CENTRES OF VOCATIONAL EXCELLENCE: SKILLS ECOSYSTEMS FOR INNOVATION, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSION

“The conference was not only dealing with Excellence: it was excellent in itself!” said the European Commission referring to the virtual conference on Centres of Vocational Excellence: Skills ecosystems for innovation, regional development and inclusion held on 16 June 2020.

Tknika, with the support of the European Commission and the five pilot projects of Platforms of Vocational Excellence, organized this conference whose number of participants was extraordinary: 723 people from 105 countries.

The event lasted four hours divided into two blocks. In the first block, the Vice-Minister of Vocational Education and Training of the Basque Government, Jorge Arévalo and four representatives of the European Commission, explained to the audience what excellence in Vocational Education and Training is, what the political vision of the European Commission is, how they work with partner countries through the European Training Foundation, the relationship between Excellence in Vocational Education and Training and regional development, and finally, how the Executive Agency, EACEA, translates the political vision of the European Commission into concrete programmes.

In the second block, the five platforms of centres of  Vocational Excellence, the ones approved in the pilot initiative launched by the European Commission in 2018, presented their projects: DESA, DIHUB, EXAM 4.0, POVE WATER and TALENT JOURNEY.

Finally, Shyamal Majumdar, former head of UNESCO-UNEVOC, closed the session with an inspiring reflection on excellence in Vocational Education and Training in the times of COVID-19.

All the presentations of the day lasted fifteen minutes and we are pleased to make the recordings and documents available to everyone through the following links:

• Jorge Arévalo, Vice Minister of VET, Department of Education, Basque Government, “Moving towards the unpredictable”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Jõao Santos, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission, “Policy vision for the Initiative of Centres of Vocational Excellence”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Georgios Zisimos, European Training Foundation, “Supporting the development of Vocational
  Excellence in EU Partner Countries”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• John Edwards, Joint Research Centre, “VET Excellence as a pillar for Smart Specialisation and regional development strategies”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Michele Grombeer, European Commission, EACEA – Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive
  Agency. “Transforming policy into action through Erasmus+”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Rita Orlando, Open Design School, Foundation Matera-Basilicata 2019, “European Open Design School for Sustainable Regional Development”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Jouni Hytönen, Business College Helsinki, “Digital Innovation Hub for Cloud Based Services”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Unai Ziarsolo, TKNIKA / Miguel Altuna LHII, “Excellent Advanced Manufacturing 4.0”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Pieter Hoekstra, CIV Water project leader, “Pilot Platform of Vocational Excellence Water”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Adrijana Hodak, Šolski Center Nova Gorica, TALENT JOURNEY “Platform for CDS VET Excellence”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Shyamal Majumdar, Former Head UNESCO-UNEVOC, Germany, “Vocational Excellence at the time of COVID-19”. VIDEO & PRESENTATION.
• Full conference.

source: Tknika