Footwear virtual learning by doing – Transition from analogue practices to digital education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Footwear virtual learning by doing – Transition from analogue practices to digital education

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 : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Open and distance learning; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Europe employs more than 278.000 people in more than 21.000 companies, mainly SMEs, adopting a development strategy based on higher quality of products and services, flexibility, short time to market, product differentiation and added value producing 3,2% of the 24.3 billion pairs worldwide (figures 2019 www.worldfootwear.com ). It is a very manufacturing intensive sector with more than 35% of the employees over 50, which highlights strong need of attracting motivated and qualified young talent to replace the future retirements.

The Pact for Skills in TCLF (S4TCLF https://www.s4tclfblueprint.eu/ ) as a consequence of the European Skills Agenda, outstands the need of addressing innovative ways of delivering IVET and CVET to capture and maintain a younger generation of employees inside the sector and calls the attention to the urgent need of a digital transformation at the level of training/education.
All these factors are currently further amplified by the impact of COVID-19.

A survey performed by S4TCLF project to VET providers and High-Education institutions providing VET on the impact of COVID-19 in the training/learning activities resulted in the following findings:
– Urgent need of changing the ways of delivering training, opting preferentially by “at distance” approaches
– Difficulties in “delivering practical training”
– Difficulties from trainers and teachers in adapting their own practices to the new “normal” due to the lack of digital literacy and materials adapted to the new approaches.
difficulty in keeping trainees and student within the courses, calling the attention to the need of creating attractive pedagogical resources and environment.
– VET providers surveyed also confirmed that after COVID-19 the training approach will change definitely compared to the past and nothing will be as it was, highlighting the priority of developing robust Digital teaching and learning approaches.

Therefore, CTCP Portugal, CTCR Spain, POLICALZ Italy, TUIASI Romania, IPS Poland, together with CEC, the umbrella association, and a specialist on digital education, joined efforts to face up this European challenge, for the development of a Footwear virtual “learning by doing” approach targeted to:
1st- Trainers/teacher/coaches in footwear sector willing to promote, develop, accompany and assess innovative digital training
2nd- Students/trainees in footwear related IVET and CVET or others willing to go for a career in footwear sector and to know more about footwear manufacturing operations,

And the expected contributes are at 4 levels:
1- Preparation of VET Providers and HE providing VET and their correspondent staff, including trainers, teachers and coaches, for the implementation of comprehensive digital strategies for the learning By Doing in Footwear Manufacturing, including approaches, methodologies and autonomation in contents development.
2- EU network of VET providers and HE providing VET to excel in the digital delivering of practical training, toward the development of the practical skills, in footwear manufacturing, including IT educational experts and Umbrella Association.
3- Creation of a free complete digitally environment for training/teaching/leaning of practical skills in Augmented reality and correspondent contents.
4- Creation of a joint international digital course certified at National level and recognized at EU level for the development of practical skills in Footwear manufacturing.

The expected results will be in 3 groups and will be released in English plus the 5 languages versions of the partnership: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Romanian.
1- Joint International course for digital “Learning by Doing” on Footwear manufacturing for the practical learning on Footwear manufacturing, integrally anchored in digital strategies.
2- Joint virtual Shoe Fab Lab and correspondent contents in Augmented Reality (AR) This also includes a course for trainers, teachers and coaches on how to use authoring tools (for the development of innovative and attractive contents in AR.
3- Common methodology on training/teaching/coaching for training itineraries based on augmented reality (AR) which includes manuals for trainers/teachers, coaches and trainees and training opportunity for end users (students and trainees in IVET and CVET).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 281581 Eur

Project Coordinator

CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DE CALCADO DE PORTUGAL & Country: PT

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICA GHEORGHE ASACHI DIN IASI
• HEARTHANDS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
• CONFEDERATION EUROPEENNE DE L’INDUSTRIE DE LA CHAUSSURE ASBL
• POLITECNICO CALZATURIERO SCARL
• SIEC BADAWCZA LUKASIEWICZ – INSTYTUT PRZEMYSLU SKORZANEGO
• ASOCIACION PARA LA PROMOCION, INVESTIGACION, DESARROLLO E INNOVACION TECNOLOGICA DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL CALZADO Y CONEXAS DE LA RIOJA