The Adult Education Centre got the Erasmus+ Funding for Internationalization

With Erasmus+ funding, the Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region is sending 17 full-time staff members to European training courses between 2023 and 2024 to promote adult education work and well-being.

The Erasmus+ project is coordinated by the Adult Education Centre's ICT Course Coordinator, Marianne Laakso.

– The initial steps toward internationalization turned into leaps when the full-time staff of the Adult Education Centre became enthusiastic about the institution's first EU project. I hope that Erasmus+ also promotes professional growth, and we get new content for our own teaching and its planning, says Laakso.

At its best, the project expands international networks. Internationalization is evident in both course themes and activities, as well as visits where the community college activities are presented.

– We hope to learn about ecologically sustainable and responsible practices in other EU countries and to learn more about the use of digital learning methods, says Laakso.

The Adult Education Centre's student age profile is broad, and backgrounds are diverse, which is why both lifelong learning and promoting active citizenship must be continuous.

– Our pedagogical skills grow as we get ideas for encountering different learners in other cultures, and at the same time, we also develop language skills, says Laakso.

According to Laakso, the participation experience in the EU project increases the courage to participate in similar or other international development projects in the future. The goal is to enable international mobility for students who might otherwise have fewer opportunities.

The funding for the European Union and the Finnish National Agency for Education's Erasmus+ Mobility Project has been granted for the period from June 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024.