NORTH SOUTH: Network of ORTHodontics Specialists and Universities for the Telematic cHallenge

Contract Information

Programme:	OTHER RESEARCH-RELATED PROGRAMMES
Programme Acronym:	LEONARDO DA VINCI
Contract Type:	NO CONTRACT TYPE
Start Date:	1997-01-01
End Date:	1999-12-31
Contract No:	N/A
Role for TUC/MUSIC:	Contractor
Funding for TUC/MUSIC:	30000.0 Euros
Principal Investigator for TUC/MUSIC:	Stavros Christodoulakis

Project Information

Project Description

NORTH SOUTH is a three year European partnership (11 EU - 2 EFTA countries) pilot project which will support a transnational training network of university/business associations. Its aim is to identify requirements and transfer the results of research and development programmes so as to assist improve the continuing vocational training in Orthodontics and let it adapt to future, anticipated training and qualification needs.

The project is bound to accomplish its aims by fostering links among field leaders, pro-eminent among them being the World Health Organization, in the context of co-operation between university orthodontic departments (2), multimedia systems experts (2 university - 1 research centres - 2 enterprises), social partners at community level (1) and SMEs (4 associations of professionals) in continuing vocational (orthodontic) training in Europe.

Complementing an already accepted Socrates project (ORTHODL), this Leonardo project offers a unique opportunity to link in an innovative way different areas of training, i.e. initial training (Socrates) and continuing vocational training. The project will assist establish a European information network for orthodontists by, first, ramification and consolidation of existing human networks and by dissemination of good practice concerning the production, use and distribution of systems which facilitate the use of multimedia materials in vocational training (including evaluation results). In addition it will support the development of innovative educational software to facilitate virtual mobility initiatives (as teleworking), as well as alternative forms of work organisation.

Innovative evaluation techniques will monitor the progress of the project on a regular, low cost basis.

Direct dissemination of early and final project outcomes will provide essential support to launch two concurrent Leonardo pilot projects (ORTHO-ICON, ORTHO-MIT) and, subsequently, the fully blown applications that will emerge from them in the form of multiplier-effect projects. Further dissemination of the results will be made with assistance of the Association for Dental Education in Europe.

Apart from specialists in Orthodontics, general dental practitioners, university teachers and community health administrators are among the beneficiaries of the project.

Early provision is made to make the results adaptable and transferable to other interested parties after completion of the project, for instance related medical and dental training bodies.

Ending, at the end of the third year, the project will have yielded a computer network system capable to access on-line a large multimedia data base, and a solid human network ready to embark into the next project, i.e. the development of Expert Systems in Orthodontics.

Project Publications

Project Downloads

Project Consortium

	University of Bergen University of Bergen, Dep. Of Orthodontics	NO
	LMU Ludwig Maximilians-University of Munich, Dep. Of Orthodontics	DE
	Association for Dental Education in Europe Association for Dental Education in Europe	DK
	Medical Video Medical Video	ΙΤ
	Firenze Virtual Journal of Clinical Orthodontics Firenze	ΙΤ
	VOSG Bav Virtual Orthodontics Study Group Bavaria	DE
	VOSG Crete Virtual Orthodontics Study Group Crete	EL
	VOSG Iceland Virtual Orthodontics Study Group Iceland	IS
	VOSG Bergen Virtual Orthodontics Study Group Norway	NO