The support of Professional development of VET teachers and trainers in following of New trends in Automotive Industry – STEP AHEAD II – Automotive Innovation & Teacher training Academy Erasmus Project

Project Title

The support of Professional development of VET teachers and trainers in following of New trends in Automotive Industry – STEP AHEAD II – Automotive Innovation & Teacher training Academy

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Before the pandemic, in the Slovak republic, car industry was and still is the key industrial sector. Car producing companies and industrial parks create 200 000 work places, which creates 9% of the total employment rate. Car production subsequently requires other experts, who sell the cars and provide high quality services. This area offers more than 10 000 additional job opportunities. However, with fast changing technologies and innovative solutions it becomes difficult to follow the needs in this industry in terms of qualifications needed. In the time of project submission, in Slovakia, there were 14 000 qualified workers missing on the automotive work market (TASR 2017, Feb 27th).
The above numbers affect also vocational education system, setting up concrete requirements for:
– Qualified VET teachers and practical workshop leaders in 87 schools in Slovakia, providing relevant training programmes in automotive professions (ISCED 3C), (ISCED 3A)
– Necessity of Innovative, up – to – date, high quality teaching materials reflecting the work market needs
In March 2015, before STEP AHEAD I project submission, SŠOA DA carried out the online research, targeting 87 secondary schools in Slovakia, from automotive professions. From 71 respondents, 78,9% confirmed the need to integrate the topic of trends and innovations into current school curricula. 94,4% expressed their interest in the new teaching methodologies and 93% interest in interactive online resources. Also, strong interest and need for teacher training was confirmed through STEP AHEAD I. the project preceiding STEP AHEAD II, where 24 training participants and about 70 conference participants from both SK and CZ expressed their interest and need for similar kind of learning opportunity.
STEP AHEAD II, therefore, built on the real and concrete needs confirmed by 71 respondents of the online research (2015), as well as by 94 STEP AHEAD I. project participants (2017), while providing one of the possible solutions to actual situation.
In STEP AHEAD II, in addition to providing intensive teacher training programme, we developed 2 main outputs:
O1/319 Interactive learning screens, structured in 13 online modules, in each of 5 language versions/EN,ES,FIN,CZ,SK, focused on concrete topics of the new trends in Automotive industry
O2/13 support teaching methodologies/lesson plans related to concrete topics of innovations; and other support materials,
related to the topics, most of which cover also environmental aspects, that become really crucial:

• CAN NETWORK (FINLAND)
• ELECTRIC CARS (SPAIN)
• FULL HYBRID (FINLAND)
• TRUCKS – FUEL CONSUMPTION (CZ)
• TRUCKS – EMISSIONS (CZ)
• TRUCKS – HYBRIDS (FINLAND)
• GPS MONITORING, TELEMATICS (CZ)
• AUTONOMOUS CARS (SK)
• BIOFUELS (SK)
• HYBRID BATTERIES (SPAIN)

Project outputs were developed in partnership of 5 institutions:
SSOŠA DA Bratislava, replaced later by SOS Vranovska (SK), INAK (SK), KOMTES (CZ), APAGA (ES), TTS (FI). All partners provided expert supervisory on the concrete topics on automotive innovations.
Project directly targeted the group of teachers from secondary automotive schools in all partner countries, staff members of partner institutions, representing work-based settings, and indirectly students in the schools where developed materials will be used, as well as all the teachers who will use them. During project implementation, there were alltogether cca 50 participants who attended 3 training programmes and 70 attended conferences.
We believe that project, contributed to increase of quality of VET in Slovakia and the Czech republic as well as Spain and brought a positive experience for Finnish participants, too.

Project Website

http://projektstepahead.sk/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 192781,2 Eur

Project Coordinator

INAK & Country: SK

Project Partners

• Stredna odborna skola technicka
• TYOTEHOSEURA RY
• Asociación de profesores Técnicos y de Enseñanza Secundaria de Automoción de Galicia
• KomTeS Chrudim s.r.o.
• Súkromná stredná odborná škola automobilová Duálna akadémia