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32 SUCCESS STORIES LEONARDO DA VINCI AWARD 2004

Success Stories from the Leonardo da Vinci programme We wish to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world in 2010 “capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”. That, indeed, is the ambitious goal that European Union endorsed in March 2000 in Lisbon. We also want our education and training systems to become a “world quality reference” by 2010. That is the second major ambition that the Union set itself in Barcelona in March 2002.

Ján Figel’, Member of the European Commission responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism.

To reach these two ambitious goals, the education and training ministers of 31 countries, the social partners and the European Commission adopted in November 2002 the Copenhagen Declaration to strengthen European cooperation in vocational education and training. Fresh impetus was given to that cooperation in December 2004 by the Maastricht communiqué which identifies the key strategic areas for national implementation and European cooperation in the field of vocational education and training over the coming years. The Leonardo da Vinci programme, the main European Union instrument in the field of vocational education and training, actively supports transnational cooperation among all relevant stakeholders in vocational education and training. One of its key missions is to contribute to transforming our training systems by co-funding transnational innovative projects. The programme contributes also to making the most of this investment by exploiting programme and project experiences, good practice and results, and making sure that they are taken up, developed and integrated into local, regional, national and European training systems and practices. I am very pleased to present this catalogue of thirty-two Leonardo “success stories”. They have been selected from 165 innovative and successful Leonardo projects put forward in the summer of 2004 by the Leonardo da Vinci National Agencies and invited to the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition in Maastricht in December 2004. These “success stories” are an example of best practice in the development of practical, sustainable and innovative products and results. They have also been singled out for the transferability of their products and results and their potential interest and usefulness to other new users. These success stories are in many ways a showcase of the Leonardo da Vinci programme and will serve as an example and an inspiration to others. I very much that they will be taken up, adapted and transferred to new publics and into new contexts as a result of this initiative.

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LEONARDO DA VINCI AWARD 2004 32 SUCCESS STORIES

Making quality the foundation for tourism training AIM

CHALLENGE

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From the pool of skilled employees in the tourism sector, some have the potential to pursue a career in middle and upper-management. Meanwhile, many tourism employees are leaving their industry because of often poor working conditions. Clearly, there is an urgent need for upgrading of training and the certification of skilled employees coming out of dual systems or college in the tourism sector. The European Union’s Quality Tourism project sought to address these problems, through special training aimed at providing higher qualification, by supporting a life-long learning approach in the sector. Graduates will be able to work in middle or upper management in the tourism field.

The main goal of the Tourism Quality Qualification and Specialisation project was to keep skilled employees in the tourism field. This was to be done by offering and introducing them to fields of employment other than cooking or waiting in bars and restaurants. The project offered employees working in reception, the kitchen or restaurants easily accessible and tailor-made qualifications in continuing and further training. An important objective was to standardise European training paths in the tourism field. This involved the promotion of inter-cultural skills among service workers. The training curriculum was to be included in a certification system, the Tourism Quality Pass. Combined with work experience, this curriculum can be included in Europass, the European system for recording any training carried out and skills acquired during a period of work experience, undertaken as part of an ongoing training programme, in another European country. The main target group included those coming out of the dual system of tourism professions or technical colleges. Among them were tourism specialists (certified apprentices in gastronomy) and more specifically professionals working in reception, as assistant to the director, and kitchen or restaurant staff.

RESULTS The project developed a set of curricula in a modular format, incorporating a certification model for the accreditation of skilled workers and employees. The qualification enables certified tourism/catering employees to perform tasks at middle and upper-management levels. The general curriculum consists of five


modules: - Tourism marketing with yield-management - Personnel management in tourism - Personal skills - Guest-care and event management - Europe in the kitchen. The courses were devised and held by tourism experts. The teaching concept was based on a combination of theory and practice. This was done by means of case studies, acquiring theoretical background in lectures and group work, simulation of implementation by preparing materials and plans, excursions and lectures with guest speakers and practical work in the kitchen and wine cellar. The participants were awarded international certificates and they can now participate in the job opportunities provided by the other project partners. As a result, many of the participants took up opportunities abroad after getting their international certification. A number of tourism specialists gained organisational and management jobs in tourism marketing, personnel management and guest-care. The product, which has been tested and welcomed in the partner countries, is available as courses at any partner institutions and in line with their current programmes. The material is presented in four languages – German, French, Italian and Czech.

Contract N°: A/00/B/F/PP-124014 Country: AUSTRIA Date: 2000 Duration: 12/2000 – 11/2002 (24 months) Project co-ordinator Berufsförderungsinstitut Salzburg/BFI Salzburg 2 St.-Julien-Strasse A-5020 Salzburg Tel: +43 662 883 081351 - Fax: +43 662 88 32 32 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.bfi-sbg.or.at/tourismus.html Partners Centre Européen de Formation et de Promotion Professionnelle par Alternance pour l’Industrie(F), Collegio De Filippi Instituto Professionale per i Servizi Alberghieri e della Ristorazione Colle (I), Hotel Schlob Fuschl, Salzburg (A), Industrie- und Handelskammer Dresden (D), Integrovaná strední skola Cestovního Ruchu A Vyssi odborná skola Ceské Budejovice (CZ); SOL-Swiss Occidental Leonardo (CH). STAND NUMBER 22

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New IT skills enhance job prospects for the blind and visually impaired AIM The goal for this project was to define new and modern job opportunities for blind and visually impaired people. The aim was to create methods to train this target group in the use of modern, object-orientated programming languages such as C++. The project was promoted by Berufsförderungsinstitut Steiermark (Austria) in cooperation with institutes and organisations in Germany, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.

RESULTS

CHALLENGE

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One of the main causes of social exclusion is unemployment. Blind and visually impaired people are particularly vulnerable, since they tend to have lower levels of education and have received training in what are now seen as ‘old-fashioned’ jobs such as basket-making. Europe still lacks highly qualified IT professionals, especially in the field of programming. To help meet this need, the ProbIQ (Programming: Blind People in Qualification) project created new job opportunities for the target group (the blind and visually impaired) through the provision of training material on computer programming. This initiative therefore equips them to work for IT (Information Technology) companies in Europe developing software programs many of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Thanks to this project, the target group now has access to dedicated IT training and material and the use of a modern programming environment. ProBIQ resulted in a website, instruction guide, and curriculum with CD-Rom modules. The CD-Rom consists of educational material for blind and visually impaired people to be able to learn one of the most important programming languages. The developed modules are clearly structured and easy to use. They are laid out in a six-month course, which provides the participants with sufficient knowledge of programming to work in small and medium-sized enterprises. The product (CD-Rom) is available in English, German, Italian and Slovakian, and can be used with minimal financial investments. Any organisation that addresses the education of this target group is allowed to use the curriculum and the training materials free of charge. The product is innovative because it offers new solutions for the blind and visually impaired, solutions which can be easily integrated into existing training systems.


Pilot courses were organised by the partner organisations, to ensure that the target group was involved in each step of development. The course developed enhances the ability of blind and visually impaired people using IT tools to achieve a higher level of education, creating new job possibilities. The product has been disseminated throughout Europe using a web server for the blind and visually impaired. The server’s target groups are the disabled, their families, and associations of the blind and visually impaired, enterprises, social projects and public administration.

Contract N°: A/00/B/F/PP-124052 Country: AUSTRIA Date: 2000 Duration: 01/12/2000 – 30/11/2002 (24 months) Project co-ordinator Berufsförderungsinstitut (bfi) Steiermark Mariengasse 24 A-8020 Graz Tel: +43 316 7270 813 - Fax: +43 316 7270 812 E-mail: [email protected] - Mr Walerich Berger Partners Berufsförderungswerk Düren (DE), IDEC Ltd. (GR), Associazione Nazionale Subvedenti (IT), Transfer Slovensko GmbH (SK), Royal National Institute for Blind People - RNIB (UK). STAND NUMBER 8

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Design for All creates access for all AIM

CHALLENGE

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Accessibility – to houses and public places – is an issue of concern for the handicapped worldwide. Design for All is a concept from the United States, taking into account people’s individual differences in the environment, building and industrial products. The general goal of this concept is to make products, systems and services accessible and usable for the majority of disabled people, not only the able-bodied. The Architecture and Accessibility tools for training (AAOutils) project filled a gap in training programmes for architects. The challenge was to support social and professional integration for handicapped persons by making all actors in architecture aware of the need for accessibility in houses, public buildings and means of transport.

By developing vocational training programmes in architecture and design, the project sought to introduce the innovative concept of ‘accessible architecture’ to aid physically disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility. The objective was the creation of new pedagogic materials and tools based on the concept of accessible architecture for all people, including the handicapped. The training tools should cover topics such as awareness raising, accessibility standards, practical cases, and work experience. On the basis of the Design for All philosophy, vocational training for architects was to be set up at national and European levels. The promoter of this project was the Association Nationale pour le Logement des personnes Handicapées (Belgium). The partners were a research Institute on urban planning, architecture and industrial design in Denmark, a French NGO organising vocational training for architects and conducting research on housing, and an association of architects in Poland. The consortium targeted three groups: students of architecture, architects in life-long learning (LLL), and teachers of architecture.

RESULTS The project’s main results are a CD-Rom and a booklet aimed at raising architects’ awareness of accessibility problems, as well as a report that is universal in design. The CD-Rom is visually attractive and allows navigation by different users (target groups in the field of accessible architecture). The website and brochures are professional in content and presentation. All these results are on the Internet in French, English, Polish, Danish and Dutch. Other


resources include a manual for the training of instructors and a pedagogic kit. The tools – which have been tested by professionals and in universities – provide norms, standards and measurements for architecture and accessibility. Throughout the project, the endusers (i.e. people with reduced mobility, wheelchair users and the blind) provided vital input on the needs of the handicapped in terms of accessibility. The main innovations of AAOutils were: - Discussions between professionals and users and problemsolving from both viewpoints; - Production of tools (including text, graphics, images, films) analysing risks and solutions. All materials are available from the project partners and can be accessed for free by visiting the project website. The results of this project can be easily transferred to other fields, because the products are ‘universal’ and suit the needs of all handicapped people. The Brussels region chose this project as its main feature in the 2003 edition of the national exhibition ‘Batibouw’ and highlighted its results. More than 10,000 project CD-Roms have been distributed free of charge to players in the field of accessibility for handicapped people.

Contract N°: B/01/B/F/PP-110005 Country: BELGIUM Date: 2001 Duration: 01/11/2001 – 01/11/2003 (24 months) Project co-ordinator Association Nationale pour le logement des personnes handicapées (ANLH) Rue de la Fleur d’Oranger 1/213 B-1150 Brussels Tel: +32 2 7721895 - Fax: +32 2 7792677 E-mail: [email protected] - Mme Stéphanie Herman Website: www.anlh.be Partners Architecture and design Aalborg University (DK), Stowarzyszenie Architektów Polskich Association des Architectes Polonais (PL), Association pour la recherche sur la ville et l’Habitat - Arvha (F). STAND NUMBER 7

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Mastering the mysteries of international business communication AIM

CHALLENGE

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When working closely with foreign clients, (technical) managerial staff often face linguistic and cultural challenges. Today simply having a good command of foreign languages is no longer enough: people doing business abroad must speak foreign languages but also have a solid grounding in and understanding of foreign cultures. To help the growing number of people with these needs, the Leomep-Multi 2000-2003 project has developed a range of new and innovative language-learning modules. These modules are based on the typical needs of language-learners, while integrating key aspects of multicultural and multilingual communication.

The self-directed – interactive and multimedia - modules were devised specifically for (technical) managerial staff who are in (or who are preparing for) regular contact with foreign business partners. Besides focusing on a number of important linguistic aspects, the project paid special attention to the intercultural differences which influence the process of negotiation and to other types of conversation in technical or business-related-subjects. The starting point for the modules was the development of self-directed learning packages, which allow easy use of the chosen language and culture as true communication tools. The project promoters, Limburgs Universitair Centrum and Centrum voor Taaldidactiek en Toegepaste Linguistiek (Belgium), combine field expertise (engineers’ associations, chambers of commerce) with the experience of a large consortium of scientific partners (universities, high schools).

RESULTS The Leomep-Multi 2000-2003 project created 18 multimedia foreign language and culture learning modules, intended for senior officials in technical services and engineers. The modules – each one is based on around 100 hours of study, levels B2-C1 of the CEFRL (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)– are available on CD-Rom and on the Internet. They have been conceived for (semi-) autonomous learning and e-learning (blended learning) and are available in seven source languages


(French, Dutch, Spanish, English, German, Hungarian and Polish) and three target languages (French, German and Dutch). The 18 CD-Roms have been produced in a user-friendly, interactive multimedia learning platform for the Internet, and are therefore accessible to a broad audience. Each of the modules is based on concrete case studies linked to real working-environment issues. Examples include negotiating offers, handling complaints, introducing and marketing the company, or describing the technical requirements of a product. These modules can be used in several learning environments (individual or classroom), and will contribute to both promoting communication in the area of technical services and increasing the mobility and integration of young graduates starting a European or international career. The innovative pedagogical value is evident in the structure of the modules and in the variety of the exercises. In total there are 12 types of exercise used, each CD-Rom offering 500 varied multimedia exercises and more than 30 authentic dialogues. There is also a clear European dimension to the project, with no fewer than seven languages involved and every module containing references to the cultural background of the selected languages. The project was perfectly suited for enlarging to other European languages. A new, follow-on project, by the name of COM-I-N-EUROPE, has been started up, covering two new target languages/cultures (Polish and English) and two new source languages/cultures (Czech and Slovak). The target group was reached by means of seminars, articles and publications from consortium partners in different countries. The project’s communication campaign was based on a carefully thought-out international marketing and sales strategy. All the module marketing activities (online sales) and demonstrations have been placed on the site. Project leaflets are available and the website provides additional information and a discussion forum for users of the CD-Roms.

Contract N°: B/00/B/F/LA-110337 Country: BELGIUM Date: 2000 Duration: 12/2000 – 05/2003 (30 months) Project co-ordinator Limburgs Universitair Centrum – Centrum voor Taaldidactiek en Toegepaste Linguistiek (CTTL) Universitaire Campus Gebouw D - Kamer B65 B-3590 Diepenbeek Tel: +32 11 268686 - Fax: +32 11 268766 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.plurilingua.com Partners Vlaamse Ingenieurskamer (B), VKW – Limburgse Werkgeversorganisatie (B), Brainlane (B), Haute Ecole de Bruxelles (B), Universität Paderborn (D), Landesverband des Sächsischen Gross- und Aussenhandels/Dienstleistungen e.V. Dresden (D), Universidad Europea de Madrid (ES), Asociación Española de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación (ES), Université du Littoral - Côte d’Opale (F), Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Dunkerque (F), University of Limerick (IRL), Chamber of Commerce - Limerick (IRL), University of Debrecen (Hungarian Language School) (H), Business-Net Bt (H), Wy_sza Szkola Handlowa we Wroclawiu (PL), Dolnoslaska Izba Gospodarcza (PL). STAND NUMBER 16

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Opening up digital careers for the deaf AIM The project aimed to overcome the communication handicaps of deaf people by enhancing their written national language skills and giving priority to written English. This was done with specifically designed curricula, training programmes and textbooks. The project designs verified and implemented six courses, which will make it easier for the deaf to earn their living via the Internet. The project consortium consisted of the promoter, the Federation of Parents and Friends of Hearing Impaired (Czech Republic), with associations of deaf organisations (Czech Republic, Belgium), research centres for communication (Austria, Czech Republic, United Kingdom) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Czech Republic). The target groups were deaf people (endusers), educational institutions, teachers of deaf people, and organisations for social inclusion.

RESULTS CHALLENGE

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Many deaf and hard of hearing people have trouble fully understanding written texts because of their elementary reading skills. The unemployment rate of deaf people is increasing at an alarming rate. The project partnership provides deaf people and others with hearing problems access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Computers, the Internet and ICT have proven to be very motivating for deaf people in their education. Improving this education by using visual elements and by applying modern ICT will increase the opportunities for the deaf in areas of employment which need less spoken communication.

Six courses were developed under the project, with the following content: Improving the skills of the deaf in reading and writing in their national language; Elementary “Internet-oriented” written English; Introduction to computers and the Internet; Introduction to web page design; Introduction to computer typography; and Internet-related job-seeking skills. The creation of web pages, typography and grammar terminology in partners’ national Sign languages makes ICT accessible for a broader audience of deaf people. Any educator with experience in deafness can easily use the developed materials. While the courses used traditional media, there were still innovative aspects to them, for example, in the selection of subjects, the


description and clarity of the courses, their electronic presentations and in the multimode delivery (such as spoken language, lip reading, written text and simultaneous translation into terminologically rich Sign language). The courses and methods developed were verified by selected representative samples of hearing-impaired users in all partner countries. In the Czech Republic, participants were tested on the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and passed at least several modules, an achievement which gives them an internationally acknowledged certification. The impact at national level was promoted by the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which informed the employment offices about the project results and their applicability in retraining deaf people. The project produced 31 printed textbooks and teachers’ books, 16 CD-Roms, one video and nine other printed guides. The project results can be used in retraining deaf people in any country that respects Sign language as a full-value communication language for the profoundly deaf (as has been recommended by the European Union (EU) Parliament to all EU members). There are strong indications that modification of the project results for the training of people with other kinds of disabilities could be an option. In the Czech Republic, the full sets of materials were provided free of charge to schools for the deaf and to non-profit organisations involved in the training of people with disabilities. Moreover these materials are sold to profit organisations for production costs (approximately 400 euro). The project website is available in Czech, English, German and Dutch.

Contract N°: CZ/00/B/F/PP-134029 Country: CZECH REPUBLIC Date: 2000 Duration: 1/12/2000 – 30/11/2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator Mr. Hruby Jaroslav U Pisecké brany 22 CZ-16000 Prague 6-Hradcany Tel: + 420-608 051 876 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.leonardo-for-deaf.org Partners Association of Organisations of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Their Friends (CZ), Institute of Theory of Communication, Faculty of Arts of the Charles University Prague (CZ), Contactel (CZ), FEVLADO – Federatie van Vlaamse Doven Organisaties (B), Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (CZ), The Deafax Trust (UK) (withdrew), Universität Klagenfurt – Forschungzentrum für Gebärdensprache und Hörgeschädigtenkommunikation (A). STAND NUMBER 11

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Mentoring supports life-long learning in rural areas AIM The project aimed to increase the employability of people in rural areas by improving access to training and learning materials. The objective was to develop innovative methodologies for providing learning-support systems. Specific, targeted learning materials in the form of training modules were developed to support and enhance these new training approaches for the target group of unemployed, low-skilled people. The consortium consisted of promoter Saaremaare Local Government Association (Estonia), with vocational education and training (VET) educational institutes and national federations from Estonia, Ireland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. By drawing together social partners and other sectors of the community to address local training needs, the project sought to develop a more holistic approach to training delivery and learning support.

CHALLENGE

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In rural and poorly populated areas in Europe, there are few or no institutions for further learning and education. At the same time, urban development threatens many traditional rural livelihoods. So there is a direct need to improve access to training and learning materials in these rural communities. The challenge is to make learning available and accessible to all sectors of rural communities and to develop the basic skills necessary for small-business employment in a modern economy. This necessitates the development of a holistic approach to training delivery and learning that will engage those individuals not normally involved in the learning process. The ROUTES project also addresses employability issues, particularly those associated with equal opportunities for men and women.

RESULTS The project developed a mentor-supported learning group concept, a website, an introductory guide and learning modules. Both the design and the didactics are strong and visually attractive. ROUTES learning materials are available in six modules: Introduction (mentor-supported learning group concept); Interpersonal skills; Networking; Business skills; Computer skills; and Project management. The learning materials focused on the most relevant sectors, tourism and self-employment in microbusinesses. Basic elements in the mentor approach include the learning group itself, a trained mentor, a support network of teachers and an educational package. The modules are available on CD-Rom and on the Internet in English, Icelandic and Estonian.


The website belongs to the coordinating organisation Kuressaare Vocational College (Estonia) and will be updated as needed. The concept of mentor-supported learning groups with the support of teachers from educational institutions is an innovative and practical way of extending life-long learning to isolated areas. The use of ICT (information and communication technologies) to disseminate materials allows those who follow this course to print out modules or chapters with ease. Thanks to the transnational sharing of expertise, writing and testing learning materials within the project, both the working communications and the final product have benefited enormously. They provide insights, which could also help other sectors, target groups or other areas of Europe. Contract N°: EE/00/B/F/PP-135007 Country: ESTONIA Date: 2000 Duration: 01/12/2000 - 30/11/2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator Kuressaare Vocational College 22 Kohtu EST-93812 Kuressaare Tel: +372 45 24600 - Fax: +372 45 24616 E-mail: [email protected] - Mrs Jane Mägi Website: www.ametikool.ee/routes/ Partners Kuressaare Ametikool (EST), Saaremaa Omavalitsuste LIIT (EST), Arran Textiles (UK), Comhdhail Oileain na heireann (IRL), Hiiumaa Maavalitsus (EST), Holar Hjaltadalur (IS), Scottish Agricultural College (UK), Suuremoisa Tehnikum (EST). STAND NUMBER 17

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Knowledge centre improves job opportunities for people with learning disabilities AIM

CHALLENGE

14

Many Europeans with learning disabilities are eager to follow a vocational training course. They want to increase their chances of finding and keeping a suitable job. The good news is that there is a lot of information available on vocational training as well as examples of good practice. Yet it is often difficult to get hold of the required know-how in one place or to be sure that the information is relevant to all regions and countries. To remedy this situation, the LABOr project gathered materials on the training and employment situation for people with learning disabilities in 13 different EU countries and made this information available on a website-based Knowledge Centre.

The project sought to enhance the flow of information available on support programmes throughout Europe established to assist people with learning disabilities in their integration into the labour market. The main aim was to provide information on existing support measures (through an interactive website) and to share information so as to answer specific enquiries from different stakeholders: workers, employers, service providers and authorities. The project was carried out by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) together with a broad-based consortium of 21 service providers, authorities and research institutes throughout Europe. The target groups were persons with intellectual disabilities who are at work or want to work, providers of training and employment services, employers who have hired or want to hire persons with intellectual disabilities and vocational training and employment policy-makers in the field of learning disabilities at local, regional and national levels. The project focused on 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

RESULTS The main output of the project is an interactive website with a database and helpdesk, creating what is called a European Knowledge Centre on Vocational Training and Employment for People with Learning Disabilities. The website is available in English, French, German and Dutch. Visitors can forward


questions, ask for advice or participate in an interactive forum. A helpdesk was set up in every partner country and at European level, providing a wide range of advice and solutions to specific problems. The website offers tailored information for the stakeholders. This includes (for job providers) descriptions of training methods or ways of supporting people in jobs; (for employers) signposts to relevant legislation and to people’s own practical experience of vocational training in this field; and (for authorities) models of training and employment policies. The site also contains guidance for people with learning disabilities on getting help with finding a job, and specific success stories plus relevant examples of good practice for all stakeholders. The project partners collected information on legislation and labour-market policies, on case studies, measures, schemes and processes that worked and on individual success stories. They also carried out interviews, obtaining first-hand information from people with learning disabilities, service and training providers, employers, and authorities. All this material was edited and made available on the Knowledge Centre, the main source of information for the stakeholders who are directly involved in the process of integrating people with learning disabilities. The information gathered has been used to help providers in fine-tuning their training and employment services and to advise local, regional, national and European authorities on increasing the employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities. Some of the key messages and best practice can be applied at European level. The partners hope to maintain and update the website in future.

Contract N°: EUR/01/C/F/RF/-84801 Country: BELGIUM Date: 2001 Duration: 01/12/2001 – 30/11/2004 (36 months) Project co-ordinator European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) Oudergemlaan/Avenue d’Auderghem 63 B-1040 Brussels Tel: +32 2 2824610 - Fax: +32 2 2307233 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Website: www.start-labor.org, www.easpd.org Partners Scientific Partners: Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities Cardiff University (UK), HIVA. Hoger Instituut voor de Arbeid (B), Vlaams Fonds voor Sociale Integratie van Personen met een Handicap (B), EPR - European Platform for Rehabilitation (B) Project Partners: Arbeitsintegrationsgesellschaft - Lebenshilfe Voralberg (A), Institut für Sozialdienste (A), Amt der Voralberger Landesregierung (A), Vlaams Welzijnsverbond Vzw (B), Christos Stelios Ioannou Foundation (CY), Eseepa (GR), National Federation of Voluntary Bodies (IRL), Centro Itard (I), Kézenfogva Alapítvány - Hand in Hand Foundation (H), FENACERCI. Federação Nacional de Cooperativas de Solidariedade Social (P), ARC. The Association for Real Change (UK), HFT. The Home Farm Trust (UK) Survey Partners: FDUV. Förbundet De Utvecklingsstördas Väl (FIN), UNAPEI. Union Nationale des Associations de Parents et Amis de Personnes Handicapées Mentales (F); Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen (D); Sozialdienste Bezirksgemeinschaft Eisacktal (I); Saltho Sterk in Werk (NL). STAND NUMBER 9

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Flexible learning in cardiology save lives AIM

CHALLENGE

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New and more effective interventions to combat cardiovascular disease are being developed at a rapid rate, which means that there is an ever-increasing need for healthcare workers to keep up-to-date with the latest developments. At the start of the project, research showed that over 90% of healthcare workers involved in cardiology used the Internet on a daily basis. The ability of the Internet at that stage to deliver medical education made it the natural choice to develop a suitable educational product for distance learning. In the project ’Enhanced training in European cardiology through the use of ICT’, the latest online technology was used to develop an accessible, interesting and interactive online platform through the use of case histories.

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) sought to provide cardiologists and other medical professionals with continuing medical education through the Internet. The aim of the project was to provide the latest cardiology information by developing a highly targeted educational website, designed to meet key clinical needs and addressing the areas of greatest educational need in cardiovascular medicine. To achieve this, the project was divided into three stages: - evaluation of the educational requirements of the cardiology community, paying specific attention to the major areas of morbidity and mortality (devise the online Core Curriculum in Cardiology), - creation of the educational content to address the identified needs, on a customised online platform, , - promotion and dissemination of the project outcomes. Although the primary target group (or end-users) was cardiologists working in hospitals, the education was also to be mindful of users across the whole medical management team (including trainees, nurses, pharmacists, etc.) and related areas (primary care physicians, haematologists, radiographers, etc.) The broadbased consortium was led by the project promoter, the European Society of Cardiology, and included a medical education network, an educational institute and university hospitals from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

RESULTS Following a period of consultation and needs identification with the potential end-users, an online software product was developed and


populated with educational content. This was launched to the cardiology community as ‘ESCed’ and is available online at www.esced.org. Case history-based delivery of the education was used, as this has proven to be the most effective way of delivering education whether online or at the patient bedside (as has been used for generations in medical training). The website was designed to be flexible, allowing users to access and leave the site at their convenience, with the website keeping a record of what the user has completed so that they can continue when they next log on. The overall educational structure of the website (the grid and its subdivisions is based on the results of the initial work in developing the online Core Curriculum in Cardiology, specifically with areas of cardiology broken down by presenting symptoms, aetiology and treatment modalities. The case histories themselves were prepared by leading experts in the field, and each case is supported by and cross-linked with an extensive resource of medical images and literature (e.g. abstracts, guidelines, papers). In order to enhance the project outcomes, the project also worked with the European Board of Accreditation in Cardiology (EBAC) to gain formal Continuing Medical Education (CME) accreditation for the education. The added benefit to the user is that they can gain a CME Credit for each case history they successfully complete. The CME Credit can be submitted by users across Europe (and in many cases beyond), as part of their individual continuing professional development programmes. The website is now flourishing. There are now 22 hours of education available and new modules are being added on a regular basis. There are about 5,000 registered members.

Contract N°: EUR/00/C/F/PP-94407 Country: FRANCE Date: 2000 Duration: 01/12/2000 – 30/09/2003 (34 months) Project co-ordinator European Society of Cardiology Route des Colles 2035 Les Templiers, BP 179 F-06903 Sophia-Antipolis Tel: +33 492 948677 - Fax: +33 492 947608 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.esced.org Partners University of Lund - Malmo Hospital (S), National Heart & Lung Institute - Imperial College School of Medicine (UK), Adelphi Lifelong Learning (UK), University Hospital of Rotterdam (Erasmus) (NL). STAND NUMBER 28

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Powerful learning creates professional energy AIM

CHALLENGE

18

The economic costs of poor power quality and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems in electrical installations are hidden in operational costs, but are believed to affect the economic performance of at least 30% of companies. This is of increasing concern in the tertiary and industrial sectors. The partners in the project ‘A systems approach for solving problems related to Power Quality (PQ), EMC and harmonics in electrical installations’ are confronted daily with this issue. In their work to power the digital economy, electrical contractors and engineers face various technical challenges and need to develop new skill sets for the design and operation of electrical installations. There is a need for training modules to help the designers of electrical installations to address the lack of power quality and EMC problems. This project addressed the need for systematic exchange of expertise between universities, technical colleges and SMEs in a European partnership. In developing training modules, the partners were challenged to integrate these lifelong learning schemes in the United Kingdom and Poland.

The objective was to develop a learning environment allowing teaching of complex skills to a mass audience in a cost-effective manner. The Leonardo Power Quality Initiative (LPQI) consisted of two major subprojects: - a pilot project to develop an integrated library describing PQ and EMC problems, diagnosis and solutions, to be used as a practical tool for professionals in their daily job. - a network project consisting of a website (including e-learning function), a network for training the trainers and a dissemination channel. The aim was to provide users with free access to comprehensive, practical information and to allow interaction between professionals and trainers in the sectors.

RESULTS The project increased the qualification of professionals in the building environment. It did this by developing training tools which help decision-makers ‘in the field’ to apply standards which are not unified in certain European countries, or are not enforced due to a lack of local regulations. A multi-mode learning environment has been developed, which combines more traditional textbook learning and seminars with e-learning and distance-learning approaches. The e-learning environment is accessible through a web-based application. It allows users to achieve the same learning objective in a variety of ways, by simply selecting the most comfortable method for them. This product offers professionals involved in the design, building or operating of electrical installations a web-based library of application notes, as well as descriptions of power-quality problems,


their diagnosis and solutions, a FAQ-list and a forum. It also includes tests to assess knowledge in this field and hosts a related distance-learning course free of charge. The learning environment currently consists of 18 sections and further sections are being prepared. The published sections are available in electronic form on the site; access is password protected. The product is attractive and well documented with clear instructions. The LPQI project has created significant value at two levels. Firstly, it has created a partnership with a learning system, aimed at furthering the development of users. Secondly, by tackling various problems in the sector, it will result in cost savings for European industry. The learning system is generic and transferable to other sectors with (technical) learning requirements. The material can be accessed via the Internet or through the printed medium. The website is available in Czech, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese. The material – which has the potential to be commercialised and is transferable across the EU – is available in eleven languages and is being widely disseminated. The project reaches over 100,000 users per year, with an average six hits per user. The partnership aims to use the learning environment for a wide variety of topics in electrical energy.

Contract N°: EUR/00/C/F/NT-94432 Country: BELGIUM Date: 2000 Duration: 12/2000 – 05/2004 (42 months) Project co-ordinator European Copper Institute Avenue de Tervueren, 168 B10 B-1150 Brussels Tel: +32 2 777 70 70 - Fax: +32 2 777 70 79 E-mail: [email protected] - Mr Hans De Keulenaer Website: www.lpqi.org Partners Copper Benelux (B), Copper Development Association (UK), Deutsches Kupferinstitut (D), Engineering Consulting and Design - ECD (I), Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ES), Instituto Italiano del Rame - IIR (I), Katolieke Universiteit Leuven (B), Polish Copper Promotion Centre (PL), Saarland University of Applied Science – EMC Laboratory (D) TU Bergamo (I), Wroclaw University of Technology (PL), Hevrox (B). STAND NUMBER 23

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A practical guide for working with alcohol and drug-users AIM Transdrug aimed to develop training needs assessment methods that are easily applicable in various work settings for professionals who deal with problems linked to alcohol and drug abuse. It also sought to produce relevant information to enhance training schemes and content in these areas. Target groups were both professionals in training organisations and those working in the field of substance abuse. The project was carried out by A-Clinic Foundation (Finland) in a partnership with 18 partners from Finland, Slovakia, Italy and the Netherlands. The organisations included training organisations, addiction service providers and associations representing professionals.

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CHALLENGE

RESULTS

Patterns of alcohol and drug abuse as well as methods of intervention are continually changing. As a result, professionals in the health and social services need to update their knowledge and skills on a regular basis. The Transdrug project, a broad-based international partnership, was a response to these challenges. It explored ways of maintaining a practical approach by identifying the training needs of professionals working with drug-users and by tackling the complex phenomenon of substance abuse from an international perspective. The broad-based partnership enabled the project to address training needs related to substance abuse from different fields of practice and to tap into mutually useful knowledge and experience.

The project came up with methods for identifying training needs among professionals, a Trainer’s Tool Kit consisting of case studies and a website. The main product, the tool kit, was published in 2003. Intended as a practical resource, it is available as a book in English, Finnish, Italian and Slovakian and as an electronic publication (CD-Rom) in English, Finnish and Dutch. The tool kit describes needs-assessment situations experienced by workers in the field. Based on needs analysis and a response to real demand, the project has proved directly useful for professionals developing their own training activities. The website is user-friendly and contains, in addition to the tool kit, useful resources about addiction services


and addiction training in partner countries. Parties outside the project who have used the book or the methods have also given positive feedback. Some praised the fact that the information available had relevance throughout Europe. Method development, testing and fine-tuning were carried out at local and regional level by the partner organisations, by trainers and other professionals (the intended end-users). The findings on training needs were bound by time and context and are therefore not directly transferable to another context. However, the overall approach of using needs analysis as a basis for training development, together with the Tool Kit’s working methods, are applicable in other countries and in other health and social services sectors. Dissemination took place through seminars and publications and there has been a considerable demand for the project book. Transdrug was sensitive to differences between partner countries in the nature, definition and management of substance-abuse problems, seeing this as an opportunity for mutual learning. For many of the participant organisations, this project provided an opportunity for professional development, giving access to new information and strengthening enthusiasm for their own work.

Contract N°: FIN/00/B/F/PP-126538 Country: FINLAND Date: 2001 Duration: 01/12/2000 – 31/08/2003 (33 months) Project co-ordinator A-Clinic Foundation Fredrikinkatu 20 B 18 FIN - 00120 Helsinki Tel: +358 9 6220 290 - Fax: +358 9 175 276 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.a-klinikka.fi/transdrug Partners Pirkanmaa Polytechnic (FIN), Tampere Institute of Social Work (FIN), Institute of Health Care, Tampere College (FIN), The Addiction Nursing Network (FIN), The Association of Social Workers in Special Services for Substance Abusers (FIN), Finnish Society for Addiction Medicine (FIN), The Finnish Union of Practical Nurses (FIN), The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (FIN), Local Government Training Ltd. (FIN), Centre for Treatment of Drug Dependencies/Institute on Drug Dependencies (SK), National Association of Therapeutic Communities (SK), Section of Therapeutic Pedagogists, Slovak Chamber of Graduate Medical Professionals (SK), The Association for Addictions of Psychoactive Substances (SK), Local Health Unit N° 18 Rovigo (I) Addiction Treatment Unit No. 1/Local Health Unit no. 16 Padova (I), Addiction Treatment Unit/Local health Unit no. 19 Adria (I), Jellinek/The European Addiction Training Institute (NL). STAND NUMBER 24

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The art of being mobile in the craft sector

Copyright © Anne Schaefer et Claire Santrot

AIM The Smart (Système d’information pour la mobilité transnationale des personnes en formation professionnelle dans les métiers d’art) project’s prime aim was to pave the way for young people to enjoy occupational mobility in crafts, providing them with access to the information they need and establishing a multistakeholder network. The project revolved around a dedicated Internet site, comprising a huge database of information about crafts in Europe. Partners in the project hoped that the site would facilitate contacts between the target groups of companies, training and guidance organisations and individuals, as part of a process of cross-border exchanges. Among the partners in the project were national sector organisations as well as the European Association of Craft, Small and mediumsized Industries (UEAPME).

RESULTS CHALLENGE

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From bookbinding techniques in Italy to metal restoration in France, Europe has a rich heritage of arts and crafts expertise. The challenge today is to provide incentives for cross-border mobility for those who practise these crafts. A further goal is to protect and disseminate skills and unique techniques specific to certain regions of Europe, by aiding the economic survival of certain trades and safeguarding their heritage. Labour-mobility schemes can be highly beneficial, helping to balance the supply and demand in these professions.

The project resulted in a website in English, Italian, Portuguese and French. Moveart, as the site is called, makes use of a continually updated database on the training organisations in Europe for 50 trades and 160 techniques. The choice of partners was initially based on nine crafts in Europe, although the information has been extended to cover the 50 trades included in the database. The partners are important associations in the three countries involved, which has helped with dissemination and development of the website. A ‘mobility assistant’ provides a methodological framework and supporting tools for those individuals, organisations and companies who want to move to or from Italy, Portugal and France.

Furthermore, the pilot version offers information on glass, decorative arts and ceramics in these countries. It also lists the main art and crafts fairs and events in these sectors, European organisations specialised in the support of the craft sector and many links. The site allows users to pose questions interactively. Moreover, it contributes to the aims of the Copenhagen process in promoting mobility, transparency and guidance. Moveart has been widely promoted amongst partner networks (during national events such as France's Journée des métiers and Portugal's Semana dos sete oficios) and in the technical press. Thanks to a major press campaign, the site is widely recognised and more visible. It is now present (through links) on a hundred websites in Europe, and received 45,000 registered visitors up to August 2004. Training organisations and companies are referenced on the website. They can register there or update their details and publish documents, after validation by the administrator. With this innovative technique, information can be disseminated and updated without the need for heavy investments. The French government financed the extension of the database to include the new European Union Member States. The project partners believe the website meets the needs of the targeted end-users and could be strengthened further by a continuous dissemination strategy and broadening of the partnership.

Copyright © Christian Baraja.


Contract N°: F/00/B/F/PP-117135 Country: FRANCE Date: 2000 Duration: 01/12/2000 – 30/11/2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator SEMA – Société d’Encouragement aux métiers d’art Avenue Daumesnil, 23 F – 75012 Paris Tel: +33 1 55 78 85 85 - Fax: +33 1 55 78 86 17 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.moveart.org Partners Union Européenne de l’Artisanat et des petites et moyennes Entreprises (UEAPME) (B), Assemblée permanente des Chambres de Métiers (F), Associazione Artigiani Bergamo (I), Scuola d’Arte Applicata Andrea Fantoni (I), Centre Européen de recherches et de formation aux arts Verriers (F), Programa para a promoção dos oficios e das microempresas Artesanais (P), Centro de formação profissional do Artesanato (P). STAND NUMBER 25

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Accelerating the acquisition of e-commerce expertise AIM The project goal was to introduce an adaptive learning and teaching environment for the use of retail systems (goods management systems) and e-commerce in the retail trade. The partners developed modern training courses for all commercial professions, in the fields of e-commerce and merchandising knowledge (supply chain management). Modules on the use of ICT and e-learning were integrated in the teaching and learning courses. The work was carried out with the active participation of companies and other relevant actors. The Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg für Wirtschaft und Verwaltung Bielefeld (German promoter) collaborated with educational institutes, business institutes and a software consultancy from Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. Advisory bodies from social partners and bodies at national and European level were also involved. The target groups were students and apprentices in retail trade as well as trainers/instructors, teachers and decision-makers.

CHALLENGE

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In the world of business, the use of e-commerce (transactions over the Internet) is increasing and structures in retailing are changing. Businesses need employees with basic commercial training, who are versed in e-commerce and the newly emerging mobile e-business. There is a need for an adaptive learning and teaching environment for the use of retail systems and e-commerce in the retail trade. The European Resye-Co (Retail systems and e-Commerce) project has focused on integration of the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and e-learning in learner-centred teaching in three fields: Business-to Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and mobile commerce (m-Commerce).

RESULTS The project created practical and usable tools such as a CD-Rom, software and a website.. The final results were: - teaching/learning arrangements for the use of retail systems in B2B, B2C and mobile commerce environments, - teaching/learning arrangements for the application of retail systems in the Czech Republic, - software interface for the import and export of data between retails system (Future ERS and Data Becker Webshop pro), - development of an independent European certification concept in cooperation with “Zentralstelle für Berufsbildung im Einzelhandel”.


Through learner-centred teaching and learning arrangements, students and employees learned how to install, integrate and work with systems in the B2B, B2C and m-Commerce learning environments. The project was given a supranational supplementary certificate, which enhanced its European value. The integration of retail systems and e-commerce into existing curricula and training programmes was enhanced in the participating countries. Exchange programmes for students and trainers/teachers were set up. After completion of the project, apprentices from the food-retail sector received joint training within the newly founded European training cooperation with the participation of SPAR AG (Austria) and AVA Marktkauf AG (Germany). The project results are being integrated in a new Leonardo pilot project, TransmobiLE-Mobile Learning in the Retail Trade (20032006), in which learner-centred teaching/learning arrangements for mobile devices are being designed.

Contract N°: D/00/B/F/PP-112106 Country: GERMANY Date: 2000 Duration: 01/12/2000 – 31/03/2003 (28 months) Project co-ordinator Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg für Wirtschaft und Verwaltung der Stadt Bielefeld Bleichstrasse 12 D-33607 Bielefeld Tel: +49 521 136 68 40 - Fax: +49 521 136 68 42 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.resye-co.org, www.transmobile.info Partners Spar Wörgl AG (A), Futura Retail Solution AG (D), Landesberufsschule Bruneck (I), Obchodní akademie v Plznen (CZ). STAND NUMBER 5

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A step in the right direction for waste-industry trainees AIM

CHALLENGE

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The recycling sector is undergoing rapid changes in Europe, but it lacks any established initial vocational training. Most training measures address ‘end-of-the-pipe’ strategies: the concentration on pollution treatment, when pollution is already in the environment. There are few qualification measures specifically for recycling and those that exist focus on waste training and not on the needed training for ‘closed-loop thinking and acting’. Moreover, the majority of post-initial training programmes concentrate on managers, while training activities for unskilled workers are not available. So companies in the recycling sector get their workforce from other occupational fields or organise on-the-job training.

The RecyOccupation project wanted to develop concepts for an initial vocational training in the dynamic recycling sector, in order to make the sector professional. The intention was to produce research papers and sector reviews, carried out in the partner countries and covering occupational and qualification issues. The conclusions were to used to develop an European occupational core profile and a core curriculum for the sector as well as a framework concept for environmental technological occupations at the European level. The promoter was biat- Berufsbildungsinstitut Arbeit und Technik, University of Flensburg, an institute for VET (Vocational Education and Training) teachers and vocational educationalists studies and VET research in Germany. BIAT cooperated with other VET research and training institutions and VET schools in the United Kingdom, Greece and Spain. An advisory board consisting of European social partners – trade associations, trade unions and representatives of enterprises – supported the project activities. The target group consisted of unskilled workers, including those with minimal qualifications, in the waste-management and environmental-protection industry.

RESULTS The main outcome of the project was the ECO-recycler, an occupational profile for the closed-loop and waste sector. The issues addressed in this product are of current concern and reaffirm the need to develop educational and training standards within the industry among European Union member states. This complete concept of an occupational group in the field of environmental


technology is innovative, as is the establishment of personnel development measures to support the professionalisation of the sector. The ‘core occupational profile’ is sufficient to overcome any qualification deficiencies at the skilled-worker level. The core profile can also be adapted to address missing qualifications among unskilled workers in the closed-loop and waste economy in the long term. Thanks to the focus on work processes, the curriculum can also be easily integrated into different vocational educational systems in Europe without loss of quality. Furthermore, a framework concept for jobs in environmental technology was generated, which further supports the sustainable development of the environmental economy. The added value appears in the creation of a European occupational core profile and in the integration of European environmental priorities in vocational training measures. Throughout the three-year project, developments and results were widely disseminated in speeches and workshops, articles, publications of project developments, flyers and informational brochures, as well as during the final conference and through Internet publications.

Contract N°: D/00/B/F/PP-112149 Country: GERMANY Date: 2000 Duration: 12/2000 – 11/2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator biat - Berufsbildungsinstitut Arbeit und Technik University of Flensburg Auf dem Campus 1 D - 24943 Flensburg Tel: +49 461 805 2162 - Fax: +49 461 805 2151 - Prof. Dr. Georg Spöttl M.A. E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.recyoccupation.eu.tc Partners Bibb – Bundestinstitut für Berufsbildung (D), bvse – Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V. (D), Coleg Morgannwg (UK), ict – Institut Català de Tecnologia (ES), OEEK – Organization for Vocational Education and Training (GR). STAND NUMBER 26

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Increasing risk management decreases costs in healthcare AIM The Management of Risks and Practices in Healthcare (MORPH) project aimed to identify trends and practices in healthcare institutions and to increase awareness of risk management among practitioners and professionals across Europe. The partnership comprised three European Union (EU) countries (IRL, the promoter, the UK and Poland) and the associated country Bulgaria. In Ireland and the UK, the demand for development in this area is already high. In Bulgaria and Poland recent health reforms are relatively new.

RESULTS CHALLENGE

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Recent figures released by the Irish Department of Health & Children show that there is a continuing increase in the cost of medical indemnity for medium to high-risk medical practitioners. According to the same Department, the reduction of indemnity costs requires action to lessen the number of adverse incidents, which give rise to claims. The absence of risk management and medico-legal protocols and procedures result in costly lawsuits that stretch scarce resources and place a huge strain on both healthcare professionals and patients. The challenge of this project is to increase the awareness of protocols and procedures among professionals in the area of healthcare and clinical risk management.

In order to equip practitioners and professionals involved in healthcare with the necessary basic risk-management skills, the following products were developed: - an edited book with country-specific reviews, transnational results from a survey and effective-practice case studies available in hardback and paperback; - an interactive CD-Rom comprising an e-learning tool and video interviews; - a multilingual website and discussion forum; - a DVD video documentary on clinical risk management; - information leaflets. These products are innovative in the sector of medical training models and can be replicated across all European states. They offer new solutions through the use of new technologies. The CDRom is interactive and visually attractive. The products respond to


a documented demand, as indicated by the result of a two-year study about healthcare systems in Europe. The contents and methods are focused on implementing best practice training and can easily be adapted and transferred to different contexts and different training systems. The produced material is presented in a user-friendly way and shows the usefulness of learning in the workplace and through cooperation among different systems in Europe. It is designed in a way that everyone can both learn and be more informed about the subject. The interdisciplinary approach of vocational training, collaboration between private enterprise and public sector health providers is also innovative and together with research the project provides new knowledge in a growing field and in an area that has remained one of the greatest national priorities in each country The commercial value of the products has been established in a variety of forms. All products will be retailed.

Contract N°: IRL/01/B/F/PP-119211 Country: IRELAND Date: 2001 Duration: 01/12/2001 - 30/11/2003 (24 months) Project co-ordinator Interesource Group (Ireland) Limited 48 South William Street. IRL-2-Dublin Tel: +353 1 6771957 - Fax: +353 1 6771329 E-mail: [email protected] - Mr Haaris Sheikh – Managing Director Website: www.morphproject.com, www.interesourcegroup.com Partners Division of Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University College Dublin (IRL), The Department of Medical Physics, University of Dundee (UK), Foundation for Promotion of Entrepreneurship (FPE), Lodz (PL), The Health Care Association (BG). STAND NUMBER 31

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Increasing PC literacy among the people with vision impairments This project increases computer literacy among people with vision impairments, particularly those over the age of 35.

AIM

CHALLENGE

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There is little doubt that as far as employability is concerned, older people – those aged over 35 – are being left behind by the information technology (IT) revolution. Computer literacy is today almost as essential as ordinary literacy and numeracy skills. The majority of older blind and partially sighted people do not have access to IT. This limits their participation in social, cultural and economic life. Barriers to the use of IT among this age group have been identified and include negative attitudes to IT, IT literacy, language and computer jargon, economic, social and cultural differences, income, self-confidence, lack of knowledge, fear of the unknown and lack of training opportunities. Training programmes for older people appear to be more successful when they are tailor-made for that particular audience.

The EATT course’s initial goal was to motivate participants, to show the students that they can communicate using a personal computer despite vision impairment. The end goal of the IT course was to enable participants to work independently and take on further IT training in a mainstream setting, such as the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). The aim of the project’s Good Practice Guide was to provide mainstream IT-training providers with information to make their courses accessible to people with vision impairments and to encourage them to actively promote their courses to the target group. The promoter was the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, in cooperation with other regional and national councils for the blind in four other European countries (Denmark, France, Italy and the UK).

RESULTS Among the main results of the project was a new IT training course and a Good Practice Guide. Both sprang from research in the first phase of the project, undertaken in the five partner countries, to look at the IT needs of the target group. Questions asked include why don't they use PCs? And how can we encourage them to use PCs? The project also looked at the availability, accessibility, uptake and use of IT training courses, including the ECDL, in partner countries and researched existing initiatives


concerning their accessibility for people with vision impairments. The Introductory Training Programme was a response to identified needs. The project designed a specialist introductory package to encourage IT literacy, with the aim of encouraging older blind and vision impaired people to undertake the ECDL qualification or some equivalent IT course. The Good Practice Guide developed by the partners helps IT-training service providers to ensure their courses are accessible and to actively encourage applications from people with vision impairments. All information gathered on the accessibility of current IT training courses was made available to the target group. The project products are available in English, French, Italian and Danish. All the material is published electronically and available on the project website (accessible in both HTML and PDF). The partnership has copyright, but all the material is free and in the public domain. The course has been introduced to organisations outside the partner countries and may well be translated into other European languages.

Contract N°: IRL/00/B/F/PP-119212 Country: IRELAND Date: 2000 Duration: 01/12/2000 - 31/03/2004 (40 months) Project co-ordinator National Council for the Blind of Ireland 45A Whitworth Road, Drumcondra IRL-9 Dublin Tel: +353 1 830 70 33 - Fax: +353 1 830 77 87 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Website: www.eatt.org Partners Århus AMT-County. Resource Centre for Visually Impaired (DK), I.Ri.Fo.R. - Istituto per la Ricerca, la Formazione e la Riabilitazione (I), Royal National Institute of the Blind, Scotland (UK), SIADV (F). STAND NUMBER 10

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The sound of music echoes in vocational training AIM

CHALLENGE

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Self-produced music – using a computer and specific software is booming. Many of the people involved in making this music would like to sharpen their skills and work more professionally. Which is why those involved in this sector are eager to define training models based on the use of the Internet. One way to do this would be to create network distance-training courses based at a specific website. The Musinet project looked at ways of helping those who make their own music with computers and those who teach these skills. The initiative took inspiration from the fact that electronic music can be a force for good in society, motivating young people to express themselves and collaborate with others. The project succeeded in its mission by using a harmonious combination of new technology in music, learning strategies and the development of core skills. The project was open to society as a whole, but the consortium focused on reaching young people.

The aim of the Musinet project was to promote skills and abilities in self-produced music, particularly among young people in the early stages of vocational training, and to facilitate professional and social integration. The main goal was to analyse the status and challenges of selfproduced music in Europe today, specifically through a comparison of what is happening in Italy, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom. Musinet was led by the ‘Attilio Deffenu’ Istituto Tecnico Commerciale (the Italian promoter) with research institutes, educational institutes, university and social and training institutes for immigrants from the four countries involved.

RESULTS By the end of the project, the partners had produced: - a dedicated Internet portal in English and Italian, including an on-line training area; - a training model and related self-training modules in English, Italian, Spanish and French; - a database of tools and sounds; - a model of a collaborative working area, where self-produced music projects can be stored, listened to and exchanged; - a report with all the phases of the realisation of the project; - a school network of 25 Italian MusicLabs linked to the Musicnet portal. Musinet has created a (virtual) learning environment which makes use of specific professional software (such as Reason, Fruity


Loops and Cubase) and a database of raw and prepared tools and sound materials which were the result of research into musical production across the European Union. The concept is based on creativity and fun in the learning process. The module structure allows for immediate feedback, enabling users to track their progress. The Musinet training model was developed by a large user group, composed of experts, people who work in the music sector and others who enjoy making music. Expected end-users include training institutions and private schools. The learning process is built around both simple and complex learning modules (available on CD-Rom and hard copy) and provides a flexible learning structure. Users also learn about the basics of music-making technology, including software and hardware. The content, which can be modified and updated according to learners’ needs, is sufficiently diverse to guarantee flexibility and transferability. For example, the model could be transferred to other educational areas, among them human and scientific fields. The software and graphics resulting from the project may have applications in other areas of multimedia production. Project partners also believe their model could be harnessed as an instrument to fight social and cultural exclusion, by bringing together individuals and groups of enthusiastic music-makers and trainers through less traditional, more informal (e.g. on-line) education. Dissemination activities carried out under the project have involved all partners (in Italy, Spain, Belgium and UK), including seminars, conferences and presentation of the training module at music trade fairs and festivals. The partners have continued these activities since the initiative officially ended.

Contract N°: I/01/B/F/PP-120108 Country: ITALY Date: 2001 Duration: 12/2001 – 04/2004 (30 months) Project co-ordinator I.T.C.G ‘A Deffenu’ Olbia (Istituto Tecnico Commerciale Attilio Deffenu di Olbia) Via Vicenza, snc I-07026 Olbia Tel: +39 0789 66936 / 66516 - Fax: +39 0789 642352 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.e-musicnet.net Partners Ninja Tune (UK), Fundacio’ Bosh I Gimpera - FBG - Univerisity of Barcelona (ES), sireas (B) MM&T - Fondazione Musica, Musicisti & Tecnologie (I), SCIENTER (I), O.P.T.M.I. - Promotion and safeguard of independent music organisation (I), Universita Degli Studi di Roma - Roma III (I). STAND NUMBER 21

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Boosting local economies by focusing on key competencies AIM The SOLCO project focused on supporting government and local authority staff in the development of public-training policy for the local economy, particularly for SMEs. The goal was to develop a model survey on key management skills and to introduce a range of methods and instruments to support managementtraining needs within SMEs. The project identified and measured 'horizontal' expertise and key skills and defined managementtraining needs within three industrial sectors: fishing, textiles manufacture, and computer and related activities. The target group for the project included public-training and policy-development staff, industry associations and those responsible for liaison with educational and training institutions such as universities, research offices and vocational training centres. The consortium consisted of an Italian promoter and universities, educational institutes and consultants from the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium and Italy.

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CHALLENGE

RESULTS

Improving managerial skills is considered a key element for the growth of an economy – especially in the European Union, where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are so important. Local development is highly dependent on the work of SME managers and entrepreneurs, as well as dialogue between the business community, institutional decision-makers and trade unions.

The main fruit of more than three years’ work came in the form of a manual, in print and electronic versions (Italian and English). This manual covers the managerial skills identified in SMEs and micro-enterprises, both industry-specific and general, together with the model and instruments used to identify such skills and analyse training needs.


Both the on-line manual and analysis model are easy to use and can be managed as working tools. The manual, as a repertory of management skills in SMEs, can help to identify and describe skills which bring together knowledge, capabilities and motivation. The model provides the user with an instrument to help in the identification of company processes and development strategies, correlated skills required by companies/networks of companies, and ways to provide and develop such skills. Key skills were identified in the following sectors: - the pleasure-boat industrial district in the Viareggio area (Italy) - the plant engineering industry in Campania (Italy) - the SMEs cluster in the software/IT industry in the Birmingham area (UK) - the traditional anchovy industrial district in Cantabria (Spain) - the SMEs cluster in high-technology industries (logistics, communication, finance, information services, biomedical) in Canton Ticino (Switzerland). The project’s products could be transferred into existing training systems and help other target groups, among them managers and decision-makers, to plan their strategies and promote the growth of SMEs in a local economy.

Contract N°: I/01/B/F/PP-120532 Country: ITALY Date: 2001 Duration: 12/2001- 12/2003 (24 months) Project co-ordinator RSO SpA - Societa Di Consulenza e Formazione Via Leopardi 1 I-20123 Milano Tel: +39 02 724011 - Fax: +39 02 72401205 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.solco-project.it Partners University of Central England in Birmingham, Enterprise Research and Development Group (UK), PGP Consultores (ES), Federazione Formazione e Ricerca - Cgil Nazionale (I), Etuco (B), Universita degli Studi di Napoli; Dipartimento di Ingegneria Economico Gestionale(I), Fondazione ECAP (SW) silent partner. STAND NUMBER 14

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Recreating the biomedical and mechanical world in virtual 3D models AIM The Web-based learning and training Engineering Biomedical Design (WEBD) project proposed distance learning and training for high-skill professional profiles. The goal was to harness interactive 3D graphic and Web3D virtual reality tools, while also taking full advantage of both the scientific background and teaching experience of the European partners in the project. The primary aim of the WEBD project was the creation of a platform-independent prototype, to illustrate the three-dimensional interactive virtual worlds linked with the Internet. In this way, biomedical and design technicians and engineering students can be trained to understand and use various tools, equipment and products by simulations and multimedia without the cost of expensive machines and materials.

CHALLENGE

36

Biomedical engineering and design engineering, researchers and technicians require appropriate underpinning knowledge and the development of skills and competence through laboratory and workshop practice. However, the European Union’s traditional learning infrastructures cannot completely meet their continuous vocational training needs. Indeed, some of them – especially young people, the elderly and the disabled – are already at a disadvantage when it comes to competing in the labour market. New tools and technologies can help to meet this unsatisfied demand for qualifying lifelong learning and distance training.

The consortium partners from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece and Romania were selected to complement each other in the roles of research partner, technology design or learning material design and testing.

RESULTS The project provided training modules for the following end-users: - Educators, trainers and students in all educational levels and organisations, - Companies of any size in the mechanical, biomedical and automotive sector, - Technicians, organisations and companies in the healthcare


sector and the biomedical equipment production sector, - Educational software and platform designers and publishers. The main results were e-learning websites (Spain, Italy and Romania) and a CD-Rom version, with two levels and interactive models (1,200 models have been developed). Four types of material have been added to the websites: textual educational, 2D graphics, 3D interactive Web3D models and tests in order to allow the user to access the advanced modules. The WEBD system enables the use of advanced distance-learning technologies to provide professional education for biomedical and design engineers using 3D graphic and virtual-reality tools. Using WEB3D technology, instructors can quickly and easily create and publish live web pages with 3D interactive content in the form of drawing exercises. This is very innovative because students can now view, rotate and zoom 3D models without manually downloading or installing any additional viewers or CAD software. The technology is easy to use and access on the Internet. The new tool has been tested in the participating countries by a selected pilot centre, resulting in an increased interest and awareness in training activities in the mechanical and biomedical areas. This way of training has positively impacted the development and production of biomedical equipment, software, artificial organs and prosthesis, as well as the technological support for commercial activities. It has also changed the way that public and private healthcare organisations technically manage biomedical systems and equipment. The WEBD technology could also be disseminated to other sectors. It could be used by the automotive industry for health and safety staff training and the simulation of maintenance, assembly and disassembly operations. The technology could be used in worksafety applications, to simulate hazardous situations and for staff safety training. Other potential applications include the training of archaeologists and collaborative design.

Contract N°: I/00/B/F/PP-120758 Country: ITALY Date: 2000 Duration: 12/ 2000 – 11/ 2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento di Sistemi Di Produzione e di Economia dell'Azienda 24 Corso Duca Abruzzi I-10129 Torino Tel: +39 011 563 72 74 - Fax: +39 011 564 72 74 E-mail: [email protected] - Prof. Stefano Tornincasa Website: http://webd.polito.it/leonardo/ Training site: www.webd.etsii.upm.es/ Partners Autodesk Training Center (RO), Hellenic Aerospace industry (GR), Università di Torino - Dip. di Discipline Medico (I), Iveco S.p.a. (I), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (ES), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (B), TEIP-Technological Education Institute of Piraeus (GR), Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie "Gr. T. Popa" - Facultatea de Bioinginerie medicala (RO). STAND NUMBER 6

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Naval officers and fishermen ride the crest of a new wave AIM

CHALLENGE

38

The maritime sector is suffering from a severe shortage of manpower worldwide. The situation is alarming when one considers the mismatch between the current manning requirements and the availability of qualified civil seamen. But given the age structure of seamen presently on the labour market, with many approaching the end of their career, this situation appears to be even more critical. Addressing this problem was the European project ‘Re-training and integration of officers of the navy and the deep-sea fishing fleet transferred to reserve or laid off’ (CIVILPROFNAVY). It aimed to help and reintegrate disadvantaged naval or fishing officers into the competitive international sea-going labour market, calling on their extensive expertise to meet the needs of international commercial shipping.

The project sought to teach relevant management skills and to train applicants in specific objectives, bridging the current gap between what is required and what is available in terms of merchant seamen’s qualifications and experience. The project was designed also to re-socialise groups that are often discriminated against, while reinvigorating their personal and professional motivation. Target groups were employed and unemployed naval officers and those working in deep-sea fishing. The project involved a partnership brought together by promoter SULTE, with organisations and companies in Latvia, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Ukraine and Russia. Types of partners ranged from social partners to governmental bodies, from SMEs to large enterprises, as well as two public scientific institutions.

RESULTS The initiative’s re-training and integration comprised shore-based classes as well as structured and practical on-board familiarisation phases. The whole project was set up to develop training measures which will bring candidates up to the mandatory qualification level required by the international STCW Convention (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, as revised in 1995). These are today’s worldwide minimum applicable standards for the operation of vessels, in terms of training and competence in watchkeeping (periods when crew are on duty and look out for dangers to their vessel).


All of the attendees following the vocational training developed by the project were issued with an internationally accepted International Maritime Organisation (IMO)-approved certificate of competency as a nautical or technical officer. In addition to theoretical knowledge, the project paid special attention to practical skills training. For example, a major component of the programme is improving English-language abilities. Attending seaman qualified in this way have underlined their new employability through new appointments on modern managed/operated commercial ships. The target groups have benefited through their improved personal skills, the fact they are well matched to the economic situation, their managerial abilities, environmental awareness and qualityassurance expertise. They have experienced the European and international dimension of the maritime industry. The products developed under this project are a website, online and printed material – all well adapted to the needs of specific target groups. The training material is interactive and can be used individually or integrated in existing systems. Results and outcomes of this project can be transferred to and adopted by other sectors outside merchant shipping, such as aviation, or by other European regions. There are lessons too for other industries in how training providers and employers can work more closely together to achieve common aims. The innovative nature of the project in retraining and manning for the maritime sector was given recognition in March 2004, when the partners received an industry award in Latvia.

Contract N°: LV/01/B/F/PP-138000 Country: LATVIA Date: 2001 Duration: 12/2001 – 09/2003 (22 months) Project co-ordinator SULTE Group Recruiting and Shipping Office Brivibas Street 103-1 LV-1001 Riga Tel: +371 7 501360 - Fax: +371 7 501359 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.new-career.org Partners Latvian Maritime Academy (LV), Latvijas Union for SeafarersTirdzniecibas Flotes Jurnieku Arodbiedriba (LTFJA) (LV), Schiffarhrtsinstitut an der Hochschule Wismar (D), Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (D), Hanseatic Shipping CO LTD (CY), Marine Information LTD (UK), MSG Marine Service from Hamburg (D). STAND NUMBER 27

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E-learning to upgrade skills in small and medium-sized enterprises quality of training in this sector. The consortium consisted of the Kaunas Distance Education Centre at Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania) in cooperation with other education centres, businesses and consultancies in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden Scotland, and Switzerland.

AIM The project aimed to develop a package of online individual courses and training material to help SMEs upgrade their qualifications in using new IT in business. The project’s main target groups were entrepreneurs, managers and supervisors of SMEs, individuals (those interested in starting a business, and/or personal development) and teachers wishing to introduce new courses and a new training method.

CHALLENGE

40

Businesses often need help acquiring the basic knowledge and skills for using information technology (IT). In the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector especially, there is a need for IT-based learning material to overcome the time restrictions associated with conventional courses. This problem is even more acute in the new European Union member states, due to their fast-changing economies. The IT-Academy: e-Learning for SMEs project integrates these courses and their new Internet technologies and web-based distance education methods as well as technological standards in the traditional VET system in the Baltic States. This project is therefore of great benefit to all SME s and contributes to the

RESULTS Under the project, a package of six on-line courses was developed for employers and employees of SMEs. This package is available on the Internet and on CD-Rom. All six courses are available in different languages, with 11 versions in total. The modules are: Information Literacy for SMEs, Use of IT in Management of Human Resources, IT in Management and Business Administration of SME s, Self-Marketing through IT, Computer-based Project Management and IT Networks. Users of the modules are invited to complete a quality-assurance questionnaire before and after studying each module; this ensures continuous feedback on the developed results.


Additional products include English-language video material (Video CD and VHS formats with titles in five languages) and the methodological guidebook (printed version in English and Lithuanian) ‘Office ergonomics’. Furthermore, the consortium has developed a common platform and forum for SMEs to exchange ideas, information on areas of innovation and ways of accessing information via other SMEs by means of a ‘Marketing area’, as well as an SME database and the ability to do partner searches. Most of the information materials – such as course dissemination leaflets, project leaflet and poster, and the project booklet – were developed in English and national languages. To study the courses and take part in the Marketing area, users must register with the website. Representatives of the target group (potential end-users and relevant stakeholders at the national levels) participated in the development phase, piloting the outcomes in all partner countries and in the evaluation phase. This participation made the outcomes more practical and resulted in a user-friendly environment and relevant subject matter in the training packages. The use of new Internet technologies and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has made the product highly transferable to other training systems and programmes. The partnership has signed a commercialisation agreement for five years. The demand and interest in the course package are rapidly increasing. The English version of the course in particular has the potential for widespread distribution.

Contract N°: LT/01/B/F/PP-137006 Country: LITHUANIA Date: 2001 Duration: 01/11/2001 - 30/04/2004 (30 months) Project co-ordinator Distance Education Centre at Kaunas University of Technology Studentu 48a-308 LT-51367 Kaunas Tel: +370 37 300612 - Fax: +370 37 300614 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.smelearning.net Partners Alytus College (LT), Business Competence Centre at Kaunas University of Technology (LT), Distance Education Centre of Latvia (LV), Enterprise Estonia, Business and Living Environment Division (EE), Forum Balticum (SE), Nova Distance (SE), Scottsu Consultants, Ltd (UK), Swiss Occidental Leonardo (CH). STAND NUMBER 4

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Greening the curriculum to create a greener Europe terns of production and consumption. The Curriculum greening Europe project focused on environmental education in technical and vocational education. The initiative which took its inspiration from recent efforts in the Netherlands to emphasise green issues and environmental responsibility in all forms of vocational education – succeeded in comparing EE in various European countries. It also highlighted the most appropriate EE teaching tools and methods, as well as the best approaches and activities for a wide range of educational institutions.

AIM

CHALLENGE

42

Contemporary technology can be both a burden and a blessing. When used wrongly or irresponsibly, it may contribute to the depletion of natural resources or result in pollution and environmental degradation. However, technology can also be harnessed for dealing with environmental problems – for everything from cleaning up oil spills to reducing the air pollutants released into the atmosphere. One way to tackle today’s environmental challenges is to cultivate an individual ecological awareness, through Environmental Education (EE). It is hoped that this education will eventually result in a new system of social values, changing society’s pat-

The over-arching goal was to equip trainees – especially technologists who play key roles in managing society’s exploitation of natural resources – for a productive and sustainable future career. More specifically, the project sought to harmonise uniformly high environmental education in vocational training Europe-wide, by ‘greening’ the curriculum of every module or subject taught in schools and colleges. This would involve a comparison of today’s environmental education in various European countries as well as the development and testing of the best educational tools in this area. The project consortium consisted of the Dutch promoter, Koning Willem I College, with a network of VET (vocational education and training) colleges and national bodies in Europe (United Kingdom, Greece, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain). The target group of professionals included vocational advisors, vocational training policy-makers/decision-makers and more generally VET schools eager to promote environmental education in vocational training.


RESULTS Useful products that came out of this project include a CD-Rom (consisting of an analysis of the provisional material) and a website featuring good examples of curricula, ways of implementing these curricula and systematic information about the present state of EE in different countries. The materials developed cover not only the contents of EE in the curriculum but also the integration of EE into the policy of schools. Moreover, the translation of the original Dutch material into English, German and Romanian has made the results accessible to a far wider audience. Among the examples of curricula judged to be useful for environmental education are lessons on the environment and electrotechnical engineering in the Netherlands, solar cell technology in Germany, and eco-friendly housing in the UK. The latter, for example, introduces students to ecology and various related concepts, explains what is meant by ecologically friendly building materials and standards, before encouraging students to assess a building of their own choice from a number of different viewpoints. The project participants underlined that although Europe has diverse forms of trade and industry, basic common principles can still be applied to all training courses to ensure a greener outcome. Thanks to the examples of best practice that they selected and the EE materials they identified, a network of colleges involved in the project were able to actively debate what it means to make training more sustainable and to put principles into practice in their own courses. The team also translated and tested best practice from countries not part of the project, developing an auditing model for training bodies and courses. The potential for dissemination of the project results will continue as long as the network that arose from the project exists. The next big challenge, according to the consortium, is to create a vision of European sustainability.

Contract N°: NL/00/B/F/PP-123033 Country: THE NETHERLANDS Date: 2001 Duration: 01/2001 – 12/2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator Koning Willem I College P.O. Box 122 NL-5201 AC ’s - Hertogenbosch Tel: +31 73 6249919 - Fax: +31 73 6230097 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.duurzaammbo.nl Partners TEI (GR), Lewisham College (UK), Life Oekotechnisches Bildungsgzentrum (D), Hyvinkaan-riihimaen Aikuiskoulutuskeskus (F), Enviro-net (NL), STOAS (NL), Industrial Educational Group for Construction (RO), Confederation Espanola Centros de Ensenanza (ES). STAND NUMBER 18

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Giving credit for accumulated knowledge and skills benefits everyone as enterprises and society. The project addresses difficulties encountered due to the increasing turnover and mobility (both professional and trans-frontier) of personnel in the electro-technical industry. The project should make it easier to guide foreign immigrants quickly into productive working lives.

AIM

CHALLENGE

44

Unemployment is the main source of poverty and social exclusion in almost every European country. Moreover, immigration between countries is very much on the increase. For both these reasons, Europe has a growing need to document people’s qualifications across borders. The AKS (Accumulated Knowledge and Skills) project brought together experts from five countries to develop ways of documenting and assessing accumulated knowledge and skills. In other words, the kind of learning acquired outside of formal training and education institutions and systems by means of a panEuropean method and assessment tool. It therefore gives credit to the indispensable role of this knowledge - for individuals as well

In general terms, the objective of the project was to increase the visibility of learning that takes place outside of formal training and education institutions and systems. Enhanced visibility for this learning is expected to benefit everyone. The awarding of credit to non-formal training would help individuals to access formal training more easily, while improving their job prospects. For enterprises, this credit would make it easier to find urgently needed staff and to implement knowledge-management strategies. Society too would reap the rewards, because skills could be transferred more smoothly between different spheres (such as education, work and the home) and the allocation of resources could be improved. The project focused on developing a methodology to help document and assess accumulated knowledge and skills for existing and potential employees in the electro-technical sector from any European country. The project consortium consisted of the promoter, the Norwegian Electro-technical Research and Development Centre (ELBUS) and national bodies, sectoral associations and vocational training centres from Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom, Norway, and Greece. Target groups were employees and managers/directors of human


resources in the electro-technical industry.

RESULTS The project consortium developed a pan-European methodology that will enable electro-technical or other enterprises to document and assess accumulated knowledge and skills for an employee or potential employee. This methodology is explained in a handbook, and is supported by a web/electronic-based tool to aid the process of identifying and objectively assessing an individual's accumulated knowledge and skills. The project’s documentation procedure and associated tool were tested in several different European electro-technical pilot companies. All five partner country languages are present in both the methodology and the tool. The latter helps the individual to record his/her own experience and skills. Record here means that the individual will, in a systematic manner, register his/her personal details, qualifications, social skills (family life, social activities, interests), environment and local community, professional skills, and any wishes or future intentions related to their interests or work. A three-part CV is be used for this, covering personal details, professional skills, and general skills. To aid this development dialogue between employer and individual, the project developed an 'Ability to take action' questionnaire. The mapping tool is web-based whilst the CV and the ‘Ability to take action’ forms are available electronically through the AKS website for those who have passwords for the main mapping tool. The project meets a real demand in the electro-technical sector. Both the AKS process and the method in general are transferable and adaptable to related industries and to other organisations. Such a transfer would only require a small adjustment to the web tool. There is a distinct possibility of making the AKS process, the method and the web-based tool and supported tools (questionnaire and CV) commercially available.

Contract N°: N/02/B/F/PP-131005 Country: NORWAY Date: 2002 Duration: 12/2002 – 11/2004 (24 months) Project co-ordinator ELBUS – The Norwegian Electro-technical Research and Development Centre Forskningsveien 3 - PB 23 Blindern N-0313 Oslo Tel: +47 22 955650 - Fax: +47 22 605006 E-mail: [email protected] - Mr Svein Harald Larsen, Project Manager Website: http://komptest.prodoc.no – www.aks-international.com Partners Den Jydske Haanverker skolen, Teknisk Akademi (DK) JT Limited (UK), Elektro Technical Training Council (N), Sivitanidios Vocational Training Centre (GR), Svenska Elektrikerförbundet (SW). STAND NUMBER 19

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ICT-learning for E-Government and E-Business in your own time and in your own way AIM

CHALLENGE

46

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play an increasing role in the working lives of European citizens. Knowledge of, and access to, these technologies are becoming essential for employees, trainers and designers of training programmes. The E-study Platform project focused on both the public and business sectors. Its overall aim was to integrate innovative methodology and organisation of the educational process with modern content and ICT-support tools. The E-study Platform has improved the quality of, and access to, continuing vocational training and the lifelong acquisition of skills and aptitude for employees in both these sectors. It enables users to improve qualifications in two specific areas (public and business sectors) in a continuous way, by adjusting the speed of teaching and learning and tailoring them to the users’ needs and ambitions.

The project sought to develop an electronic study platform for the field of e-government and e-business. It was to be tailored to and adjusted to learners’ needs, with content focused on the application of ICT, based on an on-line ASP (Application Service Provider) system and the use of educational methodology based on various models and techniques. The project was carried out by the Polish Academy of Humanities and Economics in Lodz (promoter) in a consortium with research and training institutes, and consulting organisations and enterprise bodies in Greece, Luxembourg, Cyprus, the United Kingdom and Finland. Target groups were employees, trainers, designers and managers of training programmes and more specifically end-users such as junior and senior business executives and civil servants and all potential partners of the project partners’ institutions.

RESULTS The final product is the E-Study Platform. This a system (organisational structure) combining three components: innovative methodology and organisation of educational processes, up-to-date content of study in e-government and e-business courses, and ICT-support tools. This E-Study Platform contributed to the continuous development of professionally active upper-management personnel in the public and business sectors, particularly with regard to the use of ICT applications.


The project also developed two courses: E-Business for junior and senior business executives, and E-Government for municipal and other civil servants and all potential partners of those institutions. The courses are offered through the learning platform. The courses’ content issues includes the Internet, e-business, telejobs, web technologies, European programmes and funds, and trade. Course material is available in English. Together, the forum and chat discussions, the practical assignments, the simulations and demos and tests (all part of e-learning) have resulted in an attractive pedagogical approach. The tutor plays an important role in the interactivity and creativity of the learner, supporting the active and interactive learning. This study platform enables the learner to develop his own learning pathway at his own speed. The product and the courses meet users’ real needs. The E-study Platform is in the form of a website (login: user; password: user); it is also available as software on a CD-Rom accompanied by printed manuals which act as an introductory guide for users. Course material is available in the English language. Because e-learning has a lasting effect, sustainability is guaranteed . This material should be easily transferable to other countries, possibly in other languages. The project has a European dimension, reinforced by the partnership and the European module in each of the two courses. This example of good practice in e-learning has been applied to two concrete areas – e-business and e-learning – with an active and creative pedagogical approach.

Contract N°: PL/02/B/F/PP-140069 Country: POLAND Date: 2002 Duration: 01/11/2002 – 31/01/2004 (15 months) Project co-ordinator The Academy of Humanities and Economics in Lodz Rewolucji 1905R 52-64 PL-90-222 Lodz Tel: +48 42 6315832 - Fax: +48 42 6315032 E-mail: [email protected] Website www.estudy.ahe.edu.pl Marketing site and www.estudy.tc.pl Technical portal (username: estudy, password:estudyldv) www.e2study.net (E-study platform) - login: user; password: user Partners Atlantis Consulting SA (GR), Etudes et Formation SA (L), Mitsingas RTI Cyprus (CY), OPW Doskomp LTD (PL), JL Enterprises (UK), Visiolink OY (FIN), Swiss Occidental Leonardo (SW) silent partner. STAND NUMBER 3

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A better start in clinical training improves healthcare procedures. Therefore, while respecting the diversity of different institutional contexts, the challenge of the “Mandatory Training Programme: Guidelines to a New Approach” project was to enhance the efficiency of clinical training, thus reducing the gap between pre-graduate teaching and professional practice. Partners in the project believe that the development of common guidelines for clinical training throughout the European Union (EU) would be very helpful and broadly welcomed.

AIM

CHALLENGE

48

Students attending postgraduate medical schools in Europe are on a steep learning curve. Recent research suggests that clinical training in the pre-registration year, for which there is a high demand, needs to be improved. One of the main reasons is that those who practise medicine require a high level of personal involvement and autonomy – which they apparently do not fully acquire during the basic, pre-clinical and clinical cycle of medical study. Particular problems noted include insufficient training in performance, attitude and skills, as well as decision-making and clinical reasoning, social behaviour and integration in multidisciplinary medical teams, and insecurity about common medical

The Mandatory Clinical Training project sought to agree on common guidelines for training tutors and students who have passed their pre-clinical studies and have completed their fifth-year clinical studies. In tackling failures in initial medical training, it aimed to promote the appropriate skills that bring greater security and self-confidence to the trainees while helping tutors and staff in charge of such training. Moreover the project wanted to help students to become more responsible and more capable of continuous self-assessment, preparing them for life-long learning. It also aimed to define guidelines which would facilitate mobility throughout the EU work market. All this was to be done while respecting diversity, in order to create a common framework and improve the different models of clinical training periods and also to overcome structural obstacles between partners. The project’s educational focus, to support changes in the training process, was on the following seven key points: - to establish an educational agreement before the training period


- to plan/schedule the training - to give systematic feedback - to use clinical cases as a learning tool - to teach performing skills step by step - to assess students based on explicit criteria - to implement a logbook reflecting the previous points. The specific aims were to structure the pre-registration year (sixth year), to define a training programme for tutors, to provide guidelines for the logbook (written document) and to implement a pilot programme for trainees and tutors. The partnership consisted of universities from Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary.

RESULTS The implementation of a pilot training programme for tutors and a separate one for students was one of the project’s main products. A new logbook was designed to improve student self-reflection and the monitoring of the process by tutors and students. The product is well documented and relevant to the target group, consisting of core curricula, assessments, qualifications and professional profiles. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the training programmes (for tutors and students) indicated a manifest enthusiasm among the tutors and students involved and a better tutor/student relationship. Tutors gain in self confidence and competency, while students benefit by becoming involved earlier in the definition of their training objectives and consequently being more responsible for their own achievements. Objective assessment of training improved all round.

Contract N°: B/F/PP-125046 Country: PORTUGAL Date: 2000 Duration: 30/03/2001 - 30/09/2003 (30 months) Project co-ordinator Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon Av. Prof. Egas Moniz PT–1649-028 Lisbon Tel: + 351 21 7985175 - Fax: +351 21 7985192 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://fmlweb.fm.ul.pt/leonardodavinci Partners Georg-August-University Göttingen - Faculty of Medicine (D), Pécs University, Faculty of Medicine (H), Universidad de Granada, Faculdad de Medicina (ES), Universidad de Extremadura, Facultad de Medicina (ES), University of Wales, College of Medicine (UK). STAND NUMBER 32

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European e-centre for disadvantaged children and their educators AIM The Euro-child project partners focused on developing training modules and curricula to improve the skills of staff within the social and residential care sector. These skills will help them to supervise and advise institutionalised children and enable them to communicate internationally, thanks to language courses given in English and French and an Internet portal. The project was carried out by Romania’s Save the Children organisation, in cooperation with universities, non-governmental organisations, training bodies, and private enterprises from Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany and France. The targeted beneficiaries were disadvantaged groups of institutionalised children as well as educators and social workers in this field.

50

CHALLENGE

RESULTS

Children placed in residential institutes are one of the most disadvantaged groups in Europe. For their well-being and to give them a better chance in life, it is high time those who work in these institutions were offered first-rate training in childcare and education. Many of these children suffer as a result of their low computer and language skills, which prevents them from enjoying the benefits of communication on a European level. The challenge, then, is to upgrade these children’s skills in line with stipulated citizen’s rights of the United Nations Convention. Moreover, by strengthening of the continuing training of staff who work in residential institutes, it will be easier to improve the situation for institutionalised children throughout Europe.

The main results of the project were curricula and educational modules for educators in placement centres and for social workers in charge of children of school age. Subjects include everything from child psychology to communication strategies. These curricula and modules were finalised with certification at the level of the participating countries. Initiation courses in computers, standard office and website-creation software and the Internet were set up for educators and institutionalised children. Beginner and intermediate language courses (English and French) were also organised and a portal for all institutionalised children was set up on the Internet. The portal features educational components, such as interactive games,


encyclopaedias and skills tests, and a chat service. The project’s courses are mainly structured in two parts, with both theory and practice, based on interactive methods of learning, questionnaires and self-evaluation. The manuals created for educators and social workers aim to provide them with high-quality European-level (continuing) training in institutionalised child development and childcare. A notable aspect of the project is its interactivity: children can find and receive basic information over the computer and use it in the kids’ forum or chat online with other children. The website also has a forum for educators and social workers. Project results are available in hard copies, on CD-Roms and the website where the documents are available in English and the languages of the participating countries (German, French, Finnish and Romanian). The courses are of value to all countries in Europe, bridging the gap between childcare standards in Western and Eastern European children’s institutions. These courses are based on the best practice, experiences gathered under the project and ideas tested in each country. The courses and material are not yet available on the market, but the partners believe there is sufficient demand to launch them commercially. The likely end-users are organisations such as the child protection departments, universities, placement centres and other childcare institutions involved throughout the project.

Contract N°: RO/01/B/F/PP-141058 Country: ROMANIA Date: 2001 Duration: 01/10/2001 – 01/01/2005 (39 months) Project co-ordinator SALVATI COPIII (Save the Children Romania) Intr. Stefan Furtuna 3 RO-010899 Bucharest Tel: +40 21 2126176 / 77 - Fax: +40 21 3124486 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.eurochild.ro Partners University of Antwerpen – UIA (BE), Economic Software Systems International Ltd. (RO), University Babes-Bolyai of Cluj (RO), University of Bucharest (RO), Romanian Society for Life Long Learning (SREP) (RO), Satakunnan Ammattikorkeakoulu – Sosiaali-ja Terveysalan Porin Yksikko (FIN) (Satakunta Polytechnic - is better), Institut Régional du Travail Social de Lorraine – IRTS (F), Tulossilta Oy - Tulossilta LTD (FIN), Soziale und Paedagogische Massnahmen (D). STAND NUMBER 20

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The changing world of business needs to go Spanish AIM The focus of this Slovakian project was to develop a multimedia course in business Spanish which can be used by individuals with an intermediate level of proficiency in Spanish (level B2 of the European Framework of References) in secondary or higher education. The objective was to develop and improve the user’s communicative abilities, mainly the skills of listening, reading as well as speaking and writing. The course is suitable for individual learning as well as group teaching in the classroom. Target groups are Slovakian, English, French, German and Portuguese students, company employees and young graduates. The University of Economics in Bratislava started as the promoter in Leonardo phase I and worked in a consortium with universities and chambers of commerce from Slovakia, Spain and Italy.

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RESULTS

The dialogue between the European Union (EU), Latin America and the Caribbean promoted in the world summits in Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Guadalajara allows for the development of cooperation in all fields of society – including education, training, science and research as well as business life and economics. Spanish is a very important language in the world of international business for economic cooperation between the EU and Latin America. In this project, “En el mundo de los Negocios” (in the world of business) a multimedia course in business Spanish has been developed. The project fills an important gap in the Slovakian training market, taking into account the trends for foreign-language teaching and learning to be integrated in vocational training. It also allows students to study by themselves.

The project succeeded in producing a multimedia Spanish course, consisting of 22 units about the world of commerce and enterprise. Each unit is divided into two functional blocks with the following content and purpose: - line A ‘Communicacion en la empresa’ (Communication in a company) introduces the most frequent topics and situations in business communication, using a storytelling form. - line B ‘Todo un mundo por descubrir’ (The whole world to discover) introduces the user to the reading of authentic texts focused on economics and business, as well as basic professional terminology. The course has several supporting teaching aids: a printed textbook, a booklet with translation into five languages, a CD-Rom


containing video clips of the dialogues with subtitles in Spanish and the selected language, a glossary containing audio versions of words, texts for reading and listening with subtitles in the selected language and interactive exercises, a video cassette and audio cassette. The product is the first multimedia textbook for Spanish, covering business and economics, produced in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to its innovative and interactive approach, the course is attractive for end-users. The product is also very accessible for target groups, as a result of its fine design and the user-friendly CD-Rom, which requires no specific computer skills. The product is currently used in language courses for students of the University of Economics in Bratislava and in different courses by the project partners. Because of the increasing importance of Spanish as a business language, the course could be used more widely, including within different vocational education and training (VET) systems and institutions. The world of economics and business changes quickly, so there may be a need for maintenance and updating of the course to ensure it continues to meet students’ needs. At present the product is also commercialised in Slovakia. More information about the project is available on the website, in Spanish and Slovak.

Contract N°: SK/98/1/84016/PI/III.1.a/CONT Country: SLOVAKIA Date: 1998 Duration: 12/1998 – 05/2001 (30 months) Project co-ordinator University of Economics in Bratislava Dolnozemnská Cesta 1 SK - 852 35 Bratislava Tel: +421/2/544.15.281 - Fax: +421/2/544.18.134 E-mail: [email protected] - Doc. PhDr Jana Lenghardtová Website: www.euba.sk/leonardo/slovak/index.html Partners Ekonomická Univerzita v Bratislave (SK), Soluziona, a.s. Brastislava (SK), Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave (SK), Slovenská obchodná a priemyselná komora v Bratislave (SK), Universidad de Granada (ES), Universidad de Alcalá (ES), Cámara Oficial de Comercio e Industria de Madrid (ES), Universita degli studi di Bologna (I). STAND NUMBER 12

53


Virtual companies crossing cultural borders AIM The main goals of the CCBC project were the upgrading of Business English (BE) teaching practice and significant development of the individual and collective learning process. The partners wanted to do this by integrating up-to-date technology with interdisciplinary content, and by using student-centred learning approaches. They aimed to use the virtual (on-line) environment to raise students’ cross-cultural awareness, communication skills in ‘Business English’, and ability to work in a team as well as their information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Each partner country was to establish a simulated company, with links to other simulated companies in the related partner countries. The target groups were students and tutors and all young people considering employment opportunities outside of their own country (Europe and worldwide) and where ability to use Business English would improve their chances of success. The project was managed by the University of Primorska together with educational institutions from Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Germany, Switzerland, India, Romania, France, Croatia and Austria.

CHALLENGE

54

More and more young Europeans are considering employment opportunities outside of their own country. In international business there is an increasing need for employees with cross-cultural skills – the ability to communicate and work effectively with people from other countries. This need can be met in part by providing Europe-wide training and cooperation. The Cross Cultural Business Correspondence (CCBC) project was tasked with creating a virtual platform that allows students from different European countries to study through close collaboration.

RESULTS The main result of this project is a well-established international network of institutions, teachers and students currently linking 17 partners from 11 European and non-European countries. The communication medium is the Internet and the language ‘Business English’. The teaching method developed under the project enabled all partner groups to progress simultaneously according to a well-planned framework. Cross Cultural Business Communication is an interdisciplinary


teaching module using ICT and the Internet for international networking. It allows students from different European environments to study by working closely together and to carry out virtual business transactions in multicultural settings, so as to simulate real business life. For example, in FastTrackOne, which was part of the overall project, students set up a simulated company to market a service or product and carried out commercial transactions with companies in Germany, Hungary and Slovenia. The project also developed supporting tools for students, including a Student’s Book, a Student’s Portfolio and the CCBC website. The portfolio – which allows students to record all new insights and to evaluate their own progress - is for assessment and certification. To ensure that the Business English used is of a high and constant standard, a series of tailor-made language materials was further developed for teachers to use with individual learners. The Trainer’s Pack consists of a Trainer’s Portfolio, a selection of the best students’ work over the past few years, a compilation of distance-Learning exercises and a Book of Articles. This project’s virtual business environment, on the Internet, is for use by both current and future partner countries developing Business-English language skills. In addition to the simulated network on the Internet, a dedicated website has been developed to ensure the availability of the project’s teaching materials and to further disseminate project results. Beyond the lifetime of the project, further expansion is expected to countries that were not originally involved. There is clearly a European dimension to the project, as its results can easily be transferred to other fields requiring intercultural skills and to other common business languages (German, Italian). The project deliverables are well documented and easy to use, which enhances the prospects of commercialising them.

Contract N°: SI/01/B/F/LA-143002 Country: SLOVENIA Date: 2001 Duration: 31/10/2001 – 30/04/2004 (30 months) Project co-ordinator University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities Glagoljaska ulica 8 SLO-6000 Koper Tel: +386 5 663 77 4 - Fax: +386 5 663 77 42 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.2cbc.net Partners Istituto TecnicoCommerciale G. Marchetti (I), Univerza V Ljubljani, Fakulteta za Pomorstvo in Promet (SLO), Corvenius University (H), Tallinna Tehnikaülikool (EST), Univerza V Ljubljani, Ekonomska Fakulteta (SLO), Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Wien 13 (A), The Bhopal School of Social Sciences, Bhopal, India, Academia de Studii Economice (RO), University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics (CRO), Ceram Sophia Antipolis (FR), University of Primorska, Faculty of Management (SLO), Staatliche Handelsschule mit Wirtschaftsgymnasium Gropiusring (DE), RheinAhrCampus Remagen, FachhochschuleKoblenz (DE), University of Applied Linguistics Winterthur (CH). STAND NUMBER 13

55


Young farmers find fertile ground in new ecological handbook AIM This project set about increasing employability and regional development in deprived areas of Europe by developing a vocational training programme in organic farming. Young people, long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged groups from deprived rural areas were the target group. The goal was to design training modules applicable in private or public-training centres in rural areas, in order to broaden access for this group. Smooth implementation required end-users to test and approve these modules and national authorities to validate the acquired qualification . The consortium was comprised of project promoter Instituto de Restauracion y Medio Ambiente (Spain) with training centres, educational institutes and sectoral agricultural organisations from Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy and France.

CHALLENGE

56

Qualified workers in the organic farming sector are increasingly in demand, yet there is no real professional profile for workers in this sector or in rural development. Complicating the picture still further is the gap between the organic agriculture labour market and young and long-term unemployed people with few or no qualifications. The best way to tackle these problems would be to create an initial vocational training curriculum and teaching materials. The challenge is to increase agricultural training and rural-development skills while generating new jobs. Under the IRIS project, partners from the educational and sectoral fields, at regional and national level, in six countries worked to create a forum for exchange and validation of training design, practical placement and training tools.

RESULTS The main result of the project was the Ecological Agricultural Handbook. It consists of 10 training modules with theoretical and practical content available in Spanish and English. The handbook is currently being sold with a CD-Rom, as all partners consider this the best way to disseminate IRIS results. End-users and technicians from rural areas were involved in this project from the outset, through practical placements with agricultural enterprises. The training was carefully designed to meet the needs of young farmers and those of agriculture enterprises. The resulting materials are ideal for teaching purposes, while being aesthetic and practical too.


The partners succeeded in developing a professional profile in rural areas. This profile will promote training, employment, labour integration and extend the potential of ecological agriculture in the European Union. Though job creation was not a goal in itself, a number of project end-users found employment in their chosen field. The validity of the training design was demonstrated as was the qualification awarded to students following the course. This qualification is necessary for the agricultural sector and is required by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and by the Community guidelines on sustainable development. The project’s results were transferred to third parties through dissemination seminars at local, regional and national level, in the courses themselves, in three national evaluation seminars for the Leonardo da Vinci programme’s pilot projects and in meetings with national and transnational educational authorities. Each partner has contacted its national authority for official approval of the training. The project and its outcomes may have applications for agricultural policy, labour-market policy, environmental policy and for other employment-related training and learning.

Contract N°: E/00/B/F/PP-115125 Country: SPAIN Date: 2000 Duration: 01/01/2000 – 31/12/2003 (36 months) Project co-ordinator Instituto de Restauración Y Medio Ambiente (IRMA) 70-3 Avda de Aviación E-24198 La Virgen Del Camino Tel: +34 987 30 21 02 - Fax: +34 987 30 21 41 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.irmasl.com Partners Aegas Cvt (GR), Appc Nrc (P), Agro Transfer (NL), Cia Toscana (I), Eplea Limoges (F), Karqueixa Agricultura Biológica (ES), Ugal Upa (ES). STAND NUMBER 29

57


Allowing jobs to mushroom and flourish in the countryside AIM

CHALLENGE

58

In the last 20 years, the gathering of edible wild fungi has evolved significantly and is no longer just a family activity limited to Europe’s countryside. Today these fungi are a natural resource that annually produces thousands of tons of marketable products worth several hundred million euro. However, this professional field lacks training, a professional orientation, research and adapted validation. Nor does it meet the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) requirements or European Union regulations on rural development. When the MYKOS project started in 2001, there was no specific professional training in the gathering of edible wild mushrooms. Two years later, when the project ended, a new professional profile had been created to increase labour integration in this area. MYKOS also links training policy with rural policy and the conditions of the labour market in rural areas and is responding to real demands in these rural areas

Key issues here were job creation in rural Europe and the combining of qualifications with new information technologies for training. The project also focused on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the countryside. The target groups were unqualified youth in rural areas, unemployed women and the handicapped involved in the cultivation process. This project aimed to develop an innovative training system which improves the integration of fungi-gatherers into the labour market. It also wanted to take advantage of the increasing popularity and monetary value of wild edible fungi, now commonly found in non-specialist shops and markets across Europe. The consortium consisted of Instituto de Restauracion y Medio Ambiente (IRMA in Spain) Portugal, Greece, Finland and Italy (educational institutes, sector research centre and sector associations).

RESULTS The MYKOS project has developed, piloted and introduced an outline curriculum for the training and qualification of specialists in the use of wild and cultivated fungi. The project focused on the development of innovative training for groups with specific needs, namely women and the young unemployed. It has provided rural areas with new information technologies on training and contributed to the development of new employment areas. The partners succeeded in developing a new professional profile, as well as a methodology that calls on ICT (information and communication technology). The resulting training course includes


practical training modules that promote new jobs in cultivation, processing and canning, forest-based mushroom nurseries, picking of edible mushrooms and ‘mycotourism’. During the first phase of the project, participants included a range of organisations, collectives, enterprises and educational authorities. Once the new professional profile had been compiled, these participants took part in the results-dissemination seminars. The new professional profile was evaluated during an experimental course, which resulted in the publishing of a 14-chapter didactic guide. One thousand copies of the Mycological Didactic Guide (710 coloured pages) have been published with an accompanying interactive CD-Rom. This guide will be commercialised in the near future. The training course, which includes offers workers a spell of practical experience in appropriate companies, was designed to take into account the use of new technologies. For example, it created a transnational network, based on the functioning of national networks from each partner country, and a pilot telework centre for continuous training. The telework centre was set up to provide a proper follow-up for the training. The permanent transnational network has played an important role in the dissemination of results among all the local, national and transnational social partners and labour institutions. The most innovative aspect of this project was the development of training in a sector that lacks training and in the creation of employment within rural areas. For instance, once the training course had been evaluated and following the full course, two enterprises dedicated to canning and processing of mushrooms were created. This project is likely to have an impact at European level and its results could be transferred to sectors such as forestry, agro-food and tourism, as well as to educational authorities and agricultural unions.

Contract N°: E/01/B/F/PP-115427 Country: SPAIN Date: 2002 Duration: 01/11/2002 - 30/10/2004 (24 months) Project co-ordinator Instituto De Restauracion Y Medio Ambiente – SL Avenida de Aviacion 70 – 3 E-24198 Leon / La Virgen Del Camino Tel: +34 987 302102 - Fax: +34 987 302141 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.mykos.info Partners Conservas Gabemar SL (ES), NRC APPC Coimbra Nucleo Regional Do Centro Da Associacão Portuguesa De Paralisia Cerebral (P), Aegeas Center Of Vocational Training (GR), Metla Finnish Forest Research Institute (FIN), Adesper Asociation Para El Desarrollo Sostenible Y La Promocion Del Empleo Rural (ES), Cia Toscana Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori (I). STAND NUMBER 30

59


International Trade Management AIM

CHALLENGE

60

The growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an important issue in all European countries and one of the biggest obstacles today is the lack of personnel with relevant trade skills. The Trade Management project (TRAM) has addressed this issue. The need for employees in SMEs to have relevant vocational trade skills was established in a previous project ‘Training for Exports’. The challenge is to develop a European certificate in Trade Management recognised in all European Union (EU) member states.

The project consortium focused on creating a permanent basis for benchmarking and exchange of experience between SMEs and training bodies in Europe. The TRAM project developed a new training system built on a web-based learning platform. The aim was to create standardised modules and a European Diploma in Trade Management, and to develop customised vocational training concepts in Trade Management for SMEs, a unique Virtual Learning Network of trade specialists in European SMEs and a permanent basis for exchange of experiences between SMEs and training bodies in Europe concerning vocational training in trade. The proposed tools of this project should facilitate the use of web-based virtual learning methods and reduce travel and distribution costs. The target groups are employees, managers and owners of SMEs as well as unemployed persons who through this vocational training get a job within SMEs sponsored by public funds. The Swedish Trade Council promoted this EU Leonardo da Vinci project in partnership with the Exporters Association of Northern Greece, the Hungarian Foundation for Enterprise Promotion, the Norwegian Trade Council and the Trade Council of Iceland.

RESULTS The TRAM project has resulted in a new concept, the ‘International Trade Management Concept’. This concept is now ready to be implemented in Europe through trade organisations with the ability and resources to support small and medium-sized companies that wish to grow internationally. Nine modules have been produced in English and are accessible


through the project website and platform: virtual learning platform, international trade marketing, managing across cultures, international trade fairs, e-commerce, trade coaching guide, export sales training, international trade conditions, and international market research. The International Trade Management Concept is built on standardised modules and can therefore be designed for export managers, export trainees and export assistants according to the needs of each profession. The concept combines practical export work, seminars and export coaching from experienced trade experts. The curriculum consists of international seminars led by some of Europe’s most distinguished lecturers and experts from local trade organisations. The Trade Management training involves a blend of trans-national seminars in Europe, to create a network, and business contacts with local seminars in each country. An important result of the project has been the virtual learning network of trade specialists in European SMEs. This network has succeeded in creating a permanent basis for exchange between SMEs and training bodies concerning VET in trade. The Virtual Learning Platform also facilitated efficient online administration of the pan-European project and stimulated collaboration between trade councils in Europe to run joint programmes to increase trade. This ITM concept has now been turned into a truly pan-European concept ready to be commercialised.

Contract N°: S/00/B/F/PP/127025 Country: SWEDEN Date: 2000 Duration: 12/2000 – 02/2004 (39 months) Project co-ordinator Swedish Trade Council 19 Storgatan S-11485 Stockholm Tel: +46 8 783 85 86 - Fax: +46 8 662 90 93 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.trademanagement.org Partners Exporters Association of Northern Greece – SEVE (GR), Hungarian Foundation for Enterprise Promotion (H), Innovation Norway (N), Trade Council of Iceland, Iceland (IS). STAND NUMBER 15

61


Huge potential for e-learning in small businesses demystify e-learning by providing some basic guidance and to enhance its great potential by making it more accessible within one of the most challenging learning contexts, i.e. learning in small businesses. Even today, there is no truly sustainable model available for coherently exploiting the potential of e-learning and applying it to the numerous yet diverse learners within the small business community. Thus, this debate is highly relevant, as many EU countries are looking at ways of moving forward with e-learning.

AIM

CHALLENGE

62

The project Supporting Online Learning and Teaching (SOLT) was originally conceived in 1999, building on the experience of some of the project partners in other related Leonardo projects and their engagement in then current e-learning developments. Since then the dot.com economy has experienced a dramatic fall, and e-learning – once touted as THE solution to all skills development has been superseded by more measured concepts such as ‘blended learning’. In recent years, major regional, national and EU-wide e-learning initiatives have also been launched. e-learning was previously closely associated with larger business and the corporate sector, the key drivers of the e-learning agenda. The challenge for this project consortium was to exploit e-learning as a support for learning in small businesses. The goal was to

The SOLT project sought to develop a multimedia-enabled guidance product and toolbox that can be used as a pedagogical compendium and a creative online course development tool. These tools are targeted at trainers, collaborative learners (‘informal trainers’) and human resource managers, allowing them to produce appropriate online learning materials and methodologies within a small business context. e-Novate Consultancy Ltd from the United Kingdom carried out the project. The broad-based consortium consisted of 11 partners representing education, training, research and business from Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain and the UK.

RESULTS The products developed include an exciting e-learning pedagogical compendium, a report on online learning platforms, Internet technologies and learning materials and an online trainer forum (www.solt.info), which also contains the attractive project website and where the training and guidance materials are easily accessible. The compendium is an accumulation of a range of e-learning


experiences within diverse European regions and target groups. These experiences are reflected in the content of the compendium. The compendium is available in web-based and CD-ROM format, together with a paper manual and is available in English, German, Italian and Spanish. The educational partners have plans to utilise this resource (and their experience gained from participation in this project) in their own work, supporting the increasing trend to integrate e-learning opportunities with traditional training practices. In addition, the partners representing business have found the product useful in bringing e-learning closer to business. During the product development a number of partners had already begun to use some of the project findings within specific e-learning initiatives. For example, the German partner Virtus is involved in developing an extensive learning centre network in its region and has utilised the SOLT outcomes – with the support of e-Novate Consultancy (the applicant) – in this initiative. Similarly INFOR, an organisation representing SMEs in the region north of Turin (Italy) has used SOLT to support its e-learning initiative in business. The research-oriented partners have made use of the project’s research outcomes relating to e-learning. They have produced an extensive questionnaire, a needs-analysis report, an evaluation report on existing training materials and a comprehensive review of current e-learning standards and methodologies. For example the Marchmont Observatory (University of Exeter), partner to this project, has helped to advance the e-learning debate. The project’s output is transferable across sectors and countries.

Contract N°:UK/00/B/F/PP-129071 Country: UNITED KINGDOM Date: 2000 Duration: 01/11/2000 – 31/01/2004 (38 months) Project co-ordinator e-novate Consultancy Ltd. PO Box 328 Margate UK-CT8 8 GN Kent Tel: +44 1843 83 24 55 - Fax: +44 1843 83 57 89 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.solt.info (project website and trainer forum) Partners CCG - Centro de Computacão Gráfica (P), Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Csongrád County (H), Forum Empreses de Qualitat (ES), INFOR (I), Metodické Centrum (SK), UOC Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (ES), Universität Duisburg Essen (D), Virtus - Institut für neue Lehr- und Lernmethoden (D), VUC Voksen Uddannelses Center, Sydsjælland (DK), e-Novate Consultancy Ltd (UK), Marchmont Observatory, University of Exeter (UK), Bernard Dumont Consultant (F). STAND NUMBER 2

63


E-learning develops medical-imaging skills AIM The goal of the European Medical Imaging Technology Training (EMIT) pilot project was to develop work-linked training in hospitals on Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technology for young graduates in medical physics and other healthcare professionals. The project also aimed at developing the first totally structured training on this subject in Europe.

RESULTS

CHALLENGE

64

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Medical Ultrasound Scanning (U/S) are widely used methods of medical imaging. The complex technology, which realises these two methods, is used extensively in hospitals for diagnosing various diseases such as cancer, neurological, obstetric and cardiovascular diseases. Until recently, trainees in MRI and U/S have lacked special training materials. Moreover, the use of MRI and U/S in contemporary medicine increases every year and this type of equipment takes up a considerable part of a hospital’s budget (usually between 10% and 15% of the cost of all medical technology). For these reasons, the European Conference on Medical Physics Training (organised by King's College London in Trieste, Italy September 1998), and further medical physics training Seminars during 2000-01, identified a need for structured medical physics training in medical-imaging technology using dedicated training materials.

The project developed curricula, timetables and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) training materials for two training modules, for Ultrasound and for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The partners believe that their training materials – available in electronic form on CD and on a dedicated website – are the first of their kind in the world. Each module (US and MRI) is structured and lasts around 4 months. They both include a list of competencies, a structured timetable, educational image database, a workbook with practical tasks (in the form of a webdistributable e-book) and a course guide for the supervisor (on 5 languages). The idea is to provide the trainee with all necessary professional skills in these imaging technologies. The EMIT training e-learning materials include more than 1,900 original images and 600 pages of explanations of the tasks (including various practical protocols). These are available on two CD-ROMs and placed on a “Training on Demand” web server. All these materials are handled by a special Image Database and by an original user-friendly HTML shell. As a result, the user can learn directly from his/her PC, or online, without the need of external software.


All EMIT materials are produced in English and French. Following the success of the previous project EMERALD (its materials now used in 65 countries), the EMIT consortium supported the wide international use of these training materials. Dissemination activities included the development of a Digital Dictionary of Terms covering the whole field of Medical Imaging Technology. This dictionary currently cross-translates to/from any of the 7 languages - English, French, German, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese and Spanish (a total of 25,000 terms). EMIT materials were tested in practice, through work-linked training, and reviewed at a special Euro conference in ICTP, Trieste (November 2003) with specialists from 26 countries. These materials have already attracted wide interest in the profession, especially among young specialists. Since they included various medical applications, they could easily be transferred to the training and continuing professional development of radiographers, radiologists and other imaging specialists from the healthcare sector. EMIT materials are now commercialised and the income raised from sales will be used for future updates.

Contract N°:UK/01/B/F/PP- 129308 Country: UNITED KINGDOM Date: 2001 Duration: 01/11/2001 – 31/07/2004 (33 months) Project co-ordinator EMIT Consortium King’s College London and King’s College Hospital NHS Trust Dept. of Medical Engineering and Physics Denmark Hill UK-London SE5 9RS Tel: +44 207 346 3536 - Fax: +44 207 346 3536 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.emerald2.net Partners University of Lund and Lund University Hospital (S), University of Florence (I), King's College London – GKTSM and King’s College Hospital NHS Trust (UK), Hôpital Albert Michallon, Grenoble (F), European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) (F). STAND NUMBER 1

65


Index

66

Making quality the foundation for tourism training

2

The changing world of business needs to go Spanish

52

New IT skills enhance job prospects for the blind and visually impaired

4

Virtual companies crossing cultural borders

54

Design for All creates access for all

6

Young farmers find fertile ground in new ecological handbook

56

Mastering the mysteries of international business communication

8

Allowing jobs to mushroom and flourish in the countryside

58

Opening up digital careers for the deaf

10

International Trade Management

60

Mentoring supports life-long learning in rural areas

12

Huge potential for e-learning in small businesses

62

Knowledge centre improves job opportunities for people with learning disabilities

14

E-learning develops medical-imaging skills

64

Flexible learning in cardiology save lives

16

Powerful learning creates professional energy

18

A practical guide for working with alcohol and drug-users

20

The art of being mobile in the craft sector

22

Accelerating the acquisition of e-commerce expertise

24

A step in the right direction for waste-industry trainees

26

Increasing risk management decreases costs in healthcare

28

Increasing PC literacy among the people with vision impairments

30

The sound of music echoes in vocational training

32

Boosting local economies by focusing on key competencies

34

Recreating the biomedical and mechanical world in virtual 3D models

36

Naval officers and fishermen ride the crest of a new wave

38

E-learning to upgrade skills in small and medium-sized enterprises

40

Greening the curriculum to create a greener Europe

42

Giving credit for accumulated knowledge and skills benefits everyone

44

ICT-learning for E-Government and E-Business in your own time and in your own way

46

A better start in clinical training improves healthcare

48

European e-centre for disadvantaged children and their educators

50