“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (African proverb)
The main destination of the mobility was TKNIKA Basque’s Country’s Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Vocational Training. With my colleague Nina Eskola-Salin we planned also to meet with the International Coordinator of the Consortium of Basque Public Vet Schools. Since our last visit to TKNIKA, some organizational changes have been carried out. The Basque Institute of Talent in VET (iTalent) has been established in Feb 2023 for applied research, development and implementation. The idea of the institute is to transfer advanced learning methodological models that enable VET students to develop their talent and help to develop students’ professional and personal skills that enable them to adapt to the requirements of employability demand.
‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’ – (quote from the movie Forrest Gump)
Susana Espila (TKNIKA), José Ramón Gómez Laconcha (iTalent) and Enara Iriondo Aberribai (Ikaslan Bizkaia) warmly welcomed us and provided a program, that was more than two enthusiastic teacher trainers ever could have hoped for. Major part of our mobility was attending to OPEN DAYS – event in April 2025. TKNIKA is organizing this event yearly. The program of OPEN DAYS is divided into three different parts: visit to TKNIKA and labs, Vocational Education and Training Summit and Erasmus+ projects dissemination day.
OPEN DAYS involved participants from 29 different organizations and 19 different countries. A possibility to spend three days with nearly 300 international colleagues. We were able to visit labs of e.g. 3D printing, Smart home, Cybersecurity, Immersive Space, Robotics and Industrial Automation. Labs and the continuous professional development practices in TKNIKA enable teachers to collaborate on various projects which cover industry-relevant technologies and to continuously develop their skills and knowledge with the latest educational technologies and methodologies. This ensures that the VET training is aligned with current industry standards and practices.
The “Vocational Education and Training Summit 2025” was held at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Experts from various countries discussed key transitions in Europe, focusing on green and digital transitions under the theme “Keys to a Global, Digital, Inclusive, and Sustainable Future.” Despite the common challenges there seems to be a strong commitment to building more attractive. working-life and future oriented VET across Europe. In addition the topic of the Summit also provided us with a natural platform to share and discuss our experiences of EduSTA – project (Erasmus+ Teachers Academies) and the results that we have gained regarding the teachers’ sustainability competencies. The Summit also included visits to vocational training centers. I visited one of the biggest vocational training centers in Basque Country, LH FPBarakaldo. The visit showed a large variation of different vocational qualifications and made visible how the TKNIKAs’ pedagogical development work was applied to practice.
The event concluded with a European Projects dissemination day session at the Iberdrola Tower in Bilbao. Over 70 Erasmus+ KA2 projects had the possibility to share their plans, results and development ideas. The discussions in the roundtables enabled the sharing of best practices. As a teacher trainer I was stunned how smoothly and effectively the dissemination day was organized.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” (Eleanor Roosevelt)
Mobility has already proved its worth. Right after it we were able to form suggestions on how the co-operation could continue between TKNIKA, iTalent and TAMK. Also, there are preliminary plans for Erasmus+ mobilities with Basque VET teachers. Our development work with teachers’ sustainability competencies offers an exciting basis for further work.
Written by:
Hanne Mäki-Hakola, Senior Lecturer, Pedagogical Innovations and Culture / School of Professional Teacher Education
