On 11th and 12th of December 2023 NBS Academy partnership met in beautiful Innsbruck, Austria, for the project’s 2nd physical consortium meeting. The meeting was organised and hosted by the University of Innsbruck, which is one of the pilot universities in the project.
During the 1st day, the discussion topics focused on WP2, WP3 & WP7 updates. Miriam Molina from EUN started with an overview of WP2 highlights for the first 6 months of the project. The main activities performed from M1 to M5 were presented regarding T2.1: Strategizing and developing NBS Academy and its network while partners were informed for the accomplishment and successful submission of D2.1: NBS Academy Roadmap and strategic plan that marks the achievement of Milestone 3 of the project.
The discussion on WP2 continued with the Swedish partner (UGOT) who updated the consortium for the status and progress of D2.2 (Education Framework for promoting learning through NBS) focusing on the conceptualized NBS education. UGOT team explained that they have worked on the problematization of NBS through exploring available literature, by highlighting that the way we frame and conceptualize NBS education is important.
Another discussion topic on WP2 regards the results of the national focus groups that were carried out during November 2023. Efstathia Koitsanou on behalf of UTH team presented an overview of D.2.3 (Collaborative Learning Communities’ strategy and support mechanisms), by highlighting the target groups, applied methodology and main topics of deliverable that elaborates on the creation of collaborative learning communities, desk research and focus groups’ results as also the description of mechanisms for running collaborative communities in practice.
Another special moment of the 1st day was the discussion about the Task 3.1 for the exploration of ITE and CPD trainer’s needs in relation to the application and future integration of NBS in teacher education and training opportunities. JLU team presented the goals, milestones, and deliverables of WP3 focused on developing the ‘Train the trainer’ materials and the subsequent programme aiming to supporting teacher trainers to design innovative NBS programmes. The consortium had the opportunity to brainstorm and exchange ideas and feedback for the structure and content of the survey that will be soon distributed in all 6 pilot countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Cyprus).
At the 2nd day, partners focused exclusively on brainstorming and discussing through individual and group reflection the main elements and concepts around the D2.2: Educational framework for promoting learning through NBS through a collaborative workshop co-organised by Stimmuli for social change UGOT, the lead partner for the framework’s development.
The co-creation workshop involved 3 rounds of reflection and partners were divided in two groups through which they discussed around the following themes: 1) Definition & learning outcomes of NBS education, 2) Competencies from GreenComp & DigiComp framework that are relevant to NBS Education, 3) Knowledge & Skills for teachers to integrate NBS in education and in their teaching methods.
Overall, there was a very productive 2-day meeting that surpassed our expectations and we are now looking forward to the next 2nd half the first year of the project with wonderful activities on the way!
