F ID I AC A D E M Y MOVING ONLINE: HOW 2 MIM TRANSLATES As COVID prevented its popular Masters in Moving and Mobility (MiM2) course from running in person during the past year, FIDI Academy reformatted it to run online. Dominic Weaver gets the verdict from the Academy trainers and students who took part U JESSE VAN SAS, FIDI ACADEMY TRAINER 58 FF301 Q2 21 pp58-61 MiM2.indd 58 p until early 2020, like most FIDI Academy courses, Masters in Moving and Mobility (MiM2) were held in-person in a variety of locations around the world. So pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions threatened to create a sizeable gap in the ongoing development of Affiliates staff and their businesses. FIDI responded in the early days of the crisis by making Academy webinars free of charge to Affiliates for a limited period. Then, says Academy Manager Chantal Fera, she and fellow trainers Sara Lyrum Kronkjaer and Jesse van Sas set about moving the MiM2 courses from a classroom to virtual format. The trainers quickly jumped on the opportunity to review the format, the content, and the facilitation process to deliver the content virtually, she says. This included switching to a modular format, which allowed attendees to either take the full programme or register for specific parts while opting out of others. MiM2 is designed to be a handson, interactive experience for students, taking them out of their comfort zone and allowing them to develop confidence and best practice from FIDI trainers, and from one another. To deliver all this for an online environment meant reworking almost every aspect of the course, says Lyrum Kronkjaer. This included rethinking how MiM2 groups could best share experiences with other attendees, present to one other, and take part in workshops, teambuilding exercises and networking. With the virtual setup, we also had to take into consideration that the students were from all over the world and in different time zones. So, group tasks, shared homework and other parts were challenged, she says. As well as how they delivered it, the team also had to update the content itself in the light of the pandemic, adds Lyrum Kronkjaer, who gives the example of the Meeting Management session. With COVID, the structure of meetings and setup have taken a new direction, so we needed to update this to meet these new needs. So, how does the adapted programme work in practice? Students at FIDIs first online sessions explain. Ines Borchert of Krumpf, Germany, says she jumped at the chance to take part in the online MiM2, after missing out last year. She says: Ever since I started working in our business, I had heard WW W. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 09/03/2021 10:36