On May 14th and 15th, the transnational project meeting in Eindhoven was held. All partners were present for two days of intense collaboration.
After shoveling through the administrative issues, we could present each other the draft versions of the designed courses. Every partner proposed the outline of the courses allocated to them. It looks like everybody is right on track to deliver a good learning path. We do have to decide however on the corporate identity of the material before publication.
In the Brainport area, it is very common to work in a campus setting where different parties from different sectors are gathered. To experience that we cycled to the BIC (Brainport Industries Campus) for the second part of the meeting. At this campus many companies share a building and facilities with VET schools to be able to learn and profit from each other’s ideas and possibilities. At the BIC we discussed the validation of the courses after a recap from Leuven University we decided to focus on validation trough application of the learned (right side of Blooms taxonomy). We also decided that the colleagues taking a course should feel a direct benefit in being helped with direct output as in a series of lessons, a draft policy plan etc. so that it does not take too much effort in general to take a course.
Another example of collaboration between education and VET is the aviation services facility at Eindhoven airport. The school is based on the premises of the airport so that the students are confronted with unexpected situations from day one. A Summa colleague offered us explanation in a training setting.
Even before day two started, Matilde Valcavi, project manager of the DIGINT project, was interviewed for “Pionier”, a glossy magazine that is distributed within the Brainport region issued in September.
The second day of activities consisted in an Internationalization Plan Workshop, joined by a group of Italian stakeholders. Stakeholders from the VET system of the Emilia-Romagna Region expressed significant interest in the project, particularly in enhancing the quality of international mobility experiences within their courses and in internationalizing their institutions.
Hans Vasse delivered a presentation on behalf of Brainport Development, shedding light on the crucial role of internationalization within the education system. He discussed Brainport Development’s role both regionally and nationally, emphasizing that internationalization is deeply embedded in the Dutch culture. He stressed the necessity of shifting our mindset to adequately prepare students for the demands of the emerging global workforce.
During lunch some VET students from Summa hospitality took the Consortium and stakeholders on a walk-‘n-talk over the STRIJP area.
In the afternoon, representatives from Summa College, an associated partner of the DIGINT project, introduced their activities designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary for successful careers through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on learning experiences. Finally, the day concluded with a presentation from the Start-up School, a VET school without classrooms, fixed curriculum or end terms, dedicated to supporting aspiring entrepreneurs and startups in Eindhoven.
