Stories and best practices - - Tempus Közalapítvány

EPIC: Training package for SMEs to boost their innovation capacity and productivity

EPIC has been implemented by a consortium of seven members, representing different sectors and specialties. The project involved the development of a complex educational package to help SMEs increase their innovation capabilities and productivity. The development of entrepreneurial innovation, i.e. improving the competitiveness of entrepreneurs, is a subject area that is relevant in an international context these days. Its results can serve as good practice for other organisations.

From young people to young people - youth exchanges through the eyes of a young project implementer

How can an Erasmus+ youth exchange impact young people's social media awareness? What challenges can an international project face today? What motivates a 24-year-old young person to implement an Erasmus+ project? These are the questions we explored with Abris Szép, President of 21 Days - Youth for a More Conscious Life.

Opening to the outside world - new practices in homeless care

BMSZKI is the capital's largest homeless organisation that has been applying for grants for over 18 years, constantly monitoring international trends. Its long-term development goals are to combat poverty and exclusion. For the present project, they wanted to learn about the work of organisations to find new ideas and adaptable methods for community development, social base-building and support for the disadvantaged or methods of client engagement.

Innovation in music education or how the alpha generation learns?

In the PRESTO project, the partners worked on the development of effective and efficient music teaching and learning methods for young learners. Touching on three major areas of music education, more than 750 high-quality and versatile products have been produced (classroom videos, methodological notes, lesson plans and animations) to support the classroom and online music education, as well as to support music learning at home.

Fly like a dandelion flower! - Pitypang Street Primary School won the Award of Excellence with its first project

We talked to the teachers involved and a former student of the school about the international experience, the achieved results and the amazing success.

EU talks on the Italian coast

How to prepare for future security challenges in the EU? What is a negotiation like in the European Parliament? And how do these decisions affect our daily lives? These are some of the fascinating questions that the National University of Public Service's Erasmus+ strategic partnership project, EUSecure was looking the answers for. The project was made more experiential using a simulation exercise.

Medical students around the world

Improving patient care or even an innovative surgical design procedure can be Erasmus+! At least at Semmelweis University. This year they received an Erasmus+ Award of Excellence, for the most innovative initiatives. Their project proves that international mobility can have a huge impact not only at individual level but at sectoral level as well.

Erasmus+ mobility empowers colleagues

Exhilarated teachers, motivated students, innovative atmosphere, and new activities at school. This is the authentic Erasmus+ experience, introduced by the award-winning project of the Deák Ferenc High School of Szeged.

The Erasmus+ programme makes dreams come true

A project where students reached a level of media literacy and humanity at the same time. Sensitising students through filmmaking and film itself was part of a partnership project at Terézváros Technical and Vocational School of the Budapest Business Training Centre. We talked to Nikolet Cseri, Erasmus+ project coordinator.

Outside the EU, beyond restrictions

What does it mean for students and faculty to be included in the life of an American university? How to best implement mobility outside the EU amid coronavirus restrictions? ELTE's Award-winning Erasmus+ project is an example that nothing is impossible.

Well-being through the power of drama and theatre

Thanks to the innovative concept of the To Be or not Be Well project, using the method of theatre and drama in education (TiE) the number of early school leavers have been reduced and at the same time sense of well-being of teachers strengthened in the participating school.

New building – new challenges

The Museum of Ethnography opened its doors to visitors in 2022 in a new, world-class building. The museum aims at organising new exhibitions and programmes, develop workshops, activities and lecture series for adults, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

As soon as you enter this world, there is no stopping

What tools can be used to motivate young people to enter the labour market? How can today's youth be encouraged to become entrepreneurs? The Kalamáris Association saw the solution in practical training, the power of community and the experience of international good practices.

The professionals of the future are being born now

Within the framework of the C-Evil project, a gap-filling e-learning curriculum has been created, which brings knowledge about electric vehicle charging stations into the vocational training. CAM Consulting Ltd. saw the future of transport in electromobility.

40 best tourism practices in 4 countries

Through the Erasmus+ project, students studying hospitality tourism, their teachers, and the II. Ferenc Rákóczi Technical School of the Budapest Business Training Centre itself took wings. Students have gained new perspectives in a multicultural environment, while tourism education has been expanded with an innovative curriculum.

Thinking strategically in the age of coronavirus – Antener's adult education mobility project

A well-designed mobility project can contribute to the implementation of an organizational strategy. This was also the case with the adult education initiative of Antener Education Organizer Ltd., which enabled sixteen participants to learn and adapt training methods abroad. We spoke to Tímea Piroska, the coordinator of the project.

HealTH AT School– The project that makes students dare to ask for help

The III. Béla Secondary School, Baja explored the theme of healthy lifestyle in the project that won the Erasmus+ Excellence Award. We talked about the successes achieved, the important milestones and the challenges posed by the corona virus with Noémi Páli, deputy head and project coordinator of the school.

ARCHIDICT – Multilingual dictionary for architects, builders and contractors

ÉK Association has created a multilingual digital dictionary, illustrated with pictures to help students of architecture and construction to learn the professional language and to summarize modern and traditional European construction technologies. The ARCHIDICT dictionary is available free of charge and, in addition to its educational purposes, facilitates international commercial cooperation. We talked to Gábor Palotás, the association's vice-president and project coordinator, about the successful project, which was awarded an Erasmus+ Excellence Award.

ELTE Radnóti teachers learn something everywhere - Teaching Strategies and Stages in Our Local and Global World

In this award-winning project, an experienced group of teachers focused on developing 21st century techniques and ideas, including critical thinking and learner autonomy skills. As their school welcomes students with special educational needs, the project participants also looked for ways to develop individualized approaches to help stressed and overloaded students. Colleagues studied yoga, mindfulness and coaching as well.

E-motivation through Nexus – a digital link between language learner and teacher

Online language learning methods are becoming increasingly popular, but in the long run, digital education cannot happen without teacher support. This is why the Itt és Most Association has developed a niche application in its adult learning partnership.

Sustainability and technical innovation in animal husbandry

The staff of the Southern ASzC Jánoshalma Agricultural Technical School, Vocational School and Dormitory attach significant importance to gaining professional experience abroad. To this end, the institution continuously hosts groups from abroad, and they also provide their students and teachers with this development opportunity. The aim of their Erasmus+ award-winning project was to learn and adopt the best practices and procedures already used and proven in the partner institutions and to ensure continuous improvement.

Erasmus+ is an excellent framework for achieving our goals

Solutions to complex problems at the global level can also be found and provided in a youth exchange. It's evidenced by the It Is Good in the Countryside! Foundation's Less Food Loss award-winning project, which sought answers to the challenges of food waste. We talked with Orsolya Kovács, an international project coordinator, and József Bozsits, President.

Developing the skills of project teaching at the Xántus János Bilingual Secondary School

In addition to gaining international experience, the institution's teachers returned from their training abroad refreshed professionally, with new knowledge and an expanded network of contacts. We talked with Zsolt Horváth, coordinator of the project, about their Erasmus+ award-winning application.

Green roads towards sustainability and hospitality

The hospitality sector is a sector with several environmental impacts, and mitigation is a shared responsibility. With this in mind, the Hungarian Maltese Charity Óbuda Technical and Vocational School set the main objective of the Green Road to Hospitality2 -Sustainability in Practice project to raise awareness of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR)principles. We talked to Andor Siki, project coordinator, about the project's experiences, milestones, and the afterlife.

Agriteach 4.0 - Reducing the distance between education and the world of work with knowledge of agricultural informatics

Over the last 15 years, agriculture has fundamentally changed and has become an increasingly knowledge-intensive sector. The current needs of the labour market require a skilled workforce to which agricultural education needs to respond quickly. Considering this, the priority of the Connecting VET Teachers to Agriculture 4.0 project was to create an online, network, collaborative and free training for VET teachers using innovative practices. We asked coordinator Zoltán Horváth about the experience gained during the project.

Erasmus+ during Covid: digital spaces for project implementation

We have had a challenging time: the situation triggered by the Covid-19 virus has affected all areas of our lives. Erasmus+ projects were no exception: outbound trips were cancelled, activities had to be digitised. How could the projects be implemented under such difficult conditions? Coordinators, Agnes Leirerné Katona and Ibolya Seressné Barta tell us how a project can succeed despite the difficulties.

ESN StarAwards given for the Erasmus Days event series implemented by the University of Debrecen

The University of Debrecen International Office has worked together with the student organisations of the university for decades to promote mobility. The joint efforts proved to be effective: in spring 2020, their programme called ‘Erasmus Days’, developed in cooperation with the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Debrecen gained them international recognition.

Erasmus+ opens doors -and helps teachers manage everyday challenges

A survey was conducted to find out how the Erasmus+ programme supported participants, and what development opportunities it might present for the players of education among the ever increasing requirements of a constantly changing world.

High-Quality Youth Participation

The frequency and the quality of the dialogue between youths and decision-makers are, in many cases, in their infancy, even though youths know what they need: if they commit to a cause, they can achieve fantastic results. That is exactly what happened in Eger, too, where the city can now witness lasting changes due to the Erasmus+ youth dialogue project called #TEger, implemented by the Local Government of Eger City with County Rights. I talked about the project with Coordinator Boglárka Huszthy.

"Together we are better, stronger and more competitive" – Introducing the National Internalisation Academy of PTE

Internal knowledge sharing and persistent internationalisation efforts play a prominent role at the University of Pécs. To this end, internal trainings have been launched here, which have grown into a stable, confident project called the Internationalisation Academy over the years. But how is this project structured, and what impact does it have on the institution? Dr István Tarrósy, International Director of PTE and Péter Árvai, Deputy Director answered our questions.

The Power in Teachers' Community - Developing Digital and Language Competencies

14 teachers from Vasvári Pál Secondary School of Economics and Information Technology of the Vocational Training Centre of Szeged attended professional training courses abroad. Besides developing language and ICT competencies, the Erasmus+ mobility project allowed them to gain new knowledge and learn about best practices. Thus, they can benefit from the best practices of modern teaching methods in their everyday educational work, too, helping the school adapt to the challenges of the 21st. century. We interviewed Project Coordinator Márta Szegfű.

Be Open - Against Stereotypes - through Active Social Engagement

The Erasmus+ project called No Stereotypes But Diversity, implemented by Ady Endre Secondary Grammar School of Budapest, addressed the sensitive issue of prejudice and stereotypes. We talked to Project Coordinator Zoltán Sallai, teacher of ethics, moral philosophy, drama and dance. He thinks that, besides students, the schools and teachers could also benefit from such a partnership.

From Portuguese Pastry to a Modern, System Approach School

40 students of Martin János Secondary School and Vocational School of the Vocational Training Centre of Miskolc participated in mobility activities, gaining more profound theoretical and practical knowledge in 7 vocation groups and 8 vocations. The students with special educational needs gained work experience in the open labour market, in an inclusive environment. We discussed the experiences gained in the project and their impacts on the school with Coordinator Györgyné Lénárt.

Setting Up a Volunteer Programme in Social Services - „It's not enough to give fish to institutions - teach them how to fish.“

Volunteers can bring extra help, a new impetus and colour to the life of social services. But how do they actually implement their own, customised volunteer programmes? That was the challenge to which SoVol project sought answers; the project involved five Central and Eastern European and a Dutch partner organisations, who set out to develop a methodology for institutions in the social sector, suited to the peculiarities of the region. We talked to Borbála Hadrévy, Coordinator of the Erasmus+ adult education strategic partnership.

Practical, online, experience-oriented: A Course for the Elderly and their Carers

Approach-shaping, self-tuition and teaching others, and involving an entire generation: the Erasmus+ project implemented by Prompt-H Ltd. of Gödöllő, addressing the challenges of providing home care for the elderly through online tools, is really complex.

Burnout also occurs among youth helpers - now here's peer supervision!

It's not enough that youngsters are OK - it's also important that those who deal with them can cope with the burdens. This is the issue addressed by an alternative professional self-development method, whose spread in Hungary was greatly helped by the Erasmus+ project of 'Együttható' Association.

A Dialogue for Roma Women

Currently, BAGázs Public Benefit Association is conducting activities in the Roma communities of two villages in Pest County, Bag and Dány. The Association seeks to achieve changes in these segregated communities and the social reality and attitudes which surround them. The purpose of the Erasmus+ project called A Dialogue for Roma Women is to initiate a change in the life of the Dány community, through building a strong and retaining female group. I talked to Project Coordinator Dr. Zsófia Aczél.

The Role and Form of Journalism to be Reconsidered - Presenting the Newsreel project of the University of Pécs

Journalism is a dynamically developing area, both from a higher education and a labour market point of view, which makes transnational cooperation and digitalisation especially important. The project called "Newsreel – New Skills for the Next Generation of Journalists", implemented under the supervision of the University of Pécs, sought answers to the resulting challenges. Approaching the end of the project, we talked to Project Coordinator Gábor Polyák, teacher at the University of Pécs.

Internationalisation at Home – Good Practices

Most employers today require fresh graduates to have international experience, but not all them have a chance to participate in foreign mobility. That’s why there are a number of initiatives at Hungarian universities which prepare students for the global labour market without even having to cross the border. The following good examples are some of them.

DOC NOMADS – The Mobile Film School

Coordinated by the University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest, the joint Master's degree grant programme was launched for students of documentary filmmaking in 2012, in order to allow them to learn, improve and gain experience 'without borders'. Each year, about 24 students join the programme, and visit the capitols of the partner countries, that is, Lisbon, Brussels and Budapest. Thus, they need to manage in diverse cultural environments, overcome difficulties and succeed outside their normal social environment, and all that in English. During the four semesters, the students complete subjects worth altogether 120 credits and make about a hundred films, which various festivals often include in their programmes.

Intercultural Learning in Higher Education

Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) joined the Among Others project in autumn 2016 and launched the course called Among Others: Intercultural Learning in Practice, run at a number of foreign universities under the Erasmus+ programme. The course focuses on intercultural learning, international mobility programmes and mapping young people’s vision of the future from multiple aspects. I asked András Déri and Barnabás Gulyás facilitators about the peculiarities of the course and the experiences gained so far.

iPrepare – volunteering, well-prepared

An international volunteering project is an exciting adventure for the participants, full of new experiences and challenges. Whether it’s the surprises caused by a foreign country or understanding the subject matter, preparation before the travel is absolutely justified. This is what the iPrepare application, developed under the strategic partnership of 'Egyesek' Youth Association, is designed to make easier, both for the sending organisations and the travelling volunteers.

Recalculating - Quality Improvement in Language Education

How to make the most of a mobility project? How to systematise the results and make them available for others? These are the questions which the compilation of Converzum Tudomány Language School Plc.'s Recalculating project gives answers to; the compilation could provide long-term help in the fields of teacher training and skills development.

Hansági Recipe BankHansági Recipe Bank

Hansági Ferenc Vocational School of the Szeged Centre of Vocational Training has created a Recipe Bank of the appetising recipes that its students returning from mobilities had learnt in various countries.

Instead of a care home, a caring environment

Living and making decisions independently, in a real community. It's so natural for us healthy people. But not at all for our fellow human beings with disabilities. The training materials developed and the professionals trained in the PODIUM project, implemented under the Erasmus+ programme, seek to help them, so that they can live in a caring environment instead of a home care, and become the members of the local community.

One for all, all for GREEN

With an eye on active social engagement and sustainability, Sipkay Barna Secondary School of Trade, Catering and Tourism of the Vocational Training Centre of Nyíregyháza has launched its project called One for all, all for GREEN.

Helping kindergarten teachers and parents support children with ADHD

The players of public education: children, teachers and parents are often faced with challenges which may as well require parties outside public education to manage. Raabe Klett Educational Consulting and Publishing Ltd. and its partners were the implementers of a project addressing this field, too. Their partnership and outcomes show how great things can be achieved when professionals from various fields join forces to find a solution. The framework was provided by the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships programme for partnerships consisting of various institutions, offering funding for the implementation of educational projects which seek to address any challenge identified in our environment. We talked to Project Manager Zsuzsa Rihay about the project.

In-company language training, the peculiar hybrid

Debrecen-based Antener Training Centre is a key player in the field of in-company language courses and various skills development training courses. They have considerable experience in projects, as they have successfully implemented Erasmus+ projects in the adult education sector for years. According to Tímea Piroska - the owner of the company, who also provides assistance to a number of language schools as an external consultant -, negotiation skills in a foreign language today require more than correct grammar - you also need to achieve the intended effect, whether it's convincing, enforcement of interests, selling something or conflict management, as it happens.

Instead of feeling pity, regard youths with disabilities as partners

In 2010, a group of young people decided to do something for their own generation. With community building and solidarity in mind, they established 'Együttható' Association, whose Erasmus+ youth project called Here We Are won a Eurodesk Award in Brussels this year.

Coffee, Love, Erasmus

Emese and Mario met nine years ago, when the Spanish boy spent his Erasmus years in Budapest. Afterwards, Emese also visited Madrid as an Erasmus student to meet the boy, and then they travelled throughout Portugal, New Zealand and Asia together. They learnt the barista trade from international professionals, and finally they launched their own common business, Dorado Café.

Finding Common Grounds

Czech, Polish and Hungarian partner institutions were involved in the two-year Erasmus+ project which focused on getting to know each other's traditions and cultures. Programme Coordinator József Mindák, Principal of Constantinum Catholic Kindergarten, Primary School, Secondary Grammar School, Secondary Vocational School and Residential Hall told us about the partnership.

Environmental Awareness in Everyday Life

The Erasmus+ project, in which Apáczai Csere János Primary School of Szendrő was involved as a partner, addressed environmental awareness. The upper-grade students of the Borsod county school worked in cooperation with students from various countries for three years, and despite the fact that many of them had come from a disadvantageous background, they even had opportunities to travel abroad. We asked Project Coordinator Ilona Budainé Zuszkó.

Who will repair cars with green number plates?

The Erasmus+ project called 'Green Wheels', implemented by Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and English partners, addresses an exciting and current issue. They focused on training mechanics of electric and hybrid cars: they developed a curriculum and adapted innovative teaching methods in order to train competent professionals to service the more and more popular vehicles.

A Small Institution in a Major Project - with Central European and Far Eastern Partner Universities for Internationalisation

Launched in 2018, the higher education development project called 'FRIENDS' involves three Eastern European, one Turkish and twelve Far Eastern universities. Their goal is to reinterpret the notion of internationalisation in higher education and find a solution through innovative practices to allow a larger proportion of the students to study abroad under student mobility. We talked to Dr. György Túry, Pro-Rector responsible for international studies at Metropolitan University of Budapest (METU) and Károly Kopasz, the University's Project Coordinator.

"Mental health protection is the key to a smooth everyday life" Dreams are made come true in the Suburban Kindergarten

The work conducted at the Siklósi Street Member Kindergarten of the Kertvárosi Kindergarten of Pécs is exemplary among Erasmus+ projects in the field of school education. Their achievements show that it is possible to implement high-quality activities which generate positive changes even with kindergarten pupils. We talked to Project Coordinator Éva Schmidt about their quality award winning project.

Constant renewal is the key

The issue of innovation has been receiving special attention globally in the past few decades, and for twenty years it has also taken a prestigious position in education. Besides academic knowledge, this more and more rapidly changing environment also requires adequate technical knowledge, and therefore many Hungarian institutions are committed to supporting the professional renewal of their teaching staff. We discussed this innovative approach with Tibor Plánk, head of Hunfalvy János Bilingual Secondary Vocational School of Economy and Trade.

After gaining experiences abroad, they take their vocation even more seriously. The teachers and students of Krúdy visited six countries.

Krúdy Gyula Vocational Secondary School of Catering and Commerce of the Szeged Centre of Vocational Training has built its international relations for over 20 years. We have presented their outstanding achievements and good examples on several occasions. Their current, Erasmus+ Quality Award winning project has performed at outstanding standards in every aspect. They implemented a mobility programme covering six countries, allowing 4 students and 8 staff members to gain professional experience. According to Project Coordinator Annamária Komáromi, there is a strong team behind her, but maintaining high-quality work requires serious efforts from everyone.

Professional business mentors may save small and medium enterprises

What help can be provided to enterprises to make them successful in the long term? According to the experts of Budapest Business School (BGE), one such tool can be mentoring. Therefore, they spent three years focusing on the issue with the involvement of international partners, under the Erasmus+ programme.

Cleaning the communication channels Intersectoral training courses, so that

The ENCORE project of Qualitimpact Informal Group ENCORE ended as a real series of success. The project set the goal of improving intersectoral communication and increasing networking and dissemination capacities within the youth sector, to which they also offered practical communication techniques at their training courses. The participants learnt methods which they can use in the course of their work to solve existing problems through real solutions. I talked to the head of Qualitimpact, Norbert Hochstein.

Reparticipation – Young people think in terms of a community

Experiential training course series, an active dialogue between youth and local government decision-makers, a gap-filling volume on youth work... These were all included in the structured dialogue project implemented by the Federation of Children’s and Youth Councils (FCYMC) with the involvement of nearly 40 municipalities and 455 participants. The young participants learnt about the aspects of sustainable municipal development, assessed the needs of their own communities and launched a dialogue with local government decision-makers. Coordinator Barnabás Gulyás told us about the challenges, achievements and beauties of the ambitious project.

Share and Sing! - Experiential Learning by the Kodály Method

Years ago, a Hungarian, a Dutch and a Scottish music institutions decided to try and combine Kodály's principles with 21st century music pedagogy. This idea led to the birth of the strategic partnership project called Kodály HUB: Sing, Learn, Share, which was granted under the Erasmus+ Programme. Approaching the end of the project, the outcomes of the past period, as well as the plans for the future, are becoming clear. That was the focus of our conversation with Beáta Furka, Project Manager at Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.

When developing a game is a game itself

What do you think when you see a group of young people sitting around a table with a board, pieces, cards and various obstacles on it? You must think they're playing. So do they. But appearances can be deceiving; they are in fact learning. Only in a much more entertaining way than what they're accustomed to.

There's a little chair, with three legs...

One of the legs is the parent, the second is the school, and the third one is society. Whichever falls out of the system or starts to wobble, the background system, the support behind the child will tumble, and the child will sooner or later drop out of school.

Environmentally conscious approach in responsible entrepreneurial attitude - A forum where the entrepreneurial and civil sectors meet

Committed professionals, who have set out to generate changes in the society and the environment in which we live. It's exciting, especially in the light of the fact that they work with young people, transferring as much knowledge and inspiration to them as possible. What else could be the goal than to enable young people, too, to consciously shape their present and future?

About Organic Farming for Everyone

The curriculum developed as part of the ECO-Motive project focused on the basics of ecological farming. It primarily sought to improve the employment rates of disadvantaged and poorly skilled people. The training material can be effectively used in the fields of vocational training and adult education, but it may also be interesting and useful for local governments and civil organisations.

You can definitely motivate children to read

The Erasmus+ project called 'A Reading in English for Amusement and Dialogue in Europe (READ)' focused on the experiential learning of students aged between 14 and 17. However, as it quite frequently happens, the programme finally brought much more benefits than just reaching the original goals. We talked to Project Coordinator Ágnes Szabóné Jassó about the project of Arany János Primary School and Secondary Grammar School of Százhalombatta.

Every child can be developed - Lots of common experiences and close emotional bonds

Anyone who considers the issue of equal access to high-quality education important and is interested in how experiential education can work in practice should spend some time in Kállósemje in Nyírség. We talked to the founder and current leader of the Association for the Students and Youths of Kállósemje, Ica Józsefné Egri, about playful learning, projects and mission.

There are no fatal decisions, only missed opportunities

In 2009, Mirtill Megyeri spent her Erasmus semester in Scotland. Among others, it was due to the experiences she gained there that she became co-founder of a new generation job advertisement start-up, Zyntern.com. In 2018, she was selected for Forbes' 30/30 successful young Hungarians. Besides her Erasmus experiences, she also told us about the labour market situation of domestic and foreign placement, as well as how her experiences in the UK made her focus on HR.

CEEPUS SUMMER UNIVERSITIES

In summer 2017, two international summer universities were organised under the CEEPUS programme, in Budapest and in Pécs. Networks involved in the CEEPUS programme are eligible to organise courses. Most of the guest students and teachers come from Central Europe and the West Balkans to join their Hungarian peers at the summer university.

That's how street theatre educates

How does street theatre solve conflicts? How does it fight social inequalities effectively? How does it help us lift our gaze? I discussed these questions with Project Coordinator Géza Pintér, a practising street actor and researcher in theatre anthropology. He has worked with theatrical groups in various European countries, so he has experienced the special opportunities that street theatre can offer for adult education, too.

Cultural Heritage Professionals Trained

The international Erasmus Mundus Master Courses, coordinated by Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) has won funding from the European Commission for the second time. This year, students from 13 countries applied for the international courses of cultural heritage studies. TEMA+ is among the official programmes of European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. It’s not only the curriculum of the course that makes it a perfect fit, but also its many other additional events.

Supporting Reintegration into Society - in an International Partnership

Change-Lanes Foundation has been engaged in the reintegration of people involved in criminal prosecution for over fifteen years. In the Erasmus+ project coordinated by the Foundation has now summarised its key findings and best practices. The uniqueness of their methodology lies in the fact that it can be used in various other fields, such as by organisations working with deviant, disadvantaged, homeless or unemployed people, inasmuch as their goal is to support the reintegration of these people into society.

School Taken to Museum

The language teaching programme of the Museum of Fine Arts has been awarded with European Language Label. The programme seeks to develop children’s English skills through works of art. Currently under testing at schools, the curriculum performed well at the camps organised by the museum, and it has now been recognised by the European Commission.

A partnership of generations for a more sensitive society

How long and to what extent may man take shape? How open is an adolescent and the adult guiding him or her when development, broadening one's view and acceptance are at stake? Well, the experiences gained in the Erasmus+ project implemented by KatHáz Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd. definitely send out a positive message in the matter. The organisation is engaged in providing sensitising training courses to teachers within the project, which is not only supposed to reach the teachers, but through them, hundreds of students, too. The goal is to build a more tolerant society through a multigenerational partnership.

Flipped Learning in VET

The development of technology has also brought about a change in students’ learning habits. Besides exploiting the new opportunities offered by technology in the classroom, a new methodological approach has also become necessary. Teachers’ role should be revised – we must accept that they are not the single source of knowledge that they used to be, but their role supporting the learning process is still indispensible.

Foreign Teacher’s Courses for Integrated Education

More and more children with special educational needs, requiring special care, are involved in the teaching-educating process of public educational institutions. The composition of students within schools is varied, and one of the most important parts of the inclusive educational methods applied within an institution is effective cooperation, for which teachers should be prepared, too. Recognised with a quality award, the Erasmus+ project conducted by the Mezőszél Street Primary School of Pécs addressed that issue. We asked Project Coordinator Szilvia Jutasi and Professional Coordinator Nikolett Lombosi about the details.

New Recipes and Quality Assurance Documents

The Hansági Ferenc Vocational School of the Vocational Training Centre of Szeged has offered opportunities of gaining experience abroad to its cook, waiter and pastry cook students for years. Due to their excellent programmes, as well as to the conscious and long-term planning of their projects, they have been recognised with a number of awards. They make use of the experiences gained throughout the years and continuously expand their application tool set, which won them the Erasmus+ Quality Award this year. We talked to Project Coordinator Klára Jancsikinné Smicskó Klára.

Self-coaching for youth workers – in a group context

Is it possible! The Erasmus+ youth project called ’Changemaker’ has done it. The individual development process mainly focused on the prevention of burnout and maintaining motivation – according to the participants’ needs. The project involved eight international partners working together to improve 21st century skills, to increase the quality of youth work and to promote young people's social engagement and entrepreneurial skills. We talked to Viktória Csákány, co-chairwoman of ‘Egyesek’ Youth Association, professional head of the quality award winning programme, about the

Quality Management – Using Technology to Ease Burdens on Teachers

Hungarian, British, Irish, Italian and Spanish VET institutions have put up the fight against the administrative burdens on teachers and for high-quality vocational education and training. How can you use technological advances in an Erasmus+ strategic partnership project seeking to develop training and a toolkit to support the quality assurance system? We asked Mária Hartyányi about the quality prize winner international partnership.

Children with Special Educational Needs Should Not Necessarily Take a Different Career Path

The Erasmus+ project coordinated by Hidden Treasures Down Association was closed with outcomes which even surprised the teachers. They held joint classes for healthy children and ones with disabilities and special educational needs in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. They wanted to transmit the positive message of inclusive education to as many primary schools as possible to allow all those concerned to experience the opportunities of teaching based on inclusive education. They have been recognised with an Erasmus+ Quality Award for the development and practical testing of a methodological material which they developed with support from the EU. We talked to coordinator Károly Kisari.

Everybody Gets Their Turn in the Debate

What do you need to have a well-established opinion? How can you represent it? How can you achieve the ability not only to listen to, but also to understand the other party’s viewpoint and adapt it to your reasoning? The Waldorf School of Szeged and its three partners coordinated a two-year-long project together, and now they also have answers to the above questions. The Erasmus+ Quality Award winning project sought to improve students’ reading comprehension and verbal expression skills, but it also brought other benefits for the partner schools beyond the original goals. We talked to specialist coordinators Judit Gera and Ágnes Bató.

Role model Katalin Erzsébet Tóth: "The fact that at the age of 55 I can feel enthusiasm over some innovation is mostly due to these projects"

You haven been in the profession for over thirty years. Besides teaching English, you regularly attend teacher training programmes. You write grant applications, think about your own projects, hold training sessions, write a blog, and most of the time you're busy implementing one of your grant-winning projects. How does a teacher benefit from all this? We asked Katalin Erzsébet Tóth, the 'happy teacher' of Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Primary School and Secondary Grammar School of the 18th District about this and the Erasmus+ projects.

Building not only knowledge, but a community, too: Training session series for the development of community supported agriculture

Provide practice-oriented training to those who want to establish producers’ and consumers’ communities – that was the idea the excellent implementation of which won the Association of Conscious Consumers an Erasmus+ Quality Award. During the training which they had developed, both beginner and experienced farmers had a lot to learn, from the basics through community building to production know-how. Implemented in cooperation with foreign partners, word of the training series spread as far as Asia. Coordinator Zsófia Perényi told us about the results.

Preparing for a More Independent Life

It's an important goal, both in the EU and Hungary, to provide care for people with disabilities in smaller homes, offering community-based accommodation, instead of large institutions. The project of KézenFogva Foundation sought to support the preparation for that by designing training courses and educational materials to make the transition as smooth as possible.

LAWrider – Human Rights as Interpreted by Youths

The knowledge of human rights is not an integral part of secondary school curriculum; that is what the participants of the LAWrider Erasmus+ international youth initiative wanted to change. Groups of young people from Hungary, Romania and Croatia used filming techniques to address the issue of human rights and produced ten short movies and the related lesson plan. They can be used in a secondary school environment to talk about the issue in a playful, and still informative manner. We asked Dóra Csóti-Gyapjas and Gábor Balla coordinators about the quality award winning project.

Experience from Real Life - Close Cooperation Required between Businesses and Education

In order to maintain competitiveness, both schools and businesses need close cooperation to integrate experiences in joint development projects. It is also among the areas which the Erasmus+ programme offers support to, and it is what the four organisations which now share their experiences relied on. Traineeship with Portuguese enterprises, teaching entrepreneurial lifestyle at university, training retailer mentors, innovation management. Four projects to link education with the world of labour.

What's Outside the Walls?

The project of Váltó-sáv Foundation produced intellectual products which can be of great help for organisations working with, for example, deviant young people and adults, unemployed people dropping out of the education system, refugees, homeless people or people with disabilities.

Work-based Learing for Adults

A high-priority goal of the European Union is to make work-based learning one of the basic pillars of European VET systems. The labour market relevance of vocational education and training must be enhanced in order to prevent the lack of skilled labour from holding back economic growth.

Learn to Ride a Bike at School Safe4Cycle – Bike Academy the European Way

Probably, many will have learnt from the media about the good news that in the autumn of 2018, 200,000 publications supporting vehicular cycling will be distributed among 4 and 5-graders in Hungary. But fewer might be aware that this publication was based on a Bike Academy workbook and instructor's manual, developed in an Erasmus+ public education project which was implemented by a partnership of four countries and coordinated by Vuelta Sports Association. We talked about the Safe4Cycle project with project coordinator Dóra Szűcs.

Everybody benefits from internship

The internship programme means experience for students, workforce for companies.

Seeking to Bring Students Closer to Life - Vocational Guidance

Once we used to find our career paths more easily. Smart students went to secondary grammar school, whereas poorer learners chose secondary vocational school or vocational school. That was because both parents and teachers knew which vocations had a future and offered a chance to make a living. Today, the ever faster modernisation makes career planning considerably harder - so the need for guidance is even greater. That was one of the topics we discussed with Erika Kerekesné Lévai, Directress of the Tisztavasvár Member Institution of Magiszter Foundation Kindergarten, Primary School, Secondary Grammar School, Secondary Vocational School and Vocational School, Project Coordinator of an Erasmus+ project in career orientation.

Coworking is the future

According to forecasts, within three years, freelancers, self-employed entrepreneurs and independent consultants will account for 40% of the labour force (Forbes). Designed to promote cooperation, coworking offices greatly help young people take the first steps in the world of work; they mostly choose this form of work because of the social capital and knowledge sharing it offers.

Modern Era, Modern Methods in Teaching History

Seven countries (the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Slovenia) were involved in the Erasmus+ curriculum development project which targeted secondary school history teachers. The goal was to present to young people our common European culture and the features of our common history which connect us as European citizens.

One Project, Three Layers: Film, Theatre, Puppetry - From a Strategic Partnership to a Joint Erasmus Mundus Master’s Course

In the past few years, several international higher education partnerships have been implemented under the Erasmus+ programme with the goal of developing innovative contents. They are called strategic partnerships, through which the partner institutions implement their innovative goals in various fields – such as the project of the University of Theatre and Film Arts.

Let’s Play Entrepreneur

Currently half-way complete, the Erasmus+ project – which was among the first winning applications for strategic partnerships between schools and kindergartens – is implemented through a partnership of Polish and Hungarian schools. The goal is to learn from each other and to adopt best practices. But how does a Hungarian school benefit from teaching something new to its Polish partners? We asked Tamás Szabó, Vice Principal of Móricz Zsigmond Calvinist Secondary School of Kisújszállás.

Role model Barnabás Gulyás: "We want to give something back from what these programmes gave us."

You looked for opportunities to learn something 'extra' already as teenager. You studied social work, then mastered in Community and Civil Studies, and currently you a PhD student at the University of Pécs, but you never gave up further training, you own initiatives and volunteering, either. Since 2009, you've been the Chairman of the Federation of Children's and Youth Municipal Councils. You are driven by working for youth and communities, as well as by a need to renew. What has the Erasmus+ programme add to all that? We talked to Barnabás Gulyás.

A Little Book for Big Ideas

The Foundation for Democratic Youth has compiled a handbook for developing young people's problem-solving and creative design skills. The publication was designed to support learning, and actual lessons plans were also prepared to help teachers integrate problem-based teaching into their classes.

Playful Learning with Mobile Devices

The digital educational material developed as part of the project coordinated by InterRegio Forum Association can be used both to help disadvantaged students catch up and for the talent management of gifted students. The teacher-controlled playful exercises inspire and motivate children at the same time.

Playful Attitude - Shaping Using Business Simulation

Maximulation Business Simulation Games Ltd. cooperated with secondary schools of economics from Tatabánya, Transylvania and Slovakia to develop a business simulation curriculum designed to help children prepare for managing enterprises themselves in a few years without being aware of it. Secondary school students can try making decisions in a constantly changing financial environment while playing company managers in a virtual space. We talked to the founder of the company, Managing Director Márton Boda.

Corporate Relations, Ongoing Assessment and Parental Satisfaction - The Criteria of Successful Professional Practice

Bornemissza Gergely Secondary Vocational School and Dormitory of the Eger Centre of Vocational Training is maintaining active relations with domestic as well as foreign chambers, businesses and school workshops. Also engaged in technical vocational education and training, the school seeks to meet labour market demands this way, too. Besides that, of course, they also keep an eye on the needs and goals of the students, the teachers, the management and the institution. Talking about the VET mobility project of 2015, we asked Project Coordinators Mária Fábiánné Kovács and Gabriella Dorkóné Liptai about the challenges that it presents.

VET to JOB - Sharing the Benefits with Others

Employees and employers should not only find, but also retain each other as long as possible – that was why the representatives of six countries met and talked for two years as part of the Erasmus+ project called ‘VET to JOB’. This time, the participants from Békés County told us about their experiences.

Kindergarten Teachers around the World

Romania, Latvia and England: the teachers of Szivárvány Kindergarten School of Perkáta took a good look around the world to see how children were educated some distance away from us. Besides their adventures, we also discussed how they could use the experience gained in the Erasmus+ programme here, in Hungary.

Employers don’t care about your qualification; they care about what you can do. - How does the competency matrix reflect that?

Hansági Ferenc Vocational School of the Szeged Centre of Vocational Training has offered opportunities to gain experience abroad for cook, waiter and pastry cook students for many years. Due to their excellent programmes, as well as the conscious and long-term planning of their projects, they won a Vocational Training Mobility Certification in 2009, which they successfully prolonged in 2016. In their work, they rely on the experiences gained throughout the years and continuously expand their application tool set. We talked to Project Coordinator Klára Smicskó Jancsikinné about quality development, the importance of learning outcomes and the tools of assessment.

Smart farming

Training session series for the development of community-supported agriculture

School – Does it Prepare You for Life?

The relations between Zipernowsky Károly Technical Secondary School and its Austrian partner date back to 22 years ago. Both schools teach subjects of engineering and electronics. According to vice-principal and project coordinator, László Naszári, they could a quality award because they weren’t trying to adapt the goals of the Erasmus+ programme to some idea, but because the school’s goals met the principles of the Erasmus+ programme.

From a Bicultural School to an Intercultural Community

The work conducted at the International School of Budapest goes beyond the constraints of an Erasmus+ mobility project. It does not only seek to provide linguistic and methodological training to the teaching staff, but also to develop new syllabi by further harmonising the British and Hungarian curricula.

The Hungarian Faces of the Erasmus+ Programme

Whether people have improved their chances of finding a job, developed fresh perspectives on sustainable development, learnt a new language, gained a clearer idea of European citizenship, or found a new passion for volunteering: Erasmus+ has produced many success stories. The Erasmus Programme has been enriching lives for the past 30 years. It is not just a time in someone's existence, it is a turning point.

An online game or an agricultural enterprise? They forget to leave after class…

A Monopoly-like game has been developed under the Erasmus+ programme in order to help agricultural VET students become entrepreneurs.

The key to the success of foreign placement: personalness and mutuality

An experiential presentation of institutional strategy, networking, utilisation plan and learning outcomes. And what do they mean in common VET practice? The experiences gained in the projects implemented by Krúdy Gyula Secondary Grammar School and Secondary Vocational School also shed light on that.

They Bring Colour to Business

The Erasmus+ project launched by the Waldorf School of Szeged set the goal of improving students' entrepreneurial skills.

Erasmus+ might as well mean admission to Jamie Oliver’s restaurant

A former student of SÉF (CHEF) Vocational School of Veszprém, Ádám Dienes, is today Chef de Partie in Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Glasgow, and his experience gained in the Leonardo programme played and important part in his career.

Play Against Corruption - Opportunities of Integrating Non-Formal Learning in Formal Education

This Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships project, implemented with the leadership of Transparency International Hungary, set the goal of developing a curriculum which seeks to test the knowledge of secondary school students through interactive tasks, games and a competition of short videos, and call their attention to the presence of corruption, as well as to its social and individual impacts.

Responsible Lifestyle

What foods we eat, how we spend our spare time, how much sport we – these are questions that matter to everyone; however, they really become vital when it comes to the young generations following us. Below, we will present projects which, besides developing intercultural competences, laid great emphasis on educating responsible thinking and conscious, active citizenship.

Creating the conditions for renewable energy training and education through a civil initiative - in order to support a complex regional development strategy

The Vox Vallis Development Association created a rural development programme which can equally manage local economic, social and environmental problems, and can be financed from the Structural Funds. The missing link to the operational system was developing innovative training.

Competing for the future - An insight into the international projects of the University of Pannonia and Budapest Business School

It is common knowledge that competition enhances performance and creativity. But how can you exert social impact through competition? What happens when students of a higher education institution are asked to find a solution to the problem of a company in a competitive situation? Last year, a number of projects which set the goal of exchanging good practices or developing innovative contents were implemented in international partnerships under the Erasmus+ programme. These are so-called strategic partnerships. We will rely on a winning project, coordinated by Hungarian and Spanish partners, to present how to use the method of competition innovatively, as well as the results that can be thus achieved.

Sustainable Agriculture - An Erasmus Mundus Joint Programme at the University of Debrecen

Run for over 10 years now, the Erasmus Mundus programme supports gap-filling international master’s programmes. Hungarian higher education institutions, too, have significant achievements in this excellence programme run by the EU. The Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences and Environmental Management at the University of Debrecen has been involved in a joint programme, even internationally recognised as innovative, since 2011. We asked Prof. Dr. László Babinszky, coordinator of the European Master in Sustainable Animal Nutrition and Feeding – Erasmus Mundus (EM-SANF) programme, about his experiences and the results of the partnership.

Learning teachers - The impact of project-based international partnerships on the professional development of teachers

The professional experiences teachers gained during international cooperation projects should become part of the school’s everyday life. How does it look like from the point of view of school leaders?

Work-based learning and supporting apprenticeship

Hotel industry technician training, launched as a result of the project called Second Chance in Hospitality, is a good example for cooperation between the training institution and the employer. Apprenticeship, well-established in Germany, improves the employment chances of unemployed youth particularly effectively; that was the reason why the practice-oriented training of hotel industry technicians was adopted, seeking to satisfy the actual market needs arising within the hotel industry by training professionals who can be deployed in a number of areas.

From newspaper-reading to the Chief Editors seat

The Chief Editor of the Hungarian edition of Forbes Magazine used to be an Erasmus student in Germany. Márton Galambos had applied because of a girl; during his one-year stay, however, he personally experienced the immense significance of Erasmus in terms of personality development and language learning.

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