The Program

• The Universities Without Walls (UWW) is funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Strategic Initiative in Health Research grant (STIHR)

• UWW is a national, interdisciplinary learning network connecting academics, community members, and policy makers. It is linked to the CIHR Centre for REACH in HIV/AIDS

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Mission Statement

• To develop a new generation of HIV researchers across Canada who are highly skilled in interdisciplinary HIV research

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Recruitment Strategy

We strive to

– Attract the best

– Focus on graduate students with interest in HIV

interdisciplinary research

– Recruit across disciplines

– Include community students working in policy,

clinical or community environments

– Reflect the epidemic (e.g., populations,

regionally)

– Build capacity across the country

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Structure

– UWW is the training arm of the CIHR

Centre for REACH in HIV/AIDS

– Governed by the Centre Directors and

the REACH/UWW Executive Committee

– Guided by The UWW Education

Committee: a pan-Canadian,

interdisciplinary group of academics,

community persons, and students

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UWW Education Committee

curriculum

Design

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Implementation

Promotion

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Development

selection

Evaluation

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Feedback

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Pedagogical Objectives

Enhance students’ knowledge of:

1. HIV theory and research methods in their own discipline/area of community work, and at least one other discipline/area of community work

2. HIV prevention, care, treatment and support services, including the services provided by the network of community-based HIV organizations

3. Population health, health services and community-based research, ethics and knowledge translation and exchange

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Pedagogical Objectives

Enhance students’ skills in:

1. Using various perspectives and methods to approach HIV research questions, problems, contexts and communities while firmly standing within their own disciplines

2. Preparing basic ‘tools of the research trade’ such as academic and community oriented presentations, abstract submissions, manuscripts for peer-review, and grant applications

3. Integrating research knowledge into theory, evaluation, policy, and practice (KTE)

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Enhancing Students’ Capacity:

• To be independent, problem solvers who learn by doing (John Dewey’s problem-solving)

• To be public intellectuals, engaged with communities in moving theory forward into reflection, dialogue, and action (Paulo Freire’spraxis)

• To be global citizens who merge studying and new knowledge into personal life and the workplace

• To be thinkers able to adopt both the macro-social and the local perspectives

• To be interdisciplinary collaborators

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Curricular Components

Universities Without

Walls

Educational Modules

Learning Institute

Community Service

Learning

Mentorship

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2009 – 2011 Activities Overview

• Online sessions every two weeks with guest speakers and skills building sessions

• Fellows are placed in Community Service Learning (CSL) sites or with academic mentors in programs of research; individualized attention

• Learning Institute design and implemented at end of training with academics and local CBO partners

• Fellows are supported in one interdisciplinary collaborative component (in 2010, a public World Café: “Antiretrovirals as HIV Prevention: Medicating Risk?”)

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Measuring Success

Short-term: • Number of applications; Number of students who

complete program

• Evaluative Instruments used– Pre-and post training surveys (Qs from funder and

pedagogical Qs);– Student assessments of Learning Institute(s);– Community Service Learning Plan (and CSL mentor

assessments), and– Learning Portfolio; Surveys completed by contributors to

UWW (e.g. reviewers, speakers, liaisons)

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Measuring Success

• Medium-term: Pre- and post-UWW program

surveys to assess students capacity to work

across academic disciplines, apply ethics,

and function effectively in academic, policy

and community environments (e.g.

participation in REACH programs of

research); collaborations amongst Fellow

alumni.

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Measuring Success

• Long-term: Number of students who go on to

careers in HIV or related areas; any increase in

research capacity in underserved communities

and regions; Number of students successful in

getting grants; Number of

conference/community presentations, posters

and papers (attributable to the UWW program)

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Measuring SatisfactionGeneral aspects of the UWW program

• Success

– Adequate number of contact hours with students (but would

want more in-person at beginning and end of program)

– Adequate group size

– Additional invitations to HIV research related events

– Timely and clear communication with UWW staff

– Useful UWW Fellowship Plan

• Improvements

- Improve IT platforms

- Offer HIV research content on francophone

populations/issues across Canada

- Expand the range of disciplines (e.g. biomedical)

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UWW Online Sessions

• Synchronous

• Multimedia

• A bit of TV experience

• Recorded

• Involves speakers, discussants

• Skills sessions (e.g. mock grant review) and theoretical sessions (e.g. lecture style)

• Includes some exercises (using chat feature)

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Measuring Satisfaction

• Success

– Online schedule convenient; good attendance

– Speakers material found relevant and engaging

– Reading relevant

• Challenges

– Sessions delivered more efficiently

– IT support must be adequate (eliminated costly

teleconference, students use headsets and broadcast

themselves via webcam

– Accompanying SharePoint website difficult easier to

access and use

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Summer Learning Institute (SLI)Objectives

• To provide an intensive face-to-face number of contact hours to UWW Fellows, faculty and associated community hence creating opportunities to network

• To offer additional areas of content in HIV research not covered in online sessions

• To offer an opportunity/venue to implement the collaborative component of the UWW Fellowship

• To provide opportunities to participate in HIV research related events in the region where the SLI takes place

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• Started with one faculty development day to review relevant educational frameworks to train researchers as public intellectuals/teachers/interdisciplinary investigators – We obtained a CIHR MPD to fund this event

• Each morning during HOPE, the UWW Fellows joined 60 participants from health policy, health service organizations, and health/HIV research academics to learn about health programs evaluation

• Each afternoon, independently, the UWW fellows supported by UWW faculty led UWW colloquia on HIV research, attended 1guided visit to 9 Circles (HIV CBO in Winnipeg); they led the colloquia.

Summer Learning Institute (SLI)2010 HOPE Overview

Health of Populations Evaluation (HOPE) Learning Institute Winnipeg June 13th to 18th 2010

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Measuring Success: SLI

Success:– Informal networking, positive group dynamics– Flexible schedule when possible– Opportunity to connect with persons in local CBOs– Great cohesion was promoted by ‘away’ location (and

the bus!)

Improvements– Decrease intensity of daily schedule– Increase informal time– Increase visits to community places– Increase contact time with faculty– Better match of readings to colloquia/presentations

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Measuring SLI Success

Success:

– By working together, they learned new ways of thinking about HIV from interdisciplinarity points of view

– Chose the World Café format and implemented it– Faced the challenge to negotiate roles and tasks with each

other, acquired community development skills to negotiate with community site/persons

Improvements

– Needed more time to develop partnership with community partner on the ground (at SLI region)

– Wanted predetermined roles and responsibilities at the start; a better balance between hand-holding and self-initiative

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UWW Community Service Learning (CSL)

• We send in advance a Community Service Learning Profile to potential CSL sites/mentors to match UWW fellows with HIV research related work across Canada.

• Students and CSL site representative(s) negotiate the CSL tasks, time, expectations, learning outcomes and deliverables together and to find mutually beneficial conditions, time, energy, region of residence, etc. as part of their learning

• Fellows fill out a Community Service Learning Plan as a contract between the CSL site/mentor and the Fellow

• At the end of term, the Manager, CSL mentor/representative and Fellow conduct a formative evaluation of the Fellow’s goals and the CSL site’s goals

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Measuring Short Term Success

Community Service Learning (CSL)

• Success

– CSL Plan was useful

– Obtained skills, knowledge, and experience (this supports

gains reported in survey)

– Negotiated with CSL contact person directly (acquired skill)

– Connected Fellows with CBRFs

• Improvements

– Start early

– Ensure the CSL is at appropriate stage for Fellow to come in

– Interview with CSL site contact person at beginning and end

– Refine long-term measurement of the impact of CSL

– Some criticism of whether fellows help or hinder the

activities of non-profit organizations

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Measuring Successfrom the UWW Team Perspective

• Success: the UWW Training Program

– Involves persons living with HIV meaningfully

– Involves academics not in health or HIV field

– Maintains a network and feeds into others

– Balances academic and community values and expectations

(e.g. increased publication and funding, engagement with

communities, self-efficacy as educators, GIPA, etc.)

– gives academic students and exceptional community

members’ applications ‘a fair shake’ to get ‘the right mix’ in

the application process

– Keeps UWW education committee activities flexible, one in

person annual meeting, quarterly reports and ad hoc sub-

committee work

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Measuring Successfrom the UWW Team Perspective

• Challenges

- To provide content and perspective on HIV research that is

Canadian francophone and on francophone communities in

Canada

- To meet the items required in CIHR/STIR evaluation (figure out

how they fit with what really happens in the training)

- To expand the range of disciplines (e.g. biomedical, clinical)

- To engage all co-investigators who signed originally,

sustainability

- To offer incentives for academics to participate in activities

that may not count towards tenure

- To balance the budgetary requirements of the funder with the

emerging needs of the program (activities we offer may not

necessarily be eligible costs)

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