Shaping the idea of ECO-Train

• European Agenda for Adult Learning ensures high-quality educational opportunities for adults promoting their personal and professional achievements through strengthening their skills, in particular those required in the present knowledge-based society (ICT, problem solving, foreign languages, etc.). EU 2020 hallmark of 15% adult learning participation to be achieved by 2020 is a priority of European educational policies, to which ECO-Train project corresponds by focusing its concept on providing new opportunities for education of adults. The preliminary need analysis performed by project partners indicated that adult educators are the one who can satisfy the educational needs of all those potential learners who are both self-directed and very practical. According to Eurostat, currently 22.5% of adults (25-64 years) in Europe are with low educational attainment. In ECO-Train partners’ countries this share accounts between 10.2% and 40.9%. All this delineates the necessity to encourage adult education at national and EU level. The substantial role that adult learning can play is by enabling adults - especially the low-skilled and older ones - to improve their adaptation to changes in the labor market and society.
• Environmentally sustainable economy is a benchmark of EC developmental polices and it puts forward a number of measures to increase the EU's resource efficiency via ambitious targets like eco-innovations. They are a core action of EU 2020 strategy, which promotes the development of products and processes that contribute to sustainable development. This strategy also includes the concept of eco-friendly technologies. Their importance to humans and our environment is incalculable. They apply environmentally sensitive approaches, including energy efficiency, recyclable/biodegradable materials, down-gauging and reusability. Eco-friendly technologies help create new jobs directly addressing the Lisbon strategy dimensions: growth, jobs and the environment.
• Transnational working approach is the key aspect of the ECO-Train idea to create innovation. Thus, the transnational efforts of project participants were unified in a strategic partnership formed to exploit the best AE practices in developing innovative training materials within a subject of particular EC. This transnational approach raises the business opportunity and employability in the innovative eco-friendly technologies sector. In this way, ECO-Train project creates added value by innovating national and EU CVET.

 

Implementation plan

ECO-Train project work is structured and distributed in four project phases of different duration. They comprise ordered work in terms of activities performance, and technical, human and financial resources involved, leading to a common result: achievement of the project objectives and delivery of the planned results. The phases/activities cover the process of project development: from project scope to implementation of solutions for its reach.

Preparation Phase

• No 1: Arrangement of ECO-Train management and administration (1-5 month)
• No 2: ECO-Train project start up: design of project concept (2-6 month)

Implementation Phase

• No 3: ECO-Train methodological framework and work plan execution (6-20 month)
• No 4: Intellectual Outputs production (6-20 month)

Follow-up Phase

• No 5: Approbation of ECO-Train deliverables - performance of Multiplier Events (16-20 month)
• No 6: Performance of D&U (1-20 month)

Sustainability Phase

• No 7: Assurance of durable effect of ECO-Train achievements (18-20 month)

 

Managerial and Quality support

The project management policy encompasses a series of actions/procedures that cover the process of project development organized according to the following consecutive stages: Planning, Analysis and Requirements, Design, Development, Integration and Testing, Implementation, Operation and Maintenance. For successful realization of these measures the project uses the following approaches:

• Administration: Formation of project main management bodies; assignment of management rules; determination of partners’ engagements; design of the project operational plan; measuring, checking and/or correcting project activities.
• Quality management: Setting up objectives and processes needed for delivery of the anticipated results; implementation of these processes, their monitoring and assessment, definition and distribution of criteria for (self)evaluation of project work, practice of quality indicators.
• Implementation: Coordinating human and financial resources, integrating and performing the project activities.
• Monitoring and evaluation: Managing and tracking the overall project activities, performance of internal monitoring for assessment of ongoing activities; checking the project variables and implementing change control process, performance of external monitoring via project Experts’ Board.
• Dissemination & use: review and evaluation of project potential to impact target groups/sectors and users, dissemination and approbation of innovative project results, transfer of project results into new sectors/target groups, social/cultural environments.

Financial project control: implementation of project financial control - a mechanism that keeps it on track, on time and within budget.