International Forestry Erasmus Project

Project Title

International Forestry

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

BACKGROUND
Forest Europe (The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe) is the pan-European political process for the sustainable management of the continent’s forests. Workshop report of the seminar organized by the FOREST EUROPE in Santander Spain in 2014 suggested that a pan-European approach in the context of sustainable forest management that implies adopting rules, mechanisms and criteria of labor sustainability is needed. Further on it stated that training and education need to embrace and facilitate a comprehensive view of the multiple functions of forests in order to understand and manage traditional and new activities, and to address emerging challenges. Special efforts should be made to improve labor skills and qualification of the work force. A sustainable, trained and safe workforce is one of the pillars of a more competitive forest sector. From this background rose this project on international forestry.
OBJECTIVES
The project sought to increase labor market relevance of vocational education in the field of forestry and to use international cooperation as a tool for this by making available the strengths of each participating country. Learners need to develop their skills and competencies within a competitive and innovative educational environment. International mobility as part of studies leading to a qualification, offers the students learning environments which contribute to entrepreneurial attitude, strengthening of their self-esteem and understanding of the big picture in the field of sustainable forestry. To offer international learning environments and learning material was the objective of this Project. To attain this a new form of practical training scheme and study of real life cases was planned in cooperation with forest industry.
PARTICIPATING ORGNANISATIONS
In total 98 persons participated in testing of the national forestry modules in international workshops. To support this work each country sent an teacher accompanying teacher to these events (20 mobilities). Through home internationalization more local students were connected to project work (eLearning, hosting of international students). In addition to this, partner schools sent in total 52 persons (forestry teachers and managers) to transnational meetings. National and international seminars organised in partner countries hosted hundreds of forestry field professional’s.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS
The unit on international forestry was built in the project. The unit offers tools to include international topics and international learning environments to the curriculum of forestry qualifications. The unit consists of eLearning part and a period of international mobility concentrating on forestry of the hosting country. A structured unit offers a possibility to organize “international semesters” in forestry schools during which this specific unit on national forestry is offered for international students from different countries at the same time. This will also help to build up a planned framework in which the learning in companies can take place.
Local students can be integrated in these groups and home internationalization will benefit of this when local students act as tutors for the international students. This was also tested and found benificial in during the Project. Units were planned in cooperation with working life representatives. In partner schools there are quality assurance groups on curriculum development which offer already existing framework for getting input from the working life. Companies form an inportant learning environment for students during work placements and for staff members during study visits.
One of the aims of the project was to create a template for visiting specialists which will also support national forest industry. Companies hae a change to make visible their work with sustainability and certification which is important in the field of forestry.
IMPACT
Shared impact of the project is that each partner school will get a functioning, tested and assessed unit of learning outcomes to offer for their own students and for incoming students from abroad in the field of sustainable international forestry. For learners this unit will open up a new flexible and modern study pathway with eLearning and international mobility option. This unit opens up new labor market option in multiple tasks which demand experience on international level forestry and sustainablity to make decisions about forest management and timber markets. At a National & European level the project seeks to increase the transparency of vocational qualifications as partners prepare themselves for ECVET implementation by building up this unit of learning outcomes together and developing opportunities for validation and recognition for it as part of qualification in each partner country.
This structure offers European wide possibilities for dissemination in the field of forestry

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 165081,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

Seinäjoen koulutuskuntayhtymä & Country: FI

Project Partners

• Kvinnerstagymnasiet
• HBLA für Forstwirtschaft Bruck/Mur
• Luua Metsanduskool
• FM Közép-magyarországi Agrár-szakképzö Központ, Bercsényi Miklós Élelmiszeripari Szakgimnázium, Szakközépiskola és Kollégium