The Skillman International Forum (SIF 2021) took place between the 15th and 18th of November and focused its attention on redefining the future of learning in the advanced manufacturing sector.
This hybrid event was an incredible opportunity for experts and educators from around the world to unite and network, but to also share and discuss their expertise on an array of crucial topics surrounding TVET. This year the conference addressed three main topics: Digital and Green Revolution, Micro-Credentials, and Sharing is Caring.
The SIF 2021 was organised by the SkillNet Alliance, which alongside IVETA comprises of: Skillman.eu, the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the European Network of Innovation for Inclusion (ENII), the European Training Foundation (ETF) and EAPRIL.
Day One – 15/11/21
Participants were invited to attend the opening event in the Municipality’s facilities in Bologna, Italy, and subsequently to the Municipality of Lisbon, Portugal for the remaining activities. For those who were unable to attend in person, the SIF was held online and was also live-streamed on YouTube.
IVETA, alongside our impressive team comprising of over 30 delegates from across Europe chaired and presented a number of debates with some impressive results. On the first day in Lisbon, IVETA was welcomed by the Mayor of Bologna and our very own President-Elect, Dr Julian Ng, opened the debate on skills and excellence, and the increasingly important role of TVET across our education and industry sectors. This debate highlighted to educators the need for TVET to be seen as a viable educational pathway alongside higher education, rather than as a secondary option. Julian also presented on IVETA’s activities and contribution to the SkillNet Alliance.
Following this, new partners and collaborators were invited to pledge their support for the Alliance’s initiatives. Such new partners included EduBiz and the World Open Brain International Acedemy (who formed part of the delegation that IVETA brought to Lisbon).
The first day of the conference came to a close following IVETA’s roundtable event which focused on ‘Navigating Diversity’ and ‘Effective Teaching and Learning‘, chaired by Dr Julian Ng and Dr Urs Hauenstein. This roundtable heard from a diverse panel of speakers including: Saša Kregar (National Education Institute, Slovenia) who presented on ‘Adaptive Expertise for Effective Teaching and Learning’, Dr Vitaly Kopnov (Russian State Pedagogical University) who discussed transdisciplinary in work-based learning, and our very own VP of East and West Africa Serumu Igberadja, who argued for the need to close the skills gap in Nigeria.
Day Two – 16/11/21
Day two of the #SIF2021 was centered around the theme ‘Sharing is Caring’ which sparked a number of innovative debates whereby panelists shared and discussed new innovations, best practices, knowledge and methodologies. Following this IVETA and our delegates got the opportunity to visit the ATEC Training Academy in Lisbon, which was a real highlight.
The conference continued into the afternoon with a number of workshops including a demonstration of the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) by Dr Urs Hauenstein alongside skillman’s CEO, Dr Giovanni Crisoná.
IVETA’s President, Dr John Gaal then hosted a roundtable webinar which highlighted the importance of Mental Health in TVET with a focus on Leveraging Peer Support.
Following Dr Gaal’s webinar, Dr Urs Hauenstein alongside Dr Julian Ng hosted a Youth Leadership workshop for our partners, Edubiz and our learning centre: World Open Brain International Academy (WOB) in the afternoon during a panel session. The panel of youth leaders demonstrated how youths are the future.
Day Three – 17/11/21
The third day of the #SIF2021 was dedicated to the theme of ‘Microcredentials’. Dr Urs Hauenstein presented on ‘Microcredential Evaluation 5.0′ before leading a discussion from various bodies such as ENIC-NARIC, the European Training Foundation, and the EU Commission.
The CEO and founder of our new partners over at Edubiz– Teodora Chifor, spoke about reimagining education with new sustainable goals for learning from a youth perspective.
Later in the afternoon, Dr Urs Hauenstein lead a research workshop, shortly followed by our President-Elect, who chaired an idea generation workshop for the youth leaders at Edubiz and WOB.
That evening, one of our delegates, Dimitrija Angelkov from North Macedonia, won the SIF2021 video contest!
Day Four – 18/11/21
The theme for the final day of the #SIF2021 was ‘Green and Digital Revolution‘. This theme sparked a range of debates on the use of technology in education and the the future of technology. Dr Julian introduced Dr Haydee Malubay from the Philippines, who spoke about sustainability, and levelling up across nations.
Some delegates then attended a parallel train-the-trainer workshop run by the Fit4FoF project before joining up in the main hall for the final plenaries.
The day came to an end when the organisers in Lisbon (the Council of the Municipality and the Industrial Association of Portugal) hosted a fantastic goodbye dinner at the Jardim Mundial Restaurant inside the iconic Hotel Mundial. With excellent food and wine, conversation flowed, friendships and new connections were made.
Thank you to all of our members who attended this event virtually, we appreciate your continued support.
Leave a Reply