In today's world, where science and technology fields are experiencing new developments day by day, R&D has the undeniable importance both in the private sector and in the countries. As is known, R&D activities are systematic studies that can only be carried out with employees who have scientific and technical knowledge. Due to the activities carried out by our organization, Target TTO, it is observed that the engineers working in the industry are deficient on R&D and innovation subjects and that the vocational education required under these headings is not given to the engineers at the undergraduate level and the education given at the graduate and even doctorate levels is insufficient. By taking this international problem into account, the main aim of our project is to implement transnational activities and collaborations which are focusing on supporting and developing R&D and innovation based vocational training of the engineers in both EU and Turkey. The creation of an expanded international joint vocational training curriculum, the development of ICT-based innovative, effective and sustainable tools (the development and implementation of the e-learning tool and the e-platform), as well as a skill-formation certification which is planned to be given at international level and added into higher education curricula can be counted as the main objectives of our project. The foreseen number of total participants is a thousand personnel who are graduates of engineering and fundamental sciences departments and working in industrial companies, especially in R&D centers. It is also planned to widen the circle of participants over time; even reaching the university students who are interested in R&D and innovation and at earlier stages of their education. The duration of the project is twenty-four (24) months. Our project partners are IBOX (Spain), VITECO (Italy), MAN (Turkey) and Istanbul University (Turkey). The actual project activities will start with the needs analysis; a thoroughly prepared questionnaire will be applied to the personnel of R&D and design centers. Depending on the statistical analysis of the results, the crucial needs of these personnel will be determined and a pilot-curriculum will be prepared. Afterwards, a pilot training will be applied in chosen R&D centers of industrial companies. The data will be obtained during this pilot training by observations, interviews, satisfaction questionnaires and getting feedback from both the personnel and executives. The obtained data will shed light on the deficiencies of the curriculum and used methods. In the light of this, the curriculum and the course content will be given its final shape and the development of the e-platform and e-learning software (embedded into the e-platform) will begin. This interactive learning tool will remove time-space constraints and be open-access. To mention the results, e-learning program will contribute to accumulation of knowledge and technological development at both national and international levels by its content and accessibility. Our project will provide improvements in terms of one of the most serious problems observed within the context of Turkey; differences at the level of development between regions. The e-learning program will allow even a person at the very beginning of her/his education to have the opportunity to self-train and acquire new skills in R&D and innovation. The level of awareness associated with R&D innovation will rise. An improvement will occur in the perspective of the trainees for the problems faced, in the diversity of possible solutions they will present and in the perception of innovation in general. By adopting a systematic work culture, individuals, who put out works right on target and with the sense of time management will be brought on. Employees in R & D-focused activities will conduct better quality research and development procedures. Regional and transnational competitiveness levels will increase. Good practices will be shared across the nation in the context of innovation. Protocols will be made with public institutions, private sector and non-governmental organizations. A project office with guidance and consulting mission will be established within Target TTO. A trans-national consortium with the focus of R&D will be established. An article covering the processes, outcomes and outputs of the project will be prepared and published in an international journal. Beyond these, by improving the job-related skills of the participants on R&D and innovation, the increase in the number of companies with the vision of becoming technology leaders, instead of following the giant technology companies and copying from them is expected in the longer term.
In today's world, where science and technology fields are experiencing new developments day by day, R&D has the undeniable importance both in the private sector and in the countries. As is known, R&D activities are systematic studies that can only be carried out with employees who have scientific and technical knowledge. Due to the activities carried out by our organization, Target TTO, it is observed that the engineers working in the industry are deficient on R&D and innovation subjects and that the vocational education required under these headings is not given to the engineers at the undergraduate level and the education given at the graduate and even doctorate levels is insufficient. By taking this international problem into account, the main aim of our project is to implement transnational activities and collaborations which are focusing on supporting and developing R&D and innovation based vocational training of the engineers in both EU and Turkey. Our project partners were IBOX (Spain), VITECO (Italy), MAN (Turkey) and Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (Turkey). This project has four essential intellectial outputs (IO’s) such as IO1: Needs Analysis Survey, IO2: Curriculum on R&D and Innovation, IO3: R&D and Innovation E-Platform and E-Learning Software and, lastly, IO4: Implementation Guide for the E-Platform and E-Learning Software. The duration of the project was twenty-four (24) months. However, the project duartion was extended for one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During IO1 process, 718 participants; 146 participants from Italy, 201 from Spain and 371 from Turkey have attended, who are generally graduates of engineering and fundamental sciences departments from private sector, business enterprise, research institute, higher education, private non-profit, government and public sector. In the survey, respondents were asked a series of questions asking about their R&D knowledge and the programs/methods they needed in their research fields. Depending on the statistical analysis of the results, the crucial needs of these staff were determined and the curriculum was prepared (IO2). According to all these issues mentioned above, 10 courses needed in all partner countries were determined. For the design phase of the curriculum, Dick and Carey's curriculum design model was applied. The curriculum profile has been elaborated and structured according to ECVET guidelines. These courses are Introduction to R&D, Experimental Product Design – DFX, Business Model, TRIZ, Intellectual Property Rights, Industry 4.0, Data Analysis and Statistics, Problem Solving Approach, Project Development Stages and Techniques, and Project Management. All courses with their documents are now available in English, Turkish, Italian and Spanish languages. (IO3) The e-learning program is comprised of ten fundamental courses in the specified curriculum with totally 616 minutes. The e-learning program is to fulfill the critical needs and to raise the level of awareness associated with R&D innovation for R&D staff. All courses in English were also translated into Turkish, Spanish and Italian as subtitles and the e-learning program was then embedded into the constructed e-platform. In order to measure the learning level of the participants, quizzes were added at the end of each course. The participants have a chance to obtain an attendance digital certificate (https://e-rd.org/). Therefore, the creation of an expanded international joint vocational training curriculum, the development of ICT-based innovative, effective and sustainable tools as well as a skill-formation certification can be listed as the main objectives of this e-platform which is also an open-access infrastructure. So far, nearly 440 participants have registered for the program, finalized and contributed to the feedback mechanism to support the platform’s infrastructure development. As a last IO4, an implementation guide was prepared in four languages; English, Turkish, Italian and Spanish. The implementation guide will be an important tool, especially for the new users in order to get the utmost efficiency from both the e-platform. The implementation guide is consisted of three parts; 1) the information part which gives general terms on the e-learning program and the e-platform, 2) the implementation part which introduces the curriculum of the R&D E-learning program and the details of the lectures, and lastly 3) the user manual for the e-learning program and the e-platform. An article covering the processes, outcomes and outputs of the project was prepared and sent for publication in an international journal. As a result, in future, the e-learning program will contribute to accumulation of knowledge and technological development at both national and international levels by its content and accessibility; allow even a person at the very beginning of her/his education to have the opportunity to self-train and acquire new skills in R&D and innovation.