Catch the European Sun Erasmus Project

Project Title

Catch the European Sun

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions; Energy and resources; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

There is a growing understanding of the importance of transversal skills, such as “learning to learn” and “initiative taking”. The labour market is increasingly concerned with what employees know, understand and are able to do in practice.
At European level it is very important to develop synergies between the various countries, in order to get a better connection between Education and Training, especially in innovative sectors. Solar energy is one of these. The project lasts two years and is based on the exchange of good practices and cooperation between five secondary schools (with students aged 15-18), located in Italy, Portugal, Poland, Greece and Turkey, which have in common talent and excellence in areas directly connected to the project. These schools have the strong will to produce together something tangible and replicable: eco-friendly objects equipped with devices powered by solar energy, able to meet the common needs of young people, while providing clean energy.
The EU is on track to meet its 2020 renewable target. We need to step up our efforts. The title of the project, “Catch the European Sun”, wants to be a metaphor of this enthusiastic view: a way to “catch” the opportunity, offered by the Euroepan Union, to create some useful and replicable by working together. It will be a gradual and shared path from ideas to products, a challenge to explore new ways of teaching/learning and address important environmental issues, with a European added value.
While working on this topic, the students will also be encouraged to develop a stronger sense of active citizenship and commitment to dealing with global issues.
The project will increase:
– knowledge and understanding of the differences, by encouraging tolerance and respect for other cultures;
-skills in foreign languages and motivation towards language learning;
-students/teachers’ skills in the subject area of the project (the sun and solar energy) and in cooperative teamwork.
Futhermore, it will:
– Enhance the European dimension of education as well as the importance of a European Heritage.
-Promote the international cooperation and understanding among young people and school staff.
-Promote equal opportunities for every student regardless of gender, ethnicity, educational special needs and socio- economic background
-Promote life skills for life-long learning.
-Encourage cross curricular involvement of different departments at schools
-Improve cooperative teaching and learning
-Assess transversal skills
-Promote practical experiences in education, training and teaching
-Promote professional development in ICT
Partners have been chosen using institutional data bases, such as e-Twinning and School Education Gateway.
A balanced partnership will be created and all participating institutions will have equal opportunities, duties and responsibilities, with a common view of tolerance and friendship. All participating institutions will take an active and equal part. The coordinating school and the partner schools will have specific activities and tasks, but the common purpose of accomplishing the objectives of the partnership.
The effective communication and cooperation between the participating institutions, will be ensured through: fast and regular communication –via e-mail, Skype, WhatsApp, telephone, eTwinning or similar free-access tools.
The information and communication technologies will be used in great extent by all teachers and students participating in the partnership : using the Internet, collecting information; using the project website on eTwinning; using necessary computer tools and web-cameras for cross-curricular WEBINARS, using programmes such as Microsoft Power Point, Video movie maker, etc. for presentations.
The project’s Learning Teaching Tranining Activities will be carried out according to a plan of seven mobilities: two transnational meetings destined to teachers and five involving both teachers and groups of students. Each partner school will host, in turn, all the others, for a total mobility of 100 students and 64 teachers in two years. All activities will be based on “Learning-by-doing” methodology. In fact each mobility will be characterized by the production of solar powered objects.
Their correct functioning will be the quickest way to test immediately the success of the work done. Experts could also be called to evaluate the final products.
Moreover video tutorials will be made step-by-step to illustrate the correct assembling of photovoltaic components, which could be a useful tool to let the outcomes be assessed and replicated by other students and teachers, as they will be uploaded in eTwinning.
The products will be displayed in exhibitions and the whole project will encourage local communities to adopt an eco-friendly vision (for example with the use of “solar bricks”, “solar bicycle paths”, “solar crosswalks”…).
The “European Sun” will be a great opportunity for everybody.

Project Website

https://catchtheeuropeansun.weebly.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 139730 Eur

Project Coordinator

I.I.S. PERTINI-MONTINI-CUOCO & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas Clara de Resende – Porto
• Technikum Energetyczne
• LYCEUM OF KOLYMVARI
• Akhisar Caglak Anadolu Lisesi