Minutes of the board of Directors
29th June 2004, Bled, Slovenia

Present: Kristel Sarlin (in the chair), Bas Cordewener, Jean-Francois Desnos, Yves Epelboin, Viljan Mahnic, Ligia Ribeiro, Andrew Rothery, Ivan Vrana

Guests: Mark Clark, Richard Katz, Martin Price, Mike Zastrocky

Apologies: Jens Doerup

1. Report on EUNIS2004

Viljan Mahnic reported that 230 participants had registered for EUNIS2004. There would be 96 presentations, plus 6 invited speakers, a poster session, and a Corporate members track. There was a good level of sponsorship thanks to Viljan Mahnic and J-F. Desnos.

2. Recruitment of EUNIS members

J-F. Desnos and Ivan Vrana reported there are now 46 regular members of EUNIS, exceeding the target of 40 for this stage. There has been some confusion because some universities have arranged to pay the membership fee but have not registered as members. The Board discussed the application/payment procedure and agreed a simpler procedure should be used in future. The Board proposed a small group consisting of Andrew Rothery, the Treasurer and the Secretary should discuss and revise the procedure for application and payment.

3. Encouraging participation

The Board discussed ways of encouraging wider participation in EUNIS, especially in view of the need to elect of a new Council and General Assembly (GA) in 2005. A range of ideas were suggested, including workshops; other project groups (such as the CSIESR survey of European universities); supporting local activities; organising more meetings across different countries

The meeting as also discussed the idea of special services restricted to EUNIS members, including member-only access to special web sites; copies of US studies (Richard Katz offered to make these available); an enquiry/help service; special meetings and symposiums restricted to members only.

The Board invited proposals and agreed to discuss its future vision at a later meeting. The President will invite colleagues to put forward suggestions.

4. Election of Council members

The Board noted that elections would be needed wherever there are several GA members from one country. It is necessary for the GA members in each country to select their representative before the next Council meeting. Ligia Ribeiro suggested that elections could be carried out using web facilities; Mike Zastrocky suggested that, alternatively, elections could be carried out at the GA meeting in 2005, with voting limited to those present. The Board will discuss this further at the next meeting.

5. Financial summary

J-F. Desnos presented papers giving details of the financial status of EUNIS and its budget. The Board approved the accounts, and agreed a proposed budget for the next year.

6. Rectors’ Conference, November 2003, Paris

Y. Epelboin presented a report of the event. It was encouraging that many rectors attended in person and the feedback from participants was very positive. In view of the success of the event the Board agreed that another should be organised during the 2004-5 academic year. There was keen interest from several potential sponsors.

7. e-Learning Workshop, February 2004, Oxford

A. Rothery presented a report of the workshop. Participants had successfully discussed a range of issues and proposed ten projects/activities which EUNIS could take further. A. Rothery invited colleagues to volunteer to participate in one or more of the ten proposed activities.

The Board asked that the published report be made available on the EUNIS web site and a link made to the EUNIS e-Learning web pages.

The meeting agreed that the projects should be taken forward and that EUNIS would help fund some of them. The three priorities are “EUNIS snapshots”, “e-book” and “VLE of the future”. A. Rothery agreed to continue to lead the e-Learning group and organise the setting up of the projects.

8. EUNIS2005 Conference

M. Clark presented his plans for the EUNIS2005 Conference in Manchester, UK. It would take place from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 June, with pre-conference sessions on Tuesday 21 June. M. Clark hoped that accommodation could be organised in university en suite rooms nearby. The proposed title is “Leadership and strategy in a cyber-infrastructure world”. The focus of the conference will be our community’s agenda for the years 2005 to 2010.

It is hoped the conference will recruit high-calibre speakers and attract 400-500 attendees.

Conference events will be held in major venues in the city of Manchester and there will be a tour programme before and after the event. MC assured the Board that the university location would cope comfortably with up to 500 participants. It was hoped an early announcement of the Call for Papers would be made. The Board agreed the paper-reviewing system for EUNIS2004 worked well and should be used again if possible.

9. Positions on the Board

K. Sarlin announced her resignation as EUNIS President with effect from the end of the Bled Conference. L. Ribeiro accepted the Board’s invitation to take over as President for the academic year 2004-5.

I. Vrana announced his resignation as Secretary of EUNIS with immediate effect. M. Price agreed to assist by taking over this role for 2004-5. However it was agreed that the clerical work involved, particularly the processing of membership applications, should be carried out by someone employed by EUNIS. L. Ribeiro agreed to employ such a person in Porto.

The Board thanked K. Sarlin and I. Vrana for their hard work for EUNIS over many years.

 

Recorded by M.P. 28.7.2004