The Design International project aims to enhance cultural, technological and teamwork capacities

15 Professional Training students from Euskadi and the Netherlands participate in Diseño International. This initiative presents annually a technological challenge to overcome through collaboration between teams. The challenge of this edition is to design and manufacture a machine to manufacture plastic filaments for 3D printing. But the main characteristic of this initiative is that in each working group there are students of Euskadi and Holland, which means that they also develop competencies related to internationalization.

“We use what we call virtual mobility,” explains Julen Elgeta, president of HETEL, an association that brings together 24 professional training centers in the Basque Country, “they have to agree to present possible solutions, develop the project and defend it afterwards, taking into account that they cannot be physically seen because they are in different places.” In this way, the objective of the project is to imitate the forms of work that are usually used in real companies and to develop, in addition to technological knowledge, the capacities that are used for it, such as communication in English, teamwork and collaboration between people of different cultures.

This experience in the field of internationalization is carried out in the Superior Cycle of Professional Training in Design in Mechanical Manufacturing. From the Basque Country, ten students from five HETEL centres (three from Bizkaia, one from Araba and one from Gipuzkoa) and five students from ROC Da Vinci from the Netherlands participated. The working groups have already begun to work and in March they will have to present the results of their projects in Holland before a jury made up of teachers and local companies.

HETEL has been promoting the Design International project for 6 years and presents in each edition a different challenge that Basque students must overcome in collaboration with students from other countries. This initiative uses the e-Motive methodology focused on self-training and creativity. “We take the steps to follow since the challenge is presented until it is overcome, but in this methodology they are the protagonists of their learning. Teachers help them with follow-up and guidance, but we don’t explain how they should do things,” says Julen Elgeta.

HETEL

It is an association of 26 vocational training schools in the Basque Country. HETEL was founded in 1987 and today, based on commitment, enthusiasm, creativity and collaboration, they work to improve young people's job opportunities and meet the needs of Basque companies. In 2015, it was the first organization to receive the Silver A Award for advanced management in the field of vocational training.

His team is currently working on the following challenges: Job training; Dual Vocational Training and Specialization; ICT in classroom and center management; Technological innovation projects; beTEKu; International mobility and projects; Collaborative Challenge Studies (ETHAZI); Center administration and management; Multilingualism - Basque; Basic VT; Communication; Business technology services; Inter-school projects.

• Mission: They breathe Vocational Training to promote the socio-economic progress of the people.
• Vision: To be a beacon of Vocational Training.
• Values: Creativity; Excitement; Commitment; Collaboration.

HETEL internationally

One of the values ​​that sets HETEL Abantean schools apart is internationalization. HETEL Abantean is in contact with schools and organizations around the world related to vocational training and business, and this network offers a number of options:

• Erasmus + scholarships allow students from their schools to offer experience in European companies.
• They offer international experience to Higher Graduates (University and Higher Vocational Training) in any local company in the world.
• We work with vocational schools, universities and companies around the world to ensure that our teachers are constantly updated, from a technical, pedagogical and competence point of view.

In fact, according to HETEL, "talent is created and developed anywhere in the world."