Development of International Council for Open Education and Research Continues through Meetings Open to All

www.ICORE-online.org

Essen, September 2013 – ICORE members have begun a series of meetings to develop the association’s defining connection between open research and open education, as well as methods of promotion for these fields. All interested organizations and experts are invited to join one of the next open online meetings on Wednesday, 23 October 2013. The first session will start at 8:00 am UTC and the second at 4:00 pm UTC, in order to allow global participation. The last meeting on July 30th helped establish ICORE’s interpretation of openness in regards to education and research through an exploration of existing terminology. The meeting in October will develop collaboration through the ICORE Wiki and the planning of future ICORE events.

ICORE thus intends to bring the agendas of open research and open education together, thereby disseminating alternatives to traditional publishing and educational techniques. “ICORE is being shaped by the diverse experiences of its international members,” says Christian M. Stracke, ICORE Co-founder and ISO Convener for learning quality from the University of Duisburg-Essen, “in turn for their support, ICORE will feature members’ own work in open research and education, as well as any other work members perceive to be valuable to the fields.”

ICORE will initially promote best practice examples in the fields of open research and education through a wiki page for collecting key terms and definitions, projects from other initiatives, resources, practices, and more. This database will be jointly administrated by ICORE members and will aim to sustain the exchange of practical approaches to ICORE themes. In doing so, ICORE plans to further its principle goal of fostering international cooperation amongst both its members and all organisations involved in open research and education.

All interested parties are encouraged to attend future meetings and to take part in the establishment of an innovative association connecting open research and open education. The next open ICORE Online Meeting will take place on Wednesday, 23 October 2013, starting at 8:00 am UTC and 4:00 pm UTC. To contact the meeting organizers regarding participation in the online meetings, as well as to find more information and the latest ICORE news, please visit the official ICORE website: www.ICORE-online.org.

About the International Council for Open Research and Education:
ICORE, the International Council for Open Research and Education (www.ICORE-online.org), is bringing together interested experts and stakeholders from the fields of open education and open research. ICORE is completely non-profit, requires no membership fees to join, and is open to both representatives of organizations as well as individuals. The complete first public draft ICORE’s statutes can be found at www.ICORE-online.org/membership and are open to further improvement by ICORE members.

ICORE offers membership to any organizations or individuals who support the association’s goals of promoting open research and open education as a fundamental social objective. This promotion is to be accomplished through the fostering of collaboration between relevant stakeholders in open research and education, such as international, regional and national policy makers, researchers, educators of all levels, students, research organizations as well as educational providers, among others. Activities for promoting and sharing open research and education include common events with all interested organizations (e.g., conferences, summer schools, etc.), an open and lively online community, the organization of scientific and educational initiatives and the establishment of creative partnerships between ICORE members to advance open research and open education internationally. ICORE will be designed to make collaboration a rewarding experience for all members.
Joining ICORE is easy: interested applicants can visit the ICORE application website (http://www.ICORE-online.org/join-us) and enter their information. A representative of the ICORE management team will contact applicants as soon as possible after said information has been submitted.

Interested organizations and individuals are encouraged to spread the word the new association ICORE and its goals with colleagues and through dissemination channels – ICORE looks forward to your valuable involvement in this new and innovative association.

ICORE Contact:
Contact Person: Christian M. Stracke
Organization: University of Duisburg-Essen
Address: Universitaetsstr. 9 (ICB)
45141 Essen, GERMANY
Telephone: +49 (0)201-183-4410
E-Mail: christian.stracke@uni-due.de