Linking Interests For Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

Linking Interests For Europe

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

Context/Background of the project
When our students graduate, they might be ready to go to higher education and university, but they are very often not ready for professional life. Thus, we felt that there was a growing gap between what we teach our students and what companies expect from them.
Moreover, most of our students do not take or are not offered the subject of Economics and most of them have no idea of how a company works. Therefore, as schools, we felt the need to give our students more real life challenges as to enhance their skills and to make them more aware of all the opportunities in the European community. We believed that by doing so, the students’ chances of finding a job later on would be increased.

Objectives
The central aim was to enable the students to gain experience in getting in touch with the world of work; at first in preparatory courses at school and later in local companies with European contacts. By using a structured concept, we wanted to link the interests of our students as future employees with local companies. By using innovative and learner centered pedagogical approaches we wanted to foster the link between school education and business life as a method to increase the students’ awareness and ability to become active European citizens. We wanted to make students more aware of their talents and interests when choosing a job or an area of studies as well as more aware of the real demands and needs in the European market.

Number and profile of participating organizations
Being four experienced schools as far as exchanges are concerned, we wanted to broaden our horizons in order to create new concepts and chances for our students.
The German school has developed a job experience programme as a part of the curriculum in the subject of German, which is limited to companies and institutions of its town.
The Portuguese school, offering professional secondary education as one branch, could both profit from innovative teaching methods developed during this course, as well as contribute with on-field acquired experience.
The Belgian school offered a lot of know-how concerning ICT skills and marketing concepts, because one of the participating teachers has studied economics and web design.
The Italian partner school contributed with basic ideas of sponsorship and to intensify techniques of professional communication and presentation skills.

Description and undertaken main activities
The four schools from the four different European countries participating each organized one transnational conference in cooperation with local companies. These four conferences (one in each country) offered different forms of work experience for students, different coaching courses given by experts to train students in fields relevant for the project (i.e., marketing techniques, psychology of marketing, sponsorship, photography, presentation techniques, and so on), visits and presentations of local companies abroad, as well as evaluation meetings (for teachers only). The physical outcome of these conferences, i.e., promotional material for the companies involved in the form of leaflets, powerpoint presentations and promotional videos was presented at European LIFE Trade Fairs, at the end of the two-year project term. Other local companies, political representatives, parents and the press were invited to the the fairs.
IT-skills, intercultural dialogue by peer-learning, as well as linking local businesses within the European Union were key elements of the project, widening the intervenients´ future perspectives and opening new markets for local companies.
Skills learnt at school were used in real-life economic contexts, such as, for example, strategic business meetings, job applications, job interviews, briefings by personal managers, product videos and other promotional material and their presentation to an audience. Students also had the challenge of finding sponsors for the t-shirts with the LIFE logo and for the fairs.

Results and impact attained
Students learnt about and experienced companies abroad and understood that living in Europe means to be part of a huge community offering lots of different possibilities to start a career, not only in one’s home country.
Students got real life insight into local companies in their hometown as well as abroad, while companies were promoted by students. Having broadened their horizons, both intervenients profited from the process. This project prepared the students of general secondary education in a vocational way and on a European level, which is new at our schools.

Long term benefits
We believe that this project increased the chances of employment for our students and strengthened the cooperation between the local companies and schools involved. The survey conducted with the students at the end oft he project also showed that they have profited from the project and become more interested in studying and working abroad in their future.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 81098 Eur

Project Coordinator

Wittekind-Gymnasium Lübbecke & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Liceo Rambaldi Valeriani A. da Imola
• Oscar Romerocollege 4
• Escola Secundária Francisco Rodrigues Lobo