Published Monday 23 April 2007 by Helen Blanchett

During 2006 Netskills delivered a highly successful project for university managers and administrators to develop their information skills (i-Skills).

Working with the AUA (Association of University Administrators), Netskills first conducted a survey of 300 managers and administrators in UK Higher Education. A UK-wide workshop programme followed and training was delivered to 270 participants.

The workshop introduced a self-evaluation tool, developed as part of the project, which participants found particularly useful. One commented, "The toolkit with its list of resources was excellent. I'm keen to see if I can use it to help my team back in the department." Further funding has been secured to convert the i-Skills toolkit into an online format.

Helen Conroy, who led the project, says:

"This project shows just how important information skills are for both staff and students at universities. The success of this project has already led to further projects being funded by JISC. But I hope this is just the start because further work needs to be done to make sure i-Skills are seen to be just as important as IT skills."

"I look forward to the publication of the report and using the toolkit when it's online," said one workshop participant. Good news - the project final report is now available for download and the online toolkit is coming soon!

Find out more: http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/projects/iskills-admin/index.html