The MILENG COE Information Knowledge Management
Information Knowledge Management (IKM) is the discipline that combines Information Management and Knowledge Management.
Information Management (IM) is the collection and management of information from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. And directs and supports the handling of information throughout its life-cycle ensuring it becomes the right information to the right person at the right time and in the right form.
Knowledge management (KM) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. Knowledge management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organization.
By Capt (OF-2) Joris Van Daele (BEL A),
Military Engineering Centre of Excellence, IKM Officer
The MILENG COE IKM Platform:
Based on these principles, MILENG COE investigated the best platform to make the IKM Mission possible. Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 was chosen, because its capabilities matched the needs, the other NATO bodies and NATO countries work with this, the price and the possible integration on the hardware system. After a trial period the MILENG COE’s Sharepoint 2010 based IKM Platform was fully integrated in the Centre in November 2012.
The MILENG COE Platform exists of three main parts: an Internal, an External Knowledge Portal and the Website. All parts are interconnected, but still divided in such a way that security is assured. Beside this, there is also a separated Student’s network for our course attendees.
The Internal is for MILENG COE Staff Members only. Here they can upload and work collectively on internal documents, upload documents viewable for external members, staff activities and activity reports, treat logistic matters and personal data and receive directives, notifications and feedback through the chain of command.
The External Knowledge Portal is for registered MILENG COE Members. Here those members can get access to:
- The “Knowledge Library” with thousands of MILENG related documents.
- The “Search Engine” for searching documents, publications, whitepapers, manuals and other downloads from NATO bodies and nations.
- The “Work spaces” which allow collaboration in support of working groups, writing teams, specialist teams and other projects which require external contributions.
- The “Events” and “Courses” pages for information about MILENG COE Events and Courses: calendars, registration details, presentations, etc.
- The “Discussion Forum” which facilitates discussion about MILENG and other topics.
- The “Dropbox” for sharing large files with the MILENG COE Staff members.
- The "MILENG Downloads" to get access to engineer Software, timely and on a request base.
How to register for the External Knowledge Portal: See VIDEO
The Website is public and is namely for publicity purpose and registration for the External Knowledge Portal. But you can also find the MILENG COE history and organization, the MILENG COE Newsletter Articles, the MILENG COE Flyers and the Courses and Event Information.
Further we have a large POC Database, videos, social media linkage, contact with the Media and a Newsletter in order to integrate and apply the ACT Strategic communications plans for COEs.
In 2016 Sharepoint 2010 reaches his end of lifetime and will be updated to the latest version: Sharepoint 2013. This will allow MILENG COE to improve performances, guarantee security and provide better service to the External Knowledge Portal Members.
Some Tips for the External Knowledge Portal:
Knowledge library
The latest year the IKM Cell putted a lot of effort in uploading MILENG publications to the External Knowledge Library. These come from hosted events, attended events, conferences, writing teams, working groups and many more.
In the External Knowledge Library there are different columns: “Title”, “Document Type”, “Trip/Event Name”, etc.
1) In the drop down list of the Column called “Trip/Event Name”, you can find a series of Activities and Events. Select an Activity or Event name to see all related documents in a filtered list.
Example:Select “Combat Engineer Conference 2014 (Oct 14)” and this will show 19 presentations from this Event.
2) In the drop down list of the Column called “Document Type”, you can find a series of document types.
Example:Select “Activity Report” and this will show you a large number of reports made by the Staff Members who attended an Event. This is a possibility to get the latest information on recent conferences, meetings and activities.
Ontolica Search
There is a very powerful search engine installed on the Knowledge Library, to get the maximum out of it it’s recommend reading this part about the Boolean operators:
Boolean operators enable you to construct complex logical expressions that include many different search words or phrases, including both inclusive and exclusive conditions. Ontolica supports the following standard Boolean operators:
- AND - When two search words (or clauses) are connected by an AND operator, then the expression will be true only for documents that contain both terms (or when both clauses return true). When no operator is supplied, this is the default.
- OR- When two search words (or clauses) are connected by an OR operator, then the expression will be true for documents that include either one or both of the terms (or when one or both of the clauses return true).
- NOT- When two search words are separated by a NEAR operator, then the search will return only documents that contain those two words close to each other (within approximately 50 words), but not pages that contain just one of the words, or even both words if they are far from each other.
More information can be found, clicking on “Search Help”
Work Spaces
Work Spaces are separate from the Knowledge Library, they are managed by an OPR. The OPR choses who has access and which documents are published on it. Request for access to a certain workspace by e-mail. Our general e-mail address can be reached by clicking on the “Contact Us” button on top of the MILENG COE Website.
How to work on the Workspace: See VIDEO
Events and Courses pages
The Events and Courses pages on the External, provide: read ahead packages, administrative instructions, presentations, attendees list, registration possibility, etc.
How to register for a Course: See VIDEO
Personal Profile
When you registered, you filled in some personal data as your Name, Rank, Nation and Unit. As some of this data changes through time, it’s interesting to update it. So that the MILENG COE Contact Database stays up-to-date and the information send to you mentions the right Unit, Title / Rank.
How to update the personal profile: See VIDEO
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