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Mobility of higher education students and staff supported by internal policy funds (KA131-HED) - Coordinator: IZOBRAZEVALNI CENTER PIRAMIDA MARIBOR

2022-1-SI01-KA131-HED-0000541472022Mobility of higher education students and staffongoing
Countries: SI|DE|IS|PL|ES · Grant: €13,205

Objectives

With Erasmus+ projects, the Educational Centre Piramida Maribor, Higher Vocational College, continues its international cooperation with various higher education institutions and other organizations outside Slovenia. In the 2021–2027 programme, we successfully established partnerships with three new higher education institutions and five other institutions from the European Union, while also expanding cooperation with one new country. These collaborations facilitate the exchange of valuable experiences, the acquisition of new knowledge, and the opportunity to transfer that knowledge further. All this is done in the spirit of promoting a healthy lifestyle, understanding other cultures, and increasing tolerance. Our goal was to establish and develop cooperation with institutions in the fields of food and nutrition, as well as related sectors in Europe and beyond. We particularly value cooperation with Croatia, with which we share numerous commonalities due to our long-standing history together. Our efforts are directed at connecting European educational institutions to jointly create comparable and efficient educational programs that enable the automatic recognition of qualifications and credits. Through this cooperation, we aim to exchange experiences, acquire new knowledge, and transfer it further—both within and outside our institution. We are also committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle, fostering understanding of different cultures, and enhancing tolerance among them. Additionally, we aim to introduce innovations in the field of food studies and improve the quality of our educational process. The project offers our students additional opportunities that are not mandatory or included in the formal curriculum, thereby enhancing the value of their studies. Broadening the horizons by learning about other cultures, reducing prejudices, becoming more open-minded, becoming better at adapting to various situations, and gaining greater self-confidence and independence are just a few of the goals we pursue through student mobility. Moreover, we enhance the students’ employability, both in Slovenia and the European Union, and also beyond. The project supports those with fewer opportunities by providing financial support during mobility, enabling participation for students who would otherwise not be able to afford it. At the same time, we are mindful of the importance of sustainable development and the digitalization of our school. One of the project's objectives is to increase interest in the field of food and nutrition, as it is a crucial area without which humanity cannot survive. In recent years, we have observed a decline in interest in education in this field across the entire educational vertical, so we are working to increase enrolment in our Higher Vocational College. The opportunity for international mobility proves to be a highly attractive factor when choosing a study program. Among our staff, we encourage lifelong learning, personal growth, and the introduction of innovations into the educational process. We motivate them to exchange experiences with foreign partners and to transfer new knowledge to students, colleagues, and Slovenian companies we collaborate with, as well as to various interest groups and foreign partners. We are confident that projects bring employees numerous ideas, which they can successfully apply when updating educational programs in the field of food studies in Slovenia. Our lecturers were involved in the recent revision of the higher vocational study program "Food and Nutrition," where they also drew ideas from experiences gained at foreign educational institutions. They also contributed to updating the minimum standards for equipment across the entire educational vertical, from lower vocational to higher vocational education. With these projects, we aim not only to maintain but also to strengthen the interest in the internationalization of our institution, which plays a crucial role in modern society. In our work, we continuously strive to act in accordance with the Erasmus Charter and Erasmus Policy Statement, which enables us to fulfil the goals and principles of international cooperation and contribute to the success of all stakeholders involved.

Project partners (1)