Digital Academy Project for Civil Service Unveiled

Luxembourg's Minister for the Civil Service, Marc Hansen, presented this morning the “Digital Academy” project of the National Institute of Public Administration (Institut national d'administration publique - INAP).

For the past three years, INAP has been undergoing a profound organisational transformation in order to offer its learners and trainers more innovative tools to provide and follow training.

During Monday's press conference, Minister Marc Hansen highlighted all the efforts undertaken by INAP in recent years and which have proved particularly useful in the current health crisis. Accompanied by Philippe Diederich, head of INAP, the minister then addressed the institute's missions and the new educational approach concerning its digitalisation projects. 

These missions are to: organise and promote initial and continuing vocational training; organise the control of knowledge of the three administrative languages; provide services in the field of continuing vocational training; support the digital transformation of other state and municipal services through training.

In line with the 2018 Grand-Ducal regulation on the organisation of training during internships, INAP has taken a first step in the reorganisation of general training. Initially a training management institute, INAP has become a training management and creation institute. General training, compulsory for all trainee civil servants and employees during an induction period, can now take the form of face-to-face, online courses, personal studies or a combination of the three.

To accompany these new missions, INAP has strengthened its teams over the years, with the establishment of an educational innovation unit, and has encouraged the digitalisation of its services.

The digital training of general education is the result of a modern training approach that puts the learner at the centre. The digital educational approach facilitates the use of interactive and participatory educational activities which encourage the trainee to become actively involved in the development of his / her skills. This paedagogical approach also applies to many continuing training courses in the INAP training catalogue. Some specific training courses have already been digitalised, such as training for human resources managers and management.

In addition, INAP has invested great efforts in supporting learners and trainers in the appropriation of the new paedagogical approach, particularly through specific training.

Support for trainers is available through sustained communication with internal and external trainers, training in new learning platform technologies, tailor-made support for large-scale training and a team of educators and IT specialists, as well as through long-term efforts.

Following an analysis of digital skills needs in the public service, INAP will also offer training in the following areas: digital literacy; digital skills for IT specialists; and digital leadership.