The project Social Europe 2020: Combating Social Exclusion and Poverty in the European Union (EU) has taken as a starting point the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth regarding the fight against social exclusion and poverty. The European Commission (EC) aims to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 20 million by 2020. In order to reach this goal, the EC launched in 2010 the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion as one of seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. One of the key actions of this platform, which will remain active until 2020, is to work in partnership with civil society to support more effectively the implementation of social policy reforms. Public schools across Europe are hosting pupils from socially and economically diverse backgrounds and can be seen as key actors in promoting social cohesion and equality and combating social exclusion in their communities. Within this context, six European schools launched in 2017 an Erasmus+ project dealing with the fight against social exclusion and poverty in their own countries: the Institut Lacetània in Manresa (Spain) acting as the coordinating school, the Kaufmännische Schule in Göppingen (Germany), the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala (Greece), the Liceo Scientifico Morgagni of Rome (Italy), the Lubelskie Centrum Kształcenia Zawodowego i Ustawicznego im. Krzysztofa Kamila Baczyńskiego in Lublin (Poland), and the Zealand Business College in Næstved (Denmark). The teachers involved in this project have extensive experience in projects related to economic and social issues. All the partners have been cooperating for several years now and a significant number of European projects have been successfully carried out in the last 10 years. In this project, our schools have promoted teaching activities and active debates in our communities in order to raise awareness of this topic. Being aligned with the Europe 2020 strategy, this project has also helped our school communities understand social exclusion and poverty and get involved in the fight against this problem by launching an open dialogue with policy makers, social agents, and people who have experienced poverty. It is true that social exclusion and poverty differ from country to country, especially from North to South. Nevertheless, students have dealt with this topic no only from a national and regional viewpoint, but also taking into account the social situation in other European countries in order to draw similarities, differences, and suggestions on how to overcome social exclusion and poverty. Students between 16 and 19 years of age have participated in this project. Each stage of the project consisted of a working phase using eTwinning and other online resources, and a transnational meeting in which the results were exchanged and evaluated. Our dissemination activities took place both inside and outside our schools, especially during the transnational meetings. As for the results of the project, the partnership has produced a number of comparative researches on how the participating countries legislate against social exclusion and poverty, giving special attention to the translation of the EU recommendations and directives into national law and practices, i.e., how the participating countries are developing their national policies according to the EU directives and goals. Special attention has been given to the role played in each country by policy makers, economic and social actors. The outcomes of the research reflect the feasibility of the EU 2020 goals and measures for the EU, focusing on different situations and particular circumstances at both national and transnational level.As for the most significant impacts of the project, students have been able to develop methodical competences and improve their language skills, critical and creative thinking skills, interpersonal skills, and practical skills by acquiring research and decision-making techniques. Teachers participating in the project has also developed specific competences necessary for the successful implementation of transnational projects and the integration of transferable skills into students' daily activity. Moreover, the introduction of the Europe 2020 targets into the school program has been an enrichment for our schools. Finally, one of the most significant impacts of this project has been the close collaboration between the schools involved in the partnership and significant social bodies and key persons in our local and regional communities dealing with issues of poverty and social exclusion. We expect, therefore, our analysis and researches to be helpful for these institutions and people, as they will be able to perceive the strengths and weaknesses of their initiatives and measures to reach the EU goals.

International mobility has become part of normal learning process during the studies and work development in Tampere Vocational College Tredu. There are many good exchange practices in different study fields in Tredu and visible moderate expansion of mobility statistics has taken place over the past few years. The whole concept of Tredu’s international exchanges is wide as Tredu is a very large VET provider in Finland. There are many sectoral work cultures, work models and various work-based development needs, many student profiles and staff work situations in the different study fields in Tredu. Therefore student exchange flows in the project have been from 2 weeks up to 16 weeks and staff exchanges from 4-5 days up to two weeks. Newly graduated students were offered the option of exchange period abroad, too. Also work-life partners were encouraged to participate in international mobility activities. Staff exchanges are an important and goal oriented way to develop sectoral and work-based training and an option to personal professional development. Tredu has started staff development actions with staff learning pathways, one option being international and cultural pathway. This has been among the strategic priorities in 2017 and all staff members should define their skills and abilities related to international work during development discussions with their superiors. One very important way to realize this (competent and skillful learner) has been through participation in international exchanges. Other ways to develop international aspects in Tampere region are e.g. work-life exchanges, development projects and active participation in receiving international students in Tredu.153 mobilities in all were realized during the project. 116 out of those were students' on-the-job-training periods and 11 students' learning periods in school environment. The project also made 26 staff mobilites possible, out of which 2 were teacher teaching periods and the remaining 24 teacher learning periods Most student exchanges lasted between 4 to 10 weeks. The length and scope of the period was decided according to the sectoral needs, “traditions” and receiving partner profiles. The long student exchanges (7 pieces, 16 weeks) have been a tradition among hotel and restaurant services and we are planning to extend them to other study fields like business and administration. Tredu also provides vocational studies and certificates on these sectors in English language.The two short, two week long exchanges were completed by adult students. In 2019, the aim is to realize also some exchanges with VALMA (preparatory training) students. These exchanges will be accompanied with teachers and professional advisors from Tredu. Adult VET learners are encouraged to participate in international mobility, too and there are options for exchanges from 2 weeks onwards. Normally, an international exchange period is a work-related on-the-job learning period in a local company abroad. But also study periods in hosting VET schools are expanding the scope of the international experience. All study fields in Tredu were encouraged to participate in the project and we succeeded in involving most fields in the project.Student mobility participants have reported that these international exchanges have increased their feeling of personal independence, responsibility and self-esteem. These well- planned periods have provided a wide comprehension of European work-life, VET practices and sectoral needs for the participants. New skills, not available on home ground, have been learned and new experiences gained. Staff mobilities have given the staff members a welcome break from everyday work thus boosting their work spirit and motivation.Tredu has a structured international mobility process that includes Tredu’s language and cultural preparation, preparation and decision making process, all relevant documents, insurance cover etc. The process is carried out mainly using online digital documentation in Wilma study register system. Every student mobility has been recognized as a part of the learning process according to the ECVET principles. Also informal learning during mobility has been recognized in Tredu according to the agreed common principles.Receiving partners are mainly organizations with whom Tredu has valid Memorandum of Understanding. These MoUs cover most of the study fields in Tredu. Tredu’s Action Plan for International Affairs was finalized in spring 2016 and it is being updated during 2019. This document is the basis for all international work and the realization of mobilities in Tredu. With it different fields of education and different campuses throughout Tampere region can be more systematically involved in international activites. Tampere Vocational College Tredu also acts as a very active receiving and hosting partner for many partners abroad. Accumulating results of international mobility is a reality throughout Tampere region.

Tampere Vocational College Tredu wants to develop its activities as a local vocational body in accordance with the strategy of City of Tampere. Tredu has carried out Tredu MOVE –Mobility for Vocational Education mobility project in all it’s sectors in youth and adult education, apprenticeship training, among those newly qualified, staff and administration in cooperation with project partners in 15 countries. In the background there is a long international cooperation in mobility and innovation projects. By implementing this project the attendants’ working life and everyday-life skills in multicultural society have been strengthened and they have gained benefit when applying for work. At the same time, the project has helped in preventing social exclusion and contributed to adding value to vocational education. An exchange period is a personal project for a student and an opportunity to develop and grow professionally for the members of staff. The final goal of the project was to make the working life benefit from the knowledge and skills gained. Individual paths, language and cultural competence, planning the project’s activities according to ECVET, strengthening the bond between school based learning and on-the job –learning and languages could be mentioned as examples of the project’s themes.In all 135 student mobilities (4 weeks to 4 months) and 22 staff mobilities carried out during the project. The activities have been planned together with the project partners and carried out in accordance with curricula and personal development plans. Memorandum or Understanding of Letter of Intent has been exchanged between the partners and the students have been provided with Learning Agreements. The students participating in the project were aged between 17 to mature (adult students) and staff members were be teachers, managers, administrative staff, student counsellors etc. The project was coordinated by an appointed project manager with adequate resources. She has worked in intense cooperation with Tredu’s project office, international office, VET sectors and appointed international teachers. The implementation of the project has been reported according to City of Tampere’s and National Agency’s instructions.The result of the project is international activity following City of Tampere’s strategy and the action plan of the Tampere Upper Secondary Education. The impacts of the project will be seen in Tredu’s all VET sectors and broader; improved working life skills, increased language and cultural skills, interest and motivation to carry out internationalization at home. The goals of the student mobilities have been supported by the staff mobilities. The long term impacts of implementing the project will be seen in Tampere and Pirkanmaa region. Tredu has responded to the needs of the working life and added to the attractiveness of vocational training.

AMOR - Autonomuous Mobile Robot was a project (2017-2020) focused on the effective cooperation of student teams in home schools during the school year and during international short-term student workshops in all partner countries. During the project, student teams with a VET teacher supported by participating VET organizations designed, developed and manufactured a robot. Students were from the 2nd and 3rd years of studies of different branches – mechanical engineering, electrotechnics, IT. Project cooperation and peer-learning were a big challenge for them. This form of cooperation contributes to the development of personal, professional and intercultural skills in a limited exchange time. During workshops participants discussed and developed their project work related to the robot, exchanged experiences and ideas, but also enjoyed the opportunity to meet real life in each country through discussions with other students who were not directly involved in the project, visits of companies using robots in their production programs, participation in cultural and sporting events. The process in the project was long, but it was necessary to include all workshops and routine work in practice. All partners have been integrated into it. During the project, a total of 20 international teachers of technical education and training participated in consultations / monitoring / teaching, evaluation and mutual learning during the implementation of the workshop. The end product in each partner organization is a technical drawing, manual and autonomous mobile robot.One workshop was planned in each partner country, ie a total of five workshops, each with the participation of four students and one teacher. Unfortunately affecting COVID 19 it was not possible to hold the last workshop in Finland, so only Finland completed all the mobilities. We agreed with the partners to implement the activities of the last workshop virtually using e-mail communication, Skype and Facebook. This communication was also more difficult because all participants had to use their home equipment because the schools were closed. Ing. Matoušek – teacher of SPŠT Třebíč designed a track for testing robots and each team uploaded their experiment and posted it on Facebook. There are also manuals and drawing documentation for the robot (in this way we virtually carried out a short-term activity). The fulfillment of the goals is evident from the experiments on the test tracks.As all participating organizations are vocational education and training institutions with similar fields of study, they will remain in contact after the completion of the project. We seek and discuss opportunities for new projects and collaborations for both students and teachers, as learning from each other's visits, exchanging experiences and best practices is a good way to improve knowledge and skills and develop intercultural understanding and gain new perspectives.

Unemployment is a key issue for the EU. The European Commission considers employment as the first target for the EU in 2020 (75% of the 20-64 year-olds to be employed). Therefore, it seem most timely and necessary for European schools to promote teaching activities and active debates on this topic in order to raise the students' awareness of the first EU target in the next five years. In national and transnational groups, this project aims, on the one hand, to examine the reasons and the effects of unemployment in both the partner regions and the EU, taking into account the multiple aspects of vulnerability in the labour market (age, sex, educational and social background, migration, labour sectors, seasonality, etc), and the role of policy-makers and economic actors as well. On the other hand, this project aims to analyse and propose measures to reach the European Union 2020 goal on both regional and European levels. Therefore, students will be asked to find out how the measures proposed by the EU and the national government bodies are being and can be implemented in the specific regions involved in the project and which new measures could be undertaken. In spite of the fact that unemployment can be different from country to country, students will deal with this topic no only from a national and regional viewpoint, but also taking into account the current labour situation in other European countries in order to draw similarities, differences and suggestions on how unemployment and social exclusion can be best overcome. Six European partners are participating in this project: Institut Lacetània in Manresa (Spain) acting as the coordinating school, the Kaufmännische Schule in Göppingen (Germany), the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala (Greece), the Liceo Morgagni of Rome (Italy), the Lubelskie Centrum Ksztalcenia Zawodowego i Ustawicznego im. Krzysztofa Kamila Baczynskiego in Lublin (Poland), and the Balcova Ahmet Hakki Balcioglu Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi in Izmir (Turkey). All the partners in the project have been cooperating with our school in our last Comenius project, therefore contacts between the partners, working methods, professional competencies, conflict management and cooperation are well-known. All teachers who are participating in the project bring experience in the field of projects related to social and economic issues. We will wok with students between 16 and 19 years of age. We have seven single stages of work and four transnational meetings in which the results will be exchanged and evaluated, while the working phase will be developed by means of etwnning and other online resources. Using online and transnational meetings, we aim to develop the awareness of the diversity of the local, national, and international labour situation and market, as well as the awareness of Europe as a place to work and to live in. Students are also expected to develop methodical competences and to improve their language skills, critical and creative thinking skills, interpersonal skills and practical skills by acquiring research and decision-making techniques. For this reason, this project also aims to create teaching tools to support the continuous development of students' transferable skills (working with people and data) and to increase their motivation by encouraging collaboration and experience sharing. The teachers participating in the project will develop specific competences which are necessary for the successful implementation of research projects and the integration of transferable skills in students' daily activity. Moreover, the introduction of the Europe 2020 targets into the school program can be seen as an enrichment for the educational institutions by adopting methods of analysis and practical questions in normal teaching and extra-curricular activities. The project can also be considered as the consolidation and strengthening of long-term partnerships among the schools involved. Furthermore, we plan to meet social and/or economic actors of the partner region. In this way, those participating in the project will be able to gain first-hand insights on the issue of unemployment all across Europe. The information provided in these meetings will be used to elaborate the project's researches and activities.