Intellectual Outputs
The HERMES project is the first tentative cooperation at the EU level among stakeholders involved in the education and training system in Laboratory Animal Science, with the aim of developing and testing methodologies and tools aiming at the harmonisation and mutual recognition of E&T programmes in Member States.
The HERMES intellectual outputs are entirely original and innovative in purpose, contents and dissemination. Such innovation relates to the project outputs, the used tools, the target beneficiaries, end-users, and stakeholders – never put together in a similar project and for a similar purpose.
The intellectual outputs of this project reflect the principles of the European “Education and Training Framework” of the National Competent Authorities for the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.
LAS E&T Quality Standard provides innovative and scalable requirements, specifications, guidelines and/or characteristics to be used to ensure that LAS education and training in Member States are fit for the purpose of the Directive 2010/63/EU. It aims at guaranteeing that programmes, tutors/teachers/experts, training materials and services are reliable and of good quality in Europe, while also harmonising the European E&T initiatives in this field. Such Quality Standard is relevant to different audiences:
- National Competent Authorities
- LAS Training Providers
- Accreditation bodies/organisations
It also represents a point of reference for the target groups of the E&T initiatives, as for the Directive 2010/63/EU.
This tool provides guidelines to evaluate the different paths offered in Member States for each function described in Art. 23 of the Directive 2010/63/EU.
Such guidelines are written as an advisory set of procedures related to curriculum development, pedagogy, or assessment; as interpretive commentary or instruction on education policy or standards; as a set of guiding principles about teaching and learning or program development; or as suggested learning goals.
The LAS E&T Assessment manual reflects the requirements of the LAS E&T Quality Standard (IO1), representing the basis for mutual recognition of courses among Member States and for favouring the welfare of animals as well as the free movement of personnel. It establishes benchmark qualitative and quantitative indicators for the comparison of the programmes, essential for the scope.
The manual could be beneficial:
- To aid programme providers in setting up future courses in this field
- To support approval and accreditation processes at country level by the designated bodies/organisations
- To allow the recognition of the programmes in all the EU Member States by the Competent Authorities
- To participants in LAS E&T initiatives.
This tool offers to LAS E&T providers the possibility to assess internal resources, performances and services, and also to measure them towards ideal parameters, in order to guarantee consistency among this typology of business operators in Europe.
The “Self-assessment” tool is divided in three sections: one dedicated to criteria and indicators, a kind of virtual road map where organisations measure up the present and plan the future in terms of quality of the services offered to the target groups foreseen by the Directive 2010/63/EU. The second section focuses on suggestions for improvements. The profile of an “ideal LAS E&T provider” is thus described. The third step after the self-assessment and the benchmarking with the “ideal” provider is dedicated to the definition, by the organisations, of the steps forwards to achieve the minimum parameters described in section one and/or to plan improving actions to enhance their score.
The eLearning tool developed by HERMES addresses one of the main critical aspects related to LAS: the recognition of pain, suffering and distress in animals used for scientific purposes.
At content level, the eLearning module is focused as “Species Specific training” on rats, mice and rabbits.
At methodological level, it is designed maximising the interactivity, given that videos, serious games, animations, and self-assessment exercises engage students and increase the knowledge retention. Moreover, in line with ECVET system, it is structured in learning outcomes (Units) that facilitates the assessment, validation and recognition of the acquired skills.
The e-Learning is designed for Moodle. It can be transferred – upon request – to all the LAS E&T providers by localising it the various languages of the EU.
A common digital certification standard is designed with the objective to complete process described so far. Its main aim is to provide an innovative, common method to assess the competences of the functions described in Art. 23 of the Directive 2010/63/EU, and also to homogenise their certification across the EU Member States. The HERMES Common European Framework of Reference is therefore defined for the all the four functions foreseen by Directive 2010/63/EU. A set of Common Reference Levels is also foreseen, consistently with the Guidelines for Continuing Education for Persons Involved in Animal Experiments – Recommendations of a FELASA Working Group.
The Digital Certificate Generator is the HERMES conclusive output, programmed to standardise the competence certificates issued by training providers adopting the LAS E&T Quality Standard (IO1) and resulting consistent with the evaluation criteria and parameters established by the Self-assessment manual (IO3).
The e-Learning is designed for Moodle. It can be transferred – upon request – to all the LAS E&T providers by localising it the various languages of the EU.
Project outputs are delivered through an ad hoc WEB platform at disposal of all the interested stakeholders.
