LMC in Europe

Face to Face at LMC and RLI - A Partnership for the Future!

2012-01-20T18:53:00.000Z

As part of the Leonardo Face to Face Partnership, LMC has teamed up with the Royal Lancaster Infirmary to share best practice in mentoring trainee carers and nurses in the UK leg of the project exchange. Funded by the LifeLong Learning Programme of the European Commission, the Project consortium is made up of representatives across the sector in Bulgaria, Sweden, Iceland, Holland and Italy. After a working session at LMC sharing possible barriers to students entering the caring and nursing professions the visitors enjoyed the sights of Lancaster and then a tour around the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. There was something for everything in the visit, but especially for the Italian delegation who work in the area of rehabilitiation.

LMC has partners in over 20 European Countries and is committed to developing new areas of knowledge exchange relating to Vocational Education for students and staff alike. LMC is working towards building sustainable partnerships locally and further afield to enhance the student experience and prepare them for the world of work or further studies.

Currently LMC are expanding the student exchange provision as part of its International Strategy with students being offered the unique chance to gain paid work experience as part of their course in countries such as; Lithuania, Iceland, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, Malta and Slovakia.

Exciting new partnerships are being tried and tested currently with future student exchanges likely in The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Germany. Watch this space... or visit http://www.lmc.ac.uk/ to find out more!

2012 A New Year - A New Round of Lifelong Learning Programme Bids

2012-01-06T18:37:00.001Z

Happy New Year to all of our Past, Present and Future Project Partners! It's a Dickensian welcome to the New Year with Lifelong Learning Programme Application deadlines looming large!

With only a mere momentary pause for thought in The Community and International Partnerships Unit and after a succesful 2011, CIPU are in full flow preparing bids for the 2012 LLP call. So far it's looking like 3 Learning Partnership bids (Grundtvig and Leonardo), 2 or 3 Leonardo Vetpro Mobility bids for LMC staff CPD, 2 or 3 New Leonardo Student Mobility exchange bids and 1 Leonardo Transfer of Innovation Bid... Think about us while you are sharing the superfluous mince pies and left over Quality Streets and counting the days until half term in February! :) JL

Serious Computer Games as a Teaching Tool - Kick Off Meeting

2011-12-21T10:38:00.000Z

Last week saw the Kick Off Meeting for The SCOGATT Leonardo Transfer of Innovation Project. SCOGATT stands for Serious Computer Games as a Teaching Tool. Arising from the EnerCities Serious Games Project funded by Intelligent Energy Europe, SCOGATT aims to deliver an online toolkit and compendium of games and resources to help Vocational Education Teachers use an increasingly important educational tool - the 'Serious Game'... In the coming months the 7 partners from; UK, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Sweden, Turkey, Lithuiania and Italy will collaborate on different aspects of the project to create a useful and meaningful platform to support teachers and trainers in VET and share the experience with the wider European and Educational professionals.

Go further in Europe with Lancaster and Morecambe College

2011-12-01T11:54:00.000Z

Lancaster & Morecambe College (LMC) does not participate in the Lifelong Learning Programme; it lives the Lifelong Learning Programme. From very early on, the college has approached the LLP less as a sweetener for students and
employees than as a vehicle towards becoming a truly international training provider. Management at the college have critically evaluated their curriculum and continuous professional development offer, in order to identify areas which might benefit from a European dimension <<< read on >>>

EUROPA - Press Releases - Erasmus for All: 5 million in line for EU funding

2011-11-24T14:10:00.000Z

EUROPA - Press Releases - Erasmus for All: 5 million in line for EU funding: EUROPA - Press Releases - Erasmus for All: 5 million in line for EU funding

Welcome to Lancaster and Morecambe College Video

2011-11-18T12:58:00.001Z

Welcome to Lancaster and Morecambe College Film - The short film below was recorded, edited and produced by Lancaster and Morecambe College students to introduce the campus and facilities... Nice work!

LMC opens state of the art fitness suite...

2011-11-14T20:10:00.000Z

Ok, it's not strictly Lifelong Learning or project related but great effort has been made to install a modern fitness suite at Lancaster and Morecambe College to suit everyone. With a mixture of cardio vascular, resistance and weights, it aims to offer a high class professional facility. Memberships are available at a very competitive price for everyone; staff, students and the wider community...
It's time to see how many of the Community and International Partnerships Unit will actually join up!
I am - JL

LIT.VOC Transfer of Innovation Kick Off Meeting in Berlin

2011-11-09T17:18:00.000Z

Berlin is cold but sunny. Really nice conditions for the LIT.VOC Transfer of Innovation kick off meeting. Coordinated by Zukunftsbau GmbH from Germany with partners from; Austria, Bulgaria, Spain, Denmark and UK of course. Over the next two years partners will be transferring the Alpha-Z product to new targets and new countries. www.alpha-z.de - watch this space - JL

2011-11-01T09:49:00.000Z

Visit to Albeda College Rotterdam - Paul Ineson

The fourth meeting of the Face to Face partnership was situated in Albeda College, Rotterdam. The visit was scheduled over 2 days from Monday 10th to Tuesday 11th of October 2011. The primary purpose of this meeting was to build on the previous work started on our last visit to Italy, i.e. for partners to identify barriers to success for students and identify the support in place to help overcome these barriers within each of their own education systems. For this meeting, each partner focused on gathering information on students’ barriers to participation on a more personal level, primarily using 1-1 interviews and individual student experiences.
On Monday morning we had had a short presentation on the rationale and mechanism behind the recently negotiated local partnership of Foundation Rijnmond Hospitals. The main reason behind this partnership (also known as a covenant in the Netherlands) is to help recruit, train and retain people working in health and social care in the local area. By involving all the relevant stakeholders and working together, it is hoped that the ever increasing demands on the health and social care sector in the Rotterdam area can be met successfully. We also had a showing of a very impressive and emotive documentary film by Sjoerd Oostrik, a young, newly qualified & talented film maker. The film was titled Destiny. The documentary centred around a recent student of Albeda College: Destiny and gave a brief ‘snap shot’ of her day-to-day life and the challenges she faced as a young single mother with very little money and family support. This certainly struck a chord with the majority of partners who had experienced similar situations with some of their own students. The film added a very personal and real dimension to the barriers faced by students and effectively highlighted the plight of many learners who struggle to balance a difficult home life with the demands of full-time education.
On Monday afternoon, we had two very interesting visits, firstly to a newly built (opened in 2008) local hospital – Vietland Hospital and secondly, to Rheuma Revalidation centre Rotterdam a rehabilitation centre primarily aimed at elderly care. On entering the Vietland Hospital we were all struck by the impressive architecture & unique design of the facility. The hospital had an organic ‘feel’ which reminded me of buildings in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. The facilities were state of the art and certainly appeared to offer a very efficient and high standard of care for its patients.

Later in the morning, we were also given a presentation which covered the approach adopted by the hospital to nurse training which included structure and progression routes. This was followed by very interesting talk on the strategies used to motivate and retain staff. Like many countries in Europe, the Netherlands is having great difficulty recruiting and retaining nursing staff to meet the demands of an ever increasing elderly population. In the afternoon we visited the Rheuma Revalidation centre and we were given an extensive tour of the facilities and an interesting presentation about their facility. We were also informed about the referral system adopted for patients that require rehabilitation for various conditions. The facility was very impressive and had a very structured and organised programme of care and rehabilitation for its patients.
On Tuesday morning all the partners made presentations which were centred around more research collected from their own work places. The research this time focused more on 1-1 interviews and more personal accounts from students regarding barriers to participation. This was further re-enforced very effectively later in the morning, when partners interviewed eight students from Albeda College about barriers to participation from their own perspective. This was a very rewarding and useful exercise which was greatly appreciated by all the partners. From my own personal perspective, I was struck by the similarities in the barriers identified by students at Albeda College in comparison to LMC students. In particular, when related to their work placement.
Late morning, the group discussed the commonalities that had emerged over the last two days of activities. In preparation for the UK visit, the partners agreed to look at all the research and data collected from each partner via the documents previously uploaded to the Face to Face website and independently produce a summary of their own conclusions.

Finally, I would like to thank Annemiek van Workum and the Netherlands team for their generous hospitality and for organising an excellent programme that made a valuable contribution to the project.

CIPU Milestone - Sue Keenan hits the big 40

2011-09-29T22:27:00.002+01:00

Happy Birthday and congratulations to Sue Keenan of the Community and International Partnerships Unit at LMC on reaching 40.

We hope your Fortieth Year is a fantastic one, in life and in projects too ;) ...loving the headgear!

LMC - A New Era in Europe

2011-08-24T10:13:00.001+01:00

New Era...
LMC are set to embark on a new era in our commitment to lifelong learning opportunities for our students and staff. The Community and International Parterships Unit (CIPU) has now been formally agreed and will officially operate from September 2011. It will consist of four coordinators and two administrators, all working on a diverse range of projects, initiatives and training courses. There will be a strong community focus to compliment the existing ESF and International Projects such as Grundtvig, Transversal and Leonardo. The whole department will be overseen by Sue Keenan who has a wide experience in managing educational and other international projects.
This year...
LMC will be involved in two Leonardo Transfer of Innovation Projects as well as its existing LLP partnerships. After the completion of the EnerCities project in September we will embark on a 24 month project sharing techniques, developing training and designing a toolkit to train teachers how to use games in the modern classroom setting. Other new ideas are already being discussed in the office about possible projects to continue the good work already started in FacetoFace and WOW partnerships. We are still waiting for approval for one or two other projects and are already discussing Leonardo Mobility sports and care exchanges for 2012 applications. It's going to be a busy year - JL

British Council and Ecorys Valorisation Day in West Brom

2011-07-10T22:19:00.000+01:00

A great event and really well organised as usual :) The LMC student who had been on a Leonardo Placement got to hear more success stories and share his own story too.

Useful Fact Finder for me about Youth in Action Programmes and post 2013 Priorities in the LLP.

Just don't ask what I am doing on this picture :) JL

E-NLL - Cooperation for offering learning opportunities for learning in Later Life

2011-07-07T18:49:00.000+01:00

E-NLL project opportunities for you

E-NLL is a network , planned to promote cooperation for offering learning opportunities for learning in Later Life.
If you are interested to share your experience or to participate in any of the project activities (workshops, national events, conference), please contact the project partner in your country, or write a message in the Contact section of the website...

InBook Project and more....

2011-07-07T14:32:00.003+01:00

LMC are excited to be part of an innovative Social Networking Project here in the UK.
Although it's not strictly LMC in Europe, it will interest our colleagues I'm sure. Working with Beaumont College, JISC and TechDis we are testing a Secure Social Network for students to get talking about and comparing their work across campus. Pure Web 2.0 and Based on Facebook, it utilises Wordpress with a customised front end whilst sitting behind a secure log (SSL VPN) including moderation. The name is InBook and we hope that it represents a new era and pedagogical shift, recognising the benefits of collaborative learning with a dash of socialising thrown in...
Along with our Excellence Gateway input on the DART Project (based around the Assistive Technologist Role) also run by Beaumont College we are building bridges with our colleagues on a local, regional and national level... hmmm..... Can we export these ideas into Europe? You bet we can!

New Approaches New Skills for Social Inclusion - Using Social Media to Tackle Social

2011-07-06T14:06:00.002+01:00

LMC are heavily involved in the use of Social Media in our Lifelong Learning Projects and presented in London as part of project above with the following theme;

...in a global marketplace, instant communication through social media is vital not only for individuals but also for companies. Teachers have, therefore, to understand the global communication dynamic and be competent in using emerging media and technologies to be credible with young people and to raise their aspirations, embracing a new pedagogy as facilitators in a global learning environment.
The team delivered aspects of Serious Gaming and its use in the modern day classrom. Another focus was the EnerCities Serious Game www.enerCities.eu and our experiences getting it played in VET and GFE colleges and schools here in the UK and across the Project Partnership countries. We focussed on the skills gap of many teachers and how the project has led to an application for a Leonardo Transfer of Innovation Application bid for funding this year.
Facebook advertising also was explained as was the success stories and lessons learnt as we went along in the 36 month process - 60,000+ players on Facebook!
I also went on to present how we use Social Media in our LifeLong Learning Projects to - Communicate, Collaborate and Disseminate what we do to a wider audience by new channels of communication.
The knock on effect of all this exposure and digital sharing process is a more efficient way to tell the wider world and amplification of the message you want to spread!
So let's hope hope this works :) Johnny L

EnerCities @ Eden Online Conference in Dublin

2011-06-19T17:19:00.002+01:00

EnerCities is presented at Eden Online Conference here in Dublin tomorrow (Monday) We are not going to tell people how to use games in the classroom, just what happened in our project... The workshop will be hands-on including a chance for everyone to try out the game then kick-off some sort of debate... I guess I should start by writing a presentation pretty soon... jl

Students spend 3 weeks work experience in Lithuania!

2011-06-07T15:24:00.007+01:00

Every year, students from the BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners are offered the opportunity to experience working for an IT company in another country. This is funded by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme under the Lifelong Learning Strategy for Europe.

LMC currently runs 6 Leonardo Mobility Projects and has holds the Leonardo Mobility Certificate as recognition for its quality provision in this area! In the past IT Practitioners have also been to the Czech Republic.

Click to read the LMC Students Union REPort Magazine article "3 Weeks in Lithuania by Troy Astarte, IT Practitioners student and see what they got up to...

Leonardo Mobility Start-up Seminar

2011-06-02T19:19:00.002+01:00

Brain overload!
Lots to learn and share from the 2011 Leonardo Start-up Seminar in Birmingham today... 3 LMC projects are approved for dual flows starting almost immediately with Outdoor Pursuits Coaching in Slovakia... with EuroZoo and IT Works to start 2012.
Ecorys are very well informed and it was nice to put faces with names too.
Obviously no event like this would be complete without an Enercities Push... achieved!
Picked up some great mobility project management tips and maybe even future ideas for LMC in Europe projects. JL

LMC in Europe - One of those weeks!

2011-05-11T16:47:00.003+01:00

Yes, it's one of those weeks that we have from time to time in the European Office... So much going on it's hard to put it all in one blog. Anyway, it's Enercities Virtual Competition Week, just about everywhere!!! Well, in Europe at least! up to €1000 worth of energy related prizes up for grabs for the winning school and an iPod Touch for the best individual score. The school and player have to be registered of course! http://www.enercities.eu/

There is also a small side competition for the most imaginative pictures showing EnerCities T Shirts. I guess I won't win that one then!
Anyway, for interested people, students, gamers, teachers, the forum there should offer tips and tricks and other useful information. The Paladin team have been working hard to deal with SPAM and scorelists for this competition. Also, the game is very polished now and when you get to a certain level it takes on a new aspect of complexity. Get building! I am!

Contact us for more information about Enercities and gaming in the classroom.

Also this week Trainee LMC Chefs have gone out to Malta under the Leonardo Programme. The hotel they are working at is a 5 Star pad so their 3 weeks will be a fabulous working/learning experience.

I am representing LMC on the Grundtvig ENLL Network Project. Focussing on intergenerational and informal learning for older people, this project pulls together a wide range of EU projects and initiatives from over 14 EU Countries... Managing something like this is no small task! http://www.enll.eu/ Thankfully I am not doing it... follow the link for more information, it's pretty interesting to see what other countries offer their older learners. JL

EnerCities European VIrtual Competition Week 9th May - 13th May

2011-04-14T10:30:00.006+01:00

COMPETITION TIME - Monday 9th May - Friday 13th May 2011

Individual First Prize - Apple i-Pod Touch for the best registered individual school player score.

School First Prize – Up to €1000 of Energy Related Prizes for best registered school score.
Recent prizes included; solar panels, electric bikes, renewable education kits and many more...

Enercities does Athens

2011-04-05T16:03:00.003+01:00

After a busy few weeks in Europe, LMC now hits Athens. Approaching the conclusion of the 3 year project, Enercities Partners are making arrangements for their local competition events and also the final European Virtual Competition that runs for the whole week beginning May 9th 2011. The competition is open to all European Countries, even those outside of the partnership countries. The Individual winner of the May final competition will win an iPod Touch. whoo hoo! The winning school can win up to €1000 of Energy Related Prizes too. The last competition was won by a Slovenian School. A great prize will be heading their way soon... more later JL www.enercities.eu

Ostrava - Grundtvig E-Safety Workshop

2011-03-23T13:27:00.005Z

Monday saw the start of the week long Grundtvig E-Safety Workshop in Ostrava. It made a nice change to see the sun for the first time in seemingly many months. Many different countries were represented: UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Latvia... I think that's everyone! Anyway, there are educators, policemen, NGOs, Governmental agencies and volunteers to name but a few. We are going to be involved in a radical E-safety experiment to test E-Safety surrounding Facebook. The results of this experiment seem to be completely unpredicatable and will culminate in a party on Friday evening. More about this as it happens.... Local schools are also taking part in this experiment and today we met the students which was really great fun and also interesting to see E-Safety from a young person's perspective. JL

March 14th Running for 5 days - The Enercities Virtual Competition

2011-03-06T14:58:00.001Z

Enercities Competition Week 14th - 18th March 2011

2011-03-04T16:56:00.004Z

With a first prize fund of up to €1200 of Energy Related equipment for your school or youth group! Contact us for more information or email j.latham@lmc.ac.uk

Face to Face in Bulgaria - Leonardo Partnership

2011-03-03T22:53:00.001Z

http://picasaweb.google.com/EuropeanFunding/PhotographsBulgaria?authkey=Gv1sRgCI2-m-HRhvCOrQE

Q&A with John Perry from Lancaster and Morecambe College

2011-02-15T12:04:00.003Z

Taken from the Celebrating 15 Years of Leonardo Article on the Ecorys Website >>>

John is in the unique position of having been involved in projects from all aspects of the Lifelong Learning Programme: Leonardo, Grundtvig, Erasmus and Comenius. We caught up with him about his experience of Leonardo:

Q: How did you first get involved in Leonardo
A: I think I first heard about the programme through a leaflet from the national agency. I remember thinking it would be a valuable opportunity for staff and students here to undertake work experience in the European Union. Our first project was called ‘Malta Chefs’ and it began in 2004. We sent four chefs to experience life working in a five star hotel there.

Q: What were the benefits for the staff and learners involved?
A: For staff, attending job shadowing placements abroad represented a valuable professional development opportunity. Similarly for students this was a chance to experience living away from home and to gain awareness of other cultures. They also had to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers – so it was a great way to boost their soft skills.

Q: What would you say were the benefits for the college as a whole?
A: The education sector has become very competitive, especially among colleges in the north-west. The involvement in Leonardo was something unique in the region, and this has helped us to promote the college, time and time again, through our marketing materials.

Q: What has been the most memorable aspect of your involvement in the Leonardo programme?
A: I have found it especially rewarding to see students when they get back from their placements. It is always a major event in their lives and they’re so excited about it. We try to keep in touch with students who went on placements in order to find out, 3-4 years down the line, how it changed their lives. The best comment I heard so far was from a participant who was involved in the first Leonardo project – Malta Chefs. The first thing the participant remembered was: “I had to wash my own clothes”.

Q: What has it meant to you on a personal level to be involved in Leonardo? What has been the most fulfilling or beneficial part of your involvement?
A: Being involved in the Leonardo programme meant huge amount to me. I started from zero, but built up a very large network very quickly. I am now working in 30 different countries on a variety of projects. There’s never a dull moment.

Q: Are there any challenges you have faced on a specific project? If so, how were these overcome?
A: The most challenging project was ‘Animal Care’ in 2008. Students wanted to do a work placement at a Zoo. It was challenging to find the right organisation for them. However I did manage to find the Antwerp Zoo and I’m still working with the organisation to this day.

De la Gardiegymnasiet - Lidkoping Sweden...

2011-02-08T21:15:00.004Z

We all know that first impressions count for a lot right?
Well, today I visited De La Gardie, Lidkoping (Sweden) for the first time and my first impressions were, to say the least 'very positive.' Friendly staff, happy students and great quality learning environments were everywhere. Learning was taking place in every teaching area, common room and social hub within the laid back atmosphere of the school. Another striking impression was the ubiquitous use of notebooks and laptops throughout the campus. Students were learning, communicating and playing in the very way young people should, albeit with Mac Book Pro computers! Ever since the $100 laptop idea sprang out of the USA several years ago, issuing students with their very own personal learning tool has been the dream of many schools and colleges throughout the world. Here they have done it and proof that it really works is everywhere! You should go and see it in action if you don’t believe me!
Ok, my Swedish isn’t great (actually non existent) but students of all ages and abilities were happy to talk and share their experiences whenever called upon in wonderful expressive English! They were very positive about their courses, school and teachers; from childcare to construction and music to catering. I will return to the UK with some pedagogical thoughts and education related ideas from my visit to De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping and Sweden generally but most of all I will try to find out how I can get a free Mac Book Pro! JL

New Round of LLL Bidding

2011-01-26T18:08:00.003Z

We are currently working hard on our 2011-12 Leonardo Mobility Applications... Consider this an apology if you are trying to get immediate email responses from us :)

With five Certificated Leonardo Student Mobility Programmes LMC and various others in progress, we are committed to enhancing our learners' experiences wherever we can.

European mobility and personal development opportunities that fit into the students' formal courses offer a unique way enhance the overall learner experience.

From Zoo work in Poland to coaching outdoor pursuits in Slovakia and Practical IT experience in Lithuania LMC students have, and will continue to benefit from EU support under the Leonardo Programme.... JL

Let's all go to the zoo!

2011-01-20T17:04:00.002Z

Gdansk no less :)

Enercities Second Virtual Competition

2011-01-14T18:09:00.003Z

www.enercities.eu

Throughout the week beginning 17th January 2011 there will be the Second Virtual Enercities Competition... A great chance for students, young people and schools to compete for great Energy Themed Prizes against European counterparts...

E-NLL: Never Late to Learn in Dublin

2011-01-11T09:58:00.005Z

We are here in Dublin for the ENLL network meeting. ENLL = Never Late to Learn.

ENLL is A Grundtvig Multilateral network, supported by the European Commission.

The E-NLL network unites 26 organisations from 14 European countries, interested in supporting senior citizens in their lifelong learning activities.

The E-NLL network is:

focusing on ageing population and its particular learning needs
building models for inclusion of elderly people in lifelong learning through offering models for learning, mobility and volunteering
encouraging cooperation between senior education providers

Back to work.... JL

Iceland impressions face to face project

2010-11-28T23:16:00.005Z

I've been around the block so-to-speak when it comes to travelling... BUT Iceland is really unique and there is something special about this place. I'm not talking about the frozen food supermarket chain either!
Right from the off, the aiport is amazing and so is the bus ride into town. Reminding me a little of the remotest parts of Scotland with housing that resemble Butlins. Its bloody freezing though! about -5 C

Our Reykjavik hotel is opposite the most amazing church that dominates the frozen night sky. No northern lights yet but maybe tomorrow we'll make the trip. Reykjavik is a strange little place with a reputation that is much larger than itself. (Iceland has a total population of around 300,000) The buildings are a mixture of traditional wooden and the modern high tech. Good taste abounds around here and in peoples houses, because you can see into most of them. A little like the Dutch obsession with strange objects in windows there is something similar here too. There is a strong Scandinavian influence on design and the faces of the people.
Even my moustache fits in here!

I found the fleamarket by the harbour and went looking for 'odd things' of which there were plenty. The oddest thing is the rotten shark meat they apparently eat! no idea about that one but its smelly! I picked up a couple of Trubrot Cds on the recommendation of DJ Norfy... Early seventies Icelandic Prog/Psyche Rock... Hmmmmm!

Anyway, after a long walk around and lunch we went back to the hotel and met up with some more of the Face to Face Leonardo Partnership people...
After dinner we shared a beer and a chat with The ''Znanie' Bulgarians and Helsingborg folks. The Italian partners went swimming apparently :) If they survive the cold we will all meet up in the morning at 08:30 for the start of the project meeting. More to follow with pics soon... JL

Download Youtube Video Comenius - Roads, Risks & Responsibilities - Infomercial in 3GP, Mp4, Flv, HD, Wmv and Mp3 Online for FREE

2010-11-18T21:07:00.001Z

Download Youtube Video Comenius - Roads, Risks & Responsibilities - Infomercial in 3GP, Mp4, Flv, HD, Wmv and Mp3 Online for FREE

The Enercities Local Competition, Lancaster UK

2010-11-10T21:47:00.001Z

Tuesday 9th November 2010 saw the Enercities Local Competition take place at Lancaster University. The fantastic InfoLab21 was the base venue with approx 60 players from Lancaster Schools and Colleges competing for the Horizon Energy Kit prizes, T Shirts and other energy related goodies...

The striking InfoLab21 building

The aim of the day was to offer a variety of energy themed sessions alongside a local UK Enercities competition event. Players enjoyed tours of the Engineering and Environmental faculties with related talks and sessions before playing the Enercities game.

http://www.enercities.eu/

The prizes above were offered not only to the winning team, but also all the teams that attended, with a special prize for the winning individual score of the day!

The winning player managed a score of 550 on the day and took home £50 high street vouchers and a remote controlled Hydrogen Car. The Winning Team was Ripley St Thomas of Lancaster and they took the first prize of an enhanced Renewable Energy kit with cars and T Shirts for all the players.

The day was a success and brought together learners of all ages with a focus on Renewable Energy and The Enercities Game project. The fabulous facilities at Lancaster University offered a unique insight into cutting edge technology along with a fun filled experience for all the people involved - adults included - JL

If you want to get involved in future Enercities competitions throught 2011 contact Lancaster and Morecambe College directly or via this blog. We can offer special codes to register your schools and classes and further information about the game and this Intelligent Energy Europe project.

Lancaster Enercities Competition

2010-11-04T22:58:00.004Z

Tuesday 9th November 2010 sees the Lancaster 'Local' Enercities competition for youngsters at Lancaster University... Schools involved are Central Lancaster, Ripley and The Lancaster Girls Grammar with Games students of Lancaster and Morecambe College adding to the variety of ages competing...

The day kicks off for us at 08:30 with the collection of the partners from the hotel and drive up to Lancaster University InfoLab21 Building... After meeting all the players around 09:45 (approximately 60) the groups will divide into 3 revolving groups of around 20 taking tours of the Engineering facilities, Environmental Science department and playing Enercities... Each department will be offering related talks concerning energy themes that appear in the game and relate to local issues, energy production and energy use... Prizes are awarded to the schools based on the scores in the game and individual players too...

Did I mention the T Shirts for all the players! oh and USB memory sticks for the teachers?

It promises to be a fun day for us all! JL

If you are reading this and want your class to compete for great prizes in Enercities Virtual Competitions get in touch with us for a unique teachercode to register!

There will be other events at the end of 2010 and in 2011...

Passport to NVQs - UK and Korea PMI2

2010-10-17T19:32:00.000+01:00

Passport to NVQs - LMC welcomes Korean guests...

Our four Korean guests arrived in Lancaster from London for a week of NVQ/ITQ assessment, preparation and training... But as the world's leading nation regarding IT its possible we can learn as much from our esteemed guests as they can from us.

Leaving our guests to relax after their Saturday journey, we arranged to meet them on the Sunday morning at their excellent accomodation, he Shakespeare Bed and Breakfast on St Leonardsgate. An excellent tour around historic Lancaster Castle was followed by a lunch of sharing and cultural food tasting which proved very interesting. Helen was involved in a visit to Korea last year as the first phase of the project and shared with us the interesting cultural and educational differences between our nations.

Did you know...

...if a Korean person is enjoying food in your company and wants you to know they might simply make more noise whilst eating as a gesture of appreciation...

We wish our guests a happy stay in Lancaster and Morecambe

Wow kick-off meeting in Lancaster

2010-10-13T13:31:00.004+01:00

The Wow Partnership Kick-0ff meeting was held in Lancaster with partners from UK x 2, Sweden, Italy, Turkey, Lithuania and Germany. The Grundtvig WOW Partnership intends to develop inter-generational interaction between elderly people and young adults at risk of disaffection within lifelong learning. Its also an attempt to promote basic IT literacy amongst elderly learners. Developing self confidence, communication skills and citizenship ‘soft skills’ amongst young adults should help to embed a positive inter-generational culture within local communities too!

Monday started with a meet the partners session and introductions of each others organisations and and the project focus. We had a lunch provided by catering students of LMC with a tour of the facilities on site. LMC has younger learners that will work along with older people sharing experiences and expertise when using computers and online facilities.

The evening was a intercultural affair with a lovely traditional English meal at the Borough in Lancaster.

Tuesday saw Help Direct host the meeting inside Lancaster Town Hall with a traditional lunch in the committee room.

Help Direct will take part in the transnational visits and have access to older learners for the project. The Deputy Mayor showed the guests around the Town Hall and its treasures including the famour circular Gillow Table and special occassional robes.

All partner are looking forwards to the next meetings and sessions in Vaxjo, Sweden in March which is incidentally a Twin City of Lancaster...

Brussels ICT Digitally Driven

2010-09-28T08:31:00.003+01:00

Just set up the Enercities stand ready for another busy dayat the expo....
It was nice to drive beneath the famous atomium structure on the way here this morning too!

Resolved internet connection issues today - amazing really considering there must be more ICT professionals here than anywhere else in Europe right now!
Robots, 3D phones, Green IT solutions, CHip design projects all with a European Project orientation at the Expo, with a conference with VIPs across the sectors and policy makers etc....
Interest in the game is healthy - we all like games!

Enercities @ ICT Digitally Driven Brussels Expo

2010-09-23T22:48:00.006+01:00

See Enercities @ ICT Digitally Driven - Brussels Expo
Monday 27th - 29th September 2010.... Find us in the Green IT area
It's going to be HUGE!

I know this because I am still trying to find somewhere to sleep - JL

A fresh year in Europe

2010-09-15T18:18:00.002+01:00

Getting ready for a new year of Lifelong Learning European Projects at LMC. New Partnerships and collaborations as part of the Leonardo and Grundtvig programmes as well as numerous other projects in the Euro Pipeline. Good summer placements for our Outdoor Pursuits and Sports Projects in Czech Republic and in Bulgaria more to follow.... We hope our partners had a good summer break and we are all eager to get to work! Hoorah!
Watch this space for news as it happens and project updates including the final stages of the 2008 partnerships that have recently ended! JL

Providence Project Cultural Visit

2010-06-30T13:39:00.005+01:00

Leonardo Providence Cultural Visits

Our final visit as arranged by our Polish hosts was to the Silesian Culture and Recreation Park located in the centre of the Upper Silesian Metropolis (bordering Chorzow and Katowice) in Silesia.

Founded in the 1950’s – 1960’s the area covers 620 hectares making it the 2nd largest city park in Europe .This vast area, surrounded it’s by beautiful greenery and tree covered walkways, allowed the group an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the week’s events.
With the temperature rising to over 30 degrees we were soon in need of a light lunch and refreshments. From a choice of restaurants, we opted for a small bar with an upstairs terrace complimented by a view of some of the Parks attractions and impressive architectural buildings.

The Park features the following attractions:

Planetarium
Amusement Park
Zoological Garden
Ethnographic Park
A Hotel Complex
Sports Complex

One of the most impressive attractions at this park is the incredible rose garden, the largest in the country, housing more than 30,000 incredible roses from dozens of varieties. Lancaster and Morecambe College want to thank all the staff at PUP in Siemianowice Slaskie for their hosting arrangements and informative visits

JL, PL,NC and JH

Providence Project – Final Meeting

2010-06-11T17:28:00.008+01:00

‘All Things Must Pass’ - This week saw the final ‘Providence’ Leonardo Partnership meeting in Poland. Powiatowy Urzad Pracy(PUP) in Siemianowice, Slaskie (Silesia) hosted over twenty representatives from the various partner countries with four LMC staff representing the UK; Janet Hargreaves and Pauline Love represented the e2e department of LMC, Natalie Crossley Integrated Employment and Skills section with myself John Latham fronting the business side of the Leonardo Partnership.
On the advice of our Polish colleagues and considering the recent flooding in South Poland we set out with our umbrellas and Berghaus kit from Liverpool bound for Katowice Lotnicky (about 100km from Krakow). What greeted us in Poland wasn’t only the much appreciated transfer to Siemianowice arranged by our PUP hosts but also beautiful blue sky with temperatures around 30C.
The good weather continued throughout the 4 days of the partnership meeting with a temperature of 34C on the final day.
We met all of our fellow Providence Partners on the Monday evening in the hotel with appropriate refreshments and our first taste of intercultural dialogue ;-)
Tuesday was an early start when at 08:15 all the partners were whisked off to the Wojewodzki Urzad Pracy w Katowice (WUP). This is the regional labour office that supervises the local labour office, our hosts. We were presented with an overview of the educational systems of Poland relating to retraining and regional perspective on unemployment. The systems have to be flexible to cope with unemployment fluctuations and the decline of core industry in the area such as coal mining, steel manufacturing and the automotive industry. The ability to offer retraining and start-up opportunities was essential in the traditionally industrial based area of Silesia. The recent global crisis also affected the local and regional area with some recent signs of recovery.
The lightning fast presentations were followed by a trip to the Jano meat processing factory. Who said that European trips weren’t all glamourous! OK this isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, especially when it is over 30C outside but a sausage is a sausage after all. The skills needed to become a meat processor follow the principle that certain levels of competence have to be achieved as guided by the Chamber of Craft. Part of the courses involve at least some aspect of entrepreneurship and general study, a theme which followed on our visit to MOTO-TEST garage. It seems there are two basic levels of qualification designed by the Chamber of Craft and to employ people or train people in any given profession the business owner of trainer must reach the higher ‘Master’ of craft level.

After lunch we visited the Guido Mine in near Katowice.

Coal hasn’t been mined here since the 1960’s but the experience reflected the industrial heritage of the area and the problems it will face in the future as the natural resources deplete and inevitably the mines close. Poland has no nuclear power stations and relies entirely on coal to provide its energy. So much so that it now imports a proportion of its coal from other countries!
More from the final meeting soon - including the International Bowling Competition and Krakow explored...
JL

A Bridge Too Far... The Enercities Nijmegen Catch Up

2010-05-17T23:31:00.007+01:00

After the Enercities Granada meeting was cancelled back in April it was decided that we needed an alternative Enercities meeting and where better to hold it than Nijmegen. ROC Nijmegen as well as being the lead partners is an easy to reach spot 1.5 hours away from Amsterdam by train.

The meeting was a 1 day 'turbo' meeting in the new ROC Nijmegen state-of-the-art campus. Just a short walk from the hotel and with a bit of bike dodging we all made the meeting safely at 9am with the Paladin Boys arriving shortly after. The session included our Rollout plans and discussion of the half way stage of the project with some of the positives and negatives about the project so far and the road ahead.

www.enercities.eu

The game itself is without doubt a success story with The Paladin crew putting together a first class resource... Now its the turn of the other partners to get it used inside schools and the message through to the young people of Europe. The game is made, the partners have spread the Enercities message far and wide but now we have to turn the positivity into commitment with a big C.

Good news is that prizes can now be offered for the best scores and this should help in the overall aims. The winning Spanish school in the 1st competition took away a Solar Kit and individuals won other great prizes.

Early November sees the UK partner visit. LMC are investigating the best time and place for a local Enercities competition as well as the 3 remaining International events. So far it looks like October, March and June for the International events but watch this space... JL

EVALU-VET Final Meeting Ankara

2010-05-11T14:58:00.000+01:00

All Good Things Come To An End.

The final meeting of our LdV Partnership "Evalu-VET" took place in Ankara, Turkey last week. The culmination of two years of exchange, research and discussion was a well-attended Conference where QA experts from all 5 partners gave their presentations and answered perceptive questions from the audience.

The Conference, excellently co-ordinated by Rukiye attracted over 100 Principals from Vocational Schools and Colleges across the wider Ankara Municipality and even attracted the attentions of Turkish TV. It's good to see prime time TV taking such an interest in vocational education!

The following day the formal ending of the Partnership took place with all partners contributing to the compilation of the Final Report which will now be submitted to the National Agency of each country involved.

Sipping a last glass of Turkish tea in the warmth of Ankara sunshine, we all agreed that we should look for opportunities to continue what has been a very pleasant and successful partnership. Watch this space for future developments!

Exchange Students at LMC

2010-05-06T15:14:00.001+01:00

Exchange Students at LMC

LMC is playing host to two Spanish students Victor Gonzalez and Santiago Moreno who are undertaking work experience in the computer services department. The students, from Arcipreste de Hita College near Madrid, are spending 10 weeks at LMC as part of an Erasmus exchange.
Since arriving at LMC three weeks ago, the students have been testing Windows 7 with the WiFi connections and laptops, in preparation for it being rolled out at College. They are now working on finding drivers for Windows 7 for the LMC printers.

The students have been impressed with LMC, they really like the college and the opportunities it offers. Their college in Spain is much smaller and more like a high school, with less subjects on offer.

Victor and Santiago are staying locally for the duration of their visit and have enjoyed visiting Lancaster and were looking forward to going to see the scarecrows at Wray and visiting the Lake District over the May Day weekend.

LMC Blog - spreading the word

2010-04-29T23:15:00.004+01:00

We've been blogging about our European exploits now for a few months here at Lancaster and Morecambe College...

Who contributes?
Who reads it?
Why do we do it?

Well myself John Latham and John Perry working from the European Funding Department do the majority of the blogging and also encourage contributions from colleagues and students taking part in the EU funded projects we are involved with.
The Special enthusiasm award go to the LMC Media students who decided to start their own blog to share the Roads, Risks and Responsibilities Comenius Project they were working on:
beyondthealpesliesitaly
Since February LMCinEurope can boast that we have had visits from 23 countries worldwide and 200+ people have viewed some of the interesting contributions by our staff and students.

We do it because people deserve to know about the exciting projects that are running at LMC involving our European partners. It also reminds us and our readers that we are part of Europe and a bigger picture but most of all its good to share! (JL)

Enercities First Virtual Competition

2010-04-22T21:26:00.003+01:00

First ever Enercities Competition goes ahead - Tuesday 20th April 2010
Even complete European airspace closure couldn't stop the first ever Virtual International Enercities competition...
Despite the project meeting in Granada being cancelled due to flying restrictions students, pupils and registered players from the 6 partner countries still took place in the competition with prizes awarded to the top playeys. Spain dominated the leaderboard in this event and have set the standards for the rest of Europe to rise up to. Let's hope this isn't an early indicator of what's to come in the World Cup :)
If you or your school or college are interested in taking part in future competions get in touch with us at Lancaster and Morecambe College for further details...

Krakow, March 2010

2010-04-15T12:23:00.001+01:00

KRAKOW
8th – 12th MARCH 2010

Public Service students visit Poland as part of their International Perspectives
and Understanding Discipline units.
19 National Diploma year two students spent 5 days in Krakow to develop their understanding of two of the units they have been studying. We met at the college at 3.00 AM !! on a cold Monday morning before being taken to Liverpool for a 7.00 am flight to Krakow. After settling into our accommodation, a Hostel close to the centre – we went for a walk to the market square (biggest mediaeval square in Europe) and then through the Jewish quarter and past the Royal Castle. This introduced us to the cold – it must have been – 8 C.
Tuesday – Auschwitz & Birkenau – a heavy day.
Comments / Quotes from the students after the day :
“Auschwitz was emotional + very informative. It was very hard to think about how many people died, it was hard to see all the pictures of the prisoners”
“very Moving “ “Quite moving and upsetting but very good”
“Can’t really say it was good but it was interesting. Made me think differently”
“emotionally draining”
We arrived after seeing a film on the coach explaining the background to the camps. First we went through the main gates, below the sign Arbeit macht frei (Work makes you free !!) and into a number of the blocks. The sights that really affected us were the collections of human hair, suitcases, artificial limbs, pots & pans and clothing taken from the prisoners by the Nazi’s before they killed them !! The organisation certainly involved a lot of people. These were not small exhibits but roomfuls of these items. Also the barbed wire fences, observation tower and signage from the time. The punishment block was particularly grim and the temperature dropped when we went into the execution yard.

Next we went to Birkenau, a more extensive camp which is very bleak and sinister. Railway lines will now have a new significance. Again the level of organisation stunned us with the railway lines being built to drop off the prisoners next to the gas chambers.
We went away with a great deal to think about.

Tuesday – Walking tour of Krakow, including the Castle and Jewish quarter. Here we saw a accommodation/office block built by Hans Frank – the Nazi governor and from where Poland was to be governed. Further on we saw the house where Oskar Schindler lived, after the Jewish family had been evicted to the Ghetto and some other sights from the film Schindler’s List.
“Interesting but tiring”
“interesting, freezing cold”
“stairs down were amazing” ( 380 steps)
“The dragon was really good” we stopped beside this symbol of the city – whu=ich spits out fire every two mins.
After these heavy visits we needed something lighter – so of the Salt Mines for a great tour round three levels of this now disused mine where the miners have tunnelled out some great chambers and sculptures. We found this to a fun visit, out of the searing cold and in a place with no holocaust connections.
“really fun” “awesome” “brilliant”
“really good, best part of the tour”
“I enjoyed licking the walls” – to check that it really was a salt mine.
“ The sculptures inside were amazing”

Wednesday – Off to the University of Agriculture in Krakow where we were received in a conference room set out with drinks and biscuits. Lectures followed on Poland and the EU, NATO and the position of Poland between Russia and Germany. Interesting, gave us a different perspective on why so many Polish people move to the UK and we noted that when taking about NATO, the UK was not mentioned but all reference were to the USA. Mixed reactions from the students but one comment …
“the lectures had lots of information that will help me in my assignments”
Afternoon free to shop and sighsee on their own. There is lots to explore. The Nazi’s planned to have Krakow as the capital of a Germanised ( i.e. no Polish population) state and so is one of the few cities in that part of Europe that was not destroyed in the war.
The trip ended with a great meal in a traditional Polish restaurant , followed by a visit to the night clubs of Krakow. All this made for a late return to the Hostel.
But all were up at 8.00 am for a 8.30 getaway to the airport and after a 2 hour delay a safe return to Liverpool and College.

The students will be able to take a great deal from the trip and have examples of the use and misuse of discipline, the effects of blind obedience and “ just following orders “ for their Understanding Discipline assignments and also be able to relate to what they have done in “International Perspectives” with a better understanding.

Course organiser, John Entwistle said “We would recommend it and hope to repeat it with next years students. They have also gained an insight into one of the most gruesome periods of the 20th century and learnt what can go wrong when extreme Nationalist governments come to power with an agenda to exclude a group in society””

Providence Partners Lancaster Visit

2010-03-29T20:24:00.005+01:00

Providence Project Partners Visit to Lancaster...
LMC welcomed 16 partners from Spain, Iceland, Romania, Sweden and Poland as part of the Providence Leonardo Partnership comparing Vocational Educational Training...
LMC arranged a variety of vocationally themed visits and sessions to demostrate the UK VET system, how it operates and what lies ahead for the VET and FE sector in the UK.
After a discussion about the local area we had an engaging guests speaker in Sue Keenan who works closely with local employment and other external agencies relating to getting people back in work. A discussion of the UK educational system followed after lunch with a tour of VET in LMC.
Wednesday took the group to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary to look at nursing cadets in the areas largest employer. This tour, kindly led by Amanda O'Brian was of particular interest to our Icelandic and Swedish guests who we hope to work with on a nursing focussed Leonardo Partnership.
The whole group were then treated to a Civic reception with the Mayor of Lancaster and tour around the Town Hall in Lancaster including a potted history and pot of tea! Wonderful!
The Coulsons Restaurant then hosted the visitors in the evening where hospitality students put their training into practice for our discerning continental guests...
The cultural visits were rounded off with a historical tour of Lancaster Castle... JL

Belgrade visits LMC

2010-03-22T18:47:00.004Z

Visit to LMC by Sanja Antovic, English teacher, Djordje Stojanovic, Hospitality teacher, and Katarina Bajic, travel and tourism student (me).
As soon as we've heard that we should come to Lancaster again, we were so happy and excited. We wanted to know as much as possible about the weather and happenings in Lancaster and LMC, so few days before the trip we were online 24 hours a day, asking questions and talking with our friends. Preparations went so fast, clock was ticking, time was passing.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Finally, the day has come. We have arrived in Manchester at about 6 p.m, tired of two flights, but happy cause the weather was just perfect. At around 8 p.m. we were in our lovely rooms in Penny Street Bridge Hotel, Lancaster. Of course, we didn’t want to waste any time, so as soon as we’ve unpacked our baggages, we went to have usual English meal, Fish & Chips. After having a tasty dinner, we went for short walk in centre of Lancaster and later on to Revolution where we had our long expected glass of Guiness.
Monday, March 15, 2010
It was a cloudy morning, but there was no rain. Our hosts, Chris Smith and John Perry, were waiting for us in LMC. After a pleasant welcome and a cup of tea, we had a conversation about the project Skills @ Work, because our main reason for comming to Lancaster again was actually project’s evaluation. Considering the fact that European Days were that week’s most important happening in LMC, we had a chance to have a small tour around the college. I’ve (Katarina Bajic) also had an opportunity to talk a bit about Serbia with kids from one primary school and help them make European Newspaper. After lunch I had a chance to make a wooden tractor with pupils and try to guess from which coutry does each wood come from. It was really interesting spending time with them. In the afternoon, after long conversations about the project and it’s successfulness, we left the college for some short shopping.
Considering that the day was quite hard, we went to a pleasant and fine french restaurant for some seafood dinner. After a great dinner and few glasses of wine, we left the restaurant and went to party and meet new people around Lancaster.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The next day was quite tiresome. Writing the Final Report for the project lasted several hours, I guess. I am happy that i could also say hello to students that i’ve met previous time I was there. Such as writing the Final Report was finished, so the our visit to college was over.
We didn’t have much time left, so we went downtown again. Finding gifts and souvernirs was not an easy thing to do. At 6 p.m. we have arrived to our hotel rooms tired, but there was no time to waste. We had to get ready for the dinner as soon as possible. The dinner at the college was perfect and delicious, followed by our story and impressions about the visit.
Saying Goodbye to our hosts wasn’t easy. Seems that the more times we come to the college, the more we all get closer. Our last hours in Lancaster we spend in one of local pubs, singing and dancing with other guests and later on playing guitars and piano, singing and having fun.
Such a wonderful way to spend the last night.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
At the end, it was a time to say ’Bye bye’ to our lovely Lancaster. After having so much fun, but also working hard on a project, we had to leave. As soons as we’ve sat in our taxi for the airport it started to rain. We were so lucky with the weather and everything. The three of us were just talking and talking about the visit and impressions as we were comming back to Belgrade by plane.
This visit is going to be one more fabulous memory, and we hope that we will soon be able to boast even more.
We look forward to seeing everybody again !!!

2010-03-11T22:03:00.000Z

FRG Timisoara - EvaluVET Partnership meeting (JL)

THERE IS A PRIZE TO WHO CAN GUESS WHAT THIS MEANS!

Timisoara Snow

2010-03-11T11:04:00.000Z

Quality Assurance in Vocational and Educational Training...

Snowing in Timisoara which is a little ominous with the return flight to Munich looming...

Several meetings and 3 car crashes later (not involving us i might add) we are reflecting on our time in Romania... At least we have a clearer idea of what is needed to complete the project and what will be presented at the Ankara seminar. More to follow.... JL

Back in Bulgaria Again! ENLL a new project

2010-03-05T11:41:00.000Z

Flying out from Manchester on Wednesday morning I was wondering how on earth a partnership of 14 countries and 26 organisations could ever be co-ordinated. I needn't have worried! Radosveta did a superb job in getting us through a complicated agenda on time, with clarity and humour and still kept our interest until the end. Congratulations Znanie!

The new Grundtvig Network "Never Too Late To Learn" looks really exciting. Aimed at identifying and sharing good practice in involving older learners in formal and informal learning, the funding is for 3 years and for once, includes staff time. We all have clear instructions for what we must and must not do and what our targets are before we all meet again in Prague in October.

It was great to meet so many new partners and already ideas for new projects have emerged. As we sit drinking good strong coffee and watching the snow come down around the hotel, I think we all feel mentally exhausted - at least I do and it was all done in my own language! How the other 25 people feel who had to do it in a foreign language I can only imagine...but I'm sure a lot of people will sleep on their flights home!

2010-03-01T19:34:00.000Z

We arrived in Belgrade to be greeted by snow and temperatures peaking at -5. The airport is only 15mins from hotel so the transfer wasn’t too tiresome. We stayed at the Continental Hotel which has over 400 rooms and I’m pretty sure we were the only 2 guests staying on the Sunday evening.

Monday saw us go to the Belgrade School for Tourism and Hospitality to deliver the staff training sessions on Quality Assurance and Assessment. We were greeted by our usual warm Serbian hosts with the expected glass of plum brandy (which is quite unusual at 9.30 in the morning!) and a nice strong expresso in tandem. The morning session went quite well with the staff asking plenty of questions about our ideas. Some of the ideas (or norms in the UK) seem to be quite revolutionary for Serbia so discussions were quite interesting at times. As always we were treated to a fabulous lunch and the wine consumed by the afternoon group certainly ensured the session after lunch was far more lively!! In the evening we ventured into old Belgrade for a couple of drinks and had a relatively early night in preparation for the next days forum.
Tuesday was an easy journey to the venue as the Sava Centre is attached to the hotel. Quite a tough day mentally as the Employer Forum lasted about 5 hours and was all delivered through simultaneous translation (this means you can’t have a ‘vacant’ minute as you miss something important!!). The discussions were fairly fast paced and there were lots of strong opinions around the table – tends to happen when you mix employers and Government Ministers. Our recommendations and ideas had been quite developed since our last forum meeting in March 2009 and it was good to see that we had made some difference over the last 12 months. We left the meeting with several things for discussion at their next meeting so hopefully we’ll continue to see the results of our collaboration working for some years to come.
We again went to Old Belgrade on the Tuesday evening for a meal at the Frans restaurant – which they tell us is Belgrade’s finest. It would hard to disagree with that after the fantastic meal we had. A 4am departure from the hotel wasn’t particularly well received followed by a 2 hour delay at Munich Airport (due to snow) but we arrived safely back in Manchester around 1pm. Overall, a great trip with some positive outcomes and really good to meet up with our Serbian partners. We look forward to welcoming them back to Lancaster in March. CS

Enercities version 1.0

2010-02-04T13:38:00.000Z

Released EnerCities v1.0! The game now includes Improvements and Policies to make your city more energy efficient. Also now supported a total of six languages and last but not least, you can brag about your highscores on your Facebook Wall!

Come over and play the game on Facebook or register and play on the project website we'd love to hear what you think.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

2009-12-23T11:05:00.000Z

To all our Project partners...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Looking forwards to a productive and collaborative 2010...

Bracing Bulgaria

2009-12-15T15:06:00.000Z

Scraping ice off my car at 04:45 on Monday to drive to Manchester Airport is not my favourite way of starting a day, but needs must and after picking up Deb in Lancaster the day just deteriorated further when we found the motorway exit closed. I got to know the back streets of Lancaster very well as Deb directed to the next entrance! We met up with Richard at the airport, got on our plane to Sofia and promptly fell asleep..well i know I did and I suspect the other two did as well. Arriving in Sofia at 14:00 their time was not much warmer than when the day began - a quick ripoff taxi ride to the hotel and then a pleasant hour discovering the joys of ordering from a menu entirely in Cyrillic. I think I had the first ever Cajun omelette - black on the outside but ok on the inside! We met up with Bulgarian, Romanian and Turkish colleagues and prepared for an excellent partnership meeting - Leonardo da Vinci Evalu-VET project.

Tuesday dawned to a light covering of snow, which made us glad the morning meeting was in the hotel's conference suite. Our German colleague had arrived late on monday night and so we were all now present and correct. The morning session was a comprehensive and frank presentation about the strengths and weaknesses of the Bulgarian VETsystem given by two very knowledgable and friendly experts who dealt well with lots of questions from the group. By lunch time we all had a good grasp of the current state of VET in Bulgaria and also the aspirations and future plans of the sector.

After lunch we had a visit to the John Atanassov Vocational High School of Electronics in Sofia which gave us a fascinating insight into Bulgarian VET. At first sight the building looked some way short of what we expect at home, but the practical resources the students have to work with were very impressive - 10 IT rooms with bang upto date kit, good electronics labs and something we Brits are definitley lagging behind on - a Renewable Energy Sources lab with a variety of photo-voltaic kit for the students to work on. The students also had one day a week work experience in local companies. The staff were very friendly and enthusiastic and we quickly began to see how the school has an 80% rate of leavers entering university. We left feeling very impressed with what we had seen - an excellent example of how to prioritise a very limited budget in the most effective way for learners.

With temperatures just hovering above zero, we returned to our warm comfortable hotel having had a very useful and thought-provoking day.

DAY TWO

Thankfully no overnight snow but a bracing 20 minute walk across the city to Znanie Headquarters where all the partners got down to the business of checking minutes and actions from the previous meeting in Lancaster, discussing the format of the Final Report due after the Turkey meeting in May 2010 and agreeing exactly what each partner would do. We then had to agree the agenda for the next meeting in Romania in March - we all felt it unbelievable that we were rapidly approaching the end of the project. In coffee breaks and over lunch , agreements were made between individual partners regarding future activities and potential projects to be submitted in February. At LMC we are looking forward to working with our Bulgarian and German partners in a new Learning Partnership targetting young 'drop out' learners. We are also hoping to work with our German partner on a Transfer of Innovation project targetting Basic Skills and Media. This is how European projects work - from one partnership has grown a number of new initiatives which, subject to gaining funding, will begin in Autumn 2010.

After all the business had been discussed it was time for some cultural activity - an essential part of any European project. We visited the beautiful old church of Saint Nicolas in Boyana on the outskirts of Sofia. The church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and dates back to the 10th Century. Inside were the most amazingly well-preserved 12 Century murals - covering the walls and ceilings. Given that the church has been subjected to at least two earthquakes, the preservation of these beautiful historic paintings can literaly be described as miraculous!

After such a wonderul aesthetic experience we moved swiftly from the culture of 12th Century Sofia to 21st Century Sofia as we slowly inched our way through an enormous traffic jam back to the hotel. A final meal, an early night and an excellent project visit was concluded!

Enercities on Facebook

2009-12-10T00:29:00.000Z

Social Networking? Games in the classroom? Energy in the curriculum?
Whatever next!
Serious games are here to stay and although I don't like the term 'serious games' they undoubtedly can/do/will have an impact in the teaching situation... To me they are just simply interactive resources that engage students; another tool in the teachers toolkit.

Regardless of your views about 'gaming' in the classroom my experience of Enercities is that it brings stimulation, debate and energy to the classroom. After various pilots in classroom situations and much discussion Enercities, the app, is finally enjoying a Beta Release on Facebook...

We are entering a critical stage of the project and with Copenhagen about to kick off let the gaming begin....

Skills@Work in Serbia

2009-11-19T12:28:00.000Z

Since April 2008 LMC has been working with the Hospitality & Tourism School in Belgrade, Serbia as part of a British Council scheme 'Skills@Work'. The project aims to share good practice in the delivery of vocational education in the Hospitality & Tourism Industry. We have taken part in staff exchanges and helped develop an Employers Forum in Belgrade as well as sharing ideas on quality management.

As mentioned in an earlier blog last month, we have just hosted 3 Serbian students and 2 staff for a week and now 3 of our students accompanied by a member of staff are heading off for Belgrade for an exciting week of discovery. Watch this space for further news!

Roads, Risks and Responsibilities

2009-11-16T15:32:00.000Z

Our Comenius partnership is focussed on producing a hard-hitting video showing the results of driving under the influence of alcohol. The four partners - schools in Austria, France and Italy and ourselves held a competition to select a good storyboard to film and the Italian entry won. So last week, students from all four countries met in Imperia, Italy to film a crash reconstruction. Somehow, despite dawn to dusk filming, they managed to produce a blog as well. Here it is - genuine student feedback!

http://beyondthealpesliesitaly.blogspot.com/

Enercities Pilot

2009-11-09T21:18:00.000Z

The main part of the Enercities project is developing a s'erious game' based platform for use with a toolbox to deliver a sustainable energy message to young people in Europe. Serious games are the subject of much debate at the moment but given the right push can be an effective tool for learning.
Pilot testing a game like Enercities is the best way to test its suitability for the classroom and how much gameplay there actually is in the product. Using students and teachers in the partner colleges and local schools, the game was tried and tested with some scores being posted on the high score table... this picture shows some of the students at Akademie Klausenhof running through a few rounds of the game with the team (thats the back of my head blocking the bottom of the screen)
Actually, come to think of it, i'm still not sure about using the term 'game' at all because this is a fantastic teaching and learning resource that might be overlooked simply because it is a 'game' of sorts, albeit a serious game...
Can having fun with something like Enercities lead to learning or a shift in attitudes?
The meeting covered this and many more issues. Also suitable methods of sharing the product and running competitions for users to encourage take-up and participation in the game and the associated learning materials.
The student's input from the pilot and workshops is vital to the success of the project as they are the target for the project due for rollout in 2010
Find out more at www.enercities.eu/project

Arrival at Akademie Klausenhof

2009-11-07T14:24:00.000Z

We arrived at Akademie Klausenhof after 7pm where Hans was waiting for us with some typical German hospitality and it tasted good after the long drive - many thanks Marco and shouldn't you call your mother ;-)

Game on... Enercities

2009-11-07T14:16:00.001Z

just like clogwork...
Marco, Mirjam and Nada were at the airport to collect us after our smooth trip from Manchester to Schiphol Airport... no time for another sticky bun and coffee - the drive to Hamminkeln was ahead and Marco was the 'chosen' driver... A few degrees colder in The Netherlands for sure but the drive was good and as designated navigator very few hiccups along the road to Germany :-)

OK..we know it's not Europe, but...

2009-10-15T15:03:00.001+01:00

We are excited to be taking part in our first project outside of Europe! "Passports to NVQs" is a Prime Minister's Initiative 2 project led by Westminster Kingsway College with Plymouth College, Northumberland College and ourselves working with partner colleges in South Korea. Our two intrepid travellers are busily packing their suitcases in readiness for a 3.00 a.m. start tomorrow morning. Watch this space for updates!

Serbian Visitors

2009-10-15T13:28:00.000+01:00

We are looking forward to welcoming 2 staff and 3 students from the Belgrade School of Tourism who will be arriving on Monday 19 October for 3 days of sharing good practice in the Hospitality & Tourism section of the college. Chris has prepared an exciting programme for them and we will be joined on the last day by colleagues from the British Council who are funding the visit as part of a Skills@Work project.

2009-10-12T15:33:00.000+01:00

It’s always nice to meet up with old friends! After a rainswept weekend, it was good to catch up with our friends in Växjö Municipality. Over a coffee, we discussed how demographic change was affecting the Växjö area and it was very soon clear that we share the same challenges – an ageing workforce with a greatly reduced entry from young people. As part of the ESF Transnational Project, AGE-NC we will be sharing ideas, experiences and policies to encourage retention/return of the over 50s in the local labour market.
The idea of Lancaster as an “age-friendly city” was greeted with interest by Växjö Municipality who are currently basking in the glory of being named “Greenest City in Europe”. As twin cities it would be nice to share such accolades.

We also discussed our plans for a new Learning Partnership based on young unemployed people helping elderly citizens negotiate the maze we call the Internet. As I mentioned our E2E programme, our Swedish friends got very enthusiastic as they are running a similar programme in Växjö and would be keen to join a Learning Partnership.

All in all a very productive meeting!

A comfortable train journey through a sunny Southern Sweden, the autumn colours showing at their best ended at Copenhagen Airport and the flight home.

Meanwhile...

2009-10-09T09:47:00.000+01:00

While the rest of the team were enjoying the delights of Copenhagen (although missing Grundtvig's statue must have diminished their experience), I had a brisk walk back along the seafront to Ronnowska Skolan to visit their Chef Lecturer Urban. Despite a very busy day, Urban had kindly given me some time to discuss the possibility of student work experience exchanges between our two colleges. The students in both organisations are of a similar age and following very similar programmes of study and, like all Swedes we have met, they speak excellent English! We will follow up ideas of a Leonardo exchange when we have each discussed ideas with our respective colleagues, but it would be a great development if we could work together.

Another brisk walk back - I'm getting to know the seafront like a native - and then a train up to Vaxjo were old acquaintances will be renewed! The trains of course ran like clockwork - even though they were electric!

goodbyes and farewells

2009-10-08T21:11:00.000+01:00

Departing Helsingborg might be sad but the short train journey takes us to Copenhagen for a good few hours in a great city... Its nice to look up and admire the buildings and the copper domed splendour of this very relaxed European capital. Weather perfect and the sun shone for us. I would have like to have stayed for longer but we had just enough time to relax and watch the world go by before the return flight to Manchester. Not enough time to find the statue of Grundtvig (Sorry John) but we had a nice day and a 'fusion' meal in one of the many funky restaurants in the side streets... Hard to choose from the dishes on offer and hard to leave Copenhagen... But we did and now home...

2009-10-07T22:09:00.000+01:00

Good Project meeting for Providence in Helsingborg today... Daniels work on the Website/Blog is easy to follow and should be simple for partners to contribute their share of the project. My guess is to migrate the content to the external server at the end of the project. Of course one of the other outcomes of this project is that other projects might be borne out of this one. This is also promising with good contacts being made for mobilities and placements to be confirmed. All in all a positive meeting with the remaining duty being to thank Helsingborg and all the staff involved (too numerous to mention here but mainly Yrkeshogskolan) for their efforts in showing us the excellent work across the Advanced Vocational Sector and other projects in the region...

Providence in Helsingborg 8th October

2009-10-07T17:21:00.000+01:00

Today began after breakfast at 8am with a bus trip to see practical nurse training with students from Victum School. The state run nursing home we visited was fantastically well equipped and staffed. The atmosphere was one of a caring and supportive environment for all concerned; staff, trainees and clients alike. I'm sure this contrasts to the commonly seen model we are familiar with in the UK where care is viewed and managed in a completely different way. Experienced workers are encouraged to become trainers for the new staff moving into this vocational area. This support seems to be well received by the students and fosters a caring, sharing approach. Top marks from me and was a real eye opener. Back on the bus and a visit back to Yrkeshogskolan to meet with International Transport and Logistics Students. We met on a group basis and discussed in selected languages the work they do and more about the projects we are involved with around the EU. The students were charming and very eloquent in English which is an integral part of the studies with German. The vocational area is popular and based on the regional need in the field of logistics and transport solutions. The vocational needs catered for with the courses are all based on a 'need' basis and can be adapted to react with the changing nature of the local economy and industry. This forward looking approach and joined up thinking approach is one of the biggest observations for me on the trip.
Lunch was in a charming restaurant in Viken, Vikens Hamnkrog (translations invited!) This was a perfect setting for a lovely meal in a delightful seaside village.
After a short walk among the boats, it was back on the coach and a visit to the local factory outlets for souvenirs.
The day was concluded with a ride back to Raa to visit the sailing museum. Raa is rather like Viken but with a deep heritage with the 'sound' between Helsingborg and Helsingor in Denmark... Thanks to all involved in the day it was very interesting and gave an insight into the local people and heritage...

Ronnowska Skolan Bus Technician and Biogas

2009-10-06T23:17:00.000+01:00

Amazing that all the city buses in Helsingborg run on Biogas semingly extracted by juicing household waste and other smelly products and collected at the 'city dump'... The waste figures generally are pretty amazing with less than 3% of household waste going into landfill in the region.
Back to the buses... the buses themselves are Arriva buses and are over 100. The bus technician course is a new advanced vocational area and is currently training students specifically training on buses here. Seems like a good way to get around the city too!!!
Evening on the Helsingborg ferry back and forth to Helsingor in Denmark with Hamlets Castle on the other side. Fish buffet and more TBC...

Ronnowska Vocational Training

2009-10-06T15:50:00.000+01:00

After the walk to Ronnowska Vocational Training School we were treated to a look at the progression of Electrical Engineering students through the stages of their vocational education. Well equipped workshops and fantastic engineering and robotics dept... The IT dept was preparing students for work placements and local industrial practice. Another short walk took us to the Motor Vehicle Engineering department for strong coffee and squidgy cakes ;-) Well prepared facilities and super staff to help students on their chosen progression paths in their second year and further on... A very hands on environment with a good progression route to jobs and careers. Heavy Goods Vehicle Training was the last of the motor workshops after body works.
Another brisk and breezy walk saw us arrive for lunch at the Restaurant School (real work environment) a beautifully equipped facility with first year students preparing, cooking the serving the food and drinks to the public and us... First class effort by the new students with polite and courteous service all-round. The food was fabulous and dessert was very tasty followed by coffee. Entertainment was provided by Argentina ;-)

Swedish Educational System

2009-10-05T15:45:00.001+01:00

nice explanation for comparison of School systems...

http://skolnet.skolverket.se/polopoly/utbsys-eng/

LMC in Helsingborg 5th October 2009

2009-10-05T15:45:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Helsingborg by Yrkeshogskolan Advanced Vocational Education School. After strong coffee and formal introduction to the group and new members the partners we given welcome packs and information about the local area and history of the Oresund region. Interestingly Oresund is an 'Transnational Region' with a Danish counterpart but who work together in many respects. Not sure if there are many other transnational regions of this type elsewhere in the EU... Following a clarification of the Swedish Educational System and how lifelong learning is followed in Sweden we had lunch...
The Mayor of Helsinborg works from the City Hall which made for an interesting visit and she set the scene of the local politics and how the history of Helsingborg is represented in the City Halls varied artworks. This was furthered by a visit to the Culture House which is a legacy of Henry Dunkers local business in 'rubber boots' apparently!!! Pics to Follow :-)

Providence in Helsingborg with LMC

2009-10-04T20:55:00.000+01:00

After an early start in Lancaster we got to Manchester bright and early ready for a pretty long day... me (John Latham), John Perry, Stewart Lowther Edwards and Samantha Wellock safely bumped down in Copenhagen on time before boarding the 'right' train to Helsingborg. No taxi needed for the 6 minute walk to Hotel Linnea... Lancaster and Morecambe College preparing for a pre 8am breakfast and first Helsingborg Providence meeting - Braa - apparently!

LMCinEurope - First Blog

2009-09-30T19:38:00.001+01:00

Welcome to the LMC European Funding Blog...

We are currently involved in several European Projects here at LMC and decided it is time to 'get with the program' and share the exciting work with you!