New training contents and joint VET qualifications on Ecodesign for Creative and Cultural Industries Erasmus Project

Project Title

New training contents and joint VET qualifications on Ecodesign for Creative and Cultural Industries

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

Cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are at the heart of the creative economy: represent a 6.8% of GDP in Europe and 6.5% of EU workforce, approximately 14.0 million.

The Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019 contributes to the Commission’s new initiative on the Circular Economy, which promotes a transition towards a more circular economy in the EU. Product design is a key aspect in this respect and in future, Ecodesign should make a much more significant contribution to the circular economy (Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019.EC). CCIs, like all other industries, are dependent on the material world. Reuse, repurposing, recycling or upcycling are all examples of a broad and unstoppable movement which is reevaluating and maximising resource value through Ecodesign.

At the 2nd Green Skills Forum 2014, OECD LEED-Cedefop presented some key challenges for meeting skill needs for green jobs, evidencing that there is an urgent need to support green job skills development strategies in order to prevent the emergence skills bottlenecks in our countries, supporting VET acquisition of Ecodesign and a smooth transition from brown to green jobs.

There is also strong evidence that Work-Based Learning (WBL) helps to equip young people with the skills that can improve their employability and ease the transition from school to work. Nevertheless, existing analysis and policy papers in the countries of the project (France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Malta, Spain and UK) evidence that there is still too much distance between the educational environment and the workplace in these countries.

Ecodesign4EU project aims to address these challenges designing a new European ECVET Curriculum of reference on Ecodesign for sustainable CCIs, promoting innovative WBL methods and pedagogies addressed to Initial and Continuous VET students, target beneficiaries of the project, in order to acquire and apply Ecodesign principles to CCIs, contributing to lead the transition to a Circular Economy in these sectors. The project will apply also successful and innovative VET methods and tools in Ecodesign principles applied to CCIs, previously tested by the partners.

8 European VET experts and providers, companies and intermediary bodies of the CCIs from 7 countries (France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Malta, Spain and UK) will work together defining common strategies design and carry out the following Outputs:

IO1 – European ECVET Curriculum of reference on Ecodesign for sustainable Creative and Cultural Industries
IO2 – ECOdesign4EU Virtual Campus. Includes the following Open Educational Resources: (i) an Online Instructional Guide on Digital Competencies for Virtual Learning; (ii) a set of structured Training Modules (iii) Vocational Open Online Courses (VOOC)
IO3 – Ecodesign4EU Mobile Assessment App
IO4 – Guidelines to foster transparency and recognition of Ecodesign for sustainable CCIs

Target users and beneficiaries are: (i) VET teachers, trainers and mentors (ii) Initial and Continuous VET students. Ecodesign4EU will involve directly 109 VET and in company teachers and trainers (32 partners staff /42 experts involved / 35 target users in pilots), 175 I-VET and C-VET students (in pilots) and 535 stakeholders. At local, regional, national and European level the project will reach a minimum audience of 1000 recipients through the project dissemination activities.

The project will use European frameworks of reference, such as EQF and ECVET, to promote new learning pathways and boost transparency, recognition and mobility in the CCIs sectors in Europe. Key sectorial and VET associated partners and stakeholders of the CCIs, the VET sector and the Green Economy involved in the project will support the dissemination of the project products and contribute to mainstream the final results.

The project will have a direct positive impact in:
(i) Partner organizations and entities involved in the project activities. They will improve their training methods and tools; the teaching skills and competencies (including digital skills) of their trainers and teachers; the quality and relevance of their VET courses and WBL programmes.
(ii) I-VET and C-VET students. They will improve their Ecodesign through better WBL programmes, opening new opportunities for training, job and mobility.
(iii) CCIs sectors. They will count with new training instruments to improve the competitiveness of the sector and supporting its transition towards more circular business models.

The envisaged long term impact of the project will be a strengthening of the European VET systems and a more sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 447874 Eur

Project Coordinator

MALTA COLLEGE OF ARTS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY & Country: MT

Project Partners

• RINOVA LIMITED
• Pôle Eco-conception Performance du Cycle de Vie
• CONSORZIO MATERAHUB INDUSTRIE CULTURALI E CREATIVE
• INSTITUTO PARA EL FOMENTO DEL DESARROLLO Y LA FORMACION SL
• DIMITRA EDUCATION & CONSULTING SA
• FUTURE IN PERSPECTIVE LIMITED
• INNOQUALITY SYSTEMS LIMITED