ITONBOARD introduces young people to career orientation possibilities in IT with a focus on open source software communities. The onboarding program extends from gamified career orientation activities to in-depth e-learning to facilitating the involvement of companies in order to offer a practical component.Students in the general education system are first playfully familiarized with the basic ins and outs of careers in the realm of IT.Teachers are provided with the tools they need to carry out IT career orientation initiatives using innovative and engaging methods.Young people can use e-learning to obtain further information on their own with regard to the IT occupations in question.European IT companies are encouraged to offer internships to both secondary and post-secondary students and are offered guidance to this end. Facilitation of contact between IT companies offering internships and young people looking for them is provided via an online internship exchange. The project components interlock seamlessly with one another and guide students from their first playful contact with IT-related topics to the final community onboarding.The content is based on common working methods of open source projects and communities. All project results will be made freely available on an online platform and are designed to be transferable to other communities and technologies.The concrete project results include gamified career orientation activities at schools in escape game form, a guide for the implementation of project weeks at schools, e-learning courses on the topic of IT career orientation, an internship guide designed to assist medium-sized and small IT companies in the design of an internship and an online internship exchange as a European marketplace for internship providers and interns.

Working abroad in a foreign country is a challenge which implies a great effort in order to familiarize with the customs and the culture of the new country as well as the chance to assume bigger roles and greater responsibilities in their professional career. Either the culture shock or even issues like support, the uncertainty, etc. can directly affect the professional efficiency. For this purpose, the project aims at finding out, which components an ideal intercultural preparation and an integration programme for companies should contain.Usually the need for being prepared for international exchanges is restricted to those who will go abroad. But a decisive role for a successful exchange program plays also the mobility partner that is i.e. training instructors or those who work with foreign employees. Similar to employees they have to deal with intercultural and communicational challenges. Combining these two target groups permits an overall preparation of all parties involved in mobility programs: foreign participants as well as companies and their employees. In the first step, there will be a research and collection of studies regarding early termination of mobility and significant problems during mobility experienced by expats and apprentices/trainees. On this basis, the main reasons for early termination of mobility will be summarized.In the second step, the opinions, fears, hopes and experiences of different target groups (see below) in connection with their mobility will be discovered. This will be done by interviews and surveys with these target groups. 1. Expats- Expats, who are going to go abroad (e.g. their aspirations, aims, fears, hopes and, most importantly, their opinion on how a perfect preparation should be like.)- Expats, who are currently abroad (e.g. their current challenges, whether they participated in some kind of preparation and if it was adequate to prepare them for those challenges)- Expats, who just got home from abroad and especially those, who terminated their mobility earlier than planned. (e.g. their experiences and difficulties during the mobility, especially reasons (e.g. whether they do have preparation programs, what components they include and how successful they are)2. Companies, who work with expats (e.g. whether they have some kind of integration programs for their employees and incoming expats and how successful they are)There will be a minimum of 25 surveys per partner and per target group (Expats and companies), so 50 surveys per partner, thus 250 surveys in total.There will also be a minimum of 12 interviews conducted by each partner, so 60 interviews in total.The aim of the research, the surveys and interviews is to identify and categorize:1. The most crucial factors in the different areas (such as intercultural competence, language, building a social environment, psychological aspects, etc.), which lead to severe problems or early termination of mobility.2. The factors/components which should be included in every expat preparation program3. The factors/components which should be included in every integration program for incoming expatsThe final aim is the Elaboration of a report which summarizes all findings from the surveys and interviews. This analysis will reflect the real situation of abroad assignments as well as a list of recommendations or best practices to improve this kind of professional mobility in all the countries involved (Germany, Italy, Belgium and Spain). For this reason, we expect significant findings, as there will be a deeper knowledge of the key factors which guarantee a successful expatriate assignment.The participants can use the results in order to improve the quality of their work, intercultural communication skills and the success of their foreign assignments. The project partners benefit from the project from gaining insights regarding education paths in other countries, establishing and broadening their international network and moreover, they can use the results as a basis for further projects in this area, such as the design of a preparation/integration program, that contains all of the most crucial factors that were found during this project and to use it.The results will be disseminated even after the project has ended, so its sustainability implies results in the short and long-term. Also, every person with whom the results are shared, can use them for their own creation of preparation/integration programs. Besides, the participation of project partners in international networks ensures its incorporation and multiplier transfers to other people interested in or even companies which want to develop good strategies for their present or future expats.

"In their daily work, teachers in general education and vocational training are faced with the challenge of conveying teaching content to their students in a way that is appropriate for the target group. Classical teaching methods such as frontal teaching, self-learning and group work are increasingly being supplemented in educational pedagogy by innovative, modern methods in order to make learning more efficient for pupils of different age groups. It is not unusual for playful elements to find their way into the classroom, which can significantly increase the attractiveness of the lessons and thus the learning success.The project is developing an innovative teaching method which, with appropriate professional preparation, can be applied universally in many teaching subjects, initially in an exemplary manner in vocational training. This teaching method is based on the method of station learning and is very closely oriented to the play principle of the real escape room. Real Escape Rooms are about the playing group becoming part of a fictional story, at the end of which there is a disaster scenario if the group does not succeed in averting this scenario. The actors have a limited time window of about 1 hour in which they have to solve different, usually complementary puzzles in an appropriately equipped room in order to successfully complete the game. The actors do not only play to solve the puzzle, but also against the clock and are thus in competition with other groups, so that it is not only important to solve the puzzles, but also to complete these tasks in the shortest possible time. These game principles are applied to the mobile real escape rooms for use in vocational training that are being developed in this project.Since the development of a real Escape Room suitable for mobile use would be a complex and time-consuming task for teachers without subject-specific knowledge, the participating project partners support the dissemination of this innovative teaching method with the following project results:IO1: Digital Tool-Kit as a teaching concept for teachers for the use of mobile real Escape Rooms in vocational education and training with didactic anchoringIO2: Digital tool kit as technical manual for the production of 12 high-quality, technically appealing escape puzzle games. The manual contains material lists and detailed, illustrated building instructions, so that teachers can also reproduce these puzzle games. IO3: Web-App as a toolbox for mobile real Escape Rooms in educational workKey innovative features of this project:Mobile use: When we talk about ""real escape rooms"", we mean physical rooms within buildings with permanently installed puzzle games. However, a fixed installation is hardly suitable for use in classrooms or even outdoors. The preparation of the topic and the puzzle games for the mobile real Escape Room, which is used in the classroom, can already be done elsewhere, such as in the teachers' room or at home, due to the mobile basic concept. The mobile real Escape Room can then be set up in a relatively short time at any location, such as a classroom or demarcated forest. Technical diversity: In order to ensure the mobility of the Escape Room, technically mature, stable puzzle games are developed that are independent of the wired power supply and are in no way inferior in attractiveness to the permanently installed puzzle games in real Escape Rooms. Low effort: Teachers receive detailed guidelines and manuals with the results of the project, so that after studying the documents they are able to create their own mobile real escape rooms with little effort. Once the puzzle games have been constructed or replicated, they can be used variably for several topics within a subject area or even across different subjects or independent of them.Infection prevention and hygiene: When drawing up the room plan, the project partners take into account that all puzzle games can be solved with a minimum distance of 1.5 m between the players (the teacher as game master/operator observes outside the room anyway) and with mouth protection. All puzzle games can be disinfected with surface disinfectants. The group size is limited to a maximum of 6 persons during the game.The project will conclude with an intensive training for project staff and multiplier events in all participating partner countries in order to make the teaching method accessible to as many teachers from different fields as possible."

<< Objectives >>At the latest with the worldwide pandemic, it is clear that job profiles are changing dramatically fast, a rapid shift towards a fully digital working world is taking place.In addition to offering real mobilities, the project wants to give trainees the opportunity to expand the quality of their training and to come into contact with the European idea and interculturality remotely during their training and thus subsequently be even more open to international cooperation and digital working.<< Implementation >>There will be 6 main activities. Activity 1 will analyse digital competence requirements in the craft/electrical sector. Phase 2 will implement multiplier events in all partner countries to gather inputs. Activity 3 will develop a concept for apprentices to implement an international remote project work. Activity 4 will implement this concept as an example. Activity 5 evaluates phase 4. Phase 6 disseminates the tested concept among trainees and training centres during 4 multiplier events.<< Results >>The project partners expect to end up with a valid concept guide that can be used by VET-centres and their trainers to implement transnational, (interdisciplinary) working groups of trainees in remote project work. Ideal working environments, intercultural preparations, language courses and required digital tools are addressed.In this way, the partners want to awaken openness for the European idea and the willingness as well as readiness for digital communication and interaction.

"The project TALENTS4CONSTRUCTION was dealing with the lack of junior staff in the European construction sector. The consortium intended to explore new approaches to be disseminated in an easy and understandle way. Often some topics dealing with HR management seems to be too complicated, especially for persons (like construction workers) who do not get along with those kind of topics. Therefore following three main topics were worked out, since those areas seem to be very relevant and important for the EU wide construction branch: -Employer Branding: innovative ways to bind employees to the company and to optimize the satisfaction of aspiring professionals (apprentices) by increasing the external and internal relationship -Boomerang Hire: HOW and WHY to install new positions for ex-employees? What does an employer has to consider, to create and to offer new chances for experts who have decided to come back? -Network-Recruiting: How to convince employees´ friends, family members or other peer group members to start a carreer in the construction branch? The above mentioned topics were deppend by creating easy to answer specific questions designed for several branches (mainly for the construction branch). In the cause of the project questionnaires were developed by all project partners and sent to different companies. The results of all ansers (given by companies in DE, ES, LT, SLO) were taken to produce understandable ""movie nuggets""."