6. Project Aim
To increase UEL engagement in knowledge
exchange activities by developing a
networking and business resource portal for
small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
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7. Project Objectives
Develop a system that provides online facilities for
SMEs to collaborate and share best practice with
other SMEs and the University of London
Incorporate relevant business resources for SMEs
Link this system to information about UEL’s courses
and consulting services
Provide an access point for UEL
graduates/entrepreneurs to engage with SMEs (local
business contacts, job opportunities, internships)
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8. Project Benefits
Provide free to use business portal for SMEs
to facilitate
– Networking and links to other SMEs, UEL
academics and graduates
– Accessing business information resources
– Skills development through access to UEL course
offerings
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9. Draft Project Plan (09/10)
Agree Requirements July
Functional Specification Aug
Prototype development Aug
Prototype review and sign off Sep
Develop solution Oct
Testing Nov
Implementation Dec
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10. Overview of UEL defined
requirements
Presented by
Rob Bourne
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11. Agenda
Setting the scene
– Social networking principles
Potential platforms
Requirements walkthrough
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12. Setting the scene
Social networking
Six degrees of separation
Social capital
Wisdom of the crowd
Architecture of participation
The power of niche
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13. Potential Platforms
Linking in to existing social networking sites
– Linked in
– Facebook
Open source solutions
– Boonex
– ELGG
– Drupal (CMS)
– Wordpress (Blogging software)
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14. Requirements walkthrough (1)
Social Networking - Creation of sustainable
communities
– Individual networks linking in to wider networks
– Private groups to knowledge share/network
– Public access groups
– Method to capture business information and
individual users
– Identification of SMEs by physical location*
– Content seeding by UEL
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15. Requirements walkthrough (2)
Content portal - Resources that have
business benefits to the SMEs
– Ideally involve low levels of manual interpretation
– Identification of specific resources
– Logical categorisation of content
– Peer review of content e.g. amazon ratings type
system
– Jobs boards to advertise positions
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16. Requirements walkthrough (3)
Tool kits - Either hosted and integrated or
raised for awareness
– IPR/copyright resources
– Links to comms tools
– Web conferencing and collaboration solutions
– Resources for getting the best out of these tools
– Blogs wikis, project management tools
– CRM
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17. Requirements walkthrough (4)
Dissemination of job/internship vacancies
– Structure of the request of internships
– Mechanisms for companies to target specific
individuals
– Traditional mail shot approaches
Short courses
– Linking in to UEL offerings
– Potential for feedback with regard to new courses
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18. Requirements walkthrough (5)
Work based learning
– Promotion of UELconnect activities in this area
UELconnect consultancy services
– Link to our consulting services
– Context specific linking to our services
– Focus on knowledge exchange
– Showcase of developed products
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19. Requirements walkthrough (6)
Sustainability
– Utilise feeds to refresh content
– Repeat funding rounds available in terms of
Challenge funding
– Promote contribution from SMEs with seeding,
link baiting
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21. Activity outline
Two groups facilitated by UELconnect leads
Session purpose
– CRITICALLY discuss the proposed requirements
– PROPOSE new requirements
– DEFINE importance
Pull together the ideas
– This requirements document will then be pulled in
to a functional specification for the solution
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23. Roadmap
Platform vision
Next steps
User group/focus group
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24. Platform vision
What do we envisage the final product to be?
– Do you think this would be beneficial to you?
– Any other ideas?
Is this worth doing?
– Are we replicating existing systems?
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25. Next steps
Build
– Test
– Evaluate
– Update requirements/spec
Build
– Test
– Evaluate
– Update requirements/spec
Build
– Test
– Evaluate
– Update requirements/spec
Ad infinitum
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26. User group
Main focus of the project is knowledge
exchange
Disseminate project outcomes
Form a sustainable user group of interested
parties
Communications in terms of project progress
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