We need not only develop educational programs approaching sustainability, but we need also a change in education, in general, a new paradigm of the culture of learning, appropriate for a world characterized by continual changes, cultivating engagement, understanding, independent and collective thinking and imagination in our students. We need to make education more sustainable, transforming also the educational process as a whole, including effective new ways of learning and the power of the new technologies. We need to give teachers a larger perspective and new tools to help them cope with these challenges. Therefore, in this project, approaching both aspects of creating a new model of education in order to achieve sustainability and non-formal activities creating a practical oriented triangle between the major stakeholders (The Excellence Centres) transforming the educational system into a more easy going and work life oriented structure for sustainability. Education for Sustainable Development means including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning; for example, climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption. It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development. Education for Sustainable Development consequently promotes competencies like critical thinking, imagining future scenarios and making decisions in a collaborative way. Education for Sustainable Development requires far-reaching changes in the way education is often practiced today (`UNESCO). Target groups - adults - teachers, trainers, mentors - from institutions/organizations involved in education, in adult / professional / youth training – they need a larger perspective about education as a whole, to understand the simplicity and complexity of sustainability, they need specific knowledge and new methodology / tools to help them teach sustainability, grow skills, change attitudes and form characters in educational systems. - students from universities who aim to become teachers / trainers / mentors / HR resource specialists/managers - they need to understand the simplicity and complexity of sustainability, they need specific knowledge and new methodology / tools to help them become in future efficient professionals in education and HR/ management proffesions. Project objectives The general objective of the project is to create a common new non-formal education structure for sustainability in order to enable institution and organizations involved in education and adult training/ professional development from all over Europe to plan learning experiences that empower their students/beneficiaries to develop and evaluate alternative visions of a sustainable future and to work creatively with major stakeholders from industry in order to assure the practical link between education for sustainability and real economy/ community needs. Specific objectives and results of the project are: - A new learning methodology for sustainability, developed through cooperation and exchange of practice between teachers / trainers and staff responsible for support services at different educational levels, in that way that suite the most for the market necessity, made available as open / digital resource. - A new course, and accompanying learning materials and tools for adult learners created, that will bring more insights for those which train sustainability or only specific concepts thought their education series, translated in partners and English languages for broad dissemination; >60 students trained online in the project period. - Flexible digital resource created, which could add value to any type of training teaches within universities or high schools which should integrate topics about sustainability. - Capacity of project partners to address education for sustainability increased trough train of trainer’s common session, with 20 beneficiaries. - A network of tree Excellence Sustainability Centers created in Romania, Hungary and Portugal, where coaching methods and tools for adult learners will be brought into a suitable place for the non-formal education by experts coming from private companies to coach, tutor other trainers from other institutions/organization. - More than 15000 persons informed using broad dissemination of project vision/objectives and future results assured at local, national and European level through different media (web-based, conferences, interviews, social Medias, events etc.). - More than 20 company representatives involved in the first Sustainability Excellence Center workshop in each country (60 representatives)
Because the nowadays challenges are facing major changes in paradigms and focusing on sustainable development of different countries in order to meet the actual and future challenges of our planet, our project comes as an added value for the education system which lack in important, systematic and qualitative information and training methods to teach peoples in many countries. We approached a new paradigm of the culture of learning, appropriate for a world characterized by continual changes, cultivating engagement, understanding, independent and collective thinking and imagination of our actual and future students. We need to make education more sustainable, transforming also the educational process as a whole, including effective new ways of learning and the power of the new technologies. A pool of suitable trainings materials to better suited to the needs of teachers as larger perspective and new tools to help them cope with these challenges. Therefore, in this project, we succeed in approaching both aspects of creating a new model of education in order to achieve sustainability and non-formal activities creating a practical oriented triangle between the major stakeholders (The Excellence Centers) transforming the educational system into an easier going and work life-oriented structure for sustainability. We succeed as project result to develop a comprehensive training structure (training modules containing education focusing on technical skills and soft skills, specific literature, games, project base guide and training interface – web-based and Moodle platform) which will help educators, teachers, trainers and tutors to teach about sustainability concepts. The project focused on specific understanding of the key Sustainable Development Goals and key drivers for the training materials and tools developed during the project. The target groups of the projects were: • adults - teachers, trainers, mentors - from institutions/organizations involved in education, in adult / professional / youth training • students from universities who aim to become teachers / trainers / mentors / HR resource specialists/managers • NGOs employees Project results The general objective of the project was to create a common new non-formal education structure for sustainability in order to enable institution and organizations involved in education and adult training/professional development from all over Europe to plan learning experiences that empower their students/beneficiaries to develop and evaluate alternative visions of a sustainable future and to work creatively with major stakeholders from industry in order to assure the practical link between education for sustainability and real economy/ community needs. Specific results of the project are: • Project based learning methodology for sustainability, developed through cooperation and exchange of practice between teachers / trainers and staff responsible for support services at different educational levels, in that way that will suite the most for the market necessity, made available as open / digital resource as web-base resource and also Moodle platform open for all stakeholders • TeachSUS training program which comprised of Technical and Soft Competences training materials, tools, games, multimedia materials and TeachSUS Project Based Learning Guide, which brought and will bring more insights for those which train sustainability or only specific concepts thought their education series on long term. The entire training material has been developed in four languages (EN, RO, SI, PT and HU languages) • Flexible digital resource was created, which are adding value to any type of optional trainings or curricula’s taught within universities or high schools which could be easily integrate topics about sustainability, environmental areas, etc. A very important pool of training material on Train the Trainers were developed and made available to promote the qualitative education and to increase the trainer competences for many educators. • Sustainability Competences Capacity increasing for more than 20 participants in Train the Trainers session during the project activities. • A network of three Excellence Sustainability Centers created in Romania, Hungary and Portugal • We estimate that more than 15000 persons were informed about project scope and the intellectual outputs of the project. The project objectives and specific activities were disseminated in different medias (Academic, University, High Schools, Institutions and Business medias, web-based, specific conferences and events) using broad dissemination of articles, speeches, interaction and networking activities of all partners involved in the project activities. • The Sustainability Excellence Centers creation reach companies and different stakeholder in all countries where these were established (RO, PT and HU)