Learning Opportunities for Digital and Employability Skills for Young Adults with Cognitive and Behavioral Disabilities
LINK
is a KA2 Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership project coordinated by ELA
The project aims to enable adults with cognitive disabilities aged between 19 and 24 to develop digital and employability skills, allowing them to actively participate in society and find employment.
The pandemic context has highlighted many inequalities in the field of education.
It is now clear to everyone that there is a strong need for more flexible and inclusive learning pathways, and being digitally competent must be seen both as a right and as a necessity.
This project aims to prevent the risk of the target group being excluded from the labor market and to support schools, adult education institutions, and centers for disability and assistance by offering them more structured learning opportunities.
Project overview
Info sul progetto
Action: Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership for Innovation – KA220
Project code: 2021-1-IT02-KA220-ADU-000029478
Duration: 2022 – 2024
Temi trattati
Social inclusion, innovative education, upskilling of adult learners, development of digital and employability skills, adult education.
Partner del progetto
Project Outcomes
To achieve the main objective of the project, the partnership will create and develop 2 results specifically tailored to the target group and their families, as well as to adult educators working with learners with low skills, supporting them in the field of education and in the transition to the labour market.
Blended training course for adults – LINK – on digital and employability skills
The LINK course is a 6-module program focused on digital and employability skills, specifically tailored to the needs of adults with cognitive disabilities aged between 19 and 24 who have completed secondary education but have not yet found employment. The content will be based on the needs analysis conducted by the partnership and will leverage principles of digital pedagogy and game-based learning.
The training will follow a blended format, including 90 hours of face-to-face sessions and 120 hours of distance learning.
LINK Manual on digital and gamified learning activities for Young Adults with Behavioral and Cognitive Disabilities (YAwBCD)
The manual will be based on the concrete experiences of the project partners and associated partners who implemented the LINK adult training course. The LINK Manual is designed as a practical tool that will enable adult educators to easily integrate digital activities and tools, new technologies, game mechanics, and game-based digital applications into their courses. It will also serve as a reference guide for implementing the LINK course and can be reused and adapted, either fully or partially, to be included in other curricula—both within the field of adult education and beyond.
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What’s going on in the project?
Link Success Stories
After months of dedicated effort, the awareness campaign has led to the creation of the “LINK Success Stories” page on the official project website. These stories highlight the achievements of young adults who have overcome various challenges and successfully taken their first steps into the world of work.
Go check out their journeys—you’ll also find insights into the impact these stories have had through our outreach on Facebook and Instagram.
Third TPM in Sofia & Erasmus Days
In October, during the Erasmus Days, we spent a couple of days in Sofia for the final meeting of the LINK project. On the first day, we finalized the curriculum on digital and employability skills, defined the visual layout of the manual, evaluated the results of our awareness campaign, and took the first steps towards the translation and dissemination of the educational materials we developed. On the second day, we visited the facilities of Maria’s World Foundation—a meaningful opportunity to meet the young adults in person and take a peek inside the center’s workshops, where we discussed inclusion and the sustainability of the project.
? Images and videos were shared across the partners’ channels using the hashtag #Erasmusdays.
Training for Associated Partners
On April 19, an online training session was held to present the project to several local cooperatives working in the field of labour market transition for people with disabilities (namely Il Mulino da Seta and Atelier).
During the meeting, a draft of the Curriculum and the first pages of the Manual were presented, along with a short focus on gamification and game-based learning.
The educators found the activities developed so far to be very interesting and the entire training path stimulating. For this reason, they expressed positive feedback on the possibility of future implementation, highlighting the value of this upcoming collaboration.
Second Transnational Project Meeting
On January 18, 19 and 20, the second transnational project meeting took place in Anadia, Portugal.
Among the main topics discussed were the definition of the next steps.
Partners also had the opportunity to talk about the current status of the project, make decisions regarding the final structure of the project results, and evaluate and reflect on the outcomes of the questionnaires from the activities carried out so far.
Lastly, they discussed the content and organisation of the upcoming training sessions for associated partners.
International Conference in Portugal
On June 24, 2022, ELA was a guest at the International Conference “Adult Education – Inclusive and Sustainable” organized by Agrupamento de Escolas de Anadia in Portugal. During this event, we took the opportunity to present the LINK project to an audience of over 100 adult educators, discussing its goals and planned activities, while highlighting innovative skills for living in the 21st century.
Open Web Conference
The Open Web Conference of the European LINK project took place on July 7th. It was an opportunity for exchanging best practices and experiences in the fields of gamification and game-based learning.
Six collaborators, selected from the partners and associates, gave speeches on various related topics, following a brief presentation of the project.
To learn more, the complete event report is available on the official project website.
First Transnational Project Meeting
The first TPM took place in Bologna from May 18th to 20th. During this initial meeting, the partners discussed the general process of project implementation, focusing on financial management, project management tools, and the dissemination plan. They also planned some of the project’s upcoming activities, such as the Open Web Conference and the awareness campaign, defining the tasks and responsibilities of each partner.
Open Web Conference
Who takes care of the project
Those among our team have worked and continue to work with the goal of being able to finalize the project
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