NIILS - New Approaches for Inclusive Informal Learning Spaces

The NIILS Country Context Reports provide an overview of the availability and infrastructure of informal learning spaces in the project countries. This includes a) the ‘State of the art’ of existing networks, stakeholder communities, previous projects etc., b) Characteristics of informal and non-conventional learning spaces provided by the institutions and in the university surrounding, and c) Awareness and existing strategies to promote inclusive informal and non-conventional learning environments and to mitigate existing inequalities. The NIILS Comparative Report presents a comparative synthesis of the results of the NIILS Country Context Reports, enriched by the European context.

The NIILS Users’ Perspective Analysis Reports provide an overview of the users’ perspective in the partner countries. These include a) the availability, accessibility, spatial characteristics, equipment and usage of informal or non-conventional learning spaces, b) users’ perception and experiences regarding the fit of learning strategies and learning spaces, c) the impact of the informal non-conventional learning spaces on student’ well-being, self-regulation, knowledge acquisition and university belongingness, d) existing inequalities and barriers in relation to informal or non-conventional learning spaces, e) students’ and lectures’ awareness and enabling strategies to overcome existing inequalities and barriers.  

The NIILS Synthesis Report provides a synthesis of the findings of the NIILS “Users’ Perspective Analysis: usage, perception, and impact of informal learning spaces”.

The NIILS Mapping Platform is a device for mapping, collecting and sharing information on informal and non-conventional learning spaces, which are used by students’ and lectures of the partner universities or available for their use on and off campus.

The platform offers support in finding informal learning spaces by means of an integrated filter function. Informal learning spaces of the following universities are integrated: AKDENİZ (Akdeniz University), HTWB (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin), MRU (Mykolo Romerio Universitetas), SAPIENZA (Università Degli Studi Di Roma La Sapienza), UWK (University for Continuing Education Krems).

The filter function is used to specify the desired criteria for the informal learning space, e.g. location, privacy, requirements and size. After making a selection, the mapping platform provides an overview of the relevant learning spaces, including images, detailed descriptions and opening hours.

The platform is an essential project result of the NIILS project with many thanks to Università Degli Studi Di Roma La Sapienza, which was the leading organisation in its creation.

The NIILS Learning Community Framework presents a strategy for co-creating and activating learning communities that address informal and non-conventional learning spaces. The target groups are students, lecturers, and university administrators.

A strong interdisciplinary conceptual and methodological framework initiated by MRU and supported by all partners formed the core for achieving the result. The output is innovative as it creates and validates the learning communities’ co-creation framework. The innovation lies in the fact that such models do not currently exist. Besides this “internal” impact for the NIILS project, PR4 is also expected to produce impact for the co-created learning communities – not only partner organizations but also for the stakeholders who will be able to apply bets practice experience and theoretical co-creation aspects. The framework and strategies are poised to be immediately used in other contexts outside the NIILS project and potentially in other fields of education.

The NIILS Guidance Materials provide a synthesis of the key findings and outputs of the NIILS project regarding informal learning spaces in higher education. Overall knowledge and experience that were collected from the previous activities and project results were synthesized from a meta perspective and reflected in this booklet. Guidance materials were prepared to promote inclusive and supportive informal learning spaces using technology and collaboration of different target groups in higher education in Europe. With this purpose, recommendations for each stakeholder group (executives and decision makers, enablers and practitioners, lecturers, and students) have been prepared and presented in different formats (booklet, poster, and brochures).