background A study (DZHW) has shown that about a third of all bachelor students end their studies early and do not graduate. Almost half of these take up vocational training after a short time. A large proportion of university dropouts cite ‘lack of motivation’ as the cause. These figures roughly match those of early drop-out rates in the project partners’ countries. The early dropout and the rapid transition to a training relationship can be an indication that many young people are not yet sure what career path they want to take. This coincides with our observations and increases the need to provide a more consistent and better career orientation in schools. This professional orientation should not only refer to national opportunities, but should also focus on European educational and occupational alternatives. At the same time, key competences such as assertiveness, willingness to cooperate, tolerance, self-confidence and readiness for lifelong learning are key. aims Today's environment of young people is often characterized by a material life orientation, unreflective media use. This leads to passive consumption. This attitude of passive consumption is reflected in the sluggishness and unimaginativeness many young people display when it comes to planning their careers. F.I.T. for Europe’s goal is therefore to promote self-initiative and motivation, to develop key competences and to actively shape a professional perspective in Europe. The prerequisite for this is that the students are motivated to study the educational systems and opportunities in their own country - but also in other European countries. This results in a strengthening of intercultural skills and possibilities for young people’s professional futures. Number and profile of participants Our project group consists of four partner schools. The 'NFSG' in Bulgaria focuses on business and project management. The training of MINT competences forms a focal point at 'Limbazu Novada Gimnazija' in Latvia. Dr. Nassau College, Quintus in the Netherlands is at the forefront of integrating modern electronic learning environments into the classroom, while the Unter den Eichen grammar school focuses on cooperative language learning. methodology The project activities will be published on a homepage. The content should sensitize young people to a tolerant, committed and self-reflective lifestyle. The various study and career opportunities in the partner countries are shown through various excursions, lectures and PPT. This focus is supported by a GoogleMap with the appropriate information. Students' knowledge of partner countries in terms of culture, education and everyday life is captured through evaluation sheets before and after each mobility. Through a wide range of working methods, various learning channels are addressed and the diverse suggestions for shaping the professional future are promoted. Results The students present the country-specific modules for study and vocational training, research the systems of the participating countries and present their education system in a podcast. International interviews are held, recorded in video clips and pertinent vocabulary / phrases are recorded in an educational transnational dictionary. Intercultural aspects are manifested in an art project. Emotional and professional experiences are collected in a continuously growing project booklet. During the learning, teaching and training activities, students gain insight into the diverse educational and professional world in Europe through university and company visits. The acquired knowledge is permanently anchored on a cooperatively maintained homepage. Use Students recognize that they can influence their professional future through interest and initiative and can extend their study and career prospects beyond the national labour market. Impulses for the preparation of the European education and employment market expand the range of study options and career opportunities and promote creativity for an individual transnational future. Encountering and cooperating with students from other nations leads to understanding, tolerance and appreciation of other cultures - the result of this is the anchoring of the European idea. All project communication promote the language competence of all participants. The content of the project work increases the ability to cooperate and the targeted use of digital media leads to professionalization.
Background A study (DZHW) has shown that about a third of all bachelor students end their studies early and do not graduate. Almost half of these take up vocational training after a short time. A large proportion of university dropouts cite ‘lack of motivation’ as the cause. These figures roughly match those of early drop-out rates in the project partners’ countries. The early dropout and the rapid transition to a training relationship can be an indication that many young people are not yet sure what career path they want to take. This coincided with our observations and increased the need to provide a more consistent and better career orientation in schools. This professional orientation should not only refer to national opportunities, but should also focus on European educational and occupational alternatives. At the same time, key competences such as assertiveness, willingness to cooperate, tolerance, self-confidence and readiness for lifelong learning were central. Aims Today's environment of young people is often characterized by a material life orientation, unreflective media use. This leads to passive consumption. This attitude of passive consumption is reflected in the sluggishness and unimaginativeness many young people display when it comes to planning their future careers. F.I.T. for Europe’s goal was therefore to promote self-initiative and motivation, to develop key competences and to actively shape a professional perspective in Europe. The prerequisite for this was that the students were motivated to study the educational systems and opportunities in their own country - but also in other European countries. This resulted in a strengthening of intercultural skills and possibilities for young people’s professional futures. Number and profile of participants Our project group consisted of four partner schools. The 'NFSG' in Bulgaria focuses on business and project management. The training of MINT competences forms a focal point at 'Limbazu Novada Gimnazija' in Latvia. Dr. Nassau College, Quintus in the Netherlands is at the forefront of integrating modern electronic learning environments into the classroom, while the Unter den Eichen grammar school focuses on cooperative language learning. Methodology All project activities were published on our homepage www.fitforeurope.net. The contents ought to make students sensitive for the importance of a tolerant, committed and reflective way of life. The different opportunities concerning academic studies and professional education in their partner countries were introduced by way of field trips, talks and lectures as well as digital presentations (the results are stored in Twinspace). The GooleMap created in this context is only available to the participants of the project due to copyright reasons. Conducting surveys by means of evaluation sheets before and after each mobility was supposed to document students’ knowledge of the partner countries concerning culture, education and everyday life. A wide variety of learning approaches and methods ensured that different learner types were being addressed and that students received encouraging ideas to help them shape their future careers. Results Students presented country-specific modules regarding academic studies and professional education, did research on the training systems of the participating countries and introduced their own educational systems. Job interviews and application-relevant workshops (e.g. etiquette workshop) were being conducted, and relevant vocabulary and idiomatic phrases were recorded in a transnational education dictionary. The focus and content were selected by the students themselves. In a final school-specific art project, the memory of "Fit for Europe" and thus the European idea were recorded. Students also kept record of their emotional as well as professional experiences in a joint project booklet which is available to all schools in a digital version. In addition to the presentations and training courses, visits to different universities and businesses delivered insight into the diverse educational and professional landscape of Europe. The acquired knowledge was permanently anchored on a cooperatively operated homepage (see above) and on the school homepages to guarantee long-lasting learning effects. Benefits Students realized that they are able to influence their future careers and broadened their academic and professional perspectives beyond the national labor market by showing interest and being proactive. Ideas and incentives to prepare for the European education and employment market were intended to expand students’ options in those areas and to support creative ideas for the formation of their individual transnational future. Connecting and cooperating with students from different nations led to mutual understanding, tolerance and the appreciation of other cultures, thus ultimately strengthening the European ideal. Within this context firm connections beyond the project developed, and regular communication increased the foreign language skills of all participants. Besides increasing the ability to cooperate, working on projects together also enhanced the professional and systematic usage of digital media.