Creativity and innovation have been in the forefront of EU educational policies the last years (ET2020). Nonetheless, conventional ways of teaching related to teacher-centred methods, frontal teaching and chalk and talk still prevail in a good majority of schools in EU27, thus "killing" creativity and innovation in the educational context. This creates a gap between education and employment as studies show that what employers expect most from persons they recruit is creativity and innovation, ability to solve problematic situations, teamwork, information analysis and management, using digital media, efficiency in using information and communication technology tools (World Economic Forum 2017, LinkedIn 2019). SiLab project aims at improving the employability of students involved the development of some of the most valued skills in the labour market, namely innovation, creative thinking and digital skills. This will be achieved though the implementation of the concept of i-lab to school environment; the creation of i-labs at schools and the development of teachers’ capacity to integrate innovation in daily school practice. An i-lab (innovation laboratory) is an inspirational innovative facility designed to transport users from their everyday environments into an extraordinary space encouraging creative and innovative thinking as well as collaborative work towards problem solving through a mix of on-purpose environment, technology and facilitation techniques (Leonardo da Vinci projects i-lab and i-lab2). The strength of the i-Lab is its proven and unique approach to innovative and creative thinking, which lends itself to a wide variety of applications. The present project aims to develop the i-lab concept for school education, starting from the concept of i-labs that are already in use for business and scientific purposes. The specific objectives of the project are: -To develop the i-lab concept for school education -To create i-labs at selected schools in the partners countries. -To create on-line software application for the school i-labs -To develop a guide for school i-labs, targeting managers and facilitators. -To organise pilot i-lab sessions in the i-labs, evaluate the project products and propose changes and improvements. -To disseminate the i-lab concept and create a network of i-lab friends among European schools The target group to be addressed with this project are: -Students in general studying in secondary schools, whose skills will be improved -Teachers in secondary schools that will support i-labs and play the role of the facilitators The project will produce two core intellectual outputs: -O1 School i-lab concept, requirements, description and specifications, for the three elements of an i-lab: environment, technology and facilitation, instructions and recommendations for the facilitator, good practices from i-labs and examples of integrating i-labs in different school disciplines, learning activities and projects. -O2 On-line software for i-labs, suitable for school students from 12 years old up, having basic computer knowledge. The project will also organise five learning activities for teachers and teachers+students, involving 65 persons. Other project results are: -Creation of i-labs in the four schools of the partnership (PRHG, PSEB, Platon and AEA). -Organisation of i-lab sessions in the four schools. During the project, each school will implement at least 10 innovation sessions with at least 10 students each, reaching in total 400 students. Furthermore, during the mobility in Alcanena, transnational innovation sessions will be organised, with mixed groups of students from different countries. -On-line i-lab friend’s community, hosted in the online eTwinning platform. The on-line community will involve teachers and students that have participated in the project and will evolve in a larger community aiming to spread the idea and attract more schools. -Project blog and social media, with inputs from teachers and students. -Dissemination activities at national and European level, including the project presentation in a European conference. -Organisation of two webinars, addressing other schools and interested teachers. -Presentation of Schools i-lab concept in Schools Education Gateway and preparation of training material for the teacher’s academy. -Six multiplier events in Rijeka (HR), Katerini (EL), Sofia (BG), Alcanena (PT), Budapest (HU) and Brussels (BE) to present the project results and ensure their sustainability. The project is expected to have great impact in the participating schools through the establishment of the i-labs, the empowerment (through learning activities) of teachers to play the role of facilitators in school i-labs and of students, who will enhance their employability perspectives by acquiring skills in creativity, innovation, use of ICT for decision-making purposes and problem solving and transnational mobilities experience.
Four schools from four different countries as well as four institutions have taken part in the project School Innovation Labs (SiLab) with the aim to improve the employability of students involved the development of some of the most valued skills in the labor market, namely innovation, creative thinking and digital skills. Prva riječka hrvatska gimnazija (PRHG) acting as the project coordinator, built the project consortium with the following school partners: PSEB-Bulgaria, AEA-Portugal, PLATON M.E.P.E. and the following institutions IDEC – Greece, VPŠ PAR Rijeka-Croatia, DLEARN – Italija and TREBAG – Hungary. Each of them carried out different actions to achieve the project‘s goals. The specific objectives of the project were: -To develop the i-lab concept for school education -To create i-labs at selected schools in the partners countries -To create an on-line software application for the school i-labs -To develop a guide for school i-labs, targeting school managers and facilitators -To organise pilot i-lab sessions, evaluate the project products and propose changes and improvements -To train teachers on how to enhance innovation, creativity and digital skills -To disseminate the i-lab concept and to create a network of i-lab friends among European schools.
Creativity and innovation have been in the forefront of EU educational policies the last years (ET2020). Nonetheless, conventional ways of teaching related to teacher-centered methods, frontal teaching and chalk and talk still prevail in a good majority of schools in EU27, thus "killing" creativity and innovation in the educational context. This creates a gap between education and employment as studies show that what employers expect most from persons they recruit is creativity and innovation, ability to solve problematic situations, teamwork, information analysis and management, using digital media, efficiency in using information and communication technology tools. As teachers we are aware of that and try to change our approaches to teaching and learning focusing on development of teachers’ capacity to integrate innovation in daily school practice. SiLab project aims at improving the employability of students involved the development of some of the most valued skills in the labour market, namely innovation, creative thinking and digital skills. In project we have focused to achieve though the implementation of the i-lab to school environment and the creation of i-labs that will integrate innovation in daily school practice.
Creativity and innovation have been in the forefront of EU educational policies the last years (ET2020). Nonetheless, conventional ways of teaching related to teacher-centred methods, frontal teaching and chalk and talk still prevail in a good majority of schools in EU27, thus "killing" creativity and innovation in the educational context. This creates a gap between education and employment as studies show that what employers expect most from persons they recruit is creativity and innovation, ability to solve problematic situations, teamwork, information analysis and management, using digital media, efficiency in using information and communication technology tools (World Economic Forum 2017, LinkedIn 2019). SiLab project aims at improving the employability of students involved the development of some of the most valued skills in the labour market, namely innovation, creative thinking and digital skills. This will be achieved though the implementation of the concept of i-lab to school environment; the creation of i-labs at schools and the development of teachers’ capacity to integrate innovation in daily school practice. An i-lab (innovation laboratory) is an inspirational innovative facility designed to transport users from their everyday environments into an extraordinary space encouraging creative and innovative thinking as well as collaborative work towards problem solving through a mix of on-purpose environment, technology and facilitation techniques (Leonardo da Vinci projects i-lab and i-lab2). The strength of the i-Lab is its proven and unique approach to innovative and creative thinking, which lends itself to a wide variety of applications. The present project aims to develop the i-lab concept for school education, starting from the concept of i-labs that are already in use for business and scientific purposes. The specific objectives of the project are: -To develop the i-lab concept for school education -To create i-labs at selected schools in the partners countries. -To create on-line software application for the school i-labs -To develop a guide for school i-labs, targeting managers and facilitators. -To organise pilot i-lab sessions in the i-labs, evaluate the project products and propose changes and improvements. -To disseminate the i-lab concept and create a network of i-lab friends among European schools The target group to be addressed with this project are: -Students in general studying in secondary schools, whose skills will be improved -Teachers in secondary schools that will support i-labs and play the role of the facilitators The project will produce two core intellectual outputs: -O1 School i-lab concept, requirements, description and specifications, for the three elements of an i-lab: environment, technology and facilitation, instructions and recommendations for the facilitator, good practices from i-labs and examples of integrating i-labs in different school disciplines, learning activities and projects. -O2 On-line software for i-labs, suitable for school students from 12 years old up, having basic computer knowledge. The project will also organise five learning activities for teachers and teachers+students, involving 65 persons. Other project results are: -Creation of i-labs in the four schools of the partnership (PRHG, PSEB, Platon and AEA). -Organisation of i-lab sessions in the four schools. During the project, each school will implement at least 10 innovation sessions with at least 10 students each, reaching in total 400 students. Furthermore, during the mobility in Alcanena, transnational innovation sessions will be organised, with mixed groups of students from different countries. -On-line i-lab friend’s community, hosted in the online eTwinning platform. The on-line community will involve teachers and students that have participated in the project and will evolve in a larger community aiming to spread the idea and attract more schools. -Project blog and social media, with inputs from teachers and students. -Dissemination activities at national and European level, including the project presentation in a European conference. -Organisation of two webinars, addressing other schools and interested teachers. -Presentation of Schools i-lab concept in Schools Education Gateway and preparation of training material for the teacher’s academy. -Six multiplier events in Rijeka (HR), Katerini (EL), Sofia (BG), Alcanena (PT), Budapest (HU) and Brussels (BE) to present the project results and ensure their sustainability. The project is expected to have great impact in the participating schools through the establishment of the i-labs, the empowerment (through learning activities) of teachers to play the role of facilitators in school i-labs and of students, who will enhance their employability perspectives by acquiring skills in creativity, innovation, use of ICT for decision-making purposes and problem solving and transnational mobilities experience.