E-tutoring: tools and web resources for study and career management. Erasmus Project

Project Title

E-tutoring: tools and web resources for study and career management.

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 higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment

Project Summary

The cooperation explored the potentials of a novel approach based on an innovative learning platform, a mobile APP and several open educational resources for academic tutorship programmes and career guidance services with the aim of decreasing academic dropout and increasing academic attainment across European countries.
The intellectual outputs combined a set of tools and a new tutoring system aimed at reducing the academic dropout rates: students and tutors have an innovative and social platform to use every day to solve problems, learn from each other, share key information, decisions, study plans, and future career goals. Additionally, tutors can attend an online training course and can get a full set of information and practical tips for designing tutoring services. The projects created an innovative European digital system for Universities and HEIs, adapted for different contexts, based on a mobile application, that provides tools and devices for e-tutoring support to students during their academic career.
The tailored web environment designed according to the learning of Career Management Skills (CMS) was implemented in order to develop some fundamental skills in students to improve their performance. Critical thinking and time management are key skills for any academic student. The ability to balance their free time and their studies in class and at home is fundamental to prevent incorrect conduct and not satisfactory results at university. The project results demonstrated also the capability of the tools to increase academic engagement and learning motivation. The Mobile app and the learning platform increased the opportunities for the academic communities, students, teachers and tutors, to work closely and in groups exploiting better and more effectively all the students’ services.
IO1 “CMS assessment of academic students” was designed to support a better understanding of the CMS required to manage the academic career. Peer reviews and participatory action research demonstrated the high relevance of the work for inspiring and guiding the tutoring services of the partner universities.
IO2 represented the link between improving academic tutoring initiatives for students’ success and the need to increase the understanding on CMS. The collection of tutoring practices and their revision in the light of the CMS framework was done in an environment of co-creation among experts from each partner country.
IO3 consists of the development of a methodological framework that constitutes the basis for the technical implementation of ICT tools, too.
After the first three intellectual outputs, the project team moved on to design practical tools for tutors and students based on the knowledge acquired in the previous part of the project which was, instead, more focused on theoretical and empirical research addressing career guidance and tutoring services. The solid research foundations were pivotal for the E-Tutoring APP (IO4) that promoted a better understanding and development of those skills that are required to manage the academic career and the E-learning platform for online tutors (IO5).
The pilot actions were planned to be the stress test of the APP, the platform, and the main actions for the exploitation of the project. In particular, the results of the experimentations were the core contents for seminars and conferences organized by the partner institutions in the second half of the project.
The short training activities were carried out online through the project platform. Multiplier events, one per country, were held in July 2021, close to the project deadline when the pandemic restrictions became slack.
In conclusion, the project promoted the active engagement of the Higher Education Institutions to bridge the gap between education and careers management. Academic Tutoring was the strategic addendum to the tool as it provides services and resources for developing academic students’ identities and tools to help them better cope with the difficulties of the academic career.
The project impacted the academic experience of more than 9,000 students, 170 dummy users, 642 academics and students who responded to the questionnaires, 198 people who took part in the focus groups and more the 80 experts who were involved in the working groups, all coming from six nations in Europe.

Project Website

https://www.etutoring.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 285241,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CAMERINO & Country: IT

Project Partners

• CENTRO STUDI PLURIVERSUM SRL
• UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA
• CITYNET SRL
• VIESOJI ISTAIGA SOCIALINIU MOKSLU KOLEGIJA
• UNIVERSITY OF CUKUROVA
• PANEPISTIMIO THESSALIAS
• UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI