How long does it take to complete the courses?
Both courses have been designed to be implemented in three months with a dedication/commitment of 8 hours per week by the trainees. Nevertheless, the duration may be increased or condensed according to needs of trainers or trainees, if necessary.
What is needed to implement the courses?
In order to implement the IPA+ courses it is necessary to take into consideration different types of resources:
- Human resources: The number of staff members involved in the training to steer and guide trainees through possible questions and activities within modules depends, of course, on the number of students participating in each course. Taken the example of the IPA+ pilot sessions, two trainers were involved in Burgos (one for each level); two trainers and one administrative in Lisbon; and one coordinator in charge of accepting and handling applications and technical side of the project (MOODLE platform) and three mentors representing one collaborative sector (education, health, social care) in Belgrade.
- Technical resources: At least two computers with internet connection are needed in order to enable trainers to access to the MOODLE platform. There, training contents and materials are hosted and monitored. The availability of a room with a projector is also necessary to hold the face-to-face sessions.
- Time invested: Most of the efforts are invested in the preparation of the courses. Before their launch, trainers invested around 20 hours into organisingthe course, including tasks related to the recruitment of learners and uploading of the materials on the MOODLE platform. Once the training is running, time depends on the specific contents and activities within each module. Approximately, trainers invested around 3-4 hours per week in each level.