OSP#2 focussed on networking and discussion of research challenges related to multilingualism. It started on 3 March 2020 and ended on 18 May 2020. It was organised by the University of Exeter (UK), Mercator Research Institute (Friesland, NL) and Tallinn University (Estonia).
64 participants from many countries have registered and offered insightful contributions, one joint insight is that challenges related to multilingualism can occur at all stages of the research process and that such challenges strongly relate to ethical considerations.
Website statistics showed that users visited the ENROPE website in 1714 sessions. English was the most used language by our visitors, followed by German, French, Turkish and Dutch.
We had feedback from 14 OSP#2 participants, all found that they now better understand challenges that occur at different stages of the research process, and that these challenges were relevant to their own research.
COVID-19 had a positive and negative effect. Some had less time and patience for more online activity, others were pleased to be connected to others “to discuss relevant and inspiring questions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Recommendations were made, namely to keep task instructions simple, and expand participation to include the wider ENROPE community (geographically and professional researchers).
Outcomes of OSP#2 include that a colleague plans to revise their ethics criteria in their university, some participants intend to refer to relevant challenges in their research, and that researchers now feel more aware and less alone facing such challenges. Based on feedback, the ENROPE e-portfolio has been redesigned and simplified. Ideas for a working paper and a reading group were developed.
Multilingual thanks to everyone who contributed to make this a rewarding learning opportunity!