The Knowledge Network is based on collaboration and was established as a collaborative network for educational services and research. The Knowledge Network's board consists of 8 members and is composed of representatives from municipalities, universities, secondary schools, research institutes and business entities.
The knowledge network also works in extensive collaboration with numerous parties and is based on providing regional services to the community; residents and businesses, throughout its entire operating area in Þingeyjarsýslar.
The Knowledge Network also bases its existence on participation in collaboration with other similar institutions around the country, such as through associations of lifelong learning centers and associations of knowledge centers. This can also be seen in the structure of the organization itself, where it operates its offices and services throughout the region, rather than with centralized operations from one location.
International collaborations are a growing part of the Knowledge Network's activities, and the institute has participated in quite a few such projects. Most often, these are research and/or development projects in the Knowledge Network's fields of expertise, where funding is provided through competitive funds on a European or Nordic basis.
NICHE 2 – Nurturing Intangible Cultural Heritage for Entrepreneurship. The aim of NICHE 2 is to develop and provide training for individuals who use intangible cultural heritage in their work to promote the sustainable growth of this activity. The aim of the project is to increase professionalism by supporting the skills identified in the European Qualifications Framework for Sustainability as well as digital skills. The Knowledge Network leads the project, which has a total of seven partners from six countries: Croatia, France, Iceland, Italy, Belgium and Spain.
The Knowledge Network is a partner in a two-year European project called: ”EUropean NETworking as a method for further training and exchange of ideas in the lifelong learning sector” [EU-NET]. The overall objective of the EU-NET project is to support the networking of non-profit institutions and organisations working in the lifelong learning sector at the European level. The partners aim to design, develop and implement guidelines on opportunities in European collaborative projects for institutions and organisations working in the lifelong learning sector. The final product will be a handbook with information on how to apply for and manage collaborative projects.
The Knowledge Network is a member of First Network , an international association of lifelong learning centers and research centers around the world. The goal of the association is to strengthen and expand cooperation between organizations and non-profit institutions working in the field of adult education to operate internationally, increase innovation capacity and the ability to adapt to changes in the modern world.
Húsavík academic center worked, together with seven partners from six European countries, on the Erasmus+ project SPECIAL ( Supporting and Promotion EntreComp through Innovative Advanced Learning ), which was in the field of vocational education.
The project focused on strengthening life skills and "soft skills" among young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), with the aim of increasing their participation in society and the labour market. Flexible training pathways tailored to the needs of the target group were developed and tested.
Húsavík academic center led the project management and based the project, among other things, on experience related to FabLab Húsavík.
See more: https://projectspecial.eu
The project's objectives were to support the work of entrepreneurs related to intangible cultural heritage and to develop new educational offerings on the subject. The target group was current and prospective professionals in the sector, with the intention of increasing competitiveness and sustaining its growth.
The projects carried out in NICHE were, for example, to:
To examine what intangible cultural heritage entails and what qualities and skills need to be present in those working within the sector. This was examined with regard to the European Qualifications Framework.
Develop curriculum on intangible cultural heritage based on new methods. Topics covered included management, fundraising, and digital representation.
Create a teaching website that will be the focal point for disseminating the project's teaching materials. The materials were intended to increase the skills and competence of staff within the sector.
The NICHE project was funded by Erasmus+, the EU's cooperation programme. It was a two-year project that started in November 2020. The project involved nine participants from seven European countries; Iceland, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Sweden. The project was applied for in Iceland and went Húsavík academic center with project management over the project. Our partner in Iceland was Nýheimar Knowledge Center in Höfn in Hornafjörður.
The project was recognized as a Good Practice Example, see more here.
The project is called Digital Communities – Digital skills and competences of local communities in rural areas. In everyday speech, the project is called Digital Communities . The project was carried out in collaboration with six parties from five European countries, namely Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Iceland, but there were two participants from Iceland, Nýheimar Knowledge Center and Húsavík academic center The project is an Erasmus+ project and was funded by the European Union's cooperation program. Nýheimar Knowledge Center applied for the project on behalf of the group and led it.
The project focused on strengthening the digital skills of residents in rural municipalities. The focus was on senior citizens in this context, along with volunteers, mentors and caregivers of senior citizens. The work was to analyze what is needed for senior citizens to be able to use different public services on the World Wide Web and thus better adapt to the digital world. The goal was to strengthen self-confidence in using the Internet, which can increase quality of life as services increasingly move to the web. After the analysis , guidelines for digital participation of senior citizens were developed, e.g. videos, based on real examples from the lives of senior citizens. The products were presented to senior citizens and caregivers of senior citizens and they were offered training in using the material to provide their clients with instruction, support and motivation.
http://www.digital-communities.eu
The DEAL project aimed to increase the potential of potential entrepreneurs and develop new teaching and training methods, promoting entrepreneurship in rural areas by placing an increased emphasis on a digital approach. The target group was adults with little formal education.
DEAL is a two-year project that began at the end of 2020 and ended in 2022. The project involved seven participants from five European countries (Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, Italy and Spain). The project was applied for in Ireland and the Þingeyinga Knowledge Network was a partner.
The project website is: https://www.projectdeal.eu
SUSTAIN IT – SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM SERVICES – INNOVATION IN STAFF TRAINING
e. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INNOVATIVE TRAINING
Húsavík academic center were project managers in this Erasmus+ project (2018-2020). Partners were Nýheimar á Höfn and institutions in Ireland, Cyprus, Spain, Italy and Belgium.
The project was recognized as a Good Practice Example.
The aim of SUSTAIN IT was to increase the competitiveness of tourism companies working in the spirit of sustainable development by developing new, practical and implementable vocational training for their managers. The SUSTAIN IT vocational training is on the one hand traditional teaching and on the other hand education that is accessible on the website. See more on the project website http://www.sustainit.eu/index.php
The aim of the SOLOPRENEUR project (2018-2020) was to develop learning materials to increase the employability of individuals in independent business or entrepreneurship, e.g. job seekers, those who wanted to change their career field and those who are looking for new opportunities. The product of the project is learning materials that are all accessible on the project website: http://www.solo-preneur.eu/index.php
SOLOPRENEUR – Self-Employability In Remote Regions Of Europe aimed at developing innovative training and learning solutions to enhance employability of job-seekers, underemployed/temporarily unemployed and those who are seeking better or new opportunities through self-employment. SOLOPRENEUR specific objectives were to support the acquisition of skills and tools to enhance self-employability. This was achieved by developing adequate training solutions, material and online tools.
See further on the project's webpage: http://www.solo-preneur.eu/index.php