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Mobility of higher education students and staff supported by internal policy funds (KA131-HED) - Coordinator: IES LA MERCED

2023-1-ES01-KA131-HED-0001245272023Mobility of higher education students and stafffinalized
Countries: ES · Grant: €6,450

Objectives

Our main objective with this project was to consolidate the Erasmus+ Higher Education project at IES La Merced, as the previous call was the first in which we managed our KA 131-HED project outside the consortium. For this edition of the Erasmus+ program, our goals were to design and implement physical mobility programs for student internships in companies and organize our first faculty mobility program, thus contributing to the achievement of our school's internationalization plan. Since we work at a vocational training center, even though we are in higher education, the types of mobility programs organized are only for internships in companies, since their recognition (validation) with the Workplace Training module is immediate, as established in Castilla y León regulations. On the other hand, also because we are a vocational training center, we did not plan to accept any foreign students at our institution as students. However, we did plan to continue collaborating with peer centers to organize their mobility programs in Valladolid, providing mutual support for job searches, housing for students, and assistance with their integration into the city. As a new challenge, we also plan to begin organizing mobility programs for teachers formation. The main focus of our institution's Internationalization Plan is to promote environmental sustainability, which, in our case, is embodied in improving students' skills to perform the jobs required by the ecological transition and the shift toward a sustainable industry aligned with their professional profile. To this end, we incorporate skills related to this area into our training programs. Furthermore, as a vocational training center, our goal is always to facilitate students' personal development and improve their preparation for integration into the labor market, strengthening their technical and soft skills. Therefore, the companies chosen for internships matched the professional profile and preferences of the selected students. In light of the results from the previous year, during the 2022-23 academic year, we aimed to improve the results of the Erasmus Survey regarding the impact of their Erasmus experience on their intention to participate in electoral and democratic processes. In general, vocational training students who do internships in companies consider their E+ experience to be unrelated to this issue. To this end, one of the internships was organized with a renewable energy cooperative, where students had the opportunity to participate in assembly processes where company decisions are made in a participatory and democratic manner. Looking at the results of the 2023-2024 academic year, and during the 2024-25 academic year, we also made an effort to improve the results regarding the improvement of sustainable habits. As in the previous case, students who do internships in companies do not usually consider there to be a relationship between their lifestyle habits and their mobility for internships. At IES La Merced, however, we believe that E+ mobilities are life experiences that mark a turning point and can also help participants acquire greater responsibility for their habits, especially in the case of students who are leaving home for the first time. Therefore, we aimed to focus on this aspect and designed a behavior modification activity in which, prior to the mobility, students completed a self-assessment of their consumption habits and set goals for their stay. During their Erasmus experience, personalized monitoring of their goal achievement was provided, and the final result was evaluated in the personal interview. Finally, it should be noted that with the Erasmus Higher Education project, we also aimed to continue generating synergies with other projects and activities carried out within the school, always within the guidelines of the ECHE Charter. To this end, we planned to work jointly with the school's other Erasmus+ projects and the Environmental Action Plan, as well as with the Guidance and Language Departments. With the implementation of the new vocational training program, we have seen an increase in the profile of teachers teaching in the cycles, as we now have English classmates. As a new feature during the 2024-25 academic year, the Erasmus vocational training working group included teachers with this profile who organized a seminar on the OLS platform, provided initial training for students, and explored its potential application and use in classes for advanced and intermediate cycles of VET.

Project partners (1)