About
Virtual Exchange to Tackle Wicked Problems: Latin American and European Collaboration on Education for Sustainable Development (VAMOS) is a capacity-building project within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme running between 2021 – 2023 with a budget of 738.990 EUR. The project gathers six Latin American universities (Brazil and Honduras), two European universities (Uppsala and Padua), and one NGO with leading experts in virtual exchange (UNICollaboration).
What is the aim?
We want to build capacity for innovative international collaboration and joint learning, with a focus on learning spaces for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and to co-create virtual exchange courses on addressing wicked problems. In our course(s) students from our partner universities will work with the local/global sustainability issues (Wicked Problems).Structure
The activities to facilitate a joint co-creative process of developing a virtual course(s) on local/global sustainability issues (Wicked Problems) are structured in three work packages (WP):
WP 2 Education for Sustainable Development Learning & Teaching Methods – Explores how partners in VAMOS teach Education for Sustainable Development at our universities. The aim is to establish a common foundation on how we in the project wish to transform the way we are teaching and learning in order to meet the current and future sustainability challenges.
WP 3 Virtual Teacher Training & Course Development – Focus on how partners in VAMOS can teach sustainability together in joint international virtual courses. The training will be facilitated by UNICollaboration and introduces the concept of Virtual Exchange as an innovative pedagogical approach and will guide teachers in co-creating a virtual exchange course addressing the Wicked Problems.
WP 4 Test of virtual exchange course(s) on Glocal Wicked Problems – Focus on testing and evaluating the pilots offered of partners in VAMOS. The course(s) will be part of a virtual GLOCAL ESD Campus setting in which the students will interact with their international peers (via video conference and interactive smart board) and work together on wicked problems.
Specific objectives
Strengthen the capacity of teachers to transform university Education for Sustainable Development
Provide training in Virtual Exchange teaching skills
Address local Wicked Problems in society through International Virtual Exchange with students and teachers
Empower students to become active agents in addressing Sustainable Development Goals
Increase the relevance of Education for Sustainble Development by focusing on transversal approaches and interaction with society.
Partners
Europe
Honduras
Brazil
More information about Erasmus+ capacity building
Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Erasmus+ offers mobility and cooperation opportunities in such as Higher Education. The actions under KA2 make it possible for organisations from different participating countries to work together, to develop, share and transfer best practices and innovative approaches in the fields of education, training and youth.
Capacity-building projects in the field of higher education are transnational cooperation projects, based on multilateral partnerships, primarily between higher education institutions from Programme and eligible Partner Countries.
The aim of these projects is to:
modernise, internationalise and increase access to higher education
address the challenges facing their higher education institutions and systems
increase cooperation with the EU
voluntarily converge with EU development in higher education, and
promote people to people contacts, intercultural awareness, and understanding.