From birth to adult age – a WBL successful Practice! Erasmus Project

Project Title

From birth to adult age – a WBL successful Practice!

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Regional dimension and cooperation

Project Summary

From birth to adulthood – a WBL successful Practice! (WBL S.P.) was a partnership between a Polytechnic Institute, 3 VET colleges, 3 enterprises in the areas of Metallurgy, Mechanics, Mechatronics and Industrial Maintenance and 3 Public Bodies from 3 different countries (Portugal, Spain and Italy).
It was a 3 year project, whereby VET staff, trainers in enterprises and students from 3 countries participated in a ‘problem based learning’ project, aimed at developing 3 new innovative and creative Competency-based Curricula, in the above mentioned areas, which simultaneously include a creative and innovative teaching practice, relating to Entrepreneurship Education.
This New pedagogy was developed for VET staff enabling higher level ‘applied’ and updated skills amongst learners, increasing simultaneously innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial skills and thereby narrowing the gap between academia and the world of work. The 3 companies involved other local similar businesses and provided a real world learning environment leading to more motivated VET students willing to fill in the vacancies in the labour market, more innovative VET staff and more inclusive employers/trainers, able to share their knowledge among apprentices, being responsible actors in the educational process, from the very beginning. Our goal was to give tools to the Businesses, which would make the hosting easier and more productive, not overcoming the capacities of the business and at the same time, validate the learning results, based in the EQVETs. The process and results of this validation (a report to be annexed to the student’s diploma) can be issued by the Platform developed by IPP Partner. The hosting of VET students was an easy process and enterprises & trainers felt motivated to be part of the VET system. This platform is reusable and expandable for other VET areas.
At the end, VET teachers became better prepared to give the students the technological knowledge and competences they need by being in closed contact with the labour market needs.
Trainers became better prepared to lead with students demotivation and misbehaviour. They were really involved in the construction of a young professional regarding their acquisition of technical competences and entrepreneurial skills.
Both teachers and enterprises (tutors) contributed for the platform in what the competences needed in a real environment and this way it was possible the joint construction of a new curricula/programme.
Local authorities had as main challenge the promotion of the new curricula at local and regional level and enhancing other enterprises in the development of the project.
VET students tested this approach and methodology by participating in a Problem based learning project mostly in national enterprises. Only the Portugues students were able to do it at transnational level, in Spain.
Each partner was engaged with local/regional industries with experience or the desire to implement new and innovative Mechanics, Mechatronics and Industrial Maintenance curricula&integration approaches both for VET students, vet teachers and trainers.
WBL. S.P! seeked to build on matching the right VET student to the right enterprise&tasks and, at the same time, give VET teachers and instructors a better preparation both for teaching technological subjects and deal better with demotivation and misbehaviour, respectively, involved in the construction of a professional both technical and entrepreneurial skilled.
WBL. S.P! focused on this duality of purpose and seeked to move VET students & teachers/instructors from ‘theoretical, technical and entrepreneurial competences’ to ‘Real usage and adaptation of technical and entrepreneurial competences’ and develop the skills amongst VET students&teachers, enabling them to ‘hit the ground running’ in an industry sector that has an in-build bias towards entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
Participation within this project was an opportunity for collaboration between VET providers, students, employers/instructors and relevant stakeholders in the same VET field across southern Europe. The partners exchanged methodologies and good practices approaches, to improve the expertise of VET teachers and to embed extra-curricular activity in the sectorial fi

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 288365 Eur

Project Coordinator

AEVA – ASSOCIACAO PARA A EDUCACAO E VALORIZACAO DA REGIAO DE AVEIRO & Country: PT

Project Partners

• POLITEKNIKA IKASTEGIA TXORIERRI S.COOP
• INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DO PORTO
• Municipio de Sever do Vouga
• TKNIKA
• PROVINCIA DI PESARO E URBINO
• Benelli Armi SPA
• ITIS “E. Mattei”