Warnborough College Ireland (WCI) was at the Aeres Hogeschool Wageningen (AHW) in the Netherlands for the Pro-VET project’s transnational meeting at the end of January 2020 (January 27-31).

The project is co-funded by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme, and brings Warnborough together with 11 other universities across Europe, Russia and Serbia to develop professional VET teachers.

AHW’s director, Dr Madalon de Beus, welcomed delegates at the start of the event. The week was comprised of ‘inspirational’ sessions designed to motivate university partners with ideas and best practice on effective ways of teacher training.

WCI led two of these sessions:

VP Dr Julian Ng showcased a suite of ways to build interactivity into online courses, using an online platform to demonstrate this by leading delegates through a journey of discovery. The aim was to engage the learners fully throughout the process rather than just putting content online.

Prof Urs Hauenstein led a workshop on the key and core skills for sustainability in the 21st century, such as ethics, authenticity, holistic development, integrity, mindfulness and gratefulness. He also co-ran a workshop using art for creativity with Russian partner, Dr Maria Dremina.

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Delegates were split up in working groups and the European partner institutions took it in turns to mentor their Russian and Serbian colleagues. Sessions ranged from rowdy to pensive, and by the end of the week, progress on the project was good.

Several excursions were arranged by the host institution to Doorwerth Castle and to a hospitality and hotel management VET school, Rijn IJssel Vakschool Wageningen (where delegates were treated to a fine dining experience).

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WCI are grateful to be part of such a wonderful project with so many distinguished partners. We look forward to hosting everyone in Dublin in June.

For more on the week, read here.