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Practice Europe
Start date: Sep 1, 2014, End date: Aug 31, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Based on plans for internationalization in the Trøndelag counties of Norway, adopted by the South Trøndelag County Council, the County Authority (STFK) applies for grants to fund the project "Practice Europe". The project is a continuation of earlier Leonardo da Vinci projects. The two areas given priority in the county's overall strategy is internationalization of enterprises and youth. "Practice Europe" is a project that addresses both of these main areas and is specifically related to upper secondary vocational education and training. The project includes pupils and professionals such as, teachers, instructors, school leaders and administrative staff, but has a particular focus on apprentices. All in all STFK applies for 190 individual mobilities, of which 80 are apprentices and 30 pupils. The remaining 80 are divided into short placements for professionals as well as persons accompanying pupils and apprentices. The mobilities are to be distributed among different professions and geographical parts of the county. The activities that are to be undertaken are placements in different European countries where the participants will work or observe and take part in daily life of enterprises or schools that operate within their respective fields of expertise. For pupils the placements will be a part of their in-depth study project while they for apprentices will form an integral part of their apprenticeships. As a consequence, the period abroad will vary according to what group the participants belong. Pupils will be placed in periods of 2-4 weeks while the apprentices' stays normally will last for approximately 1-3 months. Study visits abroad for professionals are planned to last approximately 10 days. The objective of "Practice Europe" is to meet the county's private and public sectors' needs for international expertise. Enterprises of all sizes sees the world as their market and depend on drawing inspiration, expertise, knowledge and workforce from across borders.Through their participation in the project, apprentices, pupils and professionals will be given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, both in their fields of expertise, culturally and linguistically. A placement abroad gives first hand knowledge on the country they are in, its culture and traditions while at the same time giving challenges in every day and work life. Living in another country develops the ability to meet others with respect and understanding as well as the opportunity to reflect on your own experiences and circumstances at home. These are key values within international knowledge and communication, and are therefore transferable to new settings and situations. These experiences will be valuable contributions to the individuals' life long learning and useful expertise for enterprises, colleagues and fellow pupils. The mobilities will be organized in cooperation with STFK's partners in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain and Italy. The County Authority has developed internal documents for the implementation and quality management of the placements. The distribution of responsibilities between STFK and its partners are clarified and specified in a separate contract for each individual mobility. For some mobilities the partners abroad will be responsible for accommodation, language training and work placements in enterprises and schools, while STFK in other cases may organize all or most of the placements directly. Travel documents and insurances are always STFK's responsibility. An individual plan will always be prepared for each placement. For apprentices and pupils, the plan will specify which competence aims are to be focused on during the period abroad. The competence aims that are chosen will take into consideration the apprentice's and pupil's local training curriculum and the need for skills development within their specific field of learning Europass CV will be used in the selection of participants and in the planning of the placement period. Upon completion of the stay abroad, Europass Mobility Document will be used to describe the expertise the participants have acquired during the mobility. The participants are expected to enhance their international competence through their participation in "Practice Europe", and their individual learning outcome is to be a contribution to internationalization in schools and enterprises in South Trøndelag. It is also expected that the project will be a contribution to enhanced quality in vocational education and higher completion rate of upper secondary education. "Practice Europe" will be a contribution to a more extensive strategy for enhancing international expertise in schools and enterprises, in the population as a whole and youth specifically. The experiences gained from "Practice Europe" are to lead to further development in education and new international projects and initatives.
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