Towards sustainable and energy efficient real estate education and training Erasmus Project

Project Title

Towards sustainable and energy efficient real estate education and training

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

Energy efficiency in real estate is in a turning point. The achievements of the project include developing and strengthening transnational networks related to sustainable and energy efficient vocational and professional education. It entails working with diverse groups of individuals and/or organisations to create a common understanding and clear pathway to collective action and impact. The diverse groups included subject matter experts in both energy efficiency and education as well as at vocational education and training (VET) and at universities of applied science levels (HE).

First, the project has identified trends and developments as well as new competence and training needs in the real estate sector that are emerging due to the energy revolution. A needs analysis survey (Intellectual Output 1) was created by the project partners. The survey questionnaire design was a multistage process that required not only the definition of concepts used in different countries but also getting to know, at least to some extent, the energy and environmental mechanisms as well as the responsibilities of real estate professionals in partner countries. As real estate legislation, politics and concepts emphasise different aspects of energy efficient solutions in different countries, this was done at the level of being able to make comparisons between partners. It resulted one identical survey in English, which was subsequently translated into the local languages of the five partner countries. The survey consisted of both multiple choice and open questions for quantitative and qualitative analysis. Altogether 378 answers were received. It is worth noting that the topic of the questionnaire, however, raised a wider interest than the received answers because the number of those who opened the questionnaire or started to answer it without completing all the questions was 1158.

Results of Output1 exceeded the initial expectations including: five language versions of the questionnaire, five national results reports, Three blog writings, Two trade magazine articles, One nationally reviewed seminar paper, One internationally reviewed research paper and conference presentation.

Second, based on the results received from O1, best existing teaching and learning models were gathered responding to the needs in each partner country. Altogether 12 cases were described. They generated new ideas on what kind of training products or qualifications have been developed for professional and further vocational education. The gathered case descriptions were proven teaching models, effective and usable in real estate education. Something that has been experimented by a colleague is most likely easy to adapt.

Learning models presented here are related to working with real life building and real estate projects, content and language integrated learning, and career guidance. Most of them represent study programme or educational course of some sort, but they also include examples of web portal, essay assignment and various models such as: Course on utilization of sustainability and energy efficiency as a marketing tool, Real estate management & appraisal programme in differentiated groups, Future energy use -essay assignment and Content and language integrated learning (CLIL).

Third, an outline of training programme for teachers and other vocational education experts was developed to enhance the transferability of the results. Output3 consists of curriculum for real estate education of sustainability and energy efficiency in existing buildings. The curriculum refines the gathered knowledge (Output1 and Output2) into new modular study programme, supporting the acknowledgement of the know-how of sustainable development and the comparability of professional competence in international networks. This means that the subjects of the courses are what the respondents, ie. those working in the real estate sector consider important.
Curriculum consists of five learning modules and short course descriptions that anyone can use when designing vocational, continuing and higher education courses and degrees. The results are summarised in the Excel matrix including learning modules: 1) Communication and collaboration for energy efficient renovation, 2) Management of renovation process: Condition assessment, 3) Management of renovation process: Project management, 4) Financial issues in the renovation process and 5) Communication and collaboration for energy efficient renovation.

All project results can be found at https://seererasmus.wordpress.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 103640,25 Eur

Project Coordinator

Real Estate Education Foundation sr & Country: FI

Project Partners

• NCOI Opleidingsgroep
• METROPOLIA AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY
• EkoFond, n.f.
• TALLINNA TEHNIKAKORGKOOL
• AFBB AKADEMIE FUR BERUFLICHE BILDUNG GMBH