The VET2Sustain project team gathered in Verona on 12th-13th March 2025 for a productive and collaborative meeting, working efficiently toward the project’s objectives.
Luca Calligaro from ENAC warmly welcomed all participants at the start of the meeting. To ensure everyone was familiar with one another and understood their roles, the meeting began with introductions.
The first session was led by Sirje Hassinen and Oona Haapakorpi from Omnia, who provided an overview of the project’s current status. They revisited the project’s goals and commitments outlined in the project application. To align everyone’s understanding, they also introduced the working methods, key actions, and target groups.
The core promises of the project aim to improve vocational education and training (VET) in Europe. One of the key objectives is to enhance the quality of VET practices by aligning them more closely with labour market needs. The project also seeks to strengthen cooperation between various stakeholders, including VET providers, companies, chambers, national authorities, and others, through the development of Joint VET qualifications. A further goal is to establish a strong, future-oriented European-level network, fostering collaboration across borders. In addition, the project aims to increase the attractiveness of VET across Europe, making it a more appealing option for students and employers alike. Finally, a strategic approach will be adopted to ensure the maintenance of high-quality VET, with a focus on integrating essential elements such as digitalisation, inclusion, the green transition, and internationalisation.
Strategic Action Plan and Strengthening VET Cooperation Models
Katarina Sandbacka presented the development of a long-term strategic action plan focused on promoting sustainable, inclusive, and digital vocational education and training (VET). The plan’s key outcomes include establishing a partnership agreement for future cooperation, creating a shared strategy and action plan for the network, and organising an annual recurring event. Furthermore, both short- and long-term action plans will be developed for VET organisations at regional, national, and EU levels, ensuring a well-coordinated and forward-thinking approach across Europe.
Virpi Kaasinen provided an update on efforts to create and strengthen cooperation models for VET across Europe, with a particular focus on exploring networking opportunities. Among the key actions being developed are the creation of an online platform for collaboration, participation in annual joint events for projects funded under the same theme, and fostering opportunities for internationalisation activities at the national level. These efforts are designed to enhance collaboration among VET providers and improve networking across borders, ensuring stronger connections within the field.
Enhancing VET Through Dialogue
In Verona, the team discussed efforts to enhance vocational education and training through dialogue, with the goal of leveraging digitalisation, internationalisation, and the green transition to make VET more attractive. The meeting included sharing the timeline for upcoming tasks, discussing how to organise joint meetings with national governing and qualification-awarding bodies, and reviewing the current progress report. A feedback session allowed participants to discuss the report, provide input, and suggest improvements. The session also focused on evaluating next steps. This session helped refine the report and solidify the plans for future work.
AI and XR Technologies in VET
The team also worked on collecting examples of how AI and XR technologies are currently being used in vocational education across partner institutions. This included reviewing existing practices in personalised learning, study counseling, and immersive learning environments to support the modernization of VET.
At the beginning of the second meeting day, there was a presentation on the use of Thinglink in education. Samiedu showcased examples of how they have utilised Thinglink. Henri Pennanen from ThingLink guided all meeting participants in using Thinglink’s tools.
Enhancing VET Awareness and Ensuring Quality
One of the project goals is to develop an innovative communication campaign that raises awareness of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and makes it more attractive to potential students. During the discussion in Verona, several key points were covered, including linking different work packages, organising both online and onsite events in partner countries, and creating an online guidebook of best practices. In Verona, the team tested the “5 Whys” method of service design in practice, which is a key part of the Double Diamond approach. This technique involves asking “why” five times to dig deeper into the root causes of a problem, helping to uncover underlying issues and refine solutions.
During the meeting in Verona, participants engaged in discussions and wrote down their thoughts on papers regarding quality management and assurance (QMA). The focus was on minimising deviations in scope, time, and cost, and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to achieve the expected results aligned with project goals.
The communication and dissemination session on Wednesday focused on guiding partners in reporting their communication and dissemination activities. Mira Torvinen-Määttä clarified the distinction between these two concepts, explaining that communication involves spreading awareness of the project, while dissemination ensures that the right people receive and utilise the results.
The meeting set a solid foundation for the project’s next steps, reinforcing collaboration and shared commitment to achieving its ambitious goals.