1. SfCE, like many of other education providers and stakeholders in education, endeavours to instil the culture of research and innovation within its structures and within its staff complement. This project is part of its effort to reduce inhibitions when it comes to change. Participants were ushered and mentored to adopt analytic approaches while engaging in research into incidences and needs encountered during one's profession. The project has also upped the confidence of the participants reducing the myths that research and publishing of papers is the exclusive territory of academics and that innovation needs to be disruptive. 2. Experience has shown SfCE that unfortunately cooperation with peers is all too often restricted to technical coordination and the rest of one's profession is led in some noticeable levels of isolation. UPPIT has been professional development through peer cooperation during the preparation and through the CoP environment that forces peer exchange in peer review. 3. SfCE has invested in internationalisation with medium term vision as part of very active CoP and network augmenting the potential of adopting similar practices as part of the professional development of staff and educators in the school.
The Secretariat for Catholic Education (SfCE) is responsible for the running and quality management of all the Catholic schools in Malta and Gozo and as such it is also responsible for the training of its staff and its members of staff who support schools in their management, students services and support. It is therefore one of its missions to maintain quality in the training and professional development of its staff complement. During its networking activities SfCE encountered organisations that are members of the UPPScience Community of Practice that was an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership for VET led by NTNU of Norway. In this project there was a growing and (still) active Community of Practice (CoP) of educators in mainstream education, youth and career development professionals. The CoP also has its own platform where members of the CoP share ideas and publish mini papers after peer review of at least two other members of staff. This learning community environment matches the kind of professional development that SfCE tries to generate and maintain within its structures and this was a first experiment in a structured cross border CoP so that its staff, besides acquiring new competences also form join European network.