You certainly agree that education is a significant resource and thus a central issue in our society. In this respect, each individual will have to take on greater personal responsibility in the future. Future-oriented education strategies will increasingly focus on the use of modern information technologies in matters of knowledge acquisition. The transition from the information age to the knowledge age is in full swing.
Our armed forces have a particular interest in modern basic, advanced and follow-on training, as our soldiers have to be best prepared for their demanding tasks in an international environment. Each individual in turn has the comprehensible need to harmonize official and private interests/duties. Therefore, it cannot be denied that the future attractiveness of modern armed forces will not only be reflected by sound training, but also by the occupational satisfaction of our soldiers.
The establishment of a "European Non-Commissioned Officer Academy" (ENCOA) in the framework of a multinational training cooperation between Germany, Austria and Switzerland is a significant step towards a comprehensive education strategy of friendly armed forces. Its aim is to promote the self-motivated and flexible follow-on training of regular non-commissioned officers from the participating nations in an international environment using modern training tools.
For this purpose, the concept of internet-based distance training is applied by ENCOA. Students and supervising tutors will be brought together in international study groups and work on common projects using the internet-based learning management system ILIAS (Integriertes Lern-, Informations- und Arbeitskooperationssystem (Integrated Learning, Information and Working Cooperation System)) of the Helmut-Schmidt University, Hamburg. At different locations and at the time of their choice, the participants will work on subjects such as military and society, sports and culture, modern leadership and IT technology and media communicating in video conferences, chats and forums. Dependent on the duration of the individual courses, there will also be short attendance phases at the involved training facilities alongside distance training, since for all the modern training technologies, the social aspect must not be neglected.
The results achieved so far show that ENCOA has considerable potential for future internet-based distance training projects in the armed forces. The first step is always the hardest though, as we all know, and we are still at the beginning of the vision to offer follow-on training supported by modern technology to regular non-commissioned officers of European armed forces.
We, the ENCOA team, would like to invite you to develop and improve this project together with us. We are convinced that you can make valuable contributions and proposals and offer constructive criticism thus making the project a success. If you are interested in participating in our project, please feel free to contact us.
Best regards
Frank Bielfeldt, Lieutenant Colonel
Executive Director of ENCOA International
