Haarlem – Erasmus+ Programme, staff mobility

In May 2022, a seemingly diverse group of vocational education and training professionals took part in an Erasmus+ staff mobility programme for a guided tour of Nova College in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Trainers, adult education operators and project managers, a total of eight members working in Canossian educational institutions, travelled to the Dutch town with the aim of observing the management of a large training centre, different from ours, which is part of a school system that differs from the national/regional one, in order to learn good practices that could be scaled up in our local contexts.

Many aspects of Nova College in Haarlem immediately appeared innovative:

Each sector dedicated to professional training has a specific building with modern, technologically advanced equipment.

The organisational chart of roles and job descriptions for employees is defined and structured in such a way that the “teachers” committee’ and “students” committee’ also play an essential role in defining programmes and development strategies for the complex, in addition to the board of directors.

Great attention is paid to the student, with training that “encourages” the process of individual empowerment, appropriately supported by different levels of coaching, mentorship and peer education.

Last but not least are the internship and internationalisation programmes, which aim to make users increasingly autonomous in their professional choices and capable of meeting the expectations of employers.

Everything is integrated with synergy and synchronism in a swarm of ideas, relationships and “horizontal” experiences, where the creative power of the student is no less considered than the more conservative experience of the trainer. As a corollary to the travel programme, there is an excursion outside the city strictly by bicycle, a visit to some museums in Amsterdam, the freckles of the people and excellent beer accompanied by sweet French fries.
Tot snel Holland!

First face-to-face meeting for the DOCE project

Dal 23 al 25 maggio si è svolto a Verona il meeting del progetto Erasmus KA2 DOCE – Digital and Online Creativity Education a cui hanno partecipato più di 30 educatori provenienti da Olanda, Belgio, Finlandia, Portogallo, Spagna, Regno Unito e Svizzera.

Il progetto è nato nel 2021 in seguito alla pandemia da COVID-19 che ha accelerato la necessità di modernizzazione digitale dell’istruzione e della formazione in tutta Europa. Infatti, l’obiettivo di DOCE è proprio quello di far progredire e rafforzare la capacità dei docenti della IeFP di sviluppare e offrire un’istruzione digitale efficace, di alta qualità e inclusiva all’interno del settore creativo.

Era la prima volta che i partner si incontravano di persona e per rompere il ghiaccio è stata organizzata una attività di improvvisazione teatrale per presentarsi agli altri partecipanti rivisitando la famosa scena del balcone tratta da “Romeo e Giulietta”. In seguito, i partner si sono confrontati sugli ostacoli e sulle difficoltà legate alla pandemia e alla DAD, scambiandosi a vicenda feedback, buone pratiche e consigli. Il primo giorno sono state tenute alcune masterclass riguardanti la didattica online:

Apprendimento visivo, virtuale e interattivo: cos’è “Thinglink” e quali possibilità offre agli studenti e agli insegnanti?
Ai partner è stato assegnato un compito da svolgere in piccoli gruppi misti nel corso dei 3 giorni di meeting: ogni team doveva creare una lezione digitale per studenti tra i 17 e i 22 anni, legata ad un aspetto culturale o artistico di Verona della durata di 30 minuti. La lezione poteva essere concepita per svolgersi in DAD, oppure per essere scaricata dagli studenti tramite download e doveva prevedere una forma di valutazione di apprendimento dei contenuti (es. quiz). C’è chi ha progettato una lezione sulle basi della composizione fotografica utilizzando gli inconfondibili scorci di Verona, chi ha realizzato un sito web con foto panoramiche per conoscere meglio Piazza dei Signori e chi ha immaginato di trasformare Porta Borsari in una mostra d’arte contemporanea proiettando delle immagini sul monumento.

Di grande impatto è stato l’intervento tenuto dal ricercatore di fama mondiale in campo educativo, Pedro De Bruyckere, il quale ha trattato diversi temi dando molti spunti su cui riflettere ai partecipanti, tra questi: online/creativity learning, l’importanza della motivazione per l’apprendimento scolastico, autonomia e libertà nelle scelte scolastiche, fake news e bias cognitivi.
Grazie a tutti i partecipanti per essere stati con noi e per aver condiviso le proprie competenze e abilità professionali: è anche grazie a questo tipo di esperienze e al confronto con l’estero che ci miglioriamo come persone e come ente di formazione!

Well begun is half done: kick-off meeting for the 3-H project

Fourteen partners from Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Croatia and Finland attended the kick-off meeting for the 3-H project, held on 24 and 25 March 2022 in Verona. The 3-H (Head, Heart, Hand) project is based on the assumption that VET should provide a holistic education, i.e. an education that takes into account cognitive intelligence (head), social-emotional intelligence (heart) and manual intelligence (hand) in equal measure. The project focuses on socio-emotional aspects and aims to equip VET staff with methodologies for managing student demotivation.
Considering that in several European countries there are examples of schools that are incorporating socio-emotional aspects into their learning pathways, the project aims to study some of these experiences and the approaches behind them in order to replicate them in Italian and Spanish VET contexts.

The event was dedicated to increasing mutual understanding between partners and planning upcoming activities in detail. During the first year of the project, the partnership will focus on gathering existing best practices related to these four topics:

Welcome/orientation activities: welcome practices/programmes/activities for incoming students with previous negative school experiences, in order to facilitate their integration into the new IeFP pathway.

Self-Directed Learning: an active learning process in which students take the initiative and decide independently on their own learning path (what to learn, how to learn, with whom to learn, when to learn).

PBL (Project Based Learning) on social-emotional skills: supporting educators in implementing meaningful PBL activities that enable pupils to develop social-emotional skills and learn authentic content. In other words, PBL design projects that have a social-emotional component.

Well-being and motivation at school: practices to create a welcoming, engaging and inclusive school environment that transforms the relationship between the institution and students and generates a state of well-being.

The methodology behind the project is simple: on the one hand, partners who have developed good practices on the project topics over the years will transfer their successful models and expertise; on the other hand, partners with less experience will be trained on these topics and will seek to adapt these good practices to their national contexts.

“Travelling is like dreaming”: the story of Emanuele Belloni from ENAC ER

By Emanuele Belloni

Internationalisation has always been very important in my life and has also had a major influence on my work experience to date. Since I started working for ENAC Emilia Romagna, my trips abroad have always been with my students, as a chaperone and tutor.
However, for the first time, I had the opportunity to take part in a European project thanks to the REX VET LTT workshop I attended in Helsinki, which gave me the opportunity to join a group of foreign colleagues.

Sharing information, ideas, experiences and suggestions was really important for my professional growth. I learned a lot during these three days of work.
I came back from Finland full of positive energy and inspiration, which I am trying to transfer to my daily work at my vocational training centre.
This experience was significant because I also had the opportunity to visit Helsinki, where I had never been before. I really enjoyed the Finnish hospitality and it was really nice to meet new people from different countries. Travelling to a foreign country and meeting foreign people always makes me feel more open-minded.

There is a quote by Edgar Allan Poe that I love: “Travelling is like dreaming: the only difference is that not everyone, once awake, can remember their dream. Instead, everyone has a vivid memory of the journey they have returned from.”
Let’s say that this business trip to Helsinki was like a dream for me. Now I’m back to reality and my students, but I keep thinking about everything I experienced there.

Legnano/Alicante cultural exchange: a unique experience

By Anna Pekez and Benedetto Rossi, Year 2 Social Economics students at the Barbara Melzi Institute in Legnano

During the month of February, we, the students of the second year of the Liceo Economico Sociale at the ‘Barbara Melzi’ Institute in Legnano, had the opportunity, thanks to Professor Manuguerra, to take part in a cultural exchange with students from the Cavanilles school in Alicante (Spain).

This gave many of us the chance to improve our Spanish language skills and learn new vocabulary for everyday life.

The same could be said of the cultural aspect, discovering customs and a different way of life in an environment with traditions different from our own.
We were able to observe their lifestyle, particularly in our homes and families, who in turn were very happy to welcome the Spanish students.

The school organised various activities and educational trips to help us get to know our local area, visiting Milan, Como and Legnano. For our guests, it was a new adventure and for some of us, it was a rediscovery of interesting cities, or even, for those who had never had the opportunity to see monuments and attractions such as the Last Supper or the Voltaian Lighthouse in Como, a fantastic first visit. A different experiment was the art workshop, in which we expressed our creativity by colouring our photos with the aim of showing ourselves before and after this “event”.

The experience was wonderful, but after nine days of commitments, proposals and outings involving all our families and the entire class council, returning to school was tiring, especially in terms of the school routine.

The best part of this experience was forming new bonds in such a short time. It was very important for all of us to have made friends, which have lasted until now and which we hope to strengthen and maintain in the future.

European Vocational Skills Week: #DiscoverYourTalent

The sixth edition of European Vocational Skills Week will take place from 16 to 20 May 2022. It is an initiative of the European Commission to raise awareness and increase the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET). The week aims to make VET more interesting in order to help young people and adults reach their full potential for a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

The motto of this year’s communication campaign is

DiscoverYourTalent!

The motto aims to show that everyone has valuable talents and that VET can provide European citizens of all ages with the skills and practical knowledge they need to succeed in the labour market.

This year’s theme is VET and the Green Transition, in line with the European Commission’s European Green Deal: its plan to become carbon neutral by 2050 – and to provide everyone with the tools they need for the green transition.

The aim is also to raise awareness of VET experiences among individuals and organisations, thus creating a library of stories to inspire others. A selection of stories will be promoted through EU channels.

You can share your IeFP story by filling out this intuitive form: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ShareYourStory2022

For more information on European Vocational Skills Week:

School dropout?
Not today, thanks to the 3-H project

The figures speak for themselves: around 24 million students worldwide were at risk of not returning to school in autumn 2021 due to the disruption caused by the pandemic. These were general studies not specific to vocational schools, where the situation could be even more significant given that vocational training in many contexts serves to gather and train the most vulnerable young people at risk of marginalisation.
Promoting student well-being at school will be crucial in the near future to reduce school dropout rates. In this regard, we may have a solution to stem the problem: the 3-H project, funded by the Erasmus+ programme.

The project focuses on socio-emotional aspects and the goal is always to prevent school dropout, involving individual pupils in their personal motivation, working on methodologies that facilitate the acquisition of socio-emotional skills and addressing student demotivation and discomfort at school.

Considering that in several European countries there are examples of schools that are incorporating socio-emotional aspects into their learning pathways, the project aims to study some of these experiences and the approaches behind them in order to replicate them in Italian and Spanish VET contexts.

In practice, the project will work on the following aspects:
a) Developing knowledge and methodologies to enable teachers to work on socio-emotional aspects;
b) Outline a strong reception model, dedicated to the first months of pupils’ entry into vocational training courses;
c) Develop/adopt good practices that promote pupils’ well-being at school (from reception onwards) and motivate students.
At the end of the project, the partnership aims to provide a compendium of good practices, a set of guidelines and a toolkit in which the good practices collected will be included. In addition, the final output will be a sort of manifesto for social and emotional education.

Dissemination of the REX VET project results

From 2 to 3 March 2022, the partners of the European REX VET From a rookie to an expert project met in Verona for a final meeting as the project, after two and a half years, is coming to an end.

In addition to reviewing the project outputs and discussing management and evaluation aspects, an event was held to disseminate the results and show how to develop synergies between the internationalisation activities of institutions, organisational development and the continuous professional growth of VET staff. In fact, the event was aimed at directors of training institutions, project designers, coordinators, Erasmus activity representatives and trainers interested in internationalisation issues.

After illustrating the background, structure and phases of the REX VET project, the event highlighted how to increase ownership of internationalisation activities within VET institutions and involve more and more teachers and staff members in this type of activity.

Ample space was also given to promoting the professional development of VET institution staff in terms of the skills needed for internationalisation.

Finally, the event addressed how to document and recognise learning and skills acquired on the topic of internationalisation through the Open Badge system developed within the context of the REX VET project.

From a rookie to an expert –internationalisation pathways for vocational education and training (VET) trainers

On the one hand, working life is becoming increasingly multicultural, while on the other, the labour market is becoming increasingly international, requiring international skills and competences. Vocational education and training (VET) trainers are increasingly required to possess these skills in order to guide and prepare students.

On the one hand, working life is becoming increasingly multicultural, while on the other, the labour market is becoming increasingly international, requiring international skills and competences. Vocational education and training (VET) trainers are increasingly required to possess these skills in order to guide and prepare students.

During the event, emphasis will be placed on how to:

• increase ownership of internationalisation activities within VET institutions and involve more teachers and staff members in this type of activity;• promote and support the professional development of VET institution staff in terms of the skills needed for internationalisation;• document and recognise learning and skills acquired on the topic of internationalisation through the Open Badge system.

The event is aimed at:

• directors of vocational training institutions who aspire to increase ownership of internationalisation activities within their institution and want to support the development of their staff’s skills in the field of internationalisation;
• designers, coordinators and representatives of Erasmus and internationalisation activities at their institution, in order to involve more colleagues in these activities and further promote their organisation’s development strategy;
• trainers interested in internationalisation issues who want to increase their skills in this area.

Click here to register

Event programme:

• 14:15 – Welcome• 14:30 Introduction to the proceedings (Luca Calligaro – ENAC Ente Nazionale Canossiano)
• 14:45 – The REX VET project: background, structure, phases, output (Mari Kontturi – Luovi Vocational College)*
• 15:00 – Proposal for a model for the development of VET staff skills in the field of internationalisation (Taavi Tuisk – Kuressaare Ametikool)*
• 15:15 – First example of a training module for internationalisation (Simona Puggioni – ENAC Ente Nazionale Canossiano)
• 15:30 – Second example of a training module for internationalisation (Begoña Inchaurraga – Centro San Viator)*
• 15:45 – Open badges – what they are and how they can be used to recognise the learning of skills in the field of internationalisation (Karoliina Oksanen – Vocational College Live and Jussi Kajander – Luovi Vocational College)*
• 16:15 – Promoting opportunities for continuous professional development in internationalisation – the Dutch model (Mieke Muilwijk – Alfa – College)*
• 16.30 – Conclusion and questions

The presentations by foreign speakers will be in English; therefore, a minimum knowledge of the language is required.

We remind you that in order to participate in the event in person, according to current regulations, it is mandatory to have a valid GREEN PASS and to wear a mask.

Your contact details will be collected and stored for the time necessary for possible contact tracing