Project objectives were based on the learners' needs and SERC's European Development & Internationalisation Strategy 2015-2020 whilst also complementing the wider SERC objectives and our partner aims and purposes. Objectives *Develop and consolidate an increased number of strong and effective European partnerships with relevant organisations to develop learning and teaching practices. This will build the capacity of SERC's Internationalisation Policy and underpin the development of European/International curricula in time. *Widen learner participation in European mobility opportunities: Further develop vocational and technical skills Increase exposure to diverse cultural experiences Improve language competences Further develop personal and social competences including teamwork, communication, problem solving and self-confidence Enhance employability *Widen staff participation in European mobility opportunities for professional development - upskilling staff in technical areas and education and industry developments to expand their teaching capabilities; gaining knowledge from learning and teaching pedagogies; and developing personal competences associated with collaborative projects such as organisation and communication skills.
SERC has been working internationally for over 14 years developing a unique approach to internationalisation leading to partnerships in almost 50 countries. SERC’s International Strategy is driven by the NI Government’s focus on internationalisation of learning and teaching activity through the Graduating to Success strategy. SERC’s strategy aims to develop international partnerships to improve employability, enhance skills and provide capacity building globally; provide staff with opportunities to disseminate good practice across the globe; learn from others; and provide opportunities for learner mobility to improve employability skills and competences to succeed in an international economy. SERC applied for SEE4 to offer invaluable 2-week industry traineeships to 165 learners from 12 curriculum areas. Following the success of the ErasmusPro project in 2018, SERC also applied for 9 ErasmusPro traineeships to widen participation and offer learners an extended opportunity to further enhance their technical and employability skills. Overall, this project enabled SERC to widen participation to 3 further curriculum areas, 65 learners including one learner with additional needs.