"The future Smart Factory with the increasing degree of digitization and complexity of production and maintenance processes requires training that meets these requirements. The key element and the main aim of this project was to initiate, expand and standardize the learning cooperation between vocational colleges and companies using the example of energy management in the times of Industry 4.0. Companies can enrich education through current practical problems and their solutions as well as through technical infrastructure. This integration of theory and practice can appear highly motivating for both students and teachers. For the reality is more complex and not as predictable as the next page in a book and thus always represents a challenge for students and teachers. Thus, learning cooperation can also be considered as advanced training for all parties involved in VET.The cooperation took place both at national and European level and allowed for wide-ranging exchange of experience on technological possibilities and perspectives, as well as methodological approaches in education in general, and in particular in the area of workplace-based learning. The project involved four vocational colleges from Italy, Estonia, the Netherlands and Germany as well as cooperating companies. All students involved in the project are receiving training in electrical engineering or mechatronics. They were supported by their instructors and teachers.Through the joint launch of learning arrangements, this project collected, tested, questioned and optimized the ""best practice"" approaches in the learning cooperation of the participating European partner schools. This took place in two runs, each consisting of an operational implementation phase and a Learning Teaching Training Activity. On the one hand, it was about finding the problem and the solution. On the other hand, the task-related subject-specific content was prepared and tested by the students, before being passed on to the European partners in the form of a creative lesson sequence. The students could choose the content themselves after consulting the company. In the first run, the focus was on energy management and in the second run on company-specific contents regarding the Industry 4.0.As the students carefully and independently developed, tested and performed their company-specific work assignments and learning arrangements for the Learning Teaching Training Activity, they were able to develop their skills for coping with future practical tasks. In addition, the project language was English, so a further professional and interpersonal challenge could be dealt with. On the one hand, the teachers involved in the project were able to gain new ideas in the technological spectrum of Industry 4.0 as well as initiate a substantive discussion with regard to the future 4.0 skilled worker. This was mainly about the generation of possible work areas in the aforementioned spectrum and the creation of concrete learning situations. On the other hand, as already described, the cooperation between learning locations was initiated, tested and assessed in collaboration with the European partners. Furthermore, a methodological guideline for standardization was cooperatively developed. The following goals were thus achieved by the project:1. Method optimization regarding: a. previous approaches. b. the independence of the trainees in the sense of self-organized learning. c. cooperation between companies and educational institutions (cooperation between learning locations). 2. Exposing new relevant learning content in the context of ""Industry 4.0"". 3. Creation or strengthening of networks.Teaching in the form of a learning situation with a practical task was new in this form for the partner schools. This ""best practice"" approach in combination with ""self-organized learning"" and ""students teach students"" is innovative and requires an open educational landscape. Because only by “opening up” is it possible for students to live out their creativity, develop ideas and solutions, present and integrate them."

"The increasing complexity of current and future technical processes requires training that meets the demands. Skilled workers are confronted with increasingly complex systems that can only be mastered through experience and training. The training period ties up personnel and thus entails costs and should be minimized as much as possible. With their service-oriented view, companies are also confronted with these issues and are looking for solutions. For vocational training and thus for skilled workers 4.0, this development raises questions about content and methodology.The technologies of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can provide support in this endeavor. This project aims at establishing practice-oriented cooperation between vocational schools and companies and developing concrete teaching material in this promising area. The cooperation takes place on a national as well as European level in order to establish a broad exchange of experience on VR and AR technologies and possibilities of their application. Thus, in this project, participating partners from Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain explore and test AR and VR technologies to prepare them for use in school lessons. An interdisciplinary approach pursued in this project enables most diverse disciplines and departments from local, regional and European levels to develop the AR and VR technologies with their own views and procedures, against different backgrounds and levels of previous knowledge, and to disseminate them as innovation multipliers.The five participating partners are technical vocational schools from Germany (BBS Osnabrück-Brinkstraße), the Netherlands (ROC Friese Poort, Sneek), Finland (Tampereen Kaupunki, Tampere), Italy (ISIS ""Città di Luino - Carlo Volonté"", Luino) and Spain (I. E. S. Politècnico de Vigo). A total of 40 students and 18 teachers were recruited for the project. The companies in various industry sectors were selected to join the project according to their interest and their opportunities to support in the area of AR and VR.A joint workshop LTAA1 lays a common content and technological foundation and serves as a basis for developing possible applications of AR and VR technologies in the local and regional setting. Against this background, students, assisted by the company and school, create and independently implement company-based learning situations. From these learning situations, they develop learning arrangements for school lessons, test them in their own school and adjust them for the upcoming LTTA2. In the next step, the students implement and analyse the adjusted learning tasks at the LTTA2 in mixed European groups. These evaluated learning tasks are subsequently implemented in all partner schools, adapted to their own needs and conditions. The results and adjustments are finally evaluated together with all project partners. In the end, the finalised teaching material is presented in a local setting and made available to the general public via the project website. Targeted project results:•teaching material in the form of concrete learning situations from the cross-sector industrial environment with real company-based problems and tasks at local, regional and European level•initiation, dissemination and deepening of workplace-based and self-organized learning (VET 4.0)•expertise in the field of AR and VRThe long-term benefits of the project include:•development of ideas on new teaching and learning methods in the context of VET 4.0•implementation and consolidation of the partners’ “best practice” strategies •optimization of cooperation between companies and schools•intermeshment of practical and theoretical training•strengthening of the European cooperation between schools and companies•improvement of cooperation between learning locations in VET•building and strengthening of transnational networks at different levels•development of new ideas for improvement of operational processes•further development of participants’ professional skills, problem-solving skills, social skills and personal responsibility"