NSB project was born from the need to address a long lasting challenge in Vocational Education and Training (VET): early school leaving, which was even more visible during the global pandemic, especially among students coming from disadvantaged socio-economic contexts.
For two years (2022 – 2024), the Antalya Anatolian Vocational and Technical High School (TR), SERŠ Maribor (SI), Episkopi Secondary School (CY), IISS Concetto Marchesi (IT) and EfVET – partners of NSB project, coordinated by EPATV – Escola Profissional Amar Terra Verde (PT) – came together to create a set of outcomes and results rooted in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) methodology applied to training, aimed at VET students, teachers and staff, young people and mentors.
Those results are:
- App for Android and IOS devices, with a short survey for students and young people in general, with questions about culture, history, science, that allows for them to develop their critical and creative skills while understanding which areas they need to develop further through training and non-formal and informal learning contexts, such as Workshops or Summer Schools;
- “The role of the Mentor… in 1 Minute!”, an e-Book destined to provide information about the expected roles and responsibilities of a Mentor, and how to become a Mentor in the counties of the partnership, to those interested in becoming Mentors;
- “Summer School… Manual”, a digital guide that provides a wide set of activities (e.g., scientific experiments, practical case studies focused on the use of digital tools and platforms in VET) that can be carried out separately or together with the remaining NSB results, and in official VET and non-formal and informal learning contexts;
- Evaluation management platform, aimed at all users of NSB results to assess their usability and effectiveness, even after the project’s conclusion, in August 31st
To be able to develop and achieve these results, NSB partners gathered in several Staff Learning Activities that allowed them explore relevant topics such as STEAM methodologies applied to training, mentorship practices in non-formal and informal learning, and digital tools applied to the assessment of results.
Moreover, each NSB Transnational Project Meeting carried out allowed partners to monitor the progress of the project’s results’ development process and to allow for fruitful discussions for a successful achievement of NSB expected outcomes.
The project’s activities culminated with NSB Final Multiplier Event, hosted by EPATV in July 16th 2024, in Vila Verde, Braga (PT). This major hybrid event, attended by more than 120 participants (including VET schools’ managers, teachers and students) aimed to present the project and its main results, and explain their positive impact on NSB target groups.
All NSB results will become publicly available at its website, https://nsb-erasmus.eu/, where the links for the project social media channels (where information and pictures of all project’s and partners’ activities can be found), news and pictures taken throughout the project are also available.
When concluding this innovative project, NSB partners cannot help but to feel proud for all of the work done through fruitful collaboration between them, and for the results achieved, which for sure will have a positive impact on the quality of the training and learning environments in VET and in non-formal and informal learning contexts, contributing for motivating students to continue their learning pathways while preventing early school dropout rates.
