Sharing Your Success Stories

We do really enjoy hearing from our projects, particularly when it’s good news! We have recently been sent updates by two colleges whose Leonardo achievements have been recognised with external commendations. We thought you might like to hear about them too…

Read the rest of this entry »


Funding opportunities under the Leonardo programme are now closed

As many of you will be aware the Lifelong Learning Programme is coming to an end and will be replaced by the next generation of funding programme.  While we are excited to see what the new programme will bring it does, sadly, mean that Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal funding will draw to a close by the end of 2013.

The deadlines for Mobility Projects, Partnerships and Transfer of Innovation have now passed which, in practical terms, means that there is no more funding available under the Leonardo programme.  If you have submitted an application in 2013 for any of these opportunities you will hear whether you have been successful or not in Summer 2013.

Do not worry, while the funding is drawing to a close, any successful application received in 2013 for Mobility Projects, Partnerships or Transfer of Innovation will be funded for the entire project lifecycle. Read the rest of this entry »


Addressing the skills gap

Our funding opportunities cover a range of sectors; at the heart of all of them is learning.  Learning, improving and developing skills are important not just to us as individuals but to our local, national, and transnational communities.

Whichever opportunity you are involved in, whether it is a Transfer of Innovation project, a Senior Volunteering project, or a Study Visit, you are either developing your own skills or working to improve those of learners and staff involved. Skills development is a key priority across Europe. The hope is that improving skills will help to increase employability and remove barriers to the labour market while stimulating economic growth. Co-operation has been highlighted by the European Commission in their Rethinking Education strategy as a path to address the skills gap while providing the innovation needed to boost the labour market.

Co-operation to enhance education

Many of our projects have already forged strong partnerships between academia and business as well as across regions and countries. As part of our Changing Lives series we spoke to one such organisation, Embrace Cooperation, about how they work to enhance education and training: Read the rest of this entry »


Looking at the lighter side of Active Ageing

Is laughter is the best medicine? It certainly seems to be for one of our projects. Health and Humour through the Arts for Seniors, or more often known by their snappy acronym, the HAHA project, looks at the lighter side of active ageing by focussing on humour techniques as a form of health education; using laughter as an antidote to stress and as an aid to promote relaxation and improve the self confidence and general well being of its participants. Recently I spoke to Norma Raynes from Intergen about the inspiration behind the laughter:

As the number of older Europeans increase, there is a need to find new ways of improving the quality of life of older learners and enhancing active ageing. The health benefits that laughter brings are well-known and I was interested in creating a project on this theme, whilst also finding out what promotes laughter in different cultures – so, the HAHA project was born.

Read the rest of this entry »


Using ECVET in Leonardo Mobility

You may have read our recent post about the free help and support available to organisations to understand ECVET (European Credit system for Vocational Education & Training). Last month eight organisations running Leonardo Mobility projects attended a free workshop in Birmingham, organised as part of ECVET Experts, to find out how they can recognise their learners’ achievements using ECVET principles.These are largely students involved in initial vocational training or work-based learning. Anyone involved in Leonardo Mobility can use ECVET principles in their projects. Read the rest of this entry »


So What Changed…

Many of the projects we fund work closely with people that face social exclusion to ensure that they are not only included in their local community but that they also have the opportunity to learn throughout their lives. One of these projects is run by developing partners cic (dp) a social enterprise organisation that is led and run by people with long-term mental health needs working in partnership with diverse people who experience social exclusion.

Recently dp has been involved with a Grundtvig Partnership project called New Knowledge – New Life Quality, which looks at how dp motivates adult learners from diverse background to learn and develop craft skills, skills which many people from different cultures share, and will exchange and share these skills and experiences with their partners from across Europe.

Leading the evaluation aspect of the project, dp produced a tool called ‘body mapping’.  Asking the question, ‘So What Changed?’ members were encouraged to use their own body silhouette to share what impact the organisation has had on their lives.

Read the rest of this entry »


A few things we’ve heard about recently…

We love hearing about your projects and like to share your news and events through our websites, through Twitter, our blog and our YouTube channel.

Here are just a few of the things that we have heard about in the last month:

Starting up

After hearing about successful applications for funding, via Twitter, in May we are now hearing about the start of these projects:

It is very exciting to hear about the start of projects and we look forward to hearing more updates along the way. Keep us up to date with your journey on Twitter by tweeting @llpUKecorys. Read the rest of this entry »


Read the latest edition of edUKation

The latest edition of edUKation is now available to download.  edUKation is our quarterly newsletter containing updates from the Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal programmes.

edUKation 20In this edition

In issue 20 you can read about how Filton College is supporting the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence with the help of the Leonardo programme. You can also read about:

  • Erasmus for All: a diary of events
  • Developing successful partnerships
  • Inclusion, celebrating Lifelong Learning for All

Download issue 20 of edUKation

Subscribe to edUKation

You can sign up to our mailing list to receive edUKation straight to your inbox.  You can also sign up for our monthly e-flashes for the Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal programmes: http://www.graphicmail.co.uk/rwcode/subscribe.aspx?SiteID=5307&SID=6&Email=

Previous editions

You can find previous editions of edUKation in our resource centre.


The value of Small Co-operation projects

My current involvement in Grundtvig Senior Volunteering Projects,  got me thinking about the serious value of Small Co-operation funding, not just from the viewpoint of benefitting learners but also as an additional mechanism for enhancing the skills of staff.

Challenges facing organisations

Recent reports have highlighted that organisations face difficult challenges when it comes to staff training. But as Joanne Van Der Meer, Family Learning Coordinator/Film Tutor from the British Film Institute said:

‘Grundtvig Small Co-operation projects are fantastic for increasing skills and knowledge’.

Joanne is currently finishing a 2 year Grundtvig Partnership Project ‘New Educational Journeys for Adults: Enhancing Family and Intergenerational Learning Through Photography, Film and Animation’. Read the rest of this entry »


2013 Call for Proposals released

The 2013 Call for Proposals has been released, this is the last year that you can apply for funding for the Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal programmes.  You can find the latest information on the Call on our websites:

As part of the Call for Proposals, the European Commission and the UK National Agency, produce a set of priorities. These specify who can apply for funding and also the aims and objectives for potential applicants.  Understanding these priorities and taking them into consideration will help you to create an application that is more likely to receive funding:

Thinking of applying?

If you are thinking of applying but are new to LLP funding why not attend one of our Information Days? They are a great way to find out more about the opportunities available through Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal funding and are a chance to meet the National Agency team.

Our Information Days start in September and are filling up fast! Register for an event near you:


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 988 other followers