The main aim of this project was to strengthen the self-reliance of our VET learners by strengthening their work-oriented, digital, social, organisational and other skills and competences together with their language skills and competences within a European working environment. We wanted them to experience first-hand what free movement of goods, services and people concretely means for European citizens. The results exceeded our expectations and they were included in the Europass. At the same time, we wanted to create additional professional opportunities for our staff through job shadowing. Today, their international professionalisation both in pedagogical, technical and theoretical terms allows them to be even more committed to quality education and to meet the needs of 21st-century education. They are now also our ambassadors to further promote the Erasmus+ idea to colleagues, students and parents. Finally, we wanted to profile ourselves within the university town of Leuven as a vocational school with international appeal, as partners for international cooperation, also by offering internships to foreign students.
De Wijnpers is a provincial secondary school with three areas of study: Arts and Creation, Agriculture and Horticulture and STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics). We applied for this VET (Vocational Education Training)- project because, we wanted to offer high-quality education with maximum learning opportunities starting from the learners' talents. In this way, we wanted to expand our international pathway, which started small in 2014, to offer our students better opportunities for professional development in the job market and in their further study career. As a matter of policy, we also chose intercultural education, European citizenship and sustainability. International experiences also allowed us to promote functional language use. It was impossible to achieve these objectives without the support of Erasmus+ funds, because our pupil population includes many disadvantaged pupils who do not have the means or the background to prepare, carry out and successfully complete an internship abroad. In our view, offering scholarships is democratic and does not discriminate against the background of the learner. We wanted and still want to be an opportunity-rich school, also for our teachers through job shadowing.