The proposed project is aimed at students who will be future professionals in the broad field of professional assistance. They need competences of a transversal and transferable nature, relevant to today’s requirements. Within the framework of the proposed BIP, they will have the opportunity to develop the key competences for lifelong learning as indicated by the EU Council.

The uniqueness of the project lies in the fusion of approaches – educational sciences/pedagogy and psychology – and in the fact that it uses the latest concepts, innovative and creative solutions – methods, techniques and tools applied in the field of education and guidance, developed at the interface of different paradigms. In particular, an interdisciplinary constructivist and dialogical approach will be used, implying the use of both face-to-face and virtual methods, resulting from the international research work carried out within the UNESCO Chair on Lifelong Guidance and Counselling and the UNITWIN NETWORK Life Designing Interventions (Guidance, Counselling, Education) for Decent Work and Sustainable Development.

Both the UNESCO Chair and the UNITWIN Network are working towards development support models and strategies that are in line with UNESCO’s policies as outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a particular focus on Goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all) and Goal 8 (Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all).

The aim of the project is to develop and improve the competences of students preparing to work as career counsellors, personal and career development coaches, educators supporting life and career choices and labour market entry, and researchers conducting scientific research in the field of life design interventions.

The competences developed in the course of the project are an important part of the so-called key competences, the importance of which has been underlined by the Council of the European Union and the Future Work Skills 2020 report. These are in particular

• Personal and social competences (such as communicating effectively and empathetically with others, cooperating constructively, dealing with uncertainty and complexity, promoting emotional well-being, discovering and making sense of biographical events as a basis for designing career paths);
• Lifelong learning competences (critical and self-reflection, learning pathways design, career management, future orientation);
• digital competences (critical and responsible use of online educational and guidance platforms, virtual collaboration and virtual communication)
• Entrepreneurship (understanding social and economic processes and challenges, grasping new opportunities and ideas, transforming them into value for others, creative problem solving);
• Multilingual competence, including in particular an appreciation of cultural diversity and intercultural communication.

Through activities led by researchers and trainers, students will be able to learn, test and evaluate the usefulness of modern methods, techniques and tools of career guidance and counselling, and learn from each other by exchanging experiences gained in different social and cultural contexts.

Benefits for participants:

An objective benefit of participation in the project will be the strengthening of key competences, in particular pedagogical and counselling competences as well as critical thinking. In addition, participation in the BIP will provide an opportunity to participate in a mobility programme for those students who, for various reasons, cannot participate in long-term Erasmus+ projects. Through physical and virtual mobility, project participants will have the opportunity not only to learn to work in a team, but also to create a network for the exchange of experiences, a platform for transnational cooperation and intercultural transfer of innovation. The transdisciplinary nature of the project and its multicultural background (experience of French, Finnish, Portuguese, Polish researchers) will allow a better understanding of the research ideas and their practical implications. It will also make it possible to see the need for communication between researchers and practitioners working in different cultures and the need for continuous improvement and development of research methods, education, training and counselling solutions in order to be relevant to complex and multidimensional problems. Ultimately, participants in the proposed project will be better prepared to function effectively as professional educators, trainers and counsellors in the European labour market, taking into account the cultural and social diversity of different target groups.