We hope everybody is doing fine and is ready for spring! It was already announced at the EAPRIL conference last year that Jörg Holle stepped down as a Cloud coordinator of Cloud 5. We would like to thank him very much for all the effort and inspiration he put into EAPRIL and more specifically in Cloud 5. It has been a real pleasure working with Jörg who is creative, listening and always open for new ideas. We wish him all the best in the future, although Jörg is not leaving the EAPRIL community and said he wants to stay in the background to advise Cloud 5. An offer we are happily willing to accept!
As also already announced at the EAPRIL conference last year, it is also a pleasure to announce that Sirpa Laitinen-Väänänen will replace Jörg as Cloud coordinator of Cloud 5. Sirpa is a familiar face in EAPRIL, she has been involved in the Board of EAPRIL, both as Board member and as a Chair. It is great to have you on board! With Sirpa on board we discussed the focus of cloud 5.
In Cloud 5 the revised title Workplace learning and HRD wants to emphasis more learning at the workplaces, including educational institutions. HRD is not neglected, but it is understood to focus more on the organizational level of workplace learning is considered important.
In addition, within the field of workplace learning two broad areas can be discerned. First, workplace learning of employees in learning organisations, sometimes called work-related learning, or continuing professional development and second, workplace learning of students as part of the curriculum. In Cloud 5 the focus will be on the first.
Topics discussed in the Cloud 5 include formal, non-formal and informal learning at workplaces, professional learning at work, leadership and workplace learning, innovative work behavior as outcome of workplace learning, and online workplace learning. Remembering that schools and educational institutions at all levels of education are also workplaces. The interested settings are therefore primary, secondary, higher, and vocational education, corporations, and workplaces outside the education sector.
Methodologically, Cloud 5 applies quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods and showcases.
In addition, our Cloud is also interested to find ideas for international joint projects to study related to early mentioned fields.
Finally, we wish everybody a nice spring and summer and to see you all in November at the EAPRIL conference!
Kind regards,
Arnoud Evers and Sirpa Laitinen-Väänänen