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VINCE is European funded project that aims at promoting validation of learning in higher education and provide support to HEI staff in order to validate migrants‘ and refugees‘ prior learning.

VINCE so far has developed

• Country reports about the implementation of validation in various European countries,
• Case studies about the impact of validation on inclusion,
• Guidelines and a prototype training course for university staff involved in validation processes to be better prepared when working with newcomer candidates.

Furthermore, policy recommendations are being developed, targeted at EU, national decision makers and institutional learners.

On 4th July 2019 a workshop took place at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, which brought together experts, stakeholders, HEI staff and students in order to discuss the European model of validation of competences in the field of refugees.

In a first step the participants were presented the major pillars of the Lisbon Recognition Convention, which sets out the standards that shall govern validation. While recognition of prior learning refers to the recognition of formal qualifications (prerequisites for entering a higher level of a hierarchical, formal system), validation goes beyond, and also refers to the assessment of competences acquired outside the formal education system. The aim is

• to determine which competences are certifiable at all and, where this is feasible (Information)
• to identify the goals against which competences shall be validated (Identification)
• to create portfolios of supporting documents relevant for validation, such as certificates, test results, work results (Documentation)
• to evaluate the person’s skills and competences (Assessment)

In the second section of the workshop the participants jointly with practitioners from in- and outside HEI discussed the practical implications of the Convention with a view to

• identify changes in current practice necessary to meet the standards of the Lisbon Recognition Convention,
• identify constraints in the recognition of informal learning, such as competences hardly to prove or testify,
• consequences recognition practice in Germany has or can have for universities, students and in the context of the wider society.

Learn more about the project from the VINCE website

“Employment Perspective for Migrants and Refugees” is a new community of practice, that is addressed mainly to persons who provide support to migrants and refugees in relation to employment, education and training, as well as to stakeholders active in the topics of education and employment for migrants and refugees.

The call for LifeLong Learning Awards 2018 has been launched. In 2016, the Lifelong Learning Platform launched the LifeLong Learning Awards to celebrate creative and inclusive practices. The aim of the Lifelong Learning Award is to give visibility to innovative practices taking place all over Europe in order to attract public attention on lifelong learning as well as to inspire new practices and policies. The Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) will select each year its annual specific priority that can be linked to the European year if the theme is relevant.

VINCE is an ERASMUS+ project that is developing training materials for university staff working in processes of Validation of Prior Learning (VPL) and Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning (VNIL) with migrant and/or refugee students. The objective is to provide university staff with tools to be better equipped when working with newcomers who want to access Higher Education (HE) and want to be more aware and integrated in European society.

The VINCE open call for case studies and VINCE Validation Prize 2019 have just been launched! The VINCE Validation Prize 2019 is an award given to the most innovative and transferable initiatives in the area of the Validation of Prior Learning (VPL) and/or Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning (VNIL) in all sectors of education in Europe. The 2019 prize follows the initiative of the OBSERVAL and OBSERVAL-Net projects, which awarded a total of 5 Validation Prizes in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

Summary of the Learning Café on 'Social Inclusion and Economic Cohesion', which was conducted during the Final Conference of DISCUSS at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany in October 2015.

Social Inclusion can be described as the “provision of certain rights to all individuals and groups in society”, such as Education and Training (E&T), employment, adequate housing, health care, participation in sports and cultural activities etc. Social Inclusion is also a “term that can be used to describe a series of positive actions to achieve equality of access to goods and services, to assist all individuals to participate in community and society, to encourage the contribution of all persons to social and cultural life and to be aware of and to challenge all forms of discrimination. By ensuring that the marginalised and those living in poverty have greater participation in decision-making which affects their lives, will allow them to improve their standard of living and overall well-being.”

Economic Cohesion in turn, often used in combination with Social Inclusion “is an expression of solidarity between the Member States and regions of the European Union. This means balanced and sustainable development, reducing structural disparities between regions and countries and promoting equal opportunities for all individuals.”

This new Erasmus+ project seeks to improve, monitor and evaluate the quality of validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNFIL) through means of peer review.

Peer Review – the external evaluation of VNFIL institutions/providers by Peers – is a promising instrument for quality assurance and development. It builds on quality activities already in place at a VNFIL institution/provider, it is cost-effective and it fosters networking and exchange between providers of validation of non-formal and informal learning.

The Peer Review VNFIL Extended project works with the Peer Review methodology and instruments as they have been developed in previous programmes. Most recently, in the Europeerguid RVC project, the Manual, Toolbox, and Quality Areas for Peer Review have been adapted to use in 3 countries. VNFIL providers and stakeholders in other countries have expressed a strong interest in adapting and implementing the Peer Review framework and its instruments. This project takes up further fine-tuning and transfer of the methodology to new countries through a number of capacity building activities directed at professional development of more VNFIL practitioners.

Programme: Erasmus+

Source: www.peer-review-network.eu

I greatly enjoyed the DISCUSS project conference in Munich last week at which I spoke together with Steve Wheeler. After the morning speeches, there was a cafe type session in the afternoon looking at four key challenges the project has identified for education in Europe. All were interesting and given the venue tended to be reflected through the lens of the present refugee crisis.

Many experienced, knowledgeable and competent adult educators have no formal teaching qualification. If this situation applies to you, then the Toolkit will help you get recognition for what you have learned so far as an adult educator, by universities, colleges and employers. The resources can also be used to help you make plans for your professional development, with a view to achieving excellence in the practice of adult education.