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The Foundation participated in an event that celebrated the first anniversary of El Convent de Barcelona Activa. The event took place on December 14 at 5 pm in the Mirador del Convent (Plaza Pons i Clerch, 2, 1st floor), that is a renowned facility in the city of Barcelona that offers job search and professional development opportunities to young people.

The event gathered various entities who collaborated to share their achievements and discuss the future of space and employment policies. Raquel Gil, Councillor for Economic Promotion, Labour, Feminisms and Democratic Memory, and Javier Rodríguez, Commissioner for Childhood, Adolescence, Youth and LGTBI Policies, both from the Barcelona City Council, were present at the event.

The CEO of Barcelona Activa, Lorenzo Di Pietro, gave a warm welcome to the attendees, and Carol Lorenzo, the Director of Orientation and Labour Market of Barcelona Activa, presented the facility’s first-year balance report. The event comprised a round table discussion with young individuals and organizations, followed by a celebration with concerts and leisure workshops in the courtyard of the civic center.

The partners met on December 12 in Leuven (Belgium) for the second meeting of the project organized by the project partner De Wijnpers. 

During the meeting, the results of the Creativity VET Lab or creativity workshop that was held in October were presented, in which the participating groups generated ideas around specific solutions to the challenge on how to improve water management through nature-based solutions (NBS) and make Metropolis a greener and healthier city. The next steps will be to start of the next workshop on prototyping and monitoring of ideas according to the evaluation criteria established by Agbar.

On December 12, 2023, the Foundation participated in a meeting promoting dual VET in the field of urban sustainability, which was held at the Barcelona Institute of Sustainability and Environment (ISMAB). The meeting was supported by CaixaBank-Dualiza and brought together companies, centers, experts, and agents of the VET ecosystem.

During the meeting, we discussed professional profiles related to sustainability and environment, how to promote dual VET in the sector, and how to attract female talent. These are the challenges that impact us all in achieving the commitments of ODS 11 of the 2030 Agenda, which is aimed at achieving sustainable cities and communities.

On Tuesday, December 12th, 2023, the Observatory and Innovation & Business technicians visited the School of Audiovisual Media of Barcelona (EMAV). The purpose of the visit was to learn about the center’s facilities, projects, and team of professionals who have been passionately training individuals in the field of Audiovisual Communication for 53 years.

During the visit, we also gathered valuable insights about the industry’s trends, professional profiles, skills, and future. These findings will be used to support the study of Cultural and Creative Industries at the BCN VET Foundation’s Observatory.

The permanent commission of the Professional Training Council of Barcelona met on December 11th. During the meeting, the Barcelona Education Consortium presented registration data for the current academic year and initiated a discussion on the evolving state of vocational education training in the city. The discussion included a segment on initiatives from various organizations, during which UGT and the Plataforma per la Llengua presented a document on the use of Catalan in vocational training.

On December 14th, the Municipal Educational Council of Barcelona and the Council of Vocational Training of the City held a joint working session called “Debat de Debats: parla la comunitat educativa.” The session presented the conclusions of the committees and working groups of both participation bodies.

On Wednesday, November 29th, 2023, the BCN VET Foundation participated in the MICROELECTRONICS, ENERGY, WOMEN, STEAM, VET AND EMPLOYABILITY Conference, which was the first joint event of ECoVEM with SECOVE in Bilbao. The conference was organized by the GAIA ANCCP Cluster, in collaboration with Politeknika Txorierri UPV/EHU, Merytronic, AI4VET4AI, ZIV Educación-Universidad Nacional.

High school students and teachers attended the conference to learn about European projects, initiatives, and good practices aimed at attracting girls to STEAM. Two industrial companies, ZIV and Merytronic, led by women, showcased how attractive STEAM studies could be, especially in the field of microelectronics and energy. They also highlighted how choosing VET could become a successful and promising option for students.

The “VET Conference. Orientation on the city” took place this morning at the Bellvitge Gornal Cultural Centre. Representatives from the fields of education, training, research and business participated in the conference with the objective of boosting VET by addressing orientation as a key element.

During the conference, it was emphasized that VET must play a prominent role in projects that aim to face the challenges of the future and transform municipalities, by offering teachings that adapt to the demands of the labour market and new professions that emerge. The importance of joint work between administrations, the world of education and the business sector was also highlighted.

The conference provided an opportunity for us to participate and support, and to learn about the good practices of the city council itself. We discussed with the different agents involved in orientation, both from the educational and business side, highlighting the relevance of the local world in VET for its knowledge.

The IX edition of the Alliance Forum for Dual VET provided a platform for representatives from the business and educational sectors, as well as institutions and experts from national and international levels, to discuss the transition from dual VET to a future success model. The Forum showcased key initiatives and projects of dual VET in companies, educational centers, and organizations. It also explored dual education in the university environment through a session titled “Dual education: Building bridges between higher education and dual VET,” which was led by our manager, Neus Pons. The session delved into the transfer of a dual model and demonstrated that the “dual university training is the next stop of the dual train.”

Later, Ángel Tarriño, coordinator of the Foundation’s Observatory, together with Manuel Fernández, director of EFA La Malvesía, participated in a round table moderated by Victoria Sanjuan, a researcher at the Observatory. The discussion focused on the rotation between companies in dual VET programs, with a particular emphasis on “The rotation between companies in dual VET programs” study. The study highlighted the importance of dual rotation in developing this model in a territory with SMEs and micro-SMEs, especially after the law is deployed.

The 9th edition of the Dona TIC Awards 2023 took place on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at the Convent dels Àngels of MACBA. These awards are promoted by the General Directorate of the Knowledge Society of the Department of Business and Labour, in collaboration with the Catalan Institute of Women, the Women’s Observatory, Business and Economics of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Digital Tertulia Association.

The awards are divided into eight categories and two subcategories, one of which is for an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) VET student who has developed an outstanding project or initiative in this field.

The winners in the ICT VET student category 2023 have been:

• Emma Casadevall Hernández student of the Higher VET in Computer Systems and Network Administration, profile in cybersecurity, at the Pedralbes Institute in Barcelona. Project: (CarmelIA) an artificial intelligence application connected to a Bluetooth bracelet to help women who are in been harrassed. 
• As a novelty, this year there has been a special mention in requalification:

Yolanda Moreno Arranz, Higher VET student Web Application Development (DAW) at the Pedralbes Institute in Barcelona. Project Picture This, a web application for learning in English.

We also want to highlight the two finalists:

• Júlia Sudan Catalán, student of Higher VET Telecommunication and computer systems at the Escola del Treball. Project development of an app to make the music industry more egalitarian.  

• Marta La Parra Pareja student of Higher VET 3D animation and games and interactive environments at the School of Audiovisual Media (EMAV) in Barcelona. Project Spectrum, a video game with the aim of helping people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to integrate into society.

The Foundation has been a member of the jury for the DONA TIC Awards since 2017. This initiative recognizes female talent and leadership in the technology field, with professional training being a crucial component.

Congratulations to all the winners, finalists, centers, teachers, and families involved.

We aim to highlight the role of women in the digital world and make it more visible!

Press release