As you know, one of the main concerns nowadays is to stimulate ways of learning and teaching through ICT and digital content. Open Educational Resources (OER) play a central role in the transformation of the way people learn and teach nurturing a culture of sharing valuable educational material within the educational world. More...

"A scuola d'impresa" is a regional project at its third edition this year, promoted by AUR - Agenzia Umbria Ricerche with the suppurt of the European Social Fund under the Regional Operational Programme (ROP) Umbria ESF "Regional Competitiveness and Employment '2007-2013'. The main objective of the project (www.scuolaimpresa.net) is to spread the entrepreneurial culture among young people and to develop entrepreneurship behaviors through the activation of practical experience of learning. More...

With MOOCs increasingly using videos, especially when the courses are linked to universities, the risk of using them as an integral part –if not the main part– of a learning experience has its advantages and disadvantages. The Open Education Challenge offers in its blog a series of tips for those using this tool in their courses, based on the fact that “the attractiveness of a video-based course is a main factor in maintaining the learner’s attention.” More...

The OERu platform, which reports access to 217,000 unique monthly visitors from around the world, will now link to the new Open University BOCs and open courses on OpenLearn, the OU’s home of free online learning. More...

An integrated information management system based DSS for problem solving and decision making in open & distance learning institutions of India
A DSS model has been developed for solving semi-structured and unstructured problems including decision making with regard to various programmes and activities operating in the ODLIs. The DSS model designed for problem solving is generally based on quantitative formulas, whereas for problems involving imprecision and uncertainty, a fuzzy theory based DSS is employed. More...

In 2013, France received a country-specific recommendation on the need to conduct a broad set of reforms to improve functioning of its labour market and to develop lifelong learning further. France has made some progress in addressing this recommendation and adopted in March 2014 a law on vocational education and lifelong learning.
Main elements of the reform are:

Apprenticeship training has been praised recently for its effectiveness in easing school-to-work transition of non-college-bound students. In most countries with low youth unemployment there is some type of effective apprenticeship scheme in place. However, measuring effects of apprenticeship training relative to school-based VET on labour market outcomes has been a challenge.
The study concludes that in uncoordinated and decentralised apprenticeship systems, such as the Hungarian, there is no difference in labour market advantages - not even short-term - between those who participate in apprenticeship training and those who do not.
More information:

The scholarship programme Stiftung für Begabtenförderung (foundation supporting the gifted and talented) for young vocational graduates was established over 20 years ago. Since then, around 96 000 young professionals in Germany have profited from support towards their professional qualifications.
The scholarship, funded by the Ministry of Education and Research, supports talented young professionals in their first years after apprenticeship independent of their chosen educational path, so they can transform their talent into top performance.
The Karlsruhe Chamber of Crafts has been involved in implementing this sponsorship programme since the beginning. Since 1991, 600 young professionals from the chamber's district have been granted scholarships and about EUR 1.5 million has been spent on their continuing training.
Scholarships are available to graduates of dual vocational education and training courses who are younger than 25 years when accepted into the programme. To qualify, they have to attain a final apprenticeship examination result of 1.9 (’good’) or better, participate successfully in a cross-regional skill competition or be nominated by either an enterprise or their vocational school.
Grants of up to EUR 6 000 over three years may be paid, while scholarship holders pay 10 % of eligible costs.

The announcement of the Government’s science and innovation strategy in December included a commission to establish a general review of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and a specific review of computer science degree accreditation arrangements. The reviews will explore issues around graduate employability and consider options for how they could be addressed.
HEFCE will be supporting both reviews with evidence gathering and analysis, with sector and accrediting body engagement, and with alignment with the current quality assessment review. More...

The report, ‘Young participation in higher education: A-levels and similar qualifications’ (HEFCE 2015/03), examines the rates of young participation in higher education for all Key Stage 5 pupils from English schools and colleges achieving a Level 3 qualification between 2006 and 2013 [Note 1]. It also examines the extent to which a pupil’s school and background affect their likelihood of progressing to higher education at the ages of 18 or 19. More...