It's no secret that DELL is amongst the most innovative companies around. DELL's training portal (EMEA Learning & Development Framework) designed by MMID is a great example of how DELL embraces technology to develop their people.

From the outset, DELL was eager to use leading-edge design with an exciting multi-layer 3D navigation system so it was no surprise when DELL looked at how they could leverage a global mine of information -Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia - to increase their employees' knowledge. Earlier this month, MMID implemented an innovative dual search engine system on the training portal. Not only can the user search for any words contained in the site (as you would expect a traditional search engine would do), but now he/she can get Wikipedia search results & definitions all within the same page. For instance, if a user want's to know how to deal with stressful situations, typing "stress" brings back all courses relating to Stress Management available to him/her as well as a list of stress-related topics contained within Wikipedia. Moving the mouse over a topic displays a short outline of what is contained in the Wikipedia entry. Who said the knowledge economy was only a buzz word?

CPD College, a MMID subsidiary, has recently received FETAC approval As the national awarding body for further education and training in Ireland, the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) gives people the opportunity to gain recognition for learning in education or training centres, in the work place and in the community. Being a FETAC registered provider means that CPD College is now in a position to offer an extensive range of accredited courses which are widely recognised and respected in the workplace.

Following the highly successful Building Energy Rating (BER) Assessor course, MMID is in the process of developing a series of summer courses aimed at Primary Teachers which will be made available through CPD College. CPD College's aim is to bring Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses to professionals in a convenient manner. The on-line format of the courses is ideal for people who can't travel or just can't take the time off. Courses for more professions will be developed over the course of this year.

MMID was recently awarded the contract of designing a new tourism portal for Waterford County. The portal will be an integral part of the new Waterford County Council website which is currently being re-developed in-house by the County Council team using TerminalFour content management system. More on this project in the next edition...

A Leading south-east based global Medical Devices Manufacturer has recently selected MMID to re-develop its corporate intranet. Commissioned by the company's corporate communications department, the company decided to embrace cutting-edge tools to enhance and facilitate communication amongst its 1500 strong workforce.

The site, which is currently being rolled-out in the plant, is MMID's first true 'Web 2.0' delivery. Web 2.0 is a knowledge-oriented environment where human interactions generate content that is published, managed and used through network applications in a service-oriented architecture (as defined by Wikipedia). In short, the new Intranet is a platform which encourages the creation of content by the workforce for the workforce. International news feeds, weather forecasts, special staff offers, competitions, live site calendar, time zones and integrated internal television network meet with second generation (Web 2.0) user-created and automatically generated content to create a 'living & breathing' site with a real sense of community.

MMID competed before Christmas the new FastForm Research website. FastForm Research is a life science company focusing on development, licensing and commercialisation of patented “Smart Polymer” technologies. These platform technologies are integral elements in an innovative range of orthopaedic casts, splints and brace products. The site had to appeal to four specific audiences - patients, practitioners, investors and job seekers. MMID designed a site which would appeal to these audiences without alienating 'outsiders'. Easy cross-browsing of the site also allows the visitor to look at FastForm from different perspectives. A special section of the site has been develop to securely host training and promotional videos (videos also produced by MMID) which, due to the commercially sensitive nature of the product, can be made available for a short period of time on request to select individuals using an expiring password system.

Here is a little Christmas message produced for ESB by MMID for all of you who just haven't had enough Turkey and Ham. For the others, it might just bring back some magic and get you in the mood for next year. Watch it now here.

Currently in production at MMID are two new e-Learning modules for Down Syndrome Ireland. The first module will concentrate on using a popular entertainment site while the second will focus on creating one's own web page. The two courses complement a series of 5 existing courses developed by MMID to teach teenagers with Down Syndrome how to use the Internet and e-mail. Although slightly more advanced in terms of learning content, the new modules will be based on the same usability principles as the previous courses. The courses are due for delivery before Christmas and will be freely available from the Down Syndrome Ireland website.

Usability is not just another trendy word and when it comes to shop floor control systems, usability can mean better productivity through faster and more intuitive operation. This is why a leading global Medical Devices Manufacturer called upon MMID to design the new face of their global manufacturing software. A series of icons and visuals were designed in partnership with software developer Dataworks to integrate seamlessly with existing code. Since the system is rolled-out globally, the interface had to 'speak many visual languages' - helping the operator to take actions without having to read and enforcing visual consistency across the world.

Just in: Leading south-east based global Medical Devices Manufacturer selects MMID to develop it's corporate intranet. Commissioned by the company's corporate communications department, the company will be using cutting-edge tools to enhance and facilitate communication amongst its 1500 strong workforce.

This months, MMID travels to Nicosia, Cyprus where the company has been invited to speak at the International Council for Educational Media 2007 conference. The presentation focuses on an EU project on virtual classes applied in the construction industry. MMID has been involved in several European research projects in association with partners in the UK, France, Germany, Turkey and Germany.