wiki projects belong to education and that education institutions cannot afford to ignore the Wiki movement, and they should, rather than avoid, integrate Wiki into education and the daily live of universities.
UCL is my Alma mater. As a social-anthropologist, I was the first student to write a master thesis on Wikiversity about a Wiki-community. Now I'm back at this University with the support of my mentors and the director of the Hoover Chair, where I'm currently enrolled in a certificate in economic and social ethics with the idea to promote in this way the Wikiprojects in this specific educational environment.
Wikimedia Belgium is not ready yet to capitalize on the first, maybe unique, visit of Jimmy Wales to UCL, Louvain University and the opportunity presented by the year-long academic thematic project Utopies pour le temps présent, especially in terms of volunteer capacity.
Until now Wikipedia is given a bad reputation by many educational professionals and its sister projects are almost totally ignored. The Wikimedia movement itself is not (yet) present or represented on campus in this University at least not in an official or formal capacity. Informal groups among the students may exist.
The University Libraries, Archives and Museum on campus represent an treasure trove of documents, artifacts and data useful for the Wikimedia projects. While there are currently no definite plans to integrate them in the Wikimedia projects, the Wiki projects could provide an online access portal to unlock those valuable sources and resources for students and researchers alike.
Create a six months Wikimedia outreach and partnership with this University by:
Developing projects and activities within the context of the thematic agenda of Utopies pour le temps présent.
Collaborating with academic scholars, libraries, archives, museums, students, teaching staff and employees of the University.
Raise awareness about Wikimedia projects, establish a relation of confidence and collaboration in this academic environment (establish an intellectual beachhead at the university).
Show to this academic public what the Wiki movement is all about, how it's works, how it contributes to the dissemination of knowledge and acts as a repository.
Show how to integrate Wikipedia into teaching, how it motivates students to do work that matters and contributes (rather then produce papers that collect dust in a university cellar), what it teaches students (finding reliable sources, searching in a library (...), being critical of information, write down information is a comprehensible manner for a divers target public, etc...) cfr: Wikiducation and the Wikpedia Education Program.
Promote Wikisource, Wikiquote, Wikiversity, Wikispecies, Wikibook, Wikidata, etc. besides Wikipedia.
Start a project partner with the Makilab to build an open source automatic book scanner and run it in central library
The scanner will be used to start an elaborate program of book digitization at the central University library were there is already a student paid by the university to scan book.
The promotion of the Fablab, Wikisource, Wikiversity and the other Wikiprojects can be done with various demonstration in different libraries inside but also outside the University.
This project will recruit and train student volunteers through online and off-line Wikimedia projects and events.
Traditionally the university sponsors various theme-based project flats in exchange for their volunteer collaboration to various social projects. In the frame of UCL-Wikimedia collaboration, the University already suggested to create a Wikimedia theme-based flat for the next academic year (see in kind contribution).
Start a teaching staff mobilization
This project will recruit and train teaching staff as volunteers through online and off-line Wikimedia projects and events.
As a result of this project the education platform resources will be translated, developed and produced in french for the wikiducation roll-out and pilots after this academic year.
Promote content generation
Wiki Love LibrafyThis project brings a large amount of quality documents, illustrations, data and references from the libraries and museum to the Wikimedia projects.
Unlocking the information on line for future reference and re-use in articles.
The training of volunteers and contributors will also generate a significant quantity of quality trained returning contributors on Wikimedia projects.
Promote and expand Wikimedia movement within the University and city of Louvain-la-Neuve by training teachers and students in the use of Wikimedia projects.
Establish an official partnership between Wikimedia Belgium and the University of Louvain-la-Neuve.
Create a Wikimedian in Residence post, financed or co-financed by the university with Wikimedia.
Create a Wikimedia theme-based shared flat for the next academic year that guarantees future continuity of the project and sustainability in term of volunteer participation.
Build an open source automatic book scanner with the Makilab. Use it in the central libraries office to produce content for Wikisource and during various future events promoting in the same way the Makilab, the University and Wikimedia movement.
The partnership with the University is well established. The educational team lecturers, assistants, are motivated and engaged, and are supported by the Rector of the University who is convinced about the importance and usefulness of the Wikimedia projects and about unlocking online resources for education.
Two professors have personally committed to support and carry the project, one of them endorsed this grant submission and both supported me during the online interview with Marti (WMF) on November 18th.
The University commitments can be summarized like this :
A warm welcome in a team of professors, assistants and researchers with a permanent office and Internet connection.
Assistance to submit application for a University pedagogic budget which will ensure the continuity and sustainability of the project.
A public announcement of the collaboration project UCL-Wikimedia through official media by the UCL communication service : Official booklet presentation of all activities linked with the global project "Utopies pour le temps présent" and off course information on official web pages.
An endorsement for the creation of a Theme-based shared flat hosting 8 students involved to promote Wikimedia project inside the University and the city of Louvain-la-Neuve.
A free access to space working for regular Wikimedia activities like the science library where various working spaces from 4 person to 40 places auditorium including computer rooms are available.
An openness for partner ship between the central libraries of the university and Wikisource.
This grant submission concern six month of activities, from January to June (second academic semester). The project manager is assignment to lead the project for a total of 380 hours of working time. His working time will be allocated to the following tasks:
10 % (38 hours) to organize events during the week around the February 2nd where Jimmy Wales will be awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa title.
If we don't consider the costs occasioned by the Jimmy Wales arrival for the Doctor Honoris Causa ceremony, the university doesn't provide any cash contribution to finance this project, however it does provide through its commitments a number of in kind contributions which can be evaluated by estimating the cost that is not incurred :
Amount
In-kind contribution from UCL
500.00 €
Advertising and public presentations by the the UCL communication service.
The project team, in collaboration with WMBE, will request that any surplus funds, due to underspending in this project, will be allocated to a follow-up project to be submitted at the end of the 2015-16 academic year for execution during academic year 2016-17.
The scanner build by Makilab will become property of Wikimedia Belgium, we propose to install the scanner in the University library after this project where volunteer can continue to use the scanner provided they upload their scanned book to Wikisource.
fr.Wikiversity project recently decided to start a library and a scientific journal. The activity in the French Wikiversity project is noticeably increasing. The community includes teachers and doctors working on the site from various Universities in France and Quebec.
This increased community activity provides a good support to coach on-line activities sharing information, giving an example of what is possible to do and coach new comers to the wikiprojects.
The active community on wikipedia, wikisource and wikidata could also be a guarantee in the organization of online edition and implementation.
The project partners are evaluating with this WiR=like project the possibility to continue with a full-time Wikimedian in Residence position partially or entirely funded by the University. UCL is considering the engagement of an employee via an application witch will be supported by various members of the University community already involved or partnering in the project.
Wikimedia Belgium will ensure the administrative support and assume ownership of the scanner, but is also very interested to partner in the continuity of similar or derived projects with UCL and replicate it elsewhere. The treasurer of the Wikimedia Belgium Chapter has strong administrative experience and is involve in this as project adviser.
The Wikimedia theme-based shared student flat represents a guarantee of sustainability in terms of volunteers participation but also represents a factor of continuity on the side of the University. It ensure a presence of wikimedia that undoubtedly contributes to successful outreach for the Wikimedia movement inside the student population, and ensure support from students through contribution and organization of supporting volunteers for the next years.
The linear book scanners created by the project will be the propriety of Wikimedia Belgium and can be used in different contexts. This experience of building full automatic linear book scanners could be replicated by other hacker-spaces and fablabs to create partnerships with various libraries in Belgium, and could inspire other chapters and UG in the world, perhaps even a starting "Wiki loves books" upload marathon ?).
In general, the success fulness of the project can be evaluated by :
An amount of upload on Wikimedia projects from the city (monuments), libraries and museum (A specific users profiles or categories can be created to easily follow online contributions).
Creation of user account and students editions to wikipedia and sister projects in the context of new pedagogical organization of courses.
User groups creation (specially theme-based shared student flat).
Courses creations and research activities in Wikiversity.
Schedule of activities (workshop, edit-a-ton, wiki love art, wiki love monument, etc.) on Wikimedia Belgium and university website.
A open-source linear scanner in possession of Wikimedia Belgium and used during various events like the Fosdem and so on.
Media information in newspapers and television.
Need target-setting tips? Note: in addition to your project-specific measures of success, you will also be asked to report on some.
Global Metrics at the end of your final report. Please keep this in mind as you plan, and we'll Support you as you begin your project.
Roughly estimated reliable and impact for Wikimedia projects
French speaking people (or other native speakers, English can be used in University) who are endorsing the project and who want to give a hand during activities and events.
Do you think this project should be selected for an Individual Engagement Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project in the list below. (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the talk page of this proposal).
This effort could greatly enhance the French Wikiversity including helping new potential editors to gain experience and thereby help expand the Wikimedia movement into these universities and Belgium. Marshallsumter (talk) 00:04, 27 September 2015 (UTC)
Good initiative, I hope this grant can be approved. --M0tty (talk) 09:20, 27 September 2015 (UTC)
This is certainly a useful project. Reaching out in academic environments is an important strategy to assure quality and sustainability of Wiki projects and to make researchers aware of the importance of Open Source. I suggest to establish contacts with researchers that already play a role in promoting digital tools and open access for research in these universities. I would also like to have more info concerning the universities chosen and the people that will be involved from their staff. Having myself a close link with ULg (where I have worked 3 years), I would be glad to help promote the project. Ste.caneva (talk 12:06, 28 september 2015 (UTC)
It is great that someone want to be in charge for this. Universities are big organisations with a lot of inertia (I can tell, I'm graduated from both), I don't think much can be done on spare time. Jona (talk) 14:48, 7 October 2015 (UTC)
WMBE will support this grant request and will provide assistance in administering it --DerekvG (talk) 10:53, 8 October 2015 (UTC)
The idea is interesting, and if sensible metrics, goals and methodologies were found, this grant could fairly be supported. --Dereckson (talk) 12:38, 8 October 2015 (UTC)
Go-go-go, let's collaborate with university! Romaine (talk) 14:30, 14 October 2015 (UTC)
I'm Professor at UCL, and currently I'm the Chair of the School of Social and Political Sciences (you could check it with my email). If the project is accepted, I will provide an office and an internet connection in UCL, and I will apply for a co-funding at UCL Pedagogical Development Fund. This project could more deeply dig all the possibilities of pedagogical collaborations between my University and Wikimedia. That's why I support this project. Aren (talk) 09:16, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
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