City of Dublin ETB International Desk
The City of Dublin ETB International Desk is an education support and innovation service where the focus is on not only learning from international experiences but also contributing and disseminating to it. Its vision is to generate and create a culture of innovation and creativity in collaboration with City of Dublin ETB schools, colleges and centres and generate partnerships and networks at local, national and international levels.
Many City of Dublin ETB schools, colleges and centers participate in international project work that is supported by the International Desk. Funding is provided by Leargas, the government body in Ireland with responsibility for the management and distribution of European funding currently known as the Erasmus+ Programme.
Erasmus+ Programmes are mainly in the areas of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the Adult Education sectors and are defined as Key Action One Projects (KA1). As a result of Erasmus+ many City of Dublin ETB students experience an overseas work experience placement as part of their programme/course.
In recent years the City of Dublin ETB International Desk has partnered with several institutions in European countries and has completed Key Action Two Projects (KA2) in the VET area. Models of good practice have been developed and implemented in the areas of:
The International Desk has ensured that all of these models have been disseminated and adapted to suit various sectors of education nationally.
We are currently involved in two KA2 projects: Future Skills for Apprenticeship Trainers (FSTVET) and Social Intrapreneurship and a large scale KA3 project: STREAM which aims to build a new micro-credential framework for the design and management of high quality WBL experiences both nationally and internationally.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is key to generating and supporting the innovative process at all levels. The International Desk is active in the design and implementation of CPD opportunities for City of Dublin ETB staff to experience international best practice. It also accommodates and hosts customised study and research programmes for a growing number of international education bodies coming to Ireland.
The City of Dublin ETB International Desk is also involved in supporting global school projects in which our teaching staff contribute to the educational development of less developed countries such as Zambia and Sierra Leone.
The International Desk on behalf of City of Dublin ETB is happy to share and engage with schools, colleges and education bodies at all levels. Our contact email addresses are: erasmus@intl.cdetb.ie or mary.hickie@intl.cdetb.ie