employability
STEM Annual Conference 2012
The Higher Education Academy’s first annual learning and teaching STEM conference will take place on 12 and 13 April 2012 at Imperial College London, one of the world's leading centres of excellence for teaching and research in the fields of science, technology and medicine.
STEM subjects are recognised as having strategic importance in higher education for the economy and employers. The student learning experience in STEM subjects is vital in ensuring sustained growth in the uptake of these key disciplines. Furthermore an excellent learning experience ensures that students have developed the right skills at the time of graduation and beyond through continued professional development. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) provides national leadership in developing and disseminating evidence-informed practice in learning and teaching in higher education; this conference will provide a platform for this for the HEA's STEM disciplines (for full list see below).
The key conference themes applied to STEM disciplines are:
• innovative practice in STEM learning and teaching;
• gender issues in STEM subjects;
• Mathematics and Statistics in an interdisciplinary context;
• work-based learning in STEM subjects;
• teaching and assessing large classes;
• assessment and feedback;
• employability;
• flexible learning;
• internationalisation;
• retention and success.
Call for Contributions: ePIC 2012
Until 5 March 2012 authors are invited to submit research papers, case studies, work in progress, position papers, workshops and posters. All submissions will be peer-reviewed by three members of the programme committee for originality, significance, clarity and quality. Accepted papers will be published in the ePIC 2012 proceedings under ISBN 978-2-9540144-1-8.
Themes
Authors are invited to address issues in relation to:
- development of lifelong learner / professional / citizen identity;healthcare education of professionals and citizens (professional- health- folio);integrative learning and holistic development;individual / community /organisational ePortfolios and identities development;continuing professional development and sustainable employability;
- assessment, recognition and accreditation of learning (formal, informal, lifelong and life-wide).
Key conference questions may include, (but are not limited to):
- Should everybody (individuals, communities and organisations) have an ePortfolio?
- How do individual and organisational ePortfolios (and identity) relate?
- How do ePortfolios contribute to the identity construction process?
- How do ePortfolios support the acquisition of 21st century skills?
- How do ePortfolios support lifelong learning, orientation and employability?
- How to develop the recognition and accreditation of prior Experience and learning (APEL) ?
- How to create an ePortfolio ecosystem?
- How do ePortfolios, Personal Learning Environments and Personal Working Environments relate?
- How can we make effective an ‘business case’ to those funding eportfolio provision when resources are restricted?
European e-Skills Week 2012
European e-Skills Week 2012 highlights the continuing demand for skilled ICT users and professionals to drive a competitive and innovative Europe. This exciting campaign seeks to inform students, young professionals and SMEs about the range of opportunities that ICT-related jobs present.
European e-Skills Week 2012 highlights the continuing demand for skilled ICT users and professionals to drive a competitive and innovative Europe. This exciting campaign seeks to inform students, young professionals and SMEs about the range of opportunities that ICT-related jobs present.
Building on the success of the e-Skills Week 2010, this year’s campaign will deliver an array of training events, conferences, competitions and activities across more than 30 European countries, culminating in a dedicated European e-Skills Week from 26 – 30 March 2012.
EU calls for immediate action to drive down youth unemployment
The new 'Youth Opportunities Initiative', adopted by the Commission, calls on Member States to work on preventing early school leaving; helping youngsters develop skills relevant to the labour market; ensuring work experience and on-the-job training and helping young people find a first good job.
The Commission is also urging Member States to make better use of the European Social Fund which still has €30billion of funding uncommitted to projects. In addition, the Commission has put forward a set of concrete actions to be financed directly by EU funds.
In detail
The main actions financed directly by the Commission in the new 'Youth Opportunities initiative' are:
- using €4m to help Member States set up 'youth guarantee' schemes to ensure young people are either in employment, education or training within four months of leaving school;
- dedicating € 1.3 million to support the setting up of apprenticeships through the European Social Fund. An increase of 10% by the end of 2013 would add a total of 370,000 new apprenticeships;
- using €3m of the European Social Fund Technical Assistance to support Member States in the setting up of support schemes for young business starters and social entrepreneurs;
- gearing funds as much as possible towards placements in enterprises and targeting at least 130,000 placements in 2012 under ERASMUS and Leonardo da Vinci,
- providing financial assistance in 2012-2013 to 5,000 young people to find a job in another Member State through the 'Your first EURES job' initiative
- reinforcing the budget allocation for the European Voluntary Service in order to provide at least 10,000 volunteering opportunities in 2012
- presenting in 2012 a framework for high quality traineeships in the EU
- ensuring around 600 further exchanges under Erasmus for entrepreneurs in 2012.
Literacy for Life Preliminary version: Further Results from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey
The study offers comparative evidence on the impact of various factors on the supply of skill. The study offers a special focus on numeracy skills and problem solving skills. It explores the relationships between numeracy and key socio-demographic factors as well as labour market outcomes and earnings. It highlights the importance of problem solving skills by defining this foundational skill and by exploring its determinants as well as its relative role in influencing important labour market outcomes. The report offers also an analysis of performance across multiple skill domains. It investigates the skill profiles of various population groups defined in terms of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of those who score at levels deemed to be low in one or more skill domains and explores the resulting consequences.
European e-Skills Week 2012 to Deliver e-Skills for Jobs
In a bid to help Europe - and most especially Europe’s youth - seize the best opportunities for jobs generated through digital technologies, DIGITALEUROPE and European Schoolnet have joined forces with the European Commission - DG Enterprise and Industry - to organise a European e-Skills Week in 2012 on 26-30 March 2012.
Youth unemployment, which has peaked at over 40%, is a worrying trend. Opportunities created through science, information and communication technology, engineering and maths are critical to building a modern workforce. The European e-Skills week 2012 is a grass roots campaign focused on showing people how to get jobs and e-skills for life in the digital age.
Industry partners - including leading ICT companies such as Nokia, Microsoft, Cisco, Intel and numerous SMEs across Europe - in partnership with education bodies and public authorities, will deliver a large and diverse programme of events and activities in more than 30 European countries. Ministries of Education have embraced the importance of ICT and are working with industry to deliver an exciting choice of options for people looking for work, and for young people thinking about what career options are open to them.
“SMEs can only grow through employing highly skilled people,” outlined Dr Erkki Ormala, DIGITALEUROPE President. “The right skills encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. We cannot over-estimate the role of digital technology in job generation,” he said.
“The European e-Skills Week is a great initiative for you to get involved in to learn more about the skills you need to find a job,” said Marc Durando, Executive Director of European Schoolnet. “ICT is not just programming; there are so many options to be had from using technology creatively. Some of the greatest jobs can be found through technology - imagine the world without Twitter or Facebook, which were built out of a passion for technology,” said Mr. Durando.
Industry research from IDC estimates that 90% of all jobs will involve basic level of e-skills by 2015. Addressing this key challenge – skills for jobs for growth over the next few years - is a critical issue. Public-private partnerships with large companies have recognised the importance of having more people involved in a digital life, both for pleasure and for work.
The first European e-Skills week delivered hundreds events and activities in March 2010 that raised awareness amongst 65 million citizens in 35 countries of the importance of gaining e-Skills for jobs and for life.
Preparatory work for the European e-Skills Week 2012 will commence in December 2011 and activities will continue up until May 2012. Options for education, training, and opportunities for jobs and growth will be a highlight, and will demonstrate why ICT is so important for any new job.
To join the fight against unemployment citizens, companies and governments are invited engage in the European e-Skills Week 2012. To help deliver e-skills for jobs and for life check out http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu and find ways to build our digital future together.
Media Enquiries:
Natalia KUROP – DIGITALEUROPE, Director - Communications & Marketing
T. +32 2 609 53 26 >> F. +32 2 609 53 39 >> M. +32 487 34 05 71 >> E. natalia.kurop@digitaleurope.org
Jakob OHRGAARD – Information and Communication Officer, European Commission T: +32 2 229 505 83 E: Jakob.OHRGAARD@ec.europa.eu
European Commission will propose Erasmus for All and Creative Europe programmes on the 24 November
On Thursday 24 November, the European Commission will announce its detailed proposal for 'Erasmus for All', the new programme for education, training, youth and sport, and 'Creative Europe', the new programme for the cultural and creative sector.
Both programmes are part of the Commission's proposal for a multi-annual budget for 2014-2020.
The new programme for education, training and youth would allocate €19.5 billion (+ 70%) over seven years; the increase underlines the priority given to investing in knowledge and skills to support job creation and growth in Europe. The programme would ensure that more people benefit from EU grants to study or train abroad; it would also promote cooperation between governments, educational institutions, businesses and other partners, to support the policy reforms needed to modernise education systems and promote innovation, entrepreneurship and employability.
The 'Creative Europe' programme will bring the current Culture, MEDIA 2007 and MEDIA Mundus programmes together under a common framework which will support the cultural and creative sectors with a budget of €1.8 billion (+37%). The focus will be on helping cultural and audiovisual professionals to safeguard and promote cultural and linguistic diversity by making the most of the Single Market and reaching new audiences in Europe and beyond, as well as contributing to the Europe 2020 objectives for jobs and sustainable growth.
Immigrant women, e-skills, and employability in Europe: The case of Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain
This report summarizes the results of a year-long study that examined how improving digital competences and free or low-cost access to computers and the Internet can advance employability and social inclusion. Based on a survey of 375 immigrant women who pursued e-skills training through non-governmental organizations, this research provides insights into some of the challenges immigrants face in the labor market, the role of NGO-based training and employability programs, and the public policies and program elements that can foster social, economic, and cultural integration.
Registration for the EAEA 2011 Conference on New Jobs for New Skills and the role of Education is now open!
EAEA is monitoring The EU Flagship Initiative "New Skills for New Jobs". In 2011 the EAEA Thematic conference is on the topic New Skills for New Jobs and the role of education.
To participate, please fill in the registration form before 28 October, 2011. If you need a hotel we are providing you with a booking form. Please not that you must complete the hotel booking form and submit it directly to the hotel. EAEA is not handling hotel bookings.
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