Forest Boost Erasmus Project

Project Title

Forest Boost

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Project Summary

The need for Project Forest Boost arose from the lack of an European forestry network. It’s important to improve the professional, transnational, cultural and linguistic skills of the forestry students and thus give better opportunities for their employment in the labour market.

The main objectives of Project Forest Boost are to develop the strategy of the forestry students’ exchange process so obvious and self-evident that they easily choose the exchange period as part of their studies, they know the partner colleges and their different possibilities. In addition the forestry teachers familiarize with the education methods and curricula of the other forestry schools in the network. The exchange periods will be a natural part of the students’ studies and they are also a reliable opportunity to get acquainted with foreign cultures and education abroad for students with special needs as well as for those who haven’t travelled a lot. Project Forest Boost will increase the exchange of forestry students and teachers, strengthen the partnerships and clarify the strategy of mobilities between the partner colleges. The aspect of internationalization at home will be taken well into account when the students and teachers reciprocally host students and teachers of the partner colleges. Students who are not involved in exchange projects abroad have the possibility to contact foreign students in their home college.

The project will be coordinated by SAMIedu, Itä-Savon koulutuskuntayhtymä, Savonlinna, Finland.
The other participating orgnisations are:
Zespol Szkol Lesnych i Ekologicznych w Brynku, Brynek, Tworóg, Poland
De Wijnpers, Leuven, Belgium
Luua Metsanduskool, Luua, Estonia
Berufskolleg am Eichholz, Arnsberg, Germany
Kpedu, Keski-Pohjanmaan koulutusyhtymä, Kokkola, Finland

All the participating colleges have a forestry department in their colleges. Each partner has had cooperation with some of these partners, but there are, at least, two totally new partners for everyone in this network. Some partners have had a lot of mobilities in their forestry departments, whereas others have lack of experience in organising forestry mobilities and thus profit the know-how of this network.

Before the actual project activities take place, the project partners will focus on preparatory activities that guarantee a common understanding of tasks, roles and partners’ commitments. The discussions take place through TEAMS and minutes of meeting are written.

During the project there will be the five (5) transnational meetings:

1. Kick-off project management meeting in Savonlinna, Finland, 2020 (coordinators, teachers). Theme: Simulator pedagogy in forestry
2-4. Online management meetings in TEAMS
5. Online Final Transnational Meeting in TEAMS (coordinators, teachers)

The LTT Workshops, which are short-term exchanges of groups of students with a specific theme, will be arranged as follows:

1. LTT in Arnsberg, Germany; Impacts of the climate change ( 2021)
2. LTT in Brynek, Tworóg, Poland; Internationalization in forestry ( 2021)
3. LTT in Leuven, Belgium; Forestry students in working life (2022)
4. LTT in Luua, Estonia; Sustainable forestry ( 2022)
5. LTT in Kokkola, Finland; Future innovations in forestry ( 2022)

There will be 4 participants (coordinator/teacher, students) from each partner country in the LTT activity.

Before every LTT there will be an online Management meeting in TEAMS, in which the preliminary practical details like the number of participants, programme, accomodation and freetime activities are discussed.

Each LTT workshop includes familiarizing with the forestry education of the receiving country at the college, visiting companies, writing a newsletter about the visit and freetime activities with local students. After returning home the teachers and students share their experiences at the college by means of picture boards, short videos and posts in social media of the college.

After completing the project there will be a strong network of partners and reliable contacts in the destination countries, which are presented in innovative and informative marketing material created by students. The travels, accommodation and the work placements have been checked and approved. The protocol of Erasmus+ mobilities has become familiar and it has been agreed by all the partners. After getting to know the curricula of the network VET colleges the coordinating teachers and guidance counsellor in the home country are able to plan the studies in the destination country as part of the students’ personal competence development plan. The mentoring of the students in the destination country can be planned well, too, due to the contacts made before the exchange.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 121105 Eur

Project Coordinator

Itä-Savon koulutuskuntayhtymä & Country: FI

Project Partners

• Keski-Pohjanmaan koulutusyhtymä
• Zespol Szkol Lesnych i Ekologicznych w Brynku
• Luua Metsanduskool
• de wijnpers
• Berufskolleg am Eichholz, Arnsberg