Path2Integrity consortium members and international advisory board experts from seven European countries met up in Esbjerg, Denmark, for the project’s annual meeting on 17 and 18 February 2020. The two days in Esbjerg were filled with insightful presentations, intensive discussions and fruitful workshops.

The first hours of the meeting were devoted to the Path2Integrity learning cards. Together with the handbook of instructions, the Path2Integrity learning cards will become part of a collection of innovative teaching and learning materials. The participants shared their feedback and first experiences with using the innovative learning tool for teaching and engaged in dialogue and roleplay in order to give the cards a try themselves. Path2Integrity is now ready to start evaluating the project’s learning program.

To increase and broaden the impact of the learning cards, project partners scheduled the translation of the cards and the handbook in more than five languages. Ultimately, the handbook will be available in 11 of the 24 official languages of the European Union.

Train-the-trainer programmes were another point of interest, which was addressed with an insightful presentation by advisory board member Arja R. Aro, who depicted opportunities and challenges of such programmes, while also providing two exemplifying cases. The curricula developers summarised the current tasks and work strategies and how they need the project partners to contribute.

Participants also discussed the Path2Integrity campaign and its materials. The various flyers, leaflets, posters, T-shirts and other materials being part of the informal learning material aim to raise awareness for research integrity among everyone directly or indirectly involved in research, such as secondary school students, undergraduates, graduates and early-career researchers as well as educators, administrators, policy makers and many more. 

Moreover, the consortium meeting allowed for a detailed event planning. The participants made significant progress with the organisation of the 2021 Path2Integrity conference, which will take place next February!

Despite their absence, the project members of Kiel University provided essential information regarding the structure and implementation of an online survey to evaluate the effects of the campaign materials’ messages and statements on students at secondary schools and universities, (early-career) researchers, educators and administrators in the educational sector. This survey will be launched across the five different European countries involved in the project. 

The Path2Integrity dissemination team stressed on the performance of the project website and social media. In order to effectively reach more people and spread the Path2Integrity messages, the team also conducted a communication training, which provided participants with tips and tricks for successful dissemination and stronger social media presence. 

The final session of the meeting served two purposes: Firstly, it was dedicated to give the project members an update on the preparations of the Path2Integrity international workshops, which will engage stakeholders from outside Europe. Secondly, it provided the opportunity to inform everyone about the benefits of the recently started activity "Synergies and outreach", which aims to establish and expand Path2Integrity’s role and visibility within the group of European projects on teaching and learning research integrity.

Although just two-day long, the Path2Integrity annual consortium meeting allowed for an evaluation of the progress achieved so far, for a discussion on the challenges encountered on the way as well as for a plan for a future development towards establishing a culture of research integrity.