Programos "Erasmus+" 30 metų sukakties minėjimo kampanija 2018 m. lapkričio 30 d. baigėsi. Todėl kampanijos puslapiai nebenaujinami. Informacija apie kampaniją šiuo metu archyvuojama ir netrukus bus paskelbta.
Yra daugybė "Erasmus+" sėkmės istorijų – vieni įgijo daugiau galimybių rasti darbą, kiti naujai pažvelgė į darnų vystymąsi, išmoko naują kalbą, geriau suvokė ES pilietybės idėją arba atrado savyje pašaukimą savanoriškai veiklai.
For Gary, the Erasmus+ experience was transformative on both a personal and professional level, helping him develop as an educational and social actor for change.
After co-founding a social enterprise in 2002, Gary was working and studying part-time in Luxembourg. This meant he wasn't advancing as fast as he would have liked in his undergraduate studies. To accelerate his progress, Gary decided to take advantage of Erasmus+ and enrol for 2 semesters at the University of Barcelona, Spain, where he studied Philosophy while improving his Spanish.
Initially, he was moved by the sub-standard living conditions of the young people in Barcelona. Troubled by the lack of affordable housing for locals, Gary ended up becoming active in various student movements. 'It was inspiring to see students refuse to accept what was happening and become politically engaged in society,' he says.
Erasmus+ has enabled teachers at an Irish primary school to expand their horizons, connect with colleagues abroad and bring new ideas back to the classroom. Sending staff on training courses to the UK 'has had a very positive effect on what we're doing', says Holy Spirit Boys National School teacher Alex O'Mahony, noting that 'the feedback we received was that this was the best professional development many had ever had'.
The fact that some training courses were not readily available in Ireland 'really shows how Erasmus+ can help to fill in the gaps in national systems', adds Alex. As a result, new methods for improving literacy are being implemented, and the school is currently rewriting its English teaching policy. The impact has been felt beyond Alex's school: 'if you take into account the networking that our principal does when she talks to the heads of other schools, then the reach of our Erasmus+ funding has been huge'.
As an academic, a higher education administrator and a government official, Maja Makovec Brenčič, the Slovenian Minister of Education, Science and Sport, continues to champion international, multi-sectoral cooperation and openness as a key driver of quality education.
For Maja, the Erasmus+ programme is about widening the scope of the teacher's experience and cross-cultural understanding and, in turn, promoting transnational pedagogical innovation. 'Higher Education must not be isolated within national borders. I am convinced that such high expectations and goals can only be achieved with national and transnational solutions', she says. Her own participation in the Erasmus programme 'only strengthened my belief that the international openness of education is a significant driver of quality'.
Established in 2014 by 10 higher education institutions and 2 non-academic entities, the European Astrobiology Campus (EAC) has created extraordinary opportunities for scientists, researchers and educators. With partners from 9 European countries, the project is able to provide comprehensive, high-level training; build bridges between scientists from different disciplines and at different stages of their careers; and increase the quality of education in the field of astrobiology.
During the last 3 years, project partners have assembled a strong team of trainers providing high-level courses and summer schools on various topics such as 'Biosignatures and the search for life on Mars', 'Impacts and their role in the evolution of life' or 'Formation of complex molecules in space and on planets' – just to name a few.
'We have managed to bring together true science enthusiasts capable of working beyond the boundaries of their discipline. Some have already become leaders of important scientific projects', says Professor Wolf Geppert, the deputy coordinator from Stockholm University. Drawing from teachers and former students involved in the summer schools, 4 interdisciplinary research teams have been established to investigate the colonisation of volcanic environments. Their research contributes to the search for life on Mars, and one of the teams has been awarded significant financial support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The impact of the Erasmus + strategic partnership already goes beyond funded initiatives to serve the wider public. With this in mind, some of the partners plan to establish a European Astrobiology Institute, with EAC as its training entity.
According to PEOPLE project coordinator Gregor Cerinsek, 'We think that meaningful products and services in the sustainable living and energy sectors can only be developed with the people who use them.' In line with this view, Gregor and his colleagues recognise the need for People-centred Learning Cycles so 'students, teachers and researchers are directly exposed to the needs and requirements of the industry.' In the Netherlands, for example, 4 students are helping the energy company Alliander map customer behaviour as part of its 'natural gas transition programme', which is working towards a smooth and people-friendly transition to a natural gas-free future.
Thus far, the PEOPLE framework has proven to be a win-win situation for all concerned, and a testament to the added value of the Erasmus+ experience. Students, teachers and researchers acquire new knowledge and entrepreneurial skills working with companies which, in turn, are training future employees.
Looking ahead, Gregor and his colleagues are confident that this cooperative inter-sectoral project approach will give European economies a competitive advantage, while ensuring humanities graduates have real employment prospects.
In the aftermath of the credit crunch, a group of youth workers spanning across 10 countries came together to address the lack of financial literacy and conflict management among poorer young EU citizens.
And so the Borderline Boardgames project was born. The project comprises two 'high-quality game-based learning exercises': Mission Z, an interactive board game which simulates a conflict management scenario, and Real Ideal, which is designed to train young people to think seriously about their finances as well as their futures.
In its early stages, a 5-person team from a small Portuguese village was engaged to craft each board game. Project coordinator Joakim Arnøy describes the 5-month production process: 'They produced, sandpapered and painted thousands of the game pieces by hand'. Both prototypes were tested on youth groups, school classes and in international training courses across 8 countries, reaching over 800 people.
Today, the board games have been employed in a variety of learning and training environments: helping teachers make their lessons more interactive and engaging, in addition to providing a unique training tool to improve staff performance in not-for-profit organisations as well as corporations. In Lithuania, even banks have expressed an interest in using Real Ideal in their Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes.
Reflecting on his experiences, Jose sees his work as complementing and helping innovate school curricula, with courses that stress practical skills for the new knowledge society such as online job-searching techniques, creating online portfolios and social media recruitment. He has also introduced non-formal teaching methods into the learning process. For instance, at his centre students learn about science and technology by creating and overseeing their own science museum.
'Preparing objects for the museum not only helps students learn about aerodynamics or optics but also organise events, conduct guided tours, and interact with the local community. That is much more beneficial than just sitting with a book', he says.
The QUAL4T2 project, which brings together 5 European countries, aims to improve the quality of teaching by sharing best practices, holding workshops and developing online guidance tools. While the first QUAL4T project, which ran until 2015, focused on supporting individual teachers, this follow-up phase is committed to improving the quality of teaching by supporting team culture. 'Even if everything looks satisfactory on paper, negative team culture can make classrooms and staffrooms miserable,' says project coordinator Margrieta Kroese.
Travelling puppets, cultural activities, education through drama, dance, computer games and other artistic media – all of these components contributed to the Puppets mission: childhood without borders project. Involving 8 kindergarten facilities from different European countries, the project aimed to encourage preschool teachers to integrate new, under-utilised teaching strategies (e.g. play, drama, experiments, music) into the educational programmes for school children ages 3-7 years old.
'We often see that teachers tend to avoid crossing the "safe circle" of traditional teaching, which views preschool education as less important than basic school education. We wanted to challenge that attitude and improve the quality of our teaching', says Jolanta Varanavičienė, project coordinator from Žilvitis, a Lithuanian kindergarten.
Project activities revolved around using traditional puppets to promote cultural and pedagogical exchanges among the partner countries. These puppets were sent from one partner to another, with tasks related to the culture of each country. Children performed the tasks: from drama and dance exercises, to computer games and other activities. Complementing student engagement, teachers took part in transnational training sessions dedicated to studying new educational approaches and best practices.
Interactive learning materials, online quizzes and exams, secure school social networks – ICT tools have shaped the way we think about and promote education in the 21st century. Thanks to Stasele Riškienė, an English language teacher from the Kuršėnų Pavenčiai School, mobile learning has become a reality for pupils in Lithuania.
After becoming familiar with different applications through Erasmus+ educational projects, Stasele was one of the first in the country to introduce smart devices into her teaching. She saw the potential of different applications for tracking and improving the performance of both teachers and students. 'E-books, interactive exercises, assisting kids with disabilities – these are just a few examples of how ICT technologies may be used in education', she says.
Today, as an Apple education trainer and eTwinning ambassador, she provides teachers from all around the country with training and assistance in introducing ICT tools into their teaching plans. She also runs a blog to reach out to teachers and promote smart learning and encourage participation in international exchanges. In her own words, 'international exchanges have also helped us to give our teaching a European dimension', adding that 'This is very important as we are part of a united Europe.' Her hard work has earned her the Teacher of the Year award from the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science.