Key dates for the next steps in Erasmus+
Posted: October 30, 2013 Filed under: Erasmus+ | Tags: Erasmus+, Lifelong Learning Programme, MEP Leave a commentAs we move into November, a number of significant dates in the European level process to approve the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport are scheduled to take place.
Starting on 5 November, members of the European Parliament’s (MEPs) CULT Committee in Brussels will vote on the approval of Erasmus+.
This will be followed by a vote of MEPs on Erasmus+ during the Plenary sitting in Strasbourg on 19 November. If MEPs vote to adopt the programme, this will indicate the final stages of the European Union’s legislative process for Erasmus+ to enter into force in January 2014.
The European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014 – 2020 is also scheduled to be debated on 18 November in the first of the three day Plenary sitting. The MFF, which will establish the EU’s budget for the next seven years, is still to be confirmed and this includes the overall budget for the Erasmus+ programme.
You can keep up-to-date with Erasmus+ developments by following the hashtag #erasmusplusUK or by visiting www.erasmusplus.org.uk
The new way to learn a language…
Posted: October 25, 2013 Filed under: Lifelong Learning Programme | Tags: Arabic language, european commission, European Language Label, iPad, languages Leave a comment“Ahlan wa sahlan”
“Kayf haali?”
At this year’s European Language Label Awards a celebrated Lifelong Learning Programme project aimed at de-mystifying the Arabic language showed how this widely spoken language could be accessible to all.
Language learning and translation are now yet another common use for smartphones and tablets. The Arabic Online project has taken this one step further – and developed a unique online course with 15 units covering situations ranging from meeting and greeting to ordering a meal. Complete with voice-recording and role plays, it allows learners to fully immerse themselves in a range of Middle Eastern scenarios.
مبروك (Congratulations) European Language Label Award winner!
LLP Director Chris Walker at the awards in Westminster
The European Language Label is an award funded by the European Commission, through the Department for Education in the UK, that encourages new initiatives in the field of teaching and learning languages. This year’s ceremony was held in Westminster and ArabicOnline.eu won a coveted award presented to the most innovative language learning projects in each country participating in the scheme. Our LLP director Chris Walker attended the awards ceremony:
“Winning this award is an excellent achievement for the ArabicOnline.eu project. The website is a very thorough resource which really does work to de-mystify Arabic, and one which I have used myself.” – Director Chris Walker
My first LLP event: 2013 Transfer of Innovation Start-Up Seminar
Posted: October 18, 2013 Filed under: Transfer of Innovation | Tags: Birmingham, Lifelong Learning Programme, partners, Partnerships, Transfer of Innovation Leave a comment
As a newcomer to Ecorys, I was excited to be involved with my first event: the Transfer of Innovation Start-Up Seminar for 2013 projects at Austin Court. Based just minutes from the Brindley Place canal district and within walking distance to Birmingham’s newest attraction – Europe’s largest library – delegates were able to experience the city before a day devoted to providing information on what they can expect over the next two years…
The event itself had an interesting mix of new and experienced project managers, all hoping to learn something from the specialised presentations and panel discussions.
Upon arrival, guests were presented with a delegate pack which included a range of informative publications, designed to help manage a TOI project. The seminar represented the last LLP event in its current form before the transition to Erasmus+ from January 2014.
5 Top Tips to Recognise Your Learners Achievements
Posted: October 15, 2013 Filed under: Apprentices, Leonardo, Mobility, Thematic Networking | Tags: apprentices, ECVET, european commission, Leonardo Mobility, Lifelong Learning Programme Leave a commentAs a National Agency we’ve learnt a lot running the ECVET Experts project. Since January 2012, over 70 organisations have met with Experts across the UK for free to learn more about the European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). They have been able to discuss how ECVET principles can be implemented to recognise learners’ achievements.
If you’re starting out on your Leonardo Mobility journey, thinking about how you can keep up-to-date with current practices, or wanting to improve your established systems our top tips on implementing ECVET could be useful to you.
Top Tip 1: Plan, plan, plan!
It’s really useful to identify learning outcomes that you expect to be achieved during placement. If your learners are working towards a qualification have a look to see if there’s any specific units learners can undertake, or work towards.
Keeping good communication open with your learners and partners is another top tip. You might already have a Partner Agreement in place but have you thought about stepping it up to a Memoranda of Understanding? This is an agreement between you and your partner about procedures, methods of assessments and can cover more than one mobility period. Training Agreements can also be exchanged for, or made more in line with, a Learning Agreement between the learner, partner and your organisation setting out what will happen, the expectations of the learner and what they should expect in terms of assessment and recognition and validation. Have a look at our ECVET-Mobility glossary for more on the differences between ECVET and Leonardo Mobility documents.
Policy in practice: What I learned from my study visit
Posted: October 11, 2013 Filed under: Transversal | Tags: CPD, leadership, management, training, transversal, Transversal Study Visit Leave a commentOctober is a busy month in the academic calendar, particularly for our Transversal Study Visit participants. Last month you may have seen our blog from Charlotte Govan, Policy Advisor from the Department for Education, as she prepared for her Visit to Tîrgu Mureş to look at innovative approaches to managing educational institutions. Now she’s back from Romania and keen to share what she learnt and explain how other participants can benefit from Transversal Study Visits…
Charlotte Govan
Charlotte works on the Academies programme and before the visit, her main aim was to gain a wider knowledge of the education systems of countries across Europe, learning directly from the people who work within those systems as this is linked to her current project to look at the future schools system of the UK. This particular visit looked at some of the key themes of the Transversal programme. These include supporting initial and continuous training of teachers and leadership and management in schools and training institutions. But what did the group learn? Charlotte and her fellow participants focused on:
1. the Romanian educational system and school management
2. tools to improve management in education
3. innovative approaches to developing leadership
4. ways of achieving performance in educational management and quality assurance
2013 Call Leonardo and Grundtvig partnerships start up seminar!
Posted: October 8, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Leonardo | Tags: grundtvig, Ikon Gallery, leonardo, Partnerships 3 CommentsLast month was an exciting time for the Leonardo and Grundtvig partnership team as they held the final start-up seminar for 2013 projects under the LLP. Rufna Khatun from the team takes us through the event which over 100 people attended at Austin Court in Birmingham.
Hello and welcome!
We started the event by introducing all our partnership team members. It was particularly enjoyable as it allowed us to meet with project beneficiaries in person and to put a face to a voice we had spoken to at the end of the phone! We wanted to give our beneficiaries plenty of information on how to successfully manage a small cooperation partnership project. But secondly we also wanted them to help us mark a milestone and celebrate the final start up seminar for partnership projects under the Lifelong Learning Programme.
Read the rest of this entry »
Our very own Natasha takes a leap of faith for charity
Posted: October 4, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Acorns Children's Hospice, Birmingham, charity, skydive Leave a comment
Question: What goes up and does come down? Answer: One of the Grundtvig team!
Recently brave Natasha Hall from the small scale co-operation team has taken part in her very first skydive for a cause close to her heart. Now she has both feet planted firmly on the ground we asked her how she found the experience (screams not included).
A bit about Natasha…
Natasha and her instructor just after landing!
Many of you may already know Natasha by speaking to her on the phone or meeting her at our LLP events. For those who don’t she is an Assistant Project Manager with a passion for books, education and all things green! After losing someone close to her, last month she took part in a skydive for the Acorns Children’s Hospice to support the excellent care and support they offer to local children with life limiting or life threatening conditions.
Fear of heights? Not a problem
Despite a long standing fear of heights, this wasn’t going to stop Natasha achieving her goal to raise £1,000 for the Acorns charity. On a breezy September morning she made the journey south from Birmingham to Hinton Airfield near Banbury for the big day. She admitted she had trepidations right before she was due to get in the plane… but once she was in the air there was only one way down! So what did she make of the experience?
Making partnerships possible in Erasmus+
Posted: October 1, 2013 Filed under: Erasmus+ | Tags: Lifelong Learning Programme, llp, partners, Partnerships, Transfer of Innovation Leave a commentThis week, we’re looking at making partnerships possible in Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport. Partnerships are changing, but there are still many relevant lessons to be learned from the LLP. To help guide you through these changes, one of our Transfer of Innovation projects shares their flexible approach to partnership working along with other tips for future aspects of partnerships in Erasmus+.
The key to partnerships in the new programme is flexibility. But what benefits can this bring? Made possible under Key Action 2, Co-operation and Innovation for Good Practices, projects will be able to not only work across all sectors, but set their own activities and work plans in line with policy. Smaller organisations will also be more involved as different sized partnerships will be available for any organisation working in education, training and youth. In the future one organisation will lead the partnership, similar to the current model used in Transfer of Innovation Projects. So looking ahead to Erasmus+ we asked Lisa McMullan, development manager at The Women’s Organisation, to share the benefits of being lead partner in the E-Business Enterprise Learning project which develops learning resources to support women-led small businesses…
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