The IWB-Labs project focus on the agribusiness sector and, with the purpose to increase students’ motivation, proposes the application of a Work-based learning (WBL) approach. The students will carry out virtual work experience s where they can apply, in a real work environment, the skills learnt at school. The work experience, which will be carried out at transnational level, will take the form of a virtual internship carried out at distance.
Project objectives:
The IWB-Labs project aims to:
- Motivate post-secondary VET students
- Enhance the participation of Agribusiness managers in the training of the future human resources
- Improve the internationalization of the training offer of the post-secondary VET providers
- Develop a ICT platform for the internationalization of apprenticeships
Target groups:
- Vocational students in the field of Agribusiness
- Vocational trainers in the field of Agribusiness
- Agribusiness company managers
Activities:
The project activities will be organized in the following phases:
Phase 1 – Repository of e-learning video lessons and interviews
This phase is devoted to the creation of a repository of e-learning video lessons and interviews. The repository will collect video lessons for the marketing of Agribusiness companies, delivered by managers and experts and providing VET students with specific knowledge, competences and skills coming directly from the market in order to be prepared to international work internships, and acquiring the specific requirements that are necessary to work in the different countries represented within the project partnership.
Phase 2 – Guidelines for the organisation of internships
This phase is dedicated to the development of guidelines for the organisation of internships providing VET providers, students and companies with a package of easy to use guidelines and tools to effectively plan and manage internships.
Phase 3 – On line platform for the organisation and management of virtual internships
This phase is dedicated to the creation of an on line platform for the organisation and management of virtual internships containing the profiles of companies representing the agribusiness sector willing to host virtual internships. The profiles of students that are interested to carry out their placement at international level through a virtual internship experience; a monitoring tool through which the VET provider, the company and the student can interact and monitor the virtual internship; an assessment tool with which the VET provider can cooperate with the company in order to assess and validate the knowledge, skills and competences acquired by the student in order to issue the final certification and recognition of the credits according to the ECVET requirements.
Phase 4 – Testing
Each of the deliverables produced will be tested in the framework of specific events addressed to the project’s target groups. The testing phase will allow the collection of relevant feedbacks from the end users in order to further improve the deliverables produced and create results that are fully consistent with needs and expectations of the end users.
Phase 5 – Training and Multiplier events
The project partners will organize focus groups addressed to the target groups in order to present the 3 intellectual outputs and involved the participants in a further discussion and reflection on the measures to enhance and improve the effectiveness of work based learning approaches in VET and in the organisation of transnational and virtual apprenticeships.
A number of multiplier events will be organized to disseminate the results reached, methodology implemented and output produced in the IWB-Labs project. The participants in the multiplier events will be: VET trainers and company managers.
