TIP - ”transferring innovative practices in 2nd chance education addressing ELET” has been a strategical partnership project that established a practical learning partnership, as an open collaborative environment, between organizations and practitioners (artists, youth workers, trainers, social workers) active in social and educational work from 5 different European countries (Portugal, UK, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria), developing processes of networking creative practices in second chance education and social inclusion work. With this partnership we shared experience and knowledge, exploring the potential of non formal approaches in education, specially addressing young ELET (Early Leavers from Education and Training) and NEET (Not in Employment, Education and Training) but also connecting different target groups, disadvantaged low qualified youngsters and young graduates ready to integrate social and educational working places, both groups being mutually beneficial, both struggling for their first experiences for social and professional integration. We believe TIP partnership improved the quality and attractiveness of partners’ activities, developing along the 2 years of the project, a common strategy to create and deliver relevant and usable products that can help teachers and other professionals to extend their professional capacities and to engage as active agents of change in their educational settings. The 3 intellectual outputs that have been developed, a school-based staff training program, a toolkit of non formal creative practices and a documentary story telling film were implemented concurrently in the participating schools, with the necessary support for the introduction of these innovative practices through reflective supervisions with experienced trainers, most of them during the international mobility activities. The innovative practices that proved their potential and efficiency in social educational work addressing early leaving of education and training and attracting adults back to education are now available and easy accessible through the project communication tools, including a dedicated webpage - www.tip-eu.com. The project put a lot of efforts to promote the public awareness on the importance of non formal alternative approaches in social and educational work, addressing marginalized groups, organizing public seminars and trainings in the different countries as well as releasing a web interactive virtual platform for sharing and dissemination of results. Two joint staff training events were a fantastic opportunity for mutual learning between participants from our 5 partner countries. The wider dissemination of the project’s products and findings has been very relevant because of the wide local, national and international networks that the partner organizations are members of.

Vocational education has lost much of its attractiveness. Especially in EU countries with predominantly school-based vocational training (e.g. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia) the participation rate is low, dropped to an alarmingly low level, and is perceived by many young people as a dead end. At the same time companies complain about the lack of skills of graduates. The consequences are an unemployment rate of 20-25% of the 15-24 year olds in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.Due to the demographic change, the number of school leavers is dropping fast significantly in all member states, except for Sweden. By 2030, the number of 15-44 year olds in the labor force will decrease by up to 25%. Already today, a shortage of skilled workers exists in most countries. This increasingly affects the future and limits any growth development.Increasing qualifications and at the same time eliminating the shortage of skilled labor is the most important task and key to a sustainable strengthening of innovation, competitiveness and growth of SMEs. The German dual system of vocational training, which leads to a comparatively low youth unemployment, can make a large contribution with a lasting impact on the achievement of these objectives. Therefore, by introducing Work based Learning in vocational education, the project pursued the following overall objectives: a) Greatly improving integration of young people in vocational training and reducing youth unemployment andb) Providing qualified staff and thus promoting innovation and competitiveness in SMEs.The following action objectives served this purpose:1. The development of specific concepts for the realization of Work based Learning in VET on the basis of the German system of dual vocational training for three countries with predominantly school-based vocational training (Poland, Lithuania and Hungary). 2. In two countries (Lithuania and Hungary) the specific introduction of a dual system of vocational training, which is tailored to the specific conditions of the country and includes experiences from all countries around the Baltic Sea.3. Development of adapted curricula for train-the-trainers in SMEs (in-company trainers educating the trainees on the spot in the enterprise) and implementations in Poland, Lithuania and Hungary.4. Development of coordinated concepts and the creation of an international network of 13 countries for permanent promotion and implementation of Work based Learning.5. Transfer of the project results to 68 education providers from 13 countries and the promotion of broad-based implementations.The project was led by the Baltic Sea Academy, which has successfully developed and implemented dual bachelor's degree programs in recent years (vocational training in SMEs while studying at a university) in different countries. Another renowned expert of the German dual system, the Chamber of Crafts Dresden was represented in the consortium to contribute all documents, materials and experiences for dual vocational training in Germany and the train-the-trainers seminars for SMEs.In order to identify and thus to improve the transfer success for other countries and evaluate different national conditions, with the selected countries of Poland, Lithuania and Hungary - where there is a great need for action as well as strong willingness for the realization of Work based Learning - the ideal implementing partners were chosen. From these countries the following partners participated in the consortium:a) A Chamber of Crafts, which itself operates two large vocational schools and can implement dual vocational trainings with their SME members.b) Two large professional schools that wanted to realize Work based Learning and cooperate with chambers that introduce SMEs to the operational parts of the training. c) Two universities that, with the other partners, developed region-specific concepts and curricula, and evaluated as well as advised the implementation process. Additionally, the universities developed concepts and curricula for the train-the-trainers seminars and permanently implemented them in cooperation with the chambers.Through the Baltic Sea Academy 18 colleges/universities and 50 chambers from 13 countries were involved as transfer partners. They received all project results, were advised on implementation, and were encouraged to continuously promote Work based Learning in their regions. Thus, a far-reaching effect and high sustainability were achieved.With the implementation of tailor-made solutions for dual systems, young people will be better integrated; they obtain the necessary qualifications in the labor market and youth unemployment is reduced. SMEs get the much needed qualified workforce and get prepared through the train-the-trainer measures for dual vocational training. Through the inclusion of 68 key education stakeholders from 13 countries a continuous support network for the implementation of Work based Learning was created.

The iYouth project responded to continued calls from such global institutions as the European Commission and the OECD to re-think education and to help equip the new generations of students with the skills and competences they need in their new globalized world. Thus iYouth formed and forms part of the Commission’s “re-thinking education agenda”. Among the highest priorities in this agenda are the development of entrepreneurial competences and innovation competences. The iYouth project was missioned to explore how schools and teachers can create innovation interest and capacity among 12-16 years old secondary school students – in close collaboration with community/societal resources and through offering the student teams real-life missions to accomplish.It was clear from the beginning that such innovation interest and capacity cannot be taught traditionally in the classroom. This means that creating entrepreneurial, innovation and other important 21st century skills among secondary school students call for a dramatically new organization of learning: it is not simply about adding new content to the curricula, but about the dramatic fact that these important 21st century skills simply cannot be acquired within traditional academic didactics.The iYouth project was aware of this from the very beginning, therefore creating such activity forms as real-life and real-time engagement in innovation processes in the community. However, during the project this approach was refined and further developed into an authentic open schooling approach, more systematically describing and exploring the key features of the open schooling methodology: the innovation activities are organized as community missions, no teaching takes place and learning happens when needed and relevant, all activities are community relevant and take place in close interaction with community/societal innovation resources – and all activities address important challenges in real-life and in real-time. The most important element in this open schooling approach is agency: the innovation interest and the innovation capacity can only be developed through taking action in the real world. It is precisely through the students’ agency that they build interest, capacity and competences.The outcomes of the project are based on such experimentation in 5 secondary schools from across Europe, involving almost 100 secondary school students engaging in a number of community driven, student driven or project driven innovation projects, relevant to the community and producing new resources in the community. The outcomes can be accessed here: http://iyouths.eu/The students’ innovation activities at the same time revealed a more or less anticipated challenge: it is very difficult for many schools to practice new forms of education and learning, as schools and teachers are tremendously restricted by increasingly rigid and inflexible curricula, not at all supporting the implementation of the Commission visions. Schools, teachers and students will need to struggle with such “against all odds” realities in their attempt to respond to and support the educational visions of the European Commission and leading educational research. The project’s policy and research recommendations papers address those challenges and point to ways to face the obstacles. The iYouth project will form part of the European practical experimentation bank on which highly needed educational innovation will build in the future. What was not expected and what goes beyond what was foreseen in the application is the fact that the iYouth project will feed into what now has become a long-term plan towards European leadership.The iYouth project has accomplished this mission in the form of providing rich guidance material openly available from the project website. The guidance is based on practical experience, not on educational theory, and is therefore considered most useful to dedicated schools and teachers. Key partners used the iYouth and similar project platforms to design a long-term sustainability strategy entitled “Unteachables but Learnables”.This long-term mission will address the fact that traditional academic teaching is becoming increasingly irrelevant to 21st century youth, and that it needs to be urgently replaced by totally different open schooling, project based and mission based learning processes, empowering the young students’ agency.The “Unteachables but Learnables” platform includes several new 2019 and 2020 Erasmus+ initiatives, exploring various aspects of how to empower young students’ agency. A higher level European initiative is foreseen as a result of this experimentation – resulting in, within a 5 year period, a European leadership in the fields addressed. What was not expected and what goes beyond what was foreseen in the application is the fact that the iYouth project will feed into what now has become a long-term plan towards European leadership.

"The need for energy saving and for use of renewable energy is particularly high in some Baltic Sea Region countries, given the very high proportion of old buildings greatly in need of refurbishment; e.g. until 1993 99 % of the buildings built in Latvia had a very low energy efficiency. SMEs in various sectors, especially the crafts, are therefore predestined to function as an active contributor to this process, as they carry out such works in old and in new buildings and thus they fulfil important functions related to render assistance in direct contact with final consumers, such as information and consulting. SMEs in Germany and Scandinavia have systematically developed energy as a growth area. While SMEs in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus and Russia are strongly interested in this area, however, a systematic business development is almost completely lacking in these countries. According to the ""build-up skills national reports"" for individual countries, the number of concerned professionals has to increase up to 50 % until 2020 in order to meet the EU's energy goals. In addition, SMEs in all Baltic countries are in high demand for training on energy-related issues, particularly in Poland and in the Baltic countries. SMEs account for 99 % of all enterprises and almost 70 % of all jobs. The existing shortage of skilled labour, which will increase in the future still strongly influenced by the demographic development, however, is increasingly becoming a major barrier to growth. The training of existing staff and the recruitment of qualified professionals is therefore the most crucial task for the promotion of SMEs in general, and in particular for the realization of the energy targets. To secure skilled-labour supply and to increase skills in the energy sector in the Baltic Sea Region countries, the German advanced training model ""Building energy consultant"", issued 2012 by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, may be particularly suitable. It is not just a 1:1-adaptation that matters, but the creation of opportunities in the Baltic Sea Region states and the set-up of comparable information and advisory services for energy conservation and for alternative energy sources, to make available a holistic approach, with a complete package of legal, technical and economic content, depending on national conditions and needs. Studies on the development of economy, population, education and labour markets will be evaluated for the energy sector. In the partner countries qualification demand analyses are to be performed. On this basis, as well as based on the German “building energy consultant”, concepts for a dual training model are to be developed. a) A compact course with to 70 - 80 hours, a survey primarily addressed to company owners that may initiate an effective entry of companies into energy conservation and the use of renewable energies. b) A comprehensive course which consists of core and elective modules. The obligatory modules contain all relevant issues concerning the assessment of the building envelope and systems engineering, identification of potential savings, investment and profitability calculations, legal foundations and consulting expertise. Each elective module deepens the knowledge to execute building works, such as proper installation of insulation materials, installation and maintenance of renewable energies, etc. Depending on local conditions and needs, further training courses are to be combined with at least 300 hours of obligatory and optional modules. Target groups are managers and experienced professionals from the SME sector, architects and engineers. For both courses, curricula, teaching materials, etc. will be developed. Tests and evaluations are planned in five countries in order to identify varied national conditions and to test all combinations of modules. A ""train-the-trainer""-program, targeted for lecturers of universities, chambers and other education providers, will be developed, tested and evaluated. The goal is to offer this program at universities on a permanent basis, so that teachers get qualified for the ongoing independent implementation of courses in all regions. The project under the lead of the Baltic Sea Academy will be carried out together with six universities, chambers and training institutions from Germany, Poland, Estonia and Hungary. 67 chambers with their educational institutions as well as several educational institutions and universities from 13 countries are involved as associated partners. All project results, such as concepts, curricula, teaching materials, application notes, etc. will be published in a handbook and forwarded to the associated partners, advice will be given on the implementation. Diverse dissemination models will be implemented in various countries to achieve a sustainable demand for the courses aimed to secure supply of skilled labour and to increase skills in energy issues on a large scale."

Following summary are the one stated at the final webapge - https://chris-erasmusplus.eu/: In this project, there are nine countries participating: Denmark, Poland, Spain, Romania, Lithuania, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and Italy. The first four countries are knowledge- and quality partners while the last five are practical partners and hereby the partners that will include children in the project. The aim of the project was to develop didactical initiatives to prevent different types of radicalisation amongst children and young people in schools. This was done by engaging 25 children from five different countries, since the project aimed at implementing the children’s perspective and are the key to getting an insight into why some children and young people find it meaningful to engage in radicalization, hence gives us an insight into what initiatives need to be taken in order to prevent this. The CHRIS project involved young students in basic schooling from a diversity of European countries in the development of sustainable ways of countering radicalisation in schools. This involvement was based on in-depths engagement in what produces radicalisation potential in relation to teenage identity formation and through real-life and real-time community collaboration – and with the aim to build capacity to co-create the project outcomes. The CHRIS project aimed at taking radicalisation prevention in schools to a didactic level and mobilize young students’ hidden and unfolded knowledge to do so. Therefore, the project aimed at taking the participating young student teams through 3 phases of capacity building and co-creation: Feeling Me Feeling School (identity), Open Schooling (reality and community) and Co-creation (design of radicalisation prevention in schools).The project aimed at producing the following key outcomes: -CHRIS resources to use as cases-CHRIS guide pack on radicalisation prevention in school for primary and secondary schools across Europe-CHRIS research meant as recommendations for further and focused research based on the project experience and knowledge creation-CHRIS policy meant as recommendations for radicalisation prevention policy for schools based on the project experience and knowledge creationThe key element of the project was furthermore this webpage where access to the project’s products will be given including didactical ideas that the children in collaboration with the project partners have developed during this project. The material is hereby available to all interested in preventing radicalization.