EFA La Malvesía hosts the New Agronet project to boost the agri-food sector
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EFA La Malvesía hosts the New Agronet project to boost the agri-food sector

EFA La Malvesía, a centre associated to the Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa, has held an event to present the ‘New Agronet’ initiative to its educational community. It is an Erasmus + project, made up of teachers and students from France, Italy and Romania, to promote and consolidate the creation of new companies in the agri-food sector. Likewise, ‘New Agronet’ seeks to promote training in methodologies and new technologies among VET students; to increase the opportunities for students by helping them in their professional development; and to help create a more modern and professional environment in VET schools that encourages entrepreneurship. In this way, the project encourages the exchange of culture and knowledge and increases the motivation to work in the agricultural world.

Day

EFA La Malvesía was selected as the host entity for the international delegations to carry out this event. The ‘New Agronet’ programme was held at the end of September and proved to be a success for all participants. The day started with several participatory work sessions in the classroom. These sessions were in turn combined with visits to farms of interest. This helped students to refine and better define their agri-food business model proposals.

In addition, they visited the livestock farm ‘els Masets’, which became an example of the renovation of a family farm: from merely producing lamb meat, it has gone on to produce milk and quality dairy products, offering, among others, typical products of the area.

Finally, the attendees took advantage of the visit to the agro-ecological farm ‘Saifresc’ to learn about a production model that focuses on local, fresh and seasonal products.

 

FPEmpresa’s Board of Directors starts to prepare the VIII VET Congress
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FPEmpresa’s Board of Directors starts to prepare the VIII VET Congress

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association has celebrated the first meeting of the new Board of Directors in Santander. The new members were selected in the General Assembly 2022 of the last month of June. They have been working in their Strategic Plan 2022/2025 and have started to prepare the next Congress. Apart, they have visited the associated center ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’.

The VIII Congress of the Association will be celebrated in San Sebastián the 26th and 27th of October. An event that will join the associated centers of FPEmpresa and organized with CaixaBank Dualiza, main strategic ally of the Association. Also, this congress will focus on the VET centers of the future and will mark the tenth anniversary of FPEmpresa.

Visit to ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’

The second day of the meeting has taken place in the center ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’, whose director is Sergio Silva, FPEmpresa’s coordinator in Cantabria. The center offers education cycles of the Agrarian Professional Family and works with more than 50 companies of the sector. Furthermore, it belongs to Agrocantabria.

During the activity, the visitors have covered the CIFP’s facilities, that has 70 hectares with different uses. Likewise, the managers of the institution have talked of some of the programs, like ‘Friesian goat’s recovery’. In addition, the center is leader in floral art and participates with an association created by the student body to promote the employment in the territory.

“Gather the coordinators of other areas in Cantabria boosts the VET of the community and shows our educative reality”, explains Silva regarding to the meeting of the Board of Directors and the visit. “We feel supported celebrating this event in a small community as ours”, adds.

Apart of the CIFP La Granja, there are other five associated centers to FPEmpresa in Cantabria: IES Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, in Guarnizo; IES Lope de Vega, in Santa María de Cayón; IES Alisal, in Santander; IES Valle de Camargo, in Revilla de Camargo, and CIFP Nº1 of Santander.

A Brazilian VET Schools delegation brings Spanish Vocational Education and Training closer
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A Brazilian VET Schools delegation brings Spanish Vocational Education and Training closer

The last Tuesday, 28th of March, FPEmpresa VET Schools Association gathered in Madrid with a Brazilian VET Schools delegation formed by Instituto Federal de Alagoas (IFAL) and Instituto Federal de Pernambuco (IFPE) belonging to Conselho Nacional das Instituições da Rede Federal de Educação Profissional, Científica e Tecnológica (Conif) to explain the function of the Association. This meeting is the first real mobility since FPEmpresa and Embajada de España en Brasil encourage the international cooperation between centers. What’s more is delimit on the aim of the Association for internationalize the VET. In this way, the Brazilian centers have visited the high schools IES Capacitación Agraria and IES Hotel Escuela, two VET centers associates to FPEmpresa.

The encounter, that has initiated in the center IES Capacitación Agraria, has allowed to the Brazilian delegation presents itself and publish the reality over how is organized the VET in Brazil. Also, the meeting has permitted to the visitors get close to the professional agrarian and environment families. Furthermore, they have known the most innovative projects that has the center as the vertical garden and the compost system. Finally, the session has concluded with a guided tour of the facilities of IES Hotel Escuela, where it has the hotel, the restaurant, the kitchen, and the travel agency.

Carol Bello, responsible of the international relations of IFPE, has rated as “very pleasant” the experience to know the function of the Vocational Education and Training in Spain. “After the visit, we have some ideas about new collaborations in the future. In addition, the way of work in the centers is impressive and we have found models that could be applied in Brazil”, add.

On the other hand, the visits, that has taken place in Madrid, open a new way to FPEmpresa and Conif. Both organizations want to boost this type of encounters that provide a knowledge’s exchange between the VET of different countries. In this way, they have involved to leverage the virtual tools that save the distance.

The actual meeting has taken place after the virtual reunion of the last 17th of March, where FPEmpresa was presented virtually to the centers that form Conif. Apart, FPEmpresa explained in detail how works the VET in Spain. Additionally, all the actions answer to the objective of the Association of helping to the associated centers in its internationalization. FPEmpresa facilitates that the members approach to the VET of those countries that are beyond the European Union as Brazil, too.

Since 2021, the Association and the Embassy of Spain in Brazil intervene in different activities to give the opportunity of cooperating between Spanish and Brazilian centers in different educative projects. Among them are the eTwinning projects that connect the centers of both countries in a virtual way.