University of Aveiro
The participation in the project allowed for important learning and sharing experiences at two main levels. Firstly, the sharing of experiences and practices from different project partners significantly allowed for the expansion of understanding and characterising the potential of non-formal learning opportunities and its relevance for qualifications of young professionals. The project gathered different countries, but importantly, partners with different organisational profiles and therefore different target segments of young professionals. For an academic partner, like the University of Aveiro, that is usually focused on university students’ qualifications and learning. This type of blending is of utmost importance because it widens the scope of analysis, action and impact. Also, because the university students will be involved in very diverse teams in their future jobs and ventures, it is important to foster contacts and understanding among professionals with formal academic education with others who followed different qualification alternatives. Secondly, the project promoted a discussion on a specific dimension of qualifications that are on the agenda of discussions about the future of jobs and qualifications: the competences required to interact and work in internationalised contexts. This is a demanding future where young professionals will have to make use of intercultural intelligence in order to effectively work in international teams, but will also have to be familiarised with technological competences which enable them to conduct effective work, often, in geographically disperse project teams to which this scenario, while developing the method of Non-formal academy of activities, was addressed. It led to an agenda of activities that included face-to-face as well as technology mediated interactions among the young people involved, and therefore, promoted intensive (experiential) learning. There was also a pilot scenario for educators and others involved in qualification of young professionals to observe emerging qualification needs that must be addressed in the near future.