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Description
The project "Sustainability in VET training" aims to modernize the curricula for 5 selected vocational fields with content related to sustainable development. The project partnership consists of three organizations: Haskog AS, the Municipality of Wrocław and Semper Avanti as the lead partner. The activities will be carried out in Poland and Norway in the period from October 1, 2021 to September 31, 2023. Directly 72 teachers and principals from Poland, a network of experts from both countries and representatives of entrepreneurs will participate. Indirectly, the project will affect at least 300 young people per year.
As part of the activities, five industry teams will be created, consisting of teachers, entrepreneurs and vocational training experts. Additionally, the sixth team composed of the management staff of educational institutions will prepare implementation recommendations and proposals for a general change in the education system in terms of sustainable development. Team participants will take part in seminars on Norwegian solutions and experiences, training, and a series of team meetings. All works will end with a final conference, where the results of the work will be presented.
The result of the project will be the preparation of recommendations in the form of entries to the curriculum for five fields of professional education introducing elements of sustainable development. Introducing them into the curriculum will allow for a permanent change in the functioning of both graduates and their future employers.
The implementation of the project will allow for a permanent reduction of the surplus of materials, energy and raw materials savings as well as functional effectiveness of activities, while taking care of both the social and natural environment.
Summary of project results
The project is the result of discussions among the Glokal educational cluster, conducted with the Chamber of Commerce of Central Europe.
Entrepreneurs drew attention to the issue of modernizing educational programs to include elements related to energy efficiency and economization of production.
Next, the issue was expanded to include environmental issues, problems of safe development and long-term planning of social activities, including educational ones. The conclusion of the discussion was the need to introduce elements of sustainable development into the educational program for vocational fields.
Thanks to this, vocational education has a chance to be more ecologically and socially responsible and adapted to the highest standards.
We carried out five visits, in which 59 teachers from Wrocław vocational schools and representatives of the Wrocław Commune, which is the governing body for them, took part. The involvement of both parties was crucial due to the durability and implementation of the results. Worth to remember that changes in the programs require the consent of the managing body.Thanks to the participation of the commune''s representatives in the activities, they were able to understand the issue and understand the need and direction of changes.
After the visits, work began on working teams whose work, combined with the experiences gained from the visits, formed the basis for developing the final recommendations. We wanted to include many points of view and good practices, so all willing teachers from Wrocław vocational schools were invited to participate.
After completing the work, pilot workshops were conducted for young people based on scenarios developed by experts. Their aim was to test program elements and how they could be transferred to teaching curricula. 240 students from Wrocław schools took part in them.
The final results were presented during the conference ending the project, attended by 60 people.
The result of the project are recommendations for changes in curricula for five professions: IT technician, ICT technician, nutrition and catering services technician, landscape architecture technician and mechanical technician, as well as general recommendations for vocational education. The recommendations were developed by six specialists from five Wrocław schools and the University of Wrocław.
The starting point for developing the document were study visits to Norway, hosted by the partner institution Haskog SA
Summary of bilateral results
The institution participating in the project from the Donor States was Håskog AS from Norway, which is an expert in the field of sustainable development. Cooperation with an institution from Norway was crucial for us, due to the high ecological awareness of the country''s inhabitants, experience in implementing the principles of sustainable development, and high quality of education in order to learn from the best.Håskog is a certified Debio organic producer and is a member of the Norwegian Made network. Since 1927, activities in the field of biodiversity and experiments on plants have included over 2,000 species of trees and shrubs from all over the world. For several years, the owners have been making efforts to rebuild the natural, cultural and educational value of this place.The Haskog SA company itself has existed for a relatively short time, but its owners have been associated with sustainable development, ecology and education for years. They have successfully implemented financial projects from European programs (Erasmus+) and EEA funding.Goncalo Liberato - landscape architect, involved in social and political activities since 2008. During this time he coordinated approx.60 projects, including EEA and European projects.Ina Hviding - a graduate of molecular biology, an expert in aromatherapy and the practical use of ecological elements in companies, has been involved in issues of nature conservation and sustainable development since 1996.They both conducted classes with our teachers during study visits. They willingly shared their knowledge and experience, the participants could freely ask questions and explore the topic, which significantly contributed to better understanding and increased the possibilities of implementing the acquired knowledge and experience in everyday work, resulting in the recommendations.