Expert outreach/Jisc Ambassador/Call
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The below is a description of the first education-focused long term residency project that Wikimedia UK is embarking on. It is building on the ideas of a Wikimedian in Residence, University Wikimedian in Residence, and to a lesser extent the Wikipedia Campus Ambassador programme. It is sharing the name with the Ambassador programme; however, since it is not based at any specific education institution, we feel it’s a separate role.
Role profile
Both Jisc and Wikimedia UK share the goal of giving the widest possible access to the knowledge held or produced by UK institutions (for example as during the WWI editathon in 2012). The task of the Ambassador is to advance this shared goal and to help people engage with that knowledge. This could be done via training and co-ordination projects for the use of Wikimedia tools and techniques for educational purposes. The aim is also to encourage understanding and development of Wikimedia projects within the education sector.
The project runs for approximately nine months. It is jointly funded by Wikimedia UK and Jisc.
Possible activities
- Enable a range of audiences (librarians, teachers, researchers and students) within learning and research to engage with Wikimedia UK and Wikimedia projects, by providing ‘how-‐to’ training and best-‐practice guidance on Wikimedia projects editing.
- Organise, and bring together, academic experts from education and cultural heritage institutions with Wikimedia volunteers to create and improve Wikimedia projects content through ‘editathon’ events based on theme, place and time-‐period.
- Build bridges between Wikimedia and academic communities.
- Create and maintain project pages on the Wikimedia UK’s public wiki to describe the activities being undertaken.
- Produce reports and case studies documenting the outcomes of the work.
- Provide training to enable others to improve Jisc related content on Wikimedia projects (Jisc Programmes past and present).
- Assist in making Jisc information relating to its programmes as accurate, consistent, and up to date. It is hoped that these points will be focused on drawing on thematically relevant information gathered by Jisc programmes to improve Wikipedia articles.
Skills needed
- Experience of using Wikimedia projects tools to edit articles and knowledge of the processes and procedures to enable successful creation and updating of Wikimedia projects content.
- An understanding of Jisc and its role.
- An understanding of Wikimedia UK and its role and knowledge of Wikimedia projects.
- Understanding of the education sector, its culture and aims.
- A working knowledge of the innovative use of technology for teaching, learning and research. Knowledge of innovation practices relating to Higher and Further Education and some knowledge of Jisc projects and programmes.
- Experience of delivering training.
- Expertise in producing high quality reports and other documentation and good information management skills.
- Familiarity with the technical and legal issues of sharing text or digital media online under free and open licences.
- Excellent communication facilitation and relationship management skills.
- Be proactive, politically aware, credible and confident, effective when operating with staff at various levels of Jisc and within institutions.
- Knowledge of, and a commitment to, open publishing models.