"Our project is called ,,Strengthening Vocational Education in VA with European cooperation II” and it´s objectives are to take VA´s next steps in European cooperation within the Erasmus + program but the schools journey inside the program started in the beginning of the schoolyear 2017. Our vision is that European cooperation will become a part of studying and working in VA, that students and staff have the opportunity to participate in international cooperation, whether in the case of going abroad or receiving foreign visitors. For the next two years we plan to work in that direction by taking the steps that are decribed in the project. The project has two angles. On the one hand it relates to professional development of staff with ""job shadowing ""visits to European partners that offer similar trades in education as we do in VA. The other angle has to do with students and is about giving them the opportunity for mobility by doing traineeships for shorter or longer periods in vocational institutes abroad, in Denmark, Germany, Spain and Hungary. Professional development of staff will be carried out with two of the VET school partners in Europe, in Slovenia and Hungary. We also intend to develop further cooperation in these visits and then with future mobility for student in mind. The partnership we intend to build in this project will though not be ""one-sided"" since we will also be hosting visitors from the schools we´re building partnership with, both students who´ll be doing traineeships in our school as well as teachers who´ll be doing job-shadowing visits in our school."

"<< Background >>Verkefnið ber heitið ""Barist gegn brottfalli í VA II"" og sótt var um það til þess að efla nám og kennslu í skólanum og minnka brottfall. Til þess að ná því markmiði var hugsunin að efla kennara, fjölga verkfærum í kistu þeirra til þess að þeir gætu beitt kennsluaðferðum í anda 21. aldarinnar með sérstaka áherslu á notkun tækni. Markmiðið var einnig að geta veitt kennurum tækifæri á fjölbreyttri endurmenntun með það fyrir augum að auka alþjóðavídd skólans.<< Objectives >>Markmið verkefnisins voru annars vegar að efla alþjóðavídd skólans með því að veita kennurum tækifæri á fjölbreyttri endurmenntun og hins vegar að efla þá í notkun á kennsluaðferðum í anda 21. aldarinnar með sérstakri áherslu á notkun tækni með það fyrir augum að koma betur til móts við nemendur og þannig draga úr líkum á brottfalli.<< Implementation >>Annars vegar fór stærðfræðikennari á námskeiðið ""The “New European School”, according to the “Europe 2020” strategy"" sem haldið var í Kalamata á Grikklandi í júlí 2019. Á námskeiðinu var markmiðið að kynnast ýmsum nýjungum í upplýsingatækni sem talin eru styðja nám og kennslu; aðallega með hermum (e. simulation) og stafrænum leikjum. Á námskeiðinu var fengist við evrópska lykilhæfni (e. key competences) eins og stafræna hæfni, hæfni á sviði náttúru- og félagsvísinda og fengu kennarar frá ýmsum löndum tækifæri til að tala saman um kennsluaðferðir á sama tíma og þeir eru að læra á ný tæki og tól sem tengdust upplýsingatækni. Síðan fóru 5 kennarar á námskeiðið ""3D Printing and Robotics in Education"" sem haldið var í Heraklion á Krít í maí 2022. Námskeiðið var sérstaklega valið vegna þess að á haustdögum 2021 var FabLab smiðja skólans opnuð að nýju eftir nokkurra ára hlé. Þar er megináhersla á notkun tækni og sköpun með notkun t.d. vínilskera, laserskera, fræsara og þrívíddarprentara. Til þess að koma starfinu af stað af krafti var ákveðið að senda nokkra kennara á þetta námskeið í þrívíddarhönnun þannig að fleiri gætu nýtt þá möguleika sem smiðjan býður upp á. Smiðjan er afar vinsæl meðal nemenda og því mikilvægt að efla hana.<< Results >>Allir þeir kennarar sem tóku þátt í verkefninu komu til baka reynslunni ríkari, með nýjar aðferðir og ný sambönd í farteskinu. Nú eru fleiri kennarar betur í stakk búnir að veita nemendum fjölbreytt tækifæri á menntun í anda 21. aldarinnar. Meðal annars verður sérstakur áfangi í boði á næsta skólaári á sviði þrívíddarhönnunar og verður hann bæði fyrir nemendur í skólanum og almenning. Einnig reyndist sú reynsla og þekking sem skapaðist á fyrra námskeiðinu afar vel þegar skólinn þurfti að loka vegna Covid-19 á vordögum 2020. Þá reyndi heldur betur á þekkingu á upplýsingatækni og nýtti kennarinn sem sótti námskeiðið reynslu sína óspart til þess að leita nýrra tækifæra í kennslunni. Hann var einnig duglegur að deila þekkingu sinni meðal annarra kennara og lærðu þannig allir af þessu."

It is the declared goal for Mercantec to give as many students as possible an international experience in the course of their edcation. Mercantec is working continuesly to improve the mobilities in order to give the students the best possible experiences and a strenghting of their education. Mercantec has kept the partners from the application submitted in 2017 but also bringing in new partners to broaden the selection of educations and to include as many departments as possible. Among these new partner there is a spanish partner M.E.P. Europrojects Granada for our IT students and IES Cotes Baixes for our EUX students and this partner will also send students to Mercantec. Mercantec sends students from every department of the school. Higher Business Gymnasium sends a class to Malaga for work placements and language courses. From the hotel and restaunt school, mercantec sends students to Malloca, Hungary, Hennef, rakvere and Cypres. The students come from GF2 and the practice center. House of Technology sends students from the practice center for IT supporter and Data technician to Granada and Neumünster. HOT has a cooperation with Grundfos, LEGO and B&O where students from these companies are sent to ABB and Neumünster. Auto Technical Center sends students from the practice center to Neumünster, Troisdorf, mallorca, Westport and Rakvere. Metalcraft sends students form the practice center to Neumünster, Mallorca and Ireland. Higher Technical Gymnasium will have visitors from Galway Ireland and also visit the irish school, with the intent build a mobility relationship for Game design. The construction school sends carpeters, painters and concrete workers to Hennef, Mallorca, Iceland and Pärnuu. These students come from the practice center, GF2 and main courses. The Business School sends students from the practice center and EUX to London, Mallorca, Ireland and we are working on a futur cooperation with two school from Ireland (Galway and Kerry), as well as sending students from the practice center to Portugal. Erasmus+ mobilities is the corner stone for Mercnatec's international work. The program enable us to give the most number of students an international scope on their education. Our experience is that our students come home with many positive experiences from their mobilities and they are willing to participate in new mobilities. Our experience is that more and more students are asking about the danish PIU (Pratice abroad) programme. We expect that there will be an introduction fase and we are palnning to visit the new partners before sending students. Mercantec has a goal to develop Erasmus+ mobilities which are longer than 3 weeks, and a new partner in Portugal has this oppotunity. This partner has a cooperation with two companies, which would be able to host business students for 7 weeks. We know that we might have a challenge with finding the students but nevertheless we know that the students would like these longer lasting placements. We plan to visit our German partners in June 2018. This visit is to improve our relationship and explore possible future areas of cooperation. The participants on this trip is the heads of educations from the individual departments as well as the head of the international department and the international coordinator. Another goal for the trip is to explore the possiblity of finding PIU placemnts for Danish students in Germany. The focus is on VET and EUX students. A visit to the Xarxa partner Munich is also palnned for 2018. Mercnatec is a member of the Xarxa FP which is a cooperation between cities in Europa and their VET schools. We are working on a cooperation with Alcoi in Spain for both KA1 an KA2. The cooperation with Alcoi has resulted in two PIU placements, in which Danish students are doing work experience in Spanish companies. Mercantec is already welcoming students from Xarxa partners and therefore there is a big future potential in developing Mercantec's Erasmus+ mobilities. We are sending a teacher along on mobilities due to the fact that most of our students are coming from the practice centers and these students are not the most ressourcefull students. A lot of them has never travelled for longer periods before. It therefore nessesary to send a teacher along to secure the success for the student in order to make future international experiences possible. This is in line woith our international strategy to send 30 students per year on PIU work placements. Mercantec applies for 6 mobilities in ErasmusPRO. We plan to offer these mobilities to students who finish their education and thereby give them the oppotunity to add an international dimension to their education. Mercantec is furthermore working with Grundfos to offer their apprentices the same possiblities.

The MOVING HARZ project was the basis for strengthening European competences in vocational education and training in the goslar district. The creation of a consortium of the three vocational schools in the goslar district pooled existing competences and resources of the individual schools. Nevertheless, of the 47 planned mobility, only 32 mobilitys took place. These were carried out by both trainees and education staff. The reduced number is due to the redistribution of responsibilities, which led to a delayed start of mobility in the project. In addition to the consistently positive experiences of the project participants, the good and productive cooperation of the three schools must be highlighted above all. Synergies have been created, which will also be further exploited and expanded in a follow-up Project.

The regional mobility Consortium “Movilidades Erasmus+ FP Castilla y León Básica y Grado Medio” aims at the management, development and implementation of mobility for students and teachers from VET providers offering Basic or Intermediate VET diploma programmes in the Education System. The consortium is a continuation and counterpart of Erasmus+ Project 2017-1-ES01-K102-036626 that Consortium are developing at this moment with great success. The Consortium is promoted by the Education Ministry of the Autonomous Region of Castilla y León, follow the same working procedure and encompass regional VET providers acting as sending organizations. The Consortium seeks to broaden the participant’s perspectives of education and employability while the mobility system in Castilla y León is enhanced in the field of Intermediate and Basic VET. With the same concept and estructure as actual K102 and organised on the same basis, the purpose of the Consortium is to continue developing mobility projects targeting learners (students, trainees and apprentices), and staff (teachers, trainers and people working in organizations active in the education) involved in the participant VET providers which offer Basic and Intermediate VET diploma programmes. The Consortium is composed of the following members: - Education Ministry of the Autonomous Region of Castilla y León, through the General Directorate for Professional Training, which provides the Consortium with guidance, institutional support and human and material resources in order to reach the foreseen objectives and fulfil the planned activities. - CIFP Juan de Herrera, as coordinator or applicant organization, offers human and material means in close collaboration with the General Directorate of Professional Training. - More than 90 VET Providers of Basic and Intermediate VET programmes, established in the Community of Castilla y León, acting as sending institutions, in charge of selecting students and staff applying for mobility. - More than 35 European VET, Universities, Business Associations of diferent sectors and host companies in twelve european countries. - Finally, other Institutional organizations which facilitate and reinforce the general objectives of the Consortium through integral support: • Valladolid and León Official Languages Schools, offering advice, where necessary, in foreign language competences before and/or during mobility. • Regional Council of Official Chambers of Commerce and Industry in CyL, Family Business Association in CyL and Encuentro Formación e Innovación. This Consortium addresses the following mobile participants: Students enrolled in Basic or Intermediate VET diploma programmes in one of the partner institutions/sending organizations of the Consortium. 1. Students will carry out their practical training (traineeships) at the workplace in companies established abroad, corresponding to the compulsory module: Training in Working Centers, leading to official qualification. One or three months. 2. Recent graduates with particular and specifics traineeships for three, six or nine months. 3. Experimental programme for disadvantaged persons with traineeships for fifteen days. Staff, mainly teachers, belonging to the sending organizations included in the Consortium to carry out 1. Training activities or job shadowing/observation at companies established in a Programme or partner country. These periods will allow participants to acquire knowledge and expertise to improve their teaching activity. 2. Mobility for teaching between programme countries, teaching in other European VET or welcoming international experts to privide training curses to improve especific competences and procedures of interesting subjects. The Consortium accounts for more than 39,000 students and more than 3,000 individuals (teachers and other staff) as potential mobility participants. The foreseen activities focus mainly on student mobility for traineeships, but student mobility for studies as well as staff mobility for training will be considered as a possibility. The impact of the Project on the mobility participants are: Student traineeships. - Successful completion of the compulsory module: Training in Working Centers (FCT), leading to official qualification or particular training of recent graduates. - Acquisition of experience and practical competence through work based learning. - Promotion of European values. - Enhancement of social and working perspectives. - Improvement and acquisition of foreign language skills. Staff training, observation and teaching periods. - Practical knowledge acquisition which supports de professional development of teaching and no-teaching staff at a didactic and technical level - Development of practical capacities to support their teaching practice - Knowledge of the entrepreneurial and teaching reality abroad. - Improvement and acquisition of foreign language skills. - Promotion of European values. www.erasmusfpcyl.com