Promotion of Training in Robotics and of mobility, by the participation in International Competitions in Robotics Erasmus Project

Project Title

Promotion of Training in Robotics and of mobility, by the participation in International Competitions in Robotics

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The project aims at testing and transferring the pedagogic approach of “Learning by Competing” to other VET schools in other European countries. It has been tested by CEPROF successfully and the partners that are VET providers and knowledge providers/ receivers are very interested in the transferability of this approach. It has been observed that the students that better perform in classes and that obtain more job opportunities are the ones which were involved in the robotic competitions. This correlation is so strong, that it is independent of the socio-economic background of the students This observation is also reported by others, at university level (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7044136/ ).
The key objectives are thus: create and test innovative teaching methodologies; introduce competition in teaching and learning methods; develop ICT and mobility competencies; promote perseverance and resilience as success tools; develop soft skills and use the motivational effects of robotics to excite students about science and technology.
As a working model, this project will address as VET area the Robotics as the topic of Learning. This area was chosen because it is where CEPROF saw the most dramatic positive effects of the “Learning by Competing” approach. Additionally, it is an innovative digital technology that is expected to transform the European labour market in the near future, making many of the current professional skills obsolete.
In the “Learning by Competing” activities the trainees work as a team, search and discuss innovative forms to solve the challenges and the problems they face and in the end of the competition the trainees share common stories/adventures that will strengthen their bindings to the class and to the school, thus increasing the motivation and decreasing the rates of early school leaving. Furthermore, the group-work within the team pushes the trainees with lower self-esteem to over-performance.
Another advantage of the “Learning by Competing” pedagogy is that it often demands mobilities, which result in new social experiences and makes the trainees open to professional mobility. The 25 participants directly involved in the training programme, in the mobilities, in the pilot testing and in the competitions will be accompanied by 6 trainers.
The project will develop 4 training modules on Robotics from basic to advanced level, available online in an e-learning format and free of charge. The modules will be tested and there will be 3 mobility flows to allow the participation in 3 competitions. There will be 5 transnational meetings and distance meetings, official reporting, budget control and reporting and overall management and coordination activities. In IO1 the partners will do a field research, a collection of best practices, a benchmarking analysis of existing Robotics curricula and design and creation of the structure of the Modules on Robotics. In IO2 the partners will create the training platform free of charge to host the training materials and resources. The participants will participate in the training programme and at the end of each Module there will be a mobility follow that will comprise intense training activities, pilot testing and competition (IO3). The Final Publication – “The role of competition and mobility in VET education” will provide accurate description of the project’s methodology and main conclusions and results achieved. Transversal activities: Multiplier Events, Quality Monitoring & Evaluation and Dissemination.
The methodology implemented will be results-oriented. A Project Roadmap, a Project Management Handbook, a Quality Management Plan, a Communication and Dissemination Plan and an Exploitation and Sustainability Plan and Reports will be essential to keep the project’s activities flowing, the communication among partners effective, the quality of the deliverables high, the dissemination of the project’s results intensive, the budget controlled and the conclusion of the project on time.
Beyond the referred documents, the project will also produce the following main results: the main findings and conclusions of the field research; 4 Training Modules on Robotics and resources; Training Platform; reports; better performance of the students and better multicultural skills; higher interest for foreign languages; higher motivation for mobility and interest of other schools for the teaching method “learning by competing”.
The impact in participants will be the acknowledgement of the benefits of learning by competing; openness to mobility training experiences, interest for languages and technologies. The participating organisations, the stakeholders, the SMEs and the EU citizens will also benefit from the deliverables of the project and they will be active parts in the future sustainability. The transfer of these best practices to other EU countries will benefit the educational branch and the job market.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 294524 Eur

Project Coordinator

Honoré de Balzac Model United Nations & Country: FR

Project Partners

• EU15 LIMITED
• ORTAKOY 80.YIL MESLEKI VE TEKNIK ANADOLU LISESI
• CEPROF – CENTROS ESCOLARES DE ENSINO PROFISSIONAL LDA
• FORMACION PARA EL DESARROLLO E INSERCION, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA
• OVAR FORMA-ENSINO E FORMACAO, LDA
• CONFORM-CONSULENZA FORMAZIONE E MANAGEMENT SOCIETA CONSORTILE A RESPONSABILITA LIMITATA
• APSU – ASSOCIACAO PORTUGUESA DE STARTUPS