Our project "Becoming a designer in Europe" fits into the 2014 agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change. It will enable and prepare students interested in creative jobs, design students and professionals to find and execut work in different EU- countries in the art and design sector. The objective is to give students a differentiated awareness of other EU countries and apart from their system of training, school/university education and concerning art and design an insight into trends and how to realize design tasks accordingly. To do this they will carry out a two-year project which focuses on analysis and comparions first and in the second year on realizing international design objects and more importantly setting up an Internet platform that will contain all kinds of information about the different jobs in the field of art and design and finding the fitting job, how to best apply, platform for vacancies of companies and agencies in cooperation with local job agencies.We are five participating schools from all over Europe. Even though Scandinacian schools are missing, the techniques the students aquire in the course of the project will help them to find information and/or an internship/job in those countries which are not involved. Our students all have a creative affinity and the focus is to help them find a way of making a living of their skills keeping their motiviation high to stay at school.We will apply a variety of activities and methods (doing role plays, making videos, visiting museums, galleries, ... , creating a design object and communication design, planning an exhibition, blogs and Internet platform). The students will be guided to plan and execute the Learning/Teaching/Training Activities on their own. During the lessons they will prepare the international Learning/Teaching/Training Activities in small groups. After that they will present their work during the meetings and finally execute and evaluate them in multinational groups.All in all, this project follows the method of autonomous learning by means of an orientation towards project work, resulting in a final product. Modules for method training, communication training and team development are planned as accompanying measures during the national project phases.On a professional level the main result will be the Internet platform and the digital competence connected to it but also the students' strengthened self-esteem and ability to work and communicate in an international context.On a social level the main result is an awareness concerning intercultural behaviour and to work in international teams.The cooperation with the local job agencies is a big asset in the dissemination process making future students aware of their possibilites in the European Union and strengthening and/or establishing contacts to local companies/agencies.
Students attenting FHR GTA, to a lesser extend students attending AHR, have chosen the field of design because they want to improve their chances in successfully applying to university in the field of design or because they didn't find a training place and hope to have a better chance with the advanced vocational certificate of eduction. They lack motivation in continuing their school education because they don't see a precise goal. They don't know which possibilities there are after finishing school. Some students (especially from FHR) need support and positive feedback because of their previously bad school experience. Several aspects are relevant to prepare students for the job market - how to apply appropriately - which different jobs exist in the field of art and design - how to find the fitting job - what the prerequisites are to perform any of those create jobs - what there is to know about international work places - what the internationally differences are in training and job - how to use digital competences in one's job The participating institutions (except for Poland) focus on the field of art and design, as well as international exchange. I.I.S. A. Palladio (Italy), a technical-vocational school, provides two lines of studies: Construction Environment and Territory and Graphics & Communication. They focus on digital competence and practical creative activities. Vocational qualifications are designed to meet the needs of working life and provide eligibility for further studies. The age of participating students was between 16 and 17 years. Katolickie Gimnazjum im. Romualda Traugutta w Chojnicach (Polen), a Catholic school, focuses on project work and individual support. They offer a wide variety of extracurricular activities especially in the field of art. The age of the students was between 14 and 16 years. Petroc (Great Britain), a large Further Education College, focuses on vocational qualification of their students, provide support and training to unemployed individuals partly funded by NEET. Petroc provided a huge artistic input. MCAST (Malta), as the largest vocational institution in Malta, focuses on a combination of academic and vocational training. They have many European contacts and as a partner they contributed greatly concerning artistic and digital competence. Main activities and results - comparison of national processes (education in general, application procedure, trends in design, ...) -> presentations were conducted (analogue/digital/national/international) - insight in vocational training (kick-off speeches of representatives of private enterprises, designers and former students, guided tour through companies and workshops) --> knowledge of opportunities in the field of art and design - practical creative activities (bookbinding, printing, typographing) -> many products have been created that strengthened the students skills in manual creative work (books, calendar, ...) - theoretical and practical involvement concerning art and design (visiting museums, exhibitions, workshops, ...) - creating a blog for the exchange and collection of content -> improved digital competence; knowledge of where/how/ to find a job, what kinds of jobs exist in the field of art and design- higher motivation at s - facebook site and profile and in instagram account were set up -> connecting students The quantitative result is difficult to measure, but teachers noticed the following: - improved English skills - higher self-esteem - higher social commitment - stronger European understanding and empathy - higher motivation at school - increased insight concerning one's personal pssobilities - higher job-related skills (digital, working procedure and organisation) sustainable benefit - cooperation with local job agencies - cooperation with international partners - cooperation design institutions and artists - for participating students: knowledge of how to find a job/internship in the field of art and design internationally