Work in progress – Students managing public relations projects in schools Erasmus Project

Project Title

Work in progress – Students managing public relations projects in schools

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

Secondary schools from five different countries formed our project partnership: Vammalan Lukio (Sastamala, Finland), Ühisgümmnasium Lähte (Lähte, Estonia), Peebles High School (Peebless, Scotland), Istituto Statale di Instruzione Superiore F. Enriques (Castelfiorentino, Italy) and Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Ostfildern (Ostfildern, Germany).

The project “Work in progress – Students managing public relations projects in schools” explicitly focused on the development of students’ project management skills in international environments by offering them various opportunities to autonomously manage a variety of self-contained projects. Students carried out projects revolving around public relations activities, i.e. resulting in events such as public debates and panel discussions on the one hand, and media products such as websites including documentary film clips and podcasts on the other hand. The projects dealt with topics of local and European / international relevance. An exceptionally high level of student engagement and activity was required and upheld throughout the project.

The project not only aimed to equip our students with essential project management skills and competences, but by making them work in project teams composed of students from different nationalities, thereby integrating the international perspective in all respects, it also wanted to improve their intercultural competence and language skills. Being able to manage their work independently, to appropriately interact in an international environment and to speak different languages, will hopefully enhance their chances of EU-wide employment in the future.

The project particularly targeted students of upper grades, aged ~ 15 – 18, these students entering the world of work in the near future, and therefore profiting most from the learning, teaching and training activities carried out in this project.

At the same time, teachers got to know innovative and motivating methods and tools to implement projects inside and outside the classroom, thereby enlarging their repertoire of teaching methodology in a project-oriented learning environment.

In the course of the project, students had the possibility of carrying out different kinds of projects at five transnational meetings, one in every country. At each meeting a minimum of 5 participants (at least 3 students and 2 teachers) from each school came together to embark on a set project. The project work in Germany was centred around a public debate and air pollution in big cities. In Finland students staged a panel discussion revolving around political participation of young people. In Estonia, students were provided with the opportunity to create a blog and photo documentaries, providing information on the smart and sustainable use of energy. In Italy, students produced podcasts, focusing on the topic “Immigration and concepts of integration”. The project work in Scotland resulted in a panel discussion about young people entering the world of work. All final project products were made available to a wider public at the end of each learning, teaching and training activity.

The final products were also and are still documented on eTwinning. Furthermore, students were expected to keep a record of their project management activities in form of a (online) logbook. On top, we presented our good-practice examples of international project work in form of power point presentations, each of which was produced by students in the course of our five transnational meetings. Teaching material to support the students to carry out their projects was also and is still available on our Twinspace.

After each learning, teaching and training activity, the newly acquired project management techniques and tools were applied in the home schools and follow-up project activities were documented, adding to the success of the project.

Surveys at the beginning and at the end of the entire project and of each transnational learning, teaching and training activity ensured the progress of the project.

Students and teachers have enormously profited from experiencing different approaches to project work in an international environment. Both enlarged their know-how about project management in general, and especially students developed and boosted their project management skills and competences. The project has also helped them to increase their intercultural and linguistic skills, widen their horizons and make them feel a member of a wider European professional community.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 114975 Eur

Project Coordinator

Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Ostfildern & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Vammalan lukio
• ISTITUTO STATALE DI ISTRUZIONE SECONDARIA SUPERIORE “FEDERICO ENRIQUES”
• PEEBLES HIGH SCHOOL
• Lähte Ühisgümnaasium