SHARED EXPERIENCES BOOST INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

Members of the Network of Networks visited City of Glasgow College for the annual meeting of this informal alliance of colleges during an event between February 13 –15, 2023.

The network consists of regional and national groupings of colleges from Northern Ireland, Finland, Netherlands, the Basque Country, Spain and Scotland, providing an opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices to identify collaborative project opportunities.

The event was hosted in collaboration with New College Lanarkshire, with groups attending workshops to enhance their understanding of the vocational sectors in each country. Working together in thematic groups; internationalisation, innovation, entrepreneurship, work-based learning and sustainability, the meeting culminated in the creation of action plans, for each of the working groups, for the next 12 months.

Stuart McDowall, Head of Innovation & STEM, at City of Glasgow College, said:

“The opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the EU, reinforces the opportunities we have to access resources and skills to help improve our approach to skills development. There’s a growing number of innovative and digitally-enabled initiatives that are making a real difference to how colleges are responding to global challenges. It’s clear to see the collaborative approach being taken across the EU to create entrepreneurial, work-ready graduates and a workforce that’s adaptable and agile.

I’d like to thank everyone involved in organising this event including colleagues from the Dutch Alliance, FINN-NET, HETEL, Colleges Northern Ireland and special thanks to New College Lanarkshire, for their support in hosting colleagues in Scotland.”

Funding for the KA3 Network of Networks project ended last year, but this has not damped the enthusiasm or appetite of the networks. Since the end of the project, the network has evolved and is now even more committed to finding new funding opportunities to tackle the big challenges facing colleges in delivering skills development.