On March 12th, the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) hosted the workshop “Aligning Competencies Between Training Centers and Companies”, an event organized under the SECOVE project. The gathering brought together experts, academics, and industry representatives to discuss the connection between education and labor market needs, promoting strategic alignment between educational institutions and businesses.

The session featured various presentations and roundtable discussions addressing key topics for the future of education and innovation.

One of the event’s highlights was the presentation of the Innovation Hub (at the local/national level) of the Instituto Politécnico do Porto (IPP), one of the latest developments within the SECOVE framework. This hub emerges as a collaborative ecosystem aimed at fostering innovation, knowledge transfer, and skills development in the sustainable energy sector.

The European Federation of STEAME Teacher Facilitators Academies recently held its first General Assembly, marking an important milestone in the organization’s development.

Key topics included an introduction to the Federation’s mission, logistics surrounding its legal statutes, and the appointment of accounting auditors for compliance with Cypriot authorities. Members also confirmed registrations, voting rights, and elected the Management Board, which will comprise three to seven members.

A highlight of the assembly was the unveiling of an initial action plan, featuring the launch of a platform observatory, efforts to popularize the Federation’s initiatives, and programs for certification and mentoring.

This marks a significant step in promoting STEAME education across Europe by empowering teacher facilitators with robust support systems and professional frameworks.

For more information, visit https://steame-academy.eu/.

The European STEAME Teacher Academy hosted a three-day event including a coordination meeting, workshops, and a roundtable, from the 15th to the 17th of January 2025 in Bucharest, Romania. Co-funded by the European Union, the event brought together educators, trainers, and academics from across Europe to explore and enhance STEAME (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Entrepreneurship) education.

On January 15, key discussions focused on the progress of the STEAME Academy project, outlining strategic goals, and preparing for the months ahead.

Over the next two days, the program featured interactive workshops, presentations, and discussions. The sessions addressed key aspects of innovative education, including the management of STEAME learning environments, the use of VR technology for project-based learning (PBL), and approaches to integrating green energy and creativity in teaching. Trainers from various European institutions facilitated modules designed to empower teachers with cutting-edge tools and methodologies.

Notable sessions included:

• VR Learning for STEAME PBL Activities led by experts from the University of the Aegean.
• Management of STEAME Learning Spaces presented by educators from UB.
• Learning How to Learn emphasizing lifelong learning strategies, conducted by trainers from UKEN.

The event concluded with a roundtable discussion, highlighting the collective commitment to advancing education through interdisciplinary methods.

The SECOVE project’s WP6 team held an online meeting on December 13, 2024, to discuss advancements in developing and launching Innovation Hubs. These hubs aim to promote and sustain quality and innovation in vocational education and training (VET), with a focus on fostering green skills and European cooperation.

Key updates included:

• Progress on the SECOVE platform, which will serve as a central repository for Innovation Hub information.
• The development of individual and global launch plans for the hubs, with events aligned to project milestones.
• Coordination efforts led by CRES to integrate European collaboration and green skill promotion.

Next steps involve finalizing a manual, gathering additional media materials, and preparing press releases for individual and global launches in March-April 2025. The team plans to reconvene on January 10, 2025, to evaluate progress and finalize event strategies.

The 5th Transnational Project Meeting for the “Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, and Small-Scale Livestock Production Towards Climate Change” (SA2CC) project took place online on December 5, 2024. Funded under the Erasmus+ program (Project No. 101126766 – ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE), this initiative gathers international institutions to address climate change through education and capacity building in sustainable agricultural practices.

Key discussions during the meeting included updates on procurements, development of course materials, capacity-building training logistics, and dissemination activities.

Check our pitch video or scan our website to find out more about STEAME Teacher Academy.

From November 13 to 15, 2024, Berlin hosted a key training event for the VR4ALL project, a European initiative funded by the Erasmus+ program. The meeting took place at Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM) and brought together partners from Portugal, Greece, Germany, Czech Republic, and Romania to focus on the use of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) in the early stages of the design thinking process, with an emphasis on accessibility and inclusive design.

The VR4ALL project aims to explore how VR can be used to create more accessible, usable, and inclusive products. The project adopts the Design-for-all methodology, which promotes the creation of products and environments that are accessible to everyone, regardless of age, disability, or other factors.

Over three days of training, participants explored how VR can serve as an effective tool to increase empathy in the design process. The event began with a welcome session and an introduction to the VR4ALL project, followed by a presentation on design thinking and inclusive design techniques. Participants also had hands-on sessions with the Oculus Quest 2, exploring the VR4ALL application and learning about its potential for evaluating accessibility in product design.

The training included lectures on visual impairments, movement disorders, and the practical applications of VR in these contexts. The final day featured a roundtable discussion on accessibility and the role of VR in supporting inclusive design.

The event was an important step in advancing the project’s goal of integrating immersive technologies into the design process, ensuring that products are accessible and inclusive for all users.

On November 8th, two meetings were held to discuss important updates for the SECOVE project. 

In the first meeting, partners focused on the progress of the Innovation Hubs. The final configuration is nearly complete, and discussions centered on potential launch plans.

The second meeting, the monthly project review, covered key updates and outlined next steps for the semester, focusing on financing, reporting, task monitoring, and training.

For more updates, follow SECOVE closely here.

De 11 a 22 de novembro de 2024, o Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) receberá o workshop SECOVE Summer School. Destinado a estudantes de Engenharia Química, Biorrecursos e Engenharia Biomédica, esta iniciativa oferece uma visão profunda sobre os desafios da sustentabilidade e da inclusão no Ensino Superior em Portugal e na Europa.

Durante dez tardes, das 14h00 às 18h00, os participantes terão a oportunidade de explorar a utilização de tecnologias sustentáveis nas áreas de STEAM, através de sessões teóricas, atividades práticas e trabalho em grupo. No final, todos receberão um certificado de participação.

Para mais informações, pode aceder ao cartaz em anexo. Para inscrições, clique aqui.

On Wednesday, October 9th, an online meeting was held among the EU partners of the project SA2CC to discuss the progress of the course material report.

Key points discussed included the creation of working groups for each thematic cluster, with facilitators assigned to coordinate discussions and development. The five main clusters identified for training material development are:

1. Climate Change and Livestock Production
2. Crop Production / Soil Science
3. Forestry
4. Water Management
5. Economic Sustainability / Circular Economy / Waste Manipulation / Food Security

Working groups were established for each thematic area, and internal meetings will be held within each partner institution to propose specific topics for development within these clusters.

As part of the TechWhiz project, two dissemination events took place last week to share the project’s outcomes and engage with the target audience, particularly focusing on the deaf community.

1. TechWhiz Dissemination Event in Braga, Portugal (24th September)
   The first event took place on the 24th of September at the D. Maria II School Group in Braga, Portugal. The event had a specific agenda that included the following activities:
   • Presentation of the TechWhiz project results, showcasing the tools developed.
   • A hands-on session where participants had the opportunity to experiment with and explore the project’s resources.
   • A discussion session with the participants to evaluate the tools. They were asked to provide feedback on the advantages and disadvantages of the tools and suggest areas for improvement.

   The event successfully engaged the participants, who provided valuable insights for further refinement of the resources. This session helped gather critical feedback from the target audience, particularly members of the deaf community.

2. TechWhiz Dissemination Event in Crete (27th September)
   The second event was held in Crete, Greece, on the 27th of September. This event was accessible both in person and online via Microsoft Teams, allowing broader participation. The online session started at 14:00 local time.The purpose of this event was similar to that in Portugal: to present the progress and results of the TechWhiz project. It included a live demonstration of the open-access tools aimed at supporting the development and consultation of technical glossaries in sign language. Feedback from participants was also collected, focusing on the usability and potential improvements of the tools.

Both events, part of the Erasmus+ TechWhiz initiative, were successful in disseminating the project’s results and gathering important feedback. The initiative continues to focus on developing accessible tools to support technical glossaries in sign language, improving accessibility for the deaf community.

From September 17 to 19, 2024, a specialized training session titled “Establishing VET Graduates Tracking Systems: Concept and Initial Planning” is taking place at IEK DELTA in Athens, Greece. This event is part of the SECOVE project, which aims to enhance the capacity of Vocational Education and Training (VET) staff to implement graduate tracking systems. Organized by IDEC, the training is designed to equip VET professionals with the skills and tools necessary to develop efficient tracking mechanisms that will ultimately improve the quality and relevance of vocational education programs.

The primary objective of the training is to enable VET providers to establish effective graduate tracking mechanisms and feedback loops. This will allow them to monitor the progress of their graduates, assess the impact of their educational offerings, and make informed decisions to align their programs with labor market demands. The course will be based on the outcomes of the ‘On Track’ project, an initiative aimed at improving graduate tracking, and will be conducted in English. Over the course of these three days, participants will work towards developing a tracking system that can be integrated into the quality assurance frameworks of their respective institutions. This system will be based on surveys containing both open and closed questions, designed to measure specific indicators that are crucial for evaluating the success of VET programs.

Upon successful completion of the training, participants will be expected to design and implement their own graduate tracking systems, ensuring these systems align with their institution’s quality assurance procedures. The training will empower participants to gather valuable data on their graduates’ employment outcomes and further education, thus enabling them to improve the overall quality of their VET provision.

Participants are from eight partner institutions, including IPP. These participants will include staff members responsible for maintaining and improving the quality of their educational programs, as well as those involved in career services and information management. By attending this training, they will gain the necessary skills to design and implement graduate tracking surveys that align with their institution’s strategic goals, helping to ensure that VET programs continue to meet the needs of students and the demands of the labor market.