Quality in Mobility Projects

In March 2003 the Czech National Agency (CNA) of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme organised the conference Quality in the Mobility Projects of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. The aim of this conference was to present the impact of mobility projects, to award the best quality projects and to further stimulate utilization of these projects. About 220 participants representing secondary and higher vocational schools, universities, social partners, employment services, enterprises and other organisations from all regions of the country attended the conference.

Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Jaroslav Müllner presents the Quality Award to the British partner organisation's representative in the project from the Higher Vocational School in the Health Care Sector in Prague 5

Welcome speeches were presented in the opening section of the conference by the 1st Councillor of the EU Delegation in the Czech Republic, Christian Bourgin; the Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Jaroslav Műllner; the Departmental Director of the Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, Miroslav Kostka; and the Director of the National Training Fund (the hosting organisation of the CNA), Miroslava Kopicová. They primarily stressed the contributions of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme in improving vocational education and training and employment support, and to its contribution in developing transnational co-operation at the European level.

Iva Tatarková, from the CNA, presented conference participants with the basic facts on Leonardo mobility projects in the 1997 – 2002 period, when 606 proposals for mobility projects were submitted and 394 were selected. About two thirds of all participants were students of various branches of secondary and higher vocational education establishments.

The CNA tries to stimulate not only growth in the total number of projects but also enhancement of their quality. In order to reach this goal, the CNA launched a tender for the best quality projects, starting with the Year 2000 mobility projects. This newly established tradition will continue in the future. The keen interest in participating in this tender was satisfactory. Forty-four out of 83 organisations applied to participate in it. The projects were carefully assessed by three independent experts on the basis of a whole range of criteria classified into three groups: innovation, results and contributions, project management, dissemination and valorisation and sustainability. Experts from the Government Office, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the National Institute of Vocational Education assessed the mobility projects.

Upon reaching the assessment results 10 mobility projects were selected. During a festive ceremony their promoters were awarded the Quality Award signed by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports; the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs; and the Director of the National Training Fund. The following projects received awards:

• Agro-gastroteam of Europe from the Secondary Vocational School in Horky nad Jizerou,
• Activities of Emergency Units within the Rescue and Breakdown System from the Integrated Secondary School in Chomutov,
• Placement Network for Information Specialists from the Higher Vocational School in Prague 4,
• Marketing and Sociology Market Survey of Electrotechnical Goods from the Secondary Technical School in Písek,
• Czech-Dutch Agricultural-Food Specialisation from the Secondary Technical School in Jihlava,
• ACTA 2000 from EDUCHEM Secondary School in Meziboří,
• Clinical Placements in Community Care from the Higher Vocational School for the Health Care Sector in Prague 5,
• SOCIO from the Secondary Vocational School in Údlice,
• Student Placement in the Branch of Chemical Engineering and Technical Electrochemistry from the Chemistry-Technological University in Prague.

The participants of the Conference on Quality in the Mobility Projects. Prague, 6th March 2003.

All ten awarded projects were presented at the conference so that the participants could better understand the preparation, management and, especially, the impact of these projects. In the final discussion the participants stated that the conference helped to demonstrate the contributions of Leonardo mobility projects and that the awarding of the best projects raised the impact and esteem of mobility projects. The CNA uses and offers its experience gained during mobility project quality assessments within the European work group responsible for mobility project quality.