Risto Virkkunen is International Coordinator in Kainuu Vocational College. He has 15 years’ experience of international projects. He is coordinator of Finland Canada Network for Vocational Education and Training. Risto coordinates Bridge the Ocean -project.
Bridge the Ocean is a partnership project of the Erasmus+ program, which creates a model of global mobility and cooperation between European and Canadian Colleges.
The partners are four vocational education and training (VET) colleges from Finland, two from Canada and one from the Netherlands and Denmark. In the project, two European and one Canadian study units are planned, which will be piloted with a multinational group during the project.
The project is the first European Erasmus+ VET project that involves partners from outside Europe. The main goals of the Bridge the Ocean partnership project are to increase the number of global mobility of students and experts, teachers, and at the same time promote the development of both professional and international competence and key skills.
The project seeks visibility and interest in the internationalization of VET.
Bridging Inclusion Digitalization & Sustainability
The BIDS project has three main objectives.
The partners are four vocational education and training colleges from Finland, two from Canada, and one from Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark.
The project will consist of three different modules: a Sustainability module in Nova Scotia Canada, a Digitalization module in the Netherlands, and an Inclusion module in Finland. These modules will be attended by students and staff from participating partner schools, representing a mix of different educational sectors. We believe that this diverse group will not only enhance students’ soft skills but also foster their international competences.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 2020-1-FI01-KA202-066653