Day: June 29, 2017

NETWORLD: Cultural World War I heritage with one click

In 2018 will see the centennial of the end of World War I, which will trigger of numerous academic, and media activities. The project NETWORLD, funded by the European Commission’s Danube Transnational Programme (ERDF, IPA), has already started to engage with the architectural heritage of WWI.

In Austria and other countries along the Danube, many historical sites (frontline buildings, military premises, former war prisoner camps, memorial, other buildings with WWI relevance) can still be seen. Some of them have been thoroughly explored by research and made accessible to an interested public through museums or hiking paths. This has been accomplished in some cases by public authorities, more often by private history lovers and volunteers. Other sites, however , have hardly been looked after and are threatened by decay.

For the first time NETWORLD systematically maps this cultural heritage and develops strategies for its capitalization in tourism and education. At the time being, sites are researched, and their state of preservation and strategic development potentials are explored through interviews with experts and site managers. The results will be displayed in an online database which will allow interested users to access historical information and proposals for cultural touristic routes. Hopefully, this online tool will encourage people to engage with WWI and contribute to a joint European remembrance culture across borders and former frontlines.

Person and institutions who can support us in mapping and using unexplored WWI heritage are kindly invited to contact us and share their knowledge.

Project website: interreg-danube.eu/networld

The project is co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA)
interreg-danube.eu

Conference: How to make language graduates fit for the labour market

The CES&L (Crafting Employability Strategies & Languages) project, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, has worked with employers across Europe to seek their views on how Higher Education can support modern languages students to become more employable and recognise the significance of their degree in the international job market. This research has informed the adaptation of a generic Irish training course into a resource localised to, and translated for Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, the UK, and Ireland. die Berater® had the role to ensure that the employers’ perspective was adequately taken into account in all materials and co- developed a module on entrepreneurship competence.

Now project partner AHECS (Association of Higher Education Careers Services in Ireland) is organising an international conference to present and discuss the results of this innovative and exciting project in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland on 7 September 2017. Invited guests will gain an overview of the project process which took place over the last two years, hear feedback from participating European partners on their experience of engaging in this project and be able to participate in a demonstration of two workshops from this module focusing on best practice approaches to embedding employability within language teaching.

To support attendance at this event, AHECS offers five 200 Euro bursaries for international guests to assist with travel and accommodation. If you are interested in attending this conference, please email Elaine Browne, AHECS representative. The closing date for confirming attendance is 31 July 2017.

Project website: languages4work.eu

The project has been funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme.

Childhood Cancer Survivors create their future

The conference “Living a life to the fullest”, organised as part of the Erasmus+-funded project “Create your Future” organised by die Berater®’s partner company Catro Bulgaria in Sofia brought together employers, career counsellors, trainers and young people who have overcome childhood cancer. What they need is the chance to integrate in the labour market. The conference highlighted, however, not so much the restrictions and deficiencies caused by late effects from which some survivors may suffer but which can often be overcome by a few small support measures.

Testimonials of several former patients and encouraging integration and diversity strategies of multinational companies present at the conference demonstrated the enormous potential many of these young people have and can unfold for their employers. They have all learned to cope with a severe illness and are therefore often more mature, impressing and motivated personalities than many of their colleagues who have not faced such a challenge. A strong message worth spreading…

Information for employers and career counselling materials for professionals working with the target group can be downloaded at createyourfuture-eu.org.

The project has been funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme.

Entrepreneurship learning outside the seminar room

Higher education systems in post-communist regions like the Western Balkans and Russia are struggling with the fact that the most adventurous of their graduates tend to look for careers abroad and thus cause a brain drain damaging the countries’ prospects. Those young academics who are staying, on the contrary, often prefer low-paid but “safe” positions in the public sector to insecure but perhaps more rewarding entrepreneurial careers. The Erasmus+ Capacity Building project REBUS aims at enhancing entrepreneurial mind-sets and competences of graduates of engineering and ICT study programmes.

At a project meeting at the University of Sarajevo results of a comparative study on existing entrepreneurship initiatives and training needs of university students were presented and discussed. On the basis of these findings innovative competence development programmes will be developed and piloted next year. As diverse the findings were, one thing became evident: There is a clearly identified need for new forms of entrepreneurship learning outside educational institutions: projects, mentoring, simulations, internships etc. An entrepreneurial mind is best nurtured in the fresh air of the world of business!

Visit our Project website: rebusproject.net

The project has been funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme.