I-VET project 

12/15/2011 

Improving the intercultural competences of VET professionals.

I-VET is an innovation transfer project that seeks to support the initial and continuing training of VET professionals by improving their ability to manage intercultural dynamics and communication. The I-VET project will be led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) in close cooperation with the ECAP Foundation. Funding for the I-VET project will come from Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme, which is part of the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP). The I-VET project will start on 1 January 2012 and continue until 31 December 2013.

The I-VET project will examine a learning model developed by a consortium of six European higher education institutions, led by the Università della Valle d'Aosta (Italy), within the framework of an ERASMUS Intensive Programme called “Interdisciplinary Course of Intercultural Competences (ICIC)”. The learning model was also the result of the “silent” participation of both SFIVET and the ECAP Foundation. During the ICIC, students were asked to first learn theory online (preliminary assimilation phase) and then attend classes (intensive learning phase). The latter phase gave students the opportunity to reflect on what they had previously assimilated and apply it in practice. As a didactical approach, this blended learning model is particularly well suited for the improvement of intercultural competences.

The learning model used for the ICIC will be adapted so that it may be transferred to Switzerland at two levels:

• geographical, i.e. importing experiences from the EU to Switzerland;
• sectoral, i.e. importing experiences from the higher education sector to the VET sector (initial and continuing training of VET professionals).

From an operational standpoint, the I-VET project seeks to design, test and consolidate a training course for VET professionals. This course would entail an intensive training phase (exchange and immersion) where the members of the target group first attend classes during a Summer School and then form a permanent learning community.

I-VET project partners:
CH – ECAP (coordinator); IT - Università della Valle d'Aosta; CH - Università della Svizzera italiana; DE - Bildungsmarkt e.V.; BE - University College Arteveldehogeschool; FI - Metropolia University of Applied Science; HU - Semmelweis University; TR - Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Buca Eğitim Fakültesi; CH - SUPSI - Dip. Formazione Apprendimento.