Tryggvi Thayer
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Education
University of Minnesota
Ph.D. in Comparative and International Development Education.
Dissertation title: Foresight Programs for Educational Policy: Program Participants’ Perceptions and Experiences with Outcomes.
(Adviser: Dr. Karen Seashore (was previously Dr. Arthur Harkins)
University of Minnesota
M.A. Comparative and International Development Education.
Thesis: Information and communication technology and the Millennium Development Goals in a global knowledge-based economy: A critical review of donor organization policy.
(Adviser: Dr. Arthur Harkins)
University of Iceland
B.A. Philosophy
Thesis: Truth and information – Dretske’s conceptualisation of information.
Spent 1 semester in 1995 on independent study in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Women’s College of Reykjavík, Iceland
Matriculation exam with focus on pedagogy.
Employment History
University of Iceland-School of Education (Iceland – http://www.hi.is/menntavisindasvid/forsida_menntavisindasvids): 01/2013-Present
Project manager for Education Plaza (http://menntamidja.is/).
– Work with educators’ communities of practice to enhance professional development and develop innovation solutions to educational issues.
– Research and development related to communities of practice and the use of social media for professional development.
University of Minnesota-College of Continuing Education (U.S.A. – http://www.umn.edu): 05/2013-Present
Lecturer in Innovation Studies graduate program.
– Course taught: IS/LS 5100 – Imagination, Creativity and Innovation.
University of Minnesota (U.S.A. – http://www.umn.edu): 10/2008-06/2013
Graduate Assistant – Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development.
– Webmaster for Leapfrog Initiatives: http://leapfrog.umn.edu/
– Teaching assistant for OLPD 2711 Societies of the future: Changing work contexts.
Superviser Dr. Arthur Harkins.
– Teaching assistant for the online Ed.D. program for international educators. Responsibilities include creating and maintaining Moodle course websites, co-teaching, cohort management, and general teaching assistance.
– Assistance with planning and organization of international distance programs.
Superviser Dr. Deanne Magnusson.
Consultant (Self-employed) (International): 10/2007-Present
Provide consulting services to several educational and higher education institutions in Iceland on technology use and international affairs. Clients include the University of Iceland, the School for Renewable Energy Science, social partner organizations and individual professors and researchers applying for European grants.
Iðnmennt – Skills Iceland (Iceland – http://skillsiceland.is): 1/2008-10/2008
Project Manager Responsible for the Icelandic National Skills Competition and Icelandic liaison to European Skills Promotion Organisation and the World Skills Organisation.
Office of International Education – University of Iceland: 7/2006-10/2007
(Iceland – http://www.ask.hi.is/id/1006726)
Program Manager
– Manager of the Erasmus National Agency, part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme.
– Manager of the Erasmus Mundus National Agency.
– Institutional coordinator for the University of Iceland’s foreign partnerships, managing international cooperation, institutional contracts with foreign universities and partnerships within Nordic and European programmes, i.e. Nordplus and Socrates (Erasmus).
– Secretary of the Univerisity of Iceland’s Committee on International Affairs.
– Web coordinator for the Office of International Education (OIE), responsible for development and maintenance of OIE web site and services.
Mennt – Educate Iceland (Iceland): 1/2001-8/2004
Project Manager Project manager for European projects.
Responsible for a wide range of European activities related to the development of vocational education and training.
– Technical consultant to the Leonarda da Vinci National Agency
– Provided assistance to perspective applicants in formulating project objectives and completing applications for short term study abroad projects and pilot projects related to the development of vocational and professional education and training.
– Provided reports on developments in vocational education and training in Iceland to European agencies.
– Coordinator of “ALL”
– Accreditation of Lifelong Learning, a European transnational project funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci II program. Goal of the poject is to develop an internationally recognized accreditation system for small to medium sized learning providers.
– Technical coordinator of “Animate”, a European transnational project funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci II program. Project provides web based collaboration and resource sharing tools for regional networks involved in research and development of vocational education and training throughout Europe.
– Managed the development of Iceland’s first national database on learning opportunities at the upper-secondary level and above, including adult and continuing education. Data entry is through a web based interface or using specifically developed Java application that uses XML to transfer data from provider to the central database.
Cedefop (Greece – www.cedefop.eu.int): 2/1998-12/2000
(European Center for the development of Vocational Education)
Seconded from the University of Iceland
Technical coordinator of the Electronic Training Village, Cedefop’s interactive website (www.trainingvillage.gr) targeting the European vocational education and training research and development community. Was responsible for writing technical specifications and planning projects within the Electronic Training Village in collaboration with other project managers, monitored and evaluated progress and led a team of 4-5 web developers.
Other notable project work at CEDEFOP:
– CEDRA, project produced a suite of XML based content authoring tools and an online knowledge sharing environment for researchers making extensive use of metadata.
– “Technology supported learning” (TSL). This project aimed to provide overviews on emerging metadata standards for electronic learning materials.
University of Iceland, Research Liaison Office: 4/1997-12/2000
(Iceland – www.rthj.hi.is/Apps/WebObjects/HI.woa/wa/dp?id=1000616)
Project manager
Responsible for public relations and design, construction and maintenance of the Research Liaison Office’s website (www.rthj.hi.is).
– Produced promotional materials for European exchange and transnational collaboration programs.
– Led development of multilingual and multicultural “On The Move” website (www.onthemove-eu.hi.is), a transnational project funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci program. Was responsible for all technical aspects of the project, i.e. web development, hosting and electronic marketing. The website helps young people in Europe prepare for work or study abroad. This project was selected as one of 200 outstanding projects out of the thousands that have were funded by the Leonardo da Vinci program.
Publications & Presentations
Peer Reviewed
Lee, M., Thayer, T., & Madyun, N. (2008). The evolution of the European Union’s lifelong learning policies: An institutional learning perspective. Comparative Education, 44(4), 445-464.
Books, chapters, etc.
Thayer, T. (2002). Limitations of computers in the management of knowledge. In Nyhan, B. (Ed.) Taking steps towards the knowledge society – Reflections on the process of knowledge development. Cedefop.
Thayer, T. (2003). Compendium of current and recent Icelandic led Leonardo da Vinci II projects. Research Liaison Office – University of Iceland.
Thayer, T. (1997). Compendium of current and recent Icelandic led Leonardo da Vinci projects. Research Liaison Office – University of Iceland.
Articles
Thayer, T. (Nov. 6, 2006). Internationalisation of higher education. Morgunblaðið Education Supplement.
Thayer, T. (Sept. 21, 2006). Free to develop: A response to Dr. Hannes H. Gissurarson on market liberalisation and developing countries. Fréttablaðið.
Thayer, T. (2002). Www.mennt.is – learning opportunities database. Cedefop Info, No. 1/2002.
Karlsdóttir, S. & Thayer, T. (Dec. 28, 2001). Information services about learning opportunities. Morgunblaðið.
Thayer, T. (Vol. 20.1, Jan., 1998). The Leonardo da Vinci Programme. Fréttabréf Háskóla Íslands.
Thayer, T. (Vol. 19.10, Dec., 1997). Computer supported language learning. Fréttabréf Háskóla Íslands.
Presentations
“Finland’s educational policy environment: The role of strategic ambiguity in policy communication”. Presentation at CIES Conference, Montreal, QC, CA, 2011.
“Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Development”. Presentation for New Scholars Workshop at CIES Conference, Chicago, IL, 2010.
“Lifelong Learning as a Future-oriented Policy Concept”. Horizon Forum, University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, USA, 2010.
“The National Learning Opportunites Database – workshop for users”. Presented at the annual ICT conference for educators. Reykjavik, 2003.
“The National Learning Opportunites Database”. Presented at the annual ICT conference for educators. Reykjavik, 2002.
“Linking learning and employment opportunities on the WWW with metadata”. Presented at a meeting on a Europe-wide database on jobs and learning opportunites. European Commission. Brussels, Jan., 2001.
“Information and learning in knowledge management”. CEDRA Symposium. Cedefop, Thessaloniki, Greece. 2000.
“Networking and collaboration in CEDEFOP’s Electronic Training Village”. Training of Trainers’ Network Workshop. Paris. 1999.
“ICTs – giving power to knowledge”. Training of Trainers’ Network Workshop. Cedefop, Thessaloniki, Greece. 1998.
Teaching experience at University of Minnesota
WHRE 2711, Societies of the future: Changing work contexts. Spring 2011. (With Dr. Arthur Harkins)
EdPA 5302, Educational Policy: Context, inquiry and issues. Spring 2010. (With Dr. Deanne Magnusson)
EdPA 5080, Special Topics: International perspectives on non-formal, informal and formal learning. Spring, 2010. (With Dr. Arthur Harkins)
EdPA 5080, Special Topics: Social networks and learning futures. Summer, 2010. (With Dr. Arthur Harkins)
Projects at University of Minnesota
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Development (IPID) 2008-Present
IPID is a project launched by graduate students at the University of Minnesota to promote interdisciplinary dialogue across university departments on issues related to international development. The project is currently preparing to launch a student web journal. The project is funded my a grant from the Graduate School’s Office of Interdisciplinary Initiatives. My roles in the project include:
• Member of the initial grant-writing team
• Member of the grant management team
• Web Editor, responsible for development and management of the web journal
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Comparative and International Education Society
– Information Officer for “Information and Communication Technology for Development” (ICT4D) Special interest group.
European Association for International Education
Icelandic Education Research Association
Icelandic Philosophical Association
Management board of the Iceland-United States Education Commission/Fulbright Commission 2007- 2008