What is IMECH+?
IMECH+ stands for Innovating MECHanics and mechatronics teaching methodologies for an inclusive VET, a Key Action 2 project aimed at enhancing the cooperation partnerships in vocational education and training.
The project was officially launched with the kick off meeting on the 5th and 6th of April and took place in Milan (IT).
The idea of the project came from former successful Key Action 1 projects (Acquiring TEchnical COmpetences abroaD, iMech 4.0: Inclusive MECHatronic and thermoelectric VET provision on industry 4.0 and ATHOS: Acquiring TecHnical cOmpetencies and Skills) lead by the Coordinator Salesiani Lombardia per la formazione ed il lavoro – CNOS-FAP and from the need to involve and improve teacher skills in specific educational sectors and issues.
More specifically, IMECH+ will allow 7 partners from 6 different countries (5 European countries and 1 from South America) to work together for 30 months with three common targets:
- Updating teachers’ competences in technical subjects related to industry 4.0 such as: mechanics, mechatronics and automation
- Raising awareness in VET staff on inclusion strategies for students with fewer opportunities.
- Enhancing the internationalisation strategies of VET providers and the quality of learning mobility for students
To be achieved through the collection of good practices, training events and testings aimed at the creation of a Toolkit of practices exchanged, Training modules and E-learning on internationalisation .
What does IMECH+ mean for Uniser?
Uniser will collaborate with the project partners on the realisation of all the project objectives with particular focus on the development of E-learning on internationalisation dedicated to teachers, as a result of its long experience in internationalisation of VET systems and in supporting education with learning digital tools.
Who are the other partners of the project?
Salesiani Lombardia per la formazione ed il lavoro – CNOS-FAP (IT) is the Coordinator of project IMECH+ and an accredited training organisation with 5 Vet Training Centres. Its main educational VET sectors are the following: mechanic, electric and electronic, graphic, logistic, wood, automotive, catering, farming. In line with the salesian mission, it is mainly active in the following areas: education and training, adult education, post-secondary technical training. It collaborates with companies, universities and several private and public institutions and in the Vocational Training area, it is particularly attentive to students with disability and special needs and to preventing the early school leaving. It also provides guidance, counselling and information services.
Colegio Loyola (ES) is an Educational centre, established in 1941. It was the first Vocational Training centre in Aranjuez and therefore, a mandatory reference in the teaching of vocational studies in the area. The VET courses implemented are the following: mechatronics, machining, electricity, electronics, administrative, marketing, computing and personal image. Since the beginning, the institution has been very focused on training in the work environment, with alternating training experiences in school and local companies.
Axxell Utbildning AB (FIN) was established in August 2008 and is located in the southwest of Finland. It offers both vocational education and migrant education. It is well known for the work it has done to support and encourage inclusion of learners and staff in all its activities. It also strives to offer education that responds to the needs of the individual, working life and society as well as the economic and productive networks with whom it collaborates. It aims to incorporate methodologies that encourage independent thinking and own responsibility and wants to provide students with the needed skills to become employable in a global market.
Georg-Schlesinger-Schule (DE) is the authority regarding vocational training in the fields of machine, production, transport and process technologies in the central Berlin-Brandenburg region. It provides theoretical training for industrial mechanics, tool mechanics, train drivers and eight other skilled occupations in industry and transport. In addition to that, it offers academic courses leading to higher technical college or university entrance qualification. It is also involved in vocational preparation for school leavers and former refugees.
Campus des métiers et des qualifications microtechniques et systèmes intelligents (FR) has the mission to help Microtechnique specialised companies to maintain and develop their skills in the territory as part of the 4.0 Industry and, to participate in the economic development of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Its objectives are: to promote professions, educations and qualifications amongst students by including employees, job applicants and persons who are undergoing retraining; to bring together the economic world and the various training actors in order to support the evolution of the initial and continuing training offer to meet the identified recruitment and training needs of the Microtechniques and Intelligent Systems sector and finally to identify and pool the means and resources to train employees and trainers in order to foster innovation.
FUNDACIÓN INSTITUTO PROFESIONAL DUOC UC (RCH) is a private nonprofit educational institute founded in 1968 by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. It is one of the biggest and more important institutions of education in Chile. Its teaching model is based on the development of labour competences, which translates in the method of learning by doing. Hence the development of educational curricula is based on information provided by the industry. It has a wide scope of academic disciplines, distributed across nine different disciplinary areas represented by nine Schools: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Telecommunications, Design, Construction, Communication, Business and Management, Tourism, Natural Resources and Health.
What are the next steps?
Following the kick off meeting, all project partners will start collecting good practices on teaching technical subjects related to industry 4.0 such as: mechanics, mechatronics and automation. They will meet again in November 2022 at the first training event that will take place in Finland to evaluate and share the work done together and to start defining the expected outputs of the project.
Lascia un commento