Composing Lifelong Learning Opportunity Pathways through Standards-based Services Erasmus Project

Project Title

Composing Lifelong Learning Opportunity Pathways through Standards-based
Services

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 higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality and Relevance of Higher Education in Partner Countries

Project Summary

In times of rising unemployment, lack of economic growth, making use of new learning opportunities outside the formal system, and of the skills acquired through prior learning, is urgent. Nowadays, more than 120 million people are living in poverty or at the threat of falling into one, approx. 25 million people are unemployed, while 77 million Europeans still have at most lower secondary education. The Europe 2020 Strategy stresses the need for more flexible learning pathways as a pre-requisite and a strong incentive for the fulfilment of the agreed social targets: 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion, 75% of the 20-64 year-olds should be employed, reduction of school drop-out rates below 10%.
The lack of meaningful, well-described, easily accessible information about Lifelong Learning Opportunities and of policy frameworks and tools for linking skills and qualifications gained across different phases and contexts, into forming flexible pathways for personal development and competitiveness in the labour market, constitute hindering factors for the implementation of the aforementioned objectives.
The project on Composing Lifelong Learning Opportunity Pathways through Standards-based Services (ComPaSS) addresses the fundamental goal of the ET 2020 on ‘making lifelong learning and mobility a reality’ and its key objectives on skills for growth, competitiveness and employability, by targeting awareness-raising and institutional commitment, coordination and partnership of relevant actors and stakeholders active in the field of Education and Training (ET).
The consortium, constituting Higher Education Institutions, an association of University departments of informatics and a national standardization organization, has implemented an integrated approach that addresses these issues, elaborating on both policy and technological aspects with an emphasis on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. More precisely COMPASS has focused on:
• raising awareness on the concept of flexible pathways through the use of existing European and national guidance instruments (Ploteus) for access to Learning Opportunities
• producing policy suggestions for the implementation of flexible pathways
• recommending a standard for enabling Learning Opportunity providers to engage in well-structured description of their offers. These descriptions can be exploited by existing tools to enrich their contents, making an impact on the quantity and quality of Learning opportunity information at a European level
• developing free, publicly available online services for Learning Opportunity description and pathway development
• Implementing nation-wide pilot tests for the ICT-sector.
Leveraging its rich strategic plan and the consortium’s pan-European network of Higher Education Institutions, policy makers and the Industry, the project provides standards-based educational opportunities to university students in order to illustrate its innovative policy and technology solutions, boosting awareness and reforms in favour of skills growth.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 242374 Eur

Project Coordinator

PANEPISTIMIO DYTIKIS ATTIKIS & Country: EL

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITE DE MONTPELLIER
• CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO NAZIONALE PER L’INFORMATICA
• TALLINNA TEHNIKAULIKOOL
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
• ETHNIKO SYSTIMA YPODOMON POIOTITAS
• BRANDENBURGISCHE TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT COTTBUS-SENFTENBERG
• UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID