Becoming a designer in Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

Becoming a designer in 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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Students attenting FHR GTA, to a lesser extend students attending AHR, have chosen the field of design because they want to improve their chances in successfully applying to university in the field of design or because they didn’t find a training place and hope to have a better chance with the advanced vocational certificate of eduction. They lack motivation in continuing their school education because they don’t see a precise goal. They don’t know which possibilities there are after finishing school. Some students (especially from FHR) need support and positive feedback because of their previously bad school experience.

Several aspects are relevant to prepare students for the job market
– how to apply appropriately
– which different jobs exist in the field of art and design
– how to find the fitting job
– what the prerequisites are to perform any of those create jobs
– what there is to know about international work places
– what the internationally differences are in training and job
– how to use digital competences in one’s job

The participating institutions (except for Poland) focus on the field of art and design, as well as international exchange.

I.I.S. A. Palladio (Italy), a technical-vocational school, provides two lines of studies: Construction Environment and Territory and Graphics & Communication. They focus on digital competence and practical creative activities. Vocational qualifications are designed to meet the needs of working life and provide eligibility for further studies. The age of participating students was between 16 and 17 years.
Katolickie Gimnazjum im. Romualda Traugutta w Chojnicach (Polen), a Catholic school, focuses on project work and individual support. They offer a wide variety of extracurricular activities especially in the field of art. The age of the students was between 14 and 16 years.
Petroc (Great Britain), a large Further Education College, focuses on vocational qualification of their students, provide support and training to unemployed individuals partly funded by NEET. Petroc provided a huge artistic input.
MCAST (Malta), as the largest vocational institution in Malta, focuses on a combination of academic and vocational training. They have many European contacts and as a partner they contributed greatly concerning artistic and digital competence.

Main activities and results
– comparison of national processes (education in general, application procedure, trends in design, …) -> presentations were conducted (analogue/digital/national/international)
– insight in vocational training (kick-off speeches of representatives of private enterprises, designers and former students, guided tour through companies and workshops) –> knowledge of opportunities in the field of art and design
– practical creative activities (bookbinding, printing, typographing) -> many products have been created that strengthened the students skills in manual creative work (books, calendar, …)
– theoretical and practical involvement concerning art and design (visiting museums, exhibitions, workshops, …)
– creating a blog for the exchange and collection of content -> improved digital competence; knowledge of where/how/ to find a job, what kinds of jobs exist in the field of art and design- higher motivation at s
– facebook site and profile and in instagram account were set up -> connecting students

The quantitative result is difficult to measure, but teachers noticed the following:
– improved English skills
– higher self-esteem
– higher social commitment
– stronger European understanding and empathy
– higher motivation at school
– increased insight concerning one’s personal pssobilities
– higher job-related skills (digital, working procedure and organisation)

sustainable benefit
– cooperation with local job agencies
– cooperation with international partners
– cooperation design institutions and artists
– for participating students: knowledge of how to find a job/internship in the field of art and design internationally

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 107170 Eur

Project Coordinator

Max-Born-Berufskolleg & Country: DE

Project Partners

• PETROC
• MALTA COLLEGE OF ARTS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
• I.I.S. A. PALLADIO
• Katolickie Gimnazjum im. Romualda Traugutta w Chojnicach