The European Year of Skills will run from 9 May 2023 until 8 May 2024 and put the spotlight on skills. This year is all about helping people get the right skills and addressing important skills shortages in the EU. Since 2014 the United Nations has also observed World Youth Skills Day every July 15th. This month's podcast episode relevantly focuses on the synergies for skill-building within international education. We look at an example of a fruitful collaboration between Aeres Hogeschool (HE) in the Netherlands and Groupe Ecole supérieure d'Agriculture d'Angers (VET) in France. Institutions in different countries that have shared interests in the areas of agriculture and food systems education and have been working together for 25 years.
Hélène Rongeot, Bachelor Project Manager at ESA Angers in France, and Natasja Spaargaren, Head of the Internationalisation programme at Aeres University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, tell us more about their partnership and the importance of skill-building. What excites them about their work, the skill-building opportunities for their students, and for themselves? And what is the secret recipe to their successful partnership covering both HE and VET? Join us for this podcast episode to learn more about this topic!
About Hélène Rongeot
Hélène Rongeot is Bachelor Project Manager at Groupe Ecole supérieure d'Agriculture d'Angers (ESA Angers). She is in charge of the development of new Bachelor programmes in active and collaborative pedagogy, on two sites in Angers, France and near Paris in Saint Quentin in Yvelines. Both programmes are internationally oriented and in the fields of agro-ecological transition and food systems. Hélène obtained her PhD in plant breeding in Paris and worked as a breeder for flowering plants before moving into the field of international education.
About Natasja Spaargaren
Natasja Spaargaren is Head of the Internationalisation programme at Aeres University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, with 23 years of experience in internationalisation in education. In her role, she helps Bachelor and Master students as well as academic staff with internationalisation through mobility programmes, internationalisation at home, joint degree programmes and consultancy & training services in agribusiness and education.
Additional Resources
For further insights into the topics touched on in this episode, the following resources may be of interest:
→ Getting practical about vocational education
→ Global internships: preparation for the new world of work