Leipzig, Germany, March 2022: The ESESII consortium came together last month in Leipzig for its first training activity: the Training of the Trainers. The training event, an “LTTA” (Learning, Training and Teaching Activity) is the first out of three training events under the scope of the Erasmus+ project.
The main aim of the ESESII project is to boost internationalisation among social entrepreneurs. Tailored trainings such as these are a vital part of the ESESII program. ESESII’s project partners are developing a VET (Vocational Education and Training) curriculum, tailored to improve social entrepreneurs’ internationalisation competencies. The event in Leipzig was an important step in the development of this training curriculum.
At the 3-day event, hosted by SEPT Competence Centre of Universität Leipzig, 12 experienced and aspiring trainers of the consortium were present. Their goal was to get acquainted with the ins and outs of adult VET education and to further test and develop the internationalisation training curriculum developed by the project partners.
Synthesis’ Irene Kamba, an experienced VET trainer and lead of the development of the VET Curriculum, gave engaging workshops about her experience in the VET sector. Irenealso shared interesting tips and tricks on how to be a successful trainer.
The trainers were challenged to critically assess social entrepreneurs’ internationalisation skills and competences as identified in the project’s first output; the Competence framework for international social entrepreneurs. Next to this, the participants shared ways in which they, as trainers, could ensure that these key competencies are covered in the VET curriculum’s training modules.
Under the sunny blue skies of Leipzig, the training’s participants enjoyed getting to know one another on a more personal level and took the time to share their own experiences, opinions and feedback in the context of social entrepreneurship, social innovation and internationalisation.
Hear what the participants had to say about the first “LTTA” of the ESESII project:
I particularly enjoyed the discussions that spontaneously originated after each presentation because I could appreciate the different backgrounds of the participants and still see how we built on each other towards a common goal. Overall, it was an inspiring and remarkable experience. Lorena Barrera (Social Impact Award)
After over a year of digital co-working among the ESESII-consortium partners, we were thrilled to finally explore the benefits of physical events within the project. Reflecting on findings of ESESII’s theoretical foundation, it was great to see the various trainers different approaches when it comes to translating the content into successful trainings. Martin Mehrwald (WU Vienna)
One thing that became apparent is, that while some support exists, social entrepreneurs require a clear understanding of their impact in order to confidently replicate it into a new locale. Christian Vietz (Euclid Network)
Looking ahead to the next three quarters of the year, the ‘ESESII” consortium will be working towards the finalising the training curriculum, followed by iterative testing of the curriculum together with social entrepreneurs.
Alongside the development of the VET curriculum, the consortium will be creating an “Upskilling Toolkit,” destined to equip social enterprise support organisations with key internationalisation knowledge and skills.
Are you interested to learn more about the ESESII project, or are you a social entrepreneur or support organisation eager to help us develop the VET training curriculum and the Toolkit?
