The Swedish Yrkeshögskolan and other vocational education programs in Sweden have a very clear mission as a social actor, by clearly linking strategy and target image to the labor market, in order to provide it with employable skills. This is in line with the Folkuniversitetet's overall activity of conducting public education, educational activities and adult education throughout Sweden. The main purpose of the consortium was to continue a qualitative and long-term work with internationalization work within the Folkuniversitetet's organization, through cooperation within the 5 independent Folkuniversitets-foundations, where exchange and collaboration within Europe is well in line with the given strategy. Our European development plan for internationalization work aims to: • Strengthen our international partnerships, both with exchanges between schools and with partner organizations and labor market • Equip and increase the individual's attractiveness on the labor market with a focus on students and the staff's professional competence to meet tomorrow's labor market • Systematically work with European reference frameworks via SeQF/EQF in our courses in order to make visible and include learning, improve matching and, in the long term, contribute to increased national and international mobility in the labor market Internationalization plays a decisive role in our educations to prepare for tomorrow's challenges. We are working on this long-term based on Folkuniversitetet's international framework program. The work is done also through the fact that students with other previous educational experiences or professional backgrounds are part of our work to actively work with integration and supply the labor market with employable skills. The consortium has also aimed to counter national imbalance via the challenge of finding qualified internships for students who live further from metropolitan regions in Sweden. Folkuniversitetet has a clear mission to be able to supply the labor market with employable skills via the university of applied sciences/vocational training and has good contact areas with the business world and employers. Finding qualified competence for certain occupational sectors is part of our mission, and we possess knowledge of both traditional occupations, modern occupations and future occupations. During the project period, experiences and insight into the labor market and student needs have also resulted in a consortium-based desire to also work in this application strategic long-term with Erasmus PRO, where professional practice after graduation can provide expanded opportunities for education such as the Ballettakademin´s professional dancer program, and deepen cooperation with qualified dance companies in other EU countries. We also want to work with the level placement of the educations in SeQF/EQF and test these in an international context. Our educations that are categorized within level 5 for Vocational school educations and level 6 for Qualified polytechnic education is provided via internationalization projects as the current, extended tool for methodically working with national and international standards and reference frames.
The ongoing development of knowledge is rapid and much of our knowledge and skills age quickly. Lifelong learning, both in Sweden and in Europe, is highlighted in order to meet economic development's demands for continuous updating of citizens' knowledge and education level. It is about growth but also about the citizen's opportunity to exercise their democratic rights with starting point in knowledge and insight. The consortium of all five foundations of Folkuniversitetet that applied for the project claims that lifelong learning must take place to a greater extent in an international context. Regardless of whether it concerns internships abroad, elements of foreign teachers in education programs or any other element in our educations, Folkuniversitetet's pedagogical approach is to offer forms for lifelong learning where the impact of globalization on professional life is taken into account from the point of view of the participant. Folkuniversitetet shall • provide training for various occupational categories that meet the labor market's demands for knowledge of international relations • give people the opportunity to supplement their education with international knowledge and the opportunity for certification. • placing parts of such training abroad • in collaboration with recognized foreign educational institutions organize training courses and adapt them to Swedish conditions Intercultural competence is only created if the students travel to and practice and live in another country. Based on the experiences in our previous mobility projects within Erasmus+, in this consortium application we wanted to continue with the foundation-wide strategic work around internationalization, with a clear connection to the labor market where short mobilities of up to 6 months through student work placements, individually or as a group, as well as the staff's pedagogical development and job shadowing in an international labor market are priority areas and create clear opportunities for employability in and outside Sweden. Vocational college programs have LIA courses (Learning on the Job) that last up to six months. Ballettakademin, which trains dancers professionally, needs ErasmusPro for a small number of students with up to 40 weeks after completion of education with the aim of providing students with professional work experience, an extended international network and a professional environment to work in and which are suitable for an internship in another EU country, Folkuniversitet's staff are active in various international bodies and institutions. Folkuniversitetet works for a deeper involvement in international organizations and associations with the aim of forming alliances that facilitate participation in various projects. Furthermore, Folkuniversitetet's presence in international contexts is a matter of quality, especially with the aim of following and evaluating developments in adult education and lifelong learning. Folkuniversitetet • maintains and develops contacts with foreign study and cultural organizations as well as with foreign universities and student unions • maintains and develops cooperation with internationally oriented organizations inside and outside Sweden • continues to develop the collaboration with the organization Nordiskt Folkeuniversitet • works actively for participation in EU programs in public education, adult education and culture, in particular pedagogy and method development • cooperates with organizations abroad, especially in Europe, with similar goals • try out Swedish forms of education in other environments * has a focus on the labor market in Sweden and the rest of Europe With experience from the previous consortium project, we can work on the current application even more strategically to strengthen project organization and work long-term with implementation and knowledge transfer. In each foundation there are, for example, ongoing university of applied sciences courses that are given in several locations and with different principals, and where collaboration across foundation boundaries around the international work has proven fruitful for a long-term sustainable structure within the organization and where the internationalization work provides tools, instead of creating a culvert function in independent foundations. With the consortium application, there was also a clear desire to collaborate within the own organization and methodically work to strengthen the transfer of knowledge regarding international practice between Polytechnic courses, Qualified polytechnic courses and certain Art and Culture courses (primarily Balletakademin) where common experiences enrich knowledge development and knowledge dissemination.