INTERNATIONAL WORK BASED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

<< Background >>Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational model deeply rooted in some European countries moving forward with greater intensity in the last few decades. There are various types of WBL, and their characteristics and regulations depend on the country's legislation. Some countries have well-structured WBL systems with an extended implementation tradition, while others have recently introduced new dual-based learning systems promoting WBL. WBL has traditionally been associated with Vocational Education and Training (VET) and plays an essential role in many European educational systems. In the last few years, WBL has also been related to higher education (HE). It appears as a model of professionalisation as it strongly links the socioeconomic fabric with the academic offer. The need to create specific training adapted to the environment's requirements and the problem of youth unemployment has made this option a new model to be developed. i-Wobal identified and improved the needs of the current tutoring systems. New challenges and demands to our education systems require new competencies. Within this project we developed a learning guide and co-created a training school for WBL Facilitators for both academic and company backgrounds<< Objectives >>The partnership identified poor training standards and a lack of commitment from academics and company facilitators, not giving training the importance it should have. The aim of i-WOBAL was to build up an international WBL model through an online training space for the academic and company facilitators to develop an innovative and more effective teaching-learning process that would revert to the improvement of student employability and adjust it to what companies need, training students specifically on market`s demand. We actively involved all parties (companies, HE centres, and facilitators) by showing them the importance of proper training and how it can positively impact each one of them. On top of everything else, the project also managed to achieve fast adaptability to the different trends in the labour market, as the produced results are versatile products susceptible to change.<< Implementation >>The project was subdivided into different activities, which were determined simultaneously by five target groups: adult learning, People with disabilities, Bachelor's Degrees, Master's Degrees, and NEETs (Not in education, employment or training). The partnership carried out the following activities: - Developed and prepared an individual report according to the target group and country, both at HEI level and company level (e.g., policies and regulations for WBL, application and assessment periods for WBL, methods of training for facilitators, and evaluation methods). Each partner focused on the field where they had the most expertise and background knowledge.- Collection, analysis, and evaluation of the recovered information: Once these reports were prepared, the information was shared and discussed among the partners to define common criteria for establishing the guide- Co-creation of the Didactic common guide as a previous step to develop the Online School of Facilitators successfully. - Development of the Online WBL Facilitator Training School: taking the guide as a starting point, we generated a learning space hosted on the project website. This is the central unit of the project activity, and it did involve research, production, testing and evaluation - all stages implemented by the partners. - Online School of Facilitators training course: This course covered aspects and content related to the technical and personal skills needed for facilitation in WBL processes. Course participants learned how to be a WBL facilitator and the benefits it would bring to companies, HE centres, and students. The mission was to be able to train all the agents involved in the WBL ecosystem to generate meaningful and transformative learning processes in cooperation. All the materials on the i-WOBAL website are available, open, and accessible in English.<< Results >>Through this Cooperation Partnership, we have designed and developed two Project Results. We aimed to build an international WBL model through a didactic guide and an online WBL facilitator training school for academic and company facilitators.The Didactical Guide was designed by and for WBL Facilitators. We made an analysis based on our expertise in WBL within each country and for a specific target group (Adult learning, People with disabilities, Bachelor's Degrees, Master's Degrees and NEETs). Based on this evaluation, we created a learning guide. This guide includes methodology, training materials, and different working methods for international WBL in HE. The goal of this guide is to provide advice to include the different circumstances experienced in WBL for each participant country (Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) and to adapt the training of facilitators to ensure that students can have a genuinely successful and realistic work experience. This benefits all the stakeholders involved.This didactic guide is:A consolidated overview that promotes aligned roles and responsibilities for all facilitators involved before, during, and after WBL engagements. The countries involved in the project understand the roles differently and establish different responsibilities. The term ‘Company and Academic facilitators’ refers to a general role, but in some models, more specific roles are involved.A comprehensive summary of the process to promote satisfactory development in dual education within your cultural environment, including some good practices and additional material from WBL engagements of all kinds.A compilation as a blueprint and starting point.The Training School aimed to train facilitators in teaching-learning processes focused on a work-based learning approach, enabling them to implement the Learning Guide's contents. The Online WBL Facilitator Training School is a tool for applying the Learning Guide to WBL Facilitation. The learners will get trained on the various phases involved in the facilitation process and the tasks a facilitator must perform. They will also learn the key skills needed to carry out their role in this WBL process and get training to develop them.The Training School was also designed by and for WBL Facilitators, both academic and company facilitators and it focuses on the five target groups previously identified w within the participant institutions. The Training School has the following sections: an introductory section, phases of the facilitation process involved in the WBL teaching-learning process, main skills with a glossary of terms describing a range of skills that a facilitator is expected to have, and a self-assessment area to evaluate your profile as a facilitator and to identify areas for improvement (upskilling and reskilling).The Training School offers four skills considered fundamental to the WBL facilitation process. These skills have been selected based on the extensive experience in WBL of the educational organisations that comprise this project's consortium. For each of the four skills, there is a series of resources and materials for further training. As an additional resource, the Training School also contains a User Way Accessible Menu, tha is, a digital tool designed to enhance the accessibility of websites for users with disabilities. It provides a set of options that can be activated to modify the way content is displayed or interacted with, making it easier for all users to navigate and engage with the site. By integrating a User Way Accessible Menu, the project website offers a more inclusive and user-friendly environment for all visitors, ensuring that everyone can access the content.This school aims to provide flexibility for institutions that wish to implement an online course based on the resources developed within the framework of the i-Wobal project. Each institution can tailor the response to its current situation based on its understanding and approach to WBL while also considering its training opportunities.Besides the above-mentioned results, the consortium has also produced the following additional resources:A 3 minute 3D animated video that explains the use of the platform through the recreation of its interfaces. A general brochure describing the aims and objectives of the project.A second brochure explaining the concrete results of the project.A button to download the Moodle Course: This file aims to provide flexibility for institutions that wish to implement an online course based on the resources developed within the framework of the i-Wobal project. Each institution can tailor it to its current situation, providing a response based on its understanding and approach to WBL while also considering its training opportunities.A Guide for Institutions has been developed with the aim of offering organisations guidance for the implementation of an online course, based on the resources developed within the framework of the project. The guide is within the downloadable Moodle. In addition, there is an example of a course guide, which is also in the course itself. 4 Infographies, one for each skill developed in the Training School, to summarise the most relevant content of the skill in question.