Multiplier Events
FEEF [x] NOVA
Lisbon, Portugal
On March 21st, NOVA University's Rectorate held a dynamic event showcasing outcomes of the ‘From Educators to Entrepreneurial Facilitators’ (FEEF) project, which aims to bridge academia and the business sector.
FEEF, is an ERASMUS+ initiative that equips educators with facilitation techniques to integrate industry perspectives into classroom settings from day one - recognizing 14 critical soft skills and 10 facilitation techniques, this project fosters relevant learning experiences (check the FEEF methodology).
Bringing together students, professors, and business leaders, the event fostered discussions on aligning graduates' skills with industry needs. Using the FEEF toolkit, participants delved into prioritizing soft skills, mapping gaps between academia and business, and creating actionable plans for student success.
Through practical sessions, attendees explored diverse approaches to addressing the gap, showcasing the ease of implementing FEEF tools for immediate classroom impact.
The FEEF Multiplier Event was open to the public and drew participants from different universities and businesses in and outside Portugal. Managed by NOVA University Lisbon in collaboration with partners, including Santander International Entrepreneurship Center (CISE), University of Cantabria, University of Padova, and the Hogeschool Voor Moving Minds (UCLL), the project heralds a new era of education-business collaboration.
FEEF [X] UCLL
Diepenbeek, Belgium
On March 5 2024 we welcomed 50 teachers from higher & secondary education to our campus in Diepenbeek. One of the topics of this event was the bringing together of Academia and the Business world. Both sectors are intertwined if they want to develop solutions that answer to the problems the world faces. And Educators are the core of the equation. They are the bridge that can reduce this gap. Those who have a role in educating students and the competences to understand the market needs.
After a short introduction on the importance of future skills in this rapidly changing world, we introduced the FEEF project and our aim. We organized a poll with these questions:
- Do your students know what is going on in the business world.
- Do you as a teacher know what the business world is expecting from newly hired people?
- Do you as a teacher integrate activities in your classes which develop the future skills of your students in order to prepare them for the future business world?
What struck us was that they indeed indicated that young people do not yet have a good idea of what is going on in the business world and teachers do not always exactly know what the labor market expects from the students. Some of the teachers already used entrepreneurial activities in their classes, but by far not all of them - for numerous reasons (time, not the right network, …)
One of our teachers who was involved in the Santander staff training shared his experiences on the pilot he has been running with his class, using a new facilitation technique.
Then we had a workshop, where little groups of teachers first did some reverse brainstorming on the challenge ‘how can we close the gap between education and business’. First they looked at ways to widen the gap, after they reversed their answers and came up with ideas to close the gap. They had to choose one final idea from this list, and explore this idea using the educational model canvas.
After this workshop, we concluded with an explanation of the toolkit and the referral to our website to show them where to download all the materials we have developed within the FEEF project. They received all the tools in order to repeat the exercise with colleagues from their own institution, so they can use the FEEF facilitation techniques (or new techniques they developed themselves) in order to bridge the gap.
The evaluation of our event was very positive, there was a lot of interaction, attendees got the chance to share their experiences, learn from each other, and broaden their network.
FEEF [x] UNIPD
Padua, Italy
The Job Placement Summit 2024 (JoPS) in Padua was not just a gathering but a pivotal multiplier event, amplifying the impact of initiatives like FEEF. With 120 participants from 45 universities and representatives from leading national and international companies, the event provided a platform to explore innovative approaches to career guidance.
A significant highlight was the presentation of the pilot project results for FEEF (From Educators To Entrepreneurial Facilitators). Developed as part of a European initiative, FEEF aims to enhance student guidance and professional development by offering resources to foster entrepreneurial skills.
The presentation, led by Sara Raponi from the Career Service of the University of Padova and supported by Eleonora Zorzi one of professors involved in the piloting phase, showcased the positive impact of FEEF on students' readiness for the evolving job market. The engaged audience demonstrated their interest through numerous questions, reflecting the relevance and significance of initiatives like FEEF in addressing contemporary challenges in career development.
In the latter half of the day, FEEF became one of the key topics discussed in the roundtable discussions. This further underscored its importance as a cutting-edge initiative in shaping the future of career guidance and professional development.
The JoPS 2024 edition facilitated the exchange of ideas and the formation of partnerships, demonstrating the commitment of participating institutions to support students in their career journeys.
FEEF [x] UC - CISE
Santander, Spain
The multiplier event organized by CISE was a multidisciplinary event that brought together different professional sectors, such as professors (university, secondary education, and vocational training, from public and private centers), students of access courses to the teaching staff, doctoral students, and local entrepreneurs. Professors and students expressed their interest in learning about facilitation techniques and real examples of their application in the classroom and the results of this implementation. On the other hand, the business sector expressed its interest in knowing the techniques and how students develop their skills, and on the other hand, they were interested in knowing the techniques and using them as a resource in their work teams.
The multiplier event consisted of three distinct phases:
1-In the first phase, we present the project, consortium, and resources. We provide them with a paper copy of the methodology and toolkit and explain the creation process and their content and introduce them to the MOOC and its different modules and contents.
2-In a second phase, we had the presence of three professors from the University of Cantabria, who presented their experience in the implementation of FEEF resources in the classroom through the different activities they planned: an escape room, a visit to companies and a world café.
3-In a third phase, we had the presence of a businesswoman who is a member of the CISE mentoring network who spoke about her experience as a mentor and the importance that this figure has for students, as a reference figure on which to rely in the development and achievement of their academic objectives.