POCKET

This week was spent putting together the project plan document.

I met with Dave O’Hare to discuss the plan and talk through any areas of concern.

I completed the Consortium Agreement document and met with Julie Stone to review it. I left with minor revisions to make which were completed that afternoon.

A room was booked at the University of Derby to host the board meeting, this information was emailed out to all members, with additional directions for external members travelling in.

I ended the week by attending the FPL / LIS Away Day, which was very interesting and gave a good insight into how the project will contribute to the future strategy of the University of Derby.

Unfortunetly due to illness I was unable to attend the JISC Repositories and Preservation meeting this week.

I began putting together the project plan by re-reading the original project proposal and the JISC guidelines.

I continued constant communication with the board members and identified two possible dates for the meeting. This was then put to the board and Friday 14th December was selected due to external members availability.

The focus of this week was to get the Project Website live.

I began by researching online for good examples of educational websites, to get ideas on presentation. This process helped to create the basic principles of design.

Using information gained from my research in the first week, the website content was created and inputted. Images were collected, appropriately formatted for use and added to the website. Links to relevant reference materials were also created.

Once the content was in place I worked with Bernice Kew to review the site, ensure external links were inputted to university policy and made necessary revisions.

The finalised website was posted on the University of Derby site and I began to disseminate the website link via email. JISC was also informed to help facilitate this process.

The Board members were confirmed and I emailed all members enquiring about their availability  to start compiling a list of potential dates for the first board meeting.

A meeting was held with Dave O’Hare and Julie Stone to discuss the project and prepare for the upcoming JISC Repositories and Preservation Programme meeting. I also met with Julie Stone later in the week to present the project website.

I ended the week with a meeting with Dave O’Hare to discuss the project budget, in preparation for creating the budget template section of the project plan.

This week was mainly spent working on the project deliverables.

I met with my line manager Dave O Hare to discuss the Project Plan, and spent time looking over JISC guidance documents and the JISC website for advice on how to construct the document.

Had numerous meetings this week with Julie Stone to put together the Project Board and sent out emails introducing myself as Project Manager and requesting members’ confirmation.  I also began work developing the Consortium Agreement.

I met with James Eaglesfield, an experienced Project Manager at the University of Derby to discuss creation of project outputs and gained a better understanding of the project process overall.

I also began creating content for the Project Website, and had my formal training on the university system with Website Developer Bernice Kew.

I attended my University Health and Safety induction and I finished the second week with my first Staff Development workshop, which was a very interesting session looking at the barriers to engagement and completion of E-Learning programmes in Higher Education. After the session I discussed the project with host Margaret Christopoulos and exchanged contact information, agreeing to arrange a meeting at a later stage in the project.

My first day in the role of Project Manager was spent attending the JISC Project Management workshop in London, which gave me a real insight into project life!

My first day spent on campus at the University of Derby began with my inaugural meeting with the Project Lead and my new boss - Dave O Hare.  Dave gave me a detailed overview of the project and brought me up to date with the progress so far. He also gave me a quick tour of the campus to point out relevant departments and introduce me to key members of the faculty.

I left the meeting with a clear starting point, to focus on the creation of the imperative project deliverables, which were the Project Plan and the Project Website. I also arranged a meeting with Julie Stone, Business Development Manager, to compile a list of possible Project Board members.

I contacted all the external partners to introduce myself and provide them with my contact details in case of any queries. I introduced myself to Andrew McGregor at JISC and ensured I was added to all the relevant mailing lists.

I spent a lot of time reading through project documents, conference proceedings and relevant research articles to familiarise myself with all aspects of the project. This also helped me to create a favourites list for references.

The remainder of the week was spent organising my office, meeting colleagues and ensuring all the relevant departments had my contact information. I also enrolled myself on a number of upcoming JISC workshops and University of Derby Staff Development courses.

Welcome to the POCKET Project blog site

This blog will serve as an online journal for the Project Manager, detailing progress of the project on a weekly basis to keep the academic community informed.

All feedback and comments are welcomed.

More information on the project, including contact details, can be found on the Project Website

Many Thanks,

Sarah Malone, Project Manager