On 15-16 November, LCAMP: Learner Centric Advanced Manufacturing Platform for CoVEs partners were invited to participate and present the project during the 2022 Vocational Excellence Forum which was jointly organised by the European Commission and the Basque government, with the support of the European Training Foundation (ETF), Cedefop and EACEA, as well as the Community of Practice on CoVEs in San Sebastian (Spain).
The first edition of the 2022 Vocational Excellence Forum- Global Partnership for Vocational Skills gathered more than 260 participants (in-person and online) to discuss the latest developments in the European initiative on Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs). The LCAMP project was represented by project partners Firat Arslan y Hasan Burçin Menteş de KPDoNE (Kocaeli Directorate of National Education), Noelia Cantero (EARLALL); Hervé Danton (Mecanic Valleé); Jasmina Poličnik (Knowledge Innovation Centre); Jan Bundschuh (DHBW); Liher Errasti (Miguel Altuna); Susana Espilla, Iñigo Araiztegui y Unai Ziarsolo (Tknika) and Josu Riezu (AFM).
The Forum was opened by representatives of the Basque Government, the Spanish Ministry of Education and the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. All the representatives stressed their commitment to CoVEs initiative and to advancing the importance of the Vocational Education and Training.
Centre of Vocational Excellence
During the panel ‘From Policy to Practice – Examples of Vocational Excellence’, Unai Ziarsolo, from the Basque VET Applied Research Centre, Tknika, International Project Manager, was invited to present LCAMP as a project that “seeks to become a European reference platform for knowledge, generation and exchange, collaboration, and service provision for VET/HVET centres and companies working in the Advanced Manufacturing sector.” Ziarsolo explained that the “Learner-Centric Advanced Manufacturing Platform for Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) (LCAMP) aims to become an international collaborative learning factory in the advanced manufacturing sector.” He added that “the project will create a network between VET/HVET centres and companies/company associations working in the Advanced Manufacturing sector, to reduce skills gaps in the industry and to transfer knowledge between VET centres and companies.”
Ziarsolo emphasised the virtual international dimension of the collaboration, “as international mobility allows students to learn something different, network and collaborate on similar issues faced in different countries, without having to leave their homes.”
Participants at the 2022 EU Vocational Excellence Forum selected LCAMP, as an ‘international collaborative learning factory’, to be the ‘best secret’ in the vocational excellence projects presented during the panel.
Moreover, Ziarsolo discussed how LCAMP supports Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by promoting synergies with other EU initiatives, and by therefore sharing the knowledge gathered with the whole ecosystem involved in VET.
Visits to Basque VET centres and Tknika
On the second day, participants had the opportunity to visit LCAMP partners: TKNIKA the Basque VET Applied Research Centre and Miguel Altuna LHII, VET Centre.
In the visit to TKNIKA, the Centre which develops innovative projects in the areas of technology, education and management, participants learnt more about the last developments in the local Vocational Education and Training model, such as what they are doing in technological labs (robotics or Virtual Reality), in the bioscience field or in advanced metal manufacturing.
In the visit to Miguel Altuna, participants explored the VET Centre academic programmes which is addressed to students to be employed in the Advanced Manufacturing-related sectors, with cutting-edge technology, including the integration of Cyber Physical Systems, digitalized shopfloors and labs, and other Industry 4.0 related pieces of equipment.
Coming next
The next edition of the Forum will take place in the Netherlands in the coming year, coinciding with the European Year of Skills. LCAMP partners will then have the opportunity to present the first results of the project.
More information
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