Virtual Research Environment Project: Summary

Project Background

Under JISC Circular 05/04 a project has been established to run for three years from November 2004 to November 2007. The lead institution is the University of East Anglia (School of History), working closely with its project partner, the University of Hull (Department of History). Over the lifetime of the project, other institutions will participate in the project.

Project Aims

The project aims to develop a virtual research and research skills development environment, capable of expansion and of facilitating multiple participation in the rapidly evolving field of the history of political discourse. The project offers an opportunity to bring into being an exemplar for the humanities approximating to the more advanced collaboration models available in the sciences.

Key Project Outcomes

Over the three years of funding, the project will:

  • Set up and pilot the postgraduate research and teaching programme (see below), enhancing the value of on-line resources and maximising the potential of dispersed academic expertise and student demand.
  • Explore the potential of the Access Grid, as a potential platform for collaboration.
  • Ensure that open and transferable technical platforms are in place for access to resources, virtual research environments, academic interchanges and publications.
  • Deliver a set of software tools where required, guidelines and support tools to the community on an open source basis.
  • Deliver a series of virtual and actual seminars, symposia and conferences led by both academics and research students
  • Roll out the programme to a number of other HE institutions in the UK by the end of the programme.
  • Produce reports analysing the technical and pedagogic outcomes and their implications for other VRE projects especially in the humanities.

MA in the History of Political Discourse 1500-1800

The VRE will be a cornerstone of an agreed joint masters programme and will focus on using advanced technologies to enhance the transmission of research skills in the humanities.

The course is a collaborative MA starting in September 2005 and taught jointly, in its initial stages by UEA and Hull, through virtual and actual seminars, conferences and exchanges. Joint doctoral supervision will follow.