Escape to Your Future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Escape to Your Future

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 youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

“Escape to Your Future” is a project with a duration of 24 months and aimed to facilitate the social inclusion and employability of young people with disadvantaged background through innovative and non-formal methodologies such as gamification and game-based learning.

Background and Context (internal and external)
According to PORDATA, in 2018 there was a large number of inactive citizens in the European Union with fewer qualifications (more than 73 million persons with less than ISCED-5) compared to the population with higher qualifications (about 10 million with ISCED-5 or more), being the group with 15 to 24 years the group with higher level of inactivation.
Various studies report that lack of interest and motivation increases the chance for dropouts after high-school (shorturl.at/iqELX), and in the same way the importance of game-based learning methodologies for a greater Engagement in Learning activities (shorturl.at/bsyA9).
These studies are in line with the internal analysis made by the partnership. Both academic partners (C.E.Politècnics and ITA-ISTEC) have been using game-based learning methodologies in their courses to increase student’s motivation and engagement and the preliminary results showed to be positive. Also, the NGO in the partnership has been working with great success in numerous projects using game-based methodologies (e.g. serious games, escape rooms) in various contexts (e.g. social inclusion, domestic violence, creative thinking).

Partnership
The team is composed by entities with different areas of activity such as Centre d’Estudis Politècnics and ITA-ISTEC, Higher Education Institutions, and a, NGO, Logos, but with the same needs and concerns, promoting social inclusion, access to training and education through innovative methodologies and initiatives. Each partner has strong complementary skills that will be useful and beneficial for the project.

Target groups
Two main groups will be involved across the preparation, development, implementation and evaluation of the project.
Firstly, the young people with different background disadvantages such as low income, high level of school dropout, geographical problems, digital illiteracy, including the NEET population.
Secondly youth workers, trainers and educators that work daily with the mentioned population.
It is expected to involve directly 30 participants on the project activities and over 200 indirect participants.

Aims and activities
This project intends to promote actions, to build contents, digital instruments, educational resources and to analyse the impact of innovative methodologies in the target groups and stakeholders, rooted in a process of civilisational change (social, political, economic and cultural). Always taking leverage of the individual skills and competences of each partner and each individual, anchored by the best research and state of the art practices.
In sum the project aims to:
1) Identify and share good practices in game-based learning methodologies for Societal innovations (inclusion and employability).
2) (Re) and (up) skilling of youth workers. The access to a better success: Focus on basic and specific competences development.
3) Develop innovative non-formal methodologies and materials to assist youth workers.
4) Enhance employment and entrepreneurial skills of young people.
5) Ensure equity in the exercise of rights, namely to help citizens with disadvantaged backgrounds (social / geographical) to better integrate in society and in labour market.
6) Disseminate results (in a diversity of modes), promote impact (in youth workers, young people, non-formal education, society, policy and labour market), and to keep the results sustainable after the lifespan of the project.
These objectives will be attained through a variety of activities such as innovative Intellectual outputs, e.g. mobile app on how to use gamification in learning activities, puzzles and riddles for skills development, escape box, and pedagogical guidelines), LTT activities (for youth workers and for young people) and multiplier events (to disseminate the outputs and better reach the stakeholders).

Results, impact and long-term benefits
In terms of results we hope to have high quality materials that can be used by all interested parties, mainly young people, youth workers and other teacher/training professionals, but also the organisations and the community. Moreover, we expect to increase the motivation and engagement of the learners and the tutors, that can lead to a better learning/teaching/training experience. Results that can be used in other areas of activities besides the ones directly addressed by the project.
In terms of impact (long-term benefits) we hope to increase the opportunities for these young people to become more involved in society, to become more aware and responsible citizens, more active and decision makers of their future, culminating in better job opportunities.

Project Website

http://escapetoyourfuture.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 79462 Eur

Project Coordinator

Centre d’Estudis Politècnics S.L. & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Stowarzyszenie Projektow Miedzynarodowych “Logos Polska”
• Instituto de Tecnologias Avançadas para a Formação Lda