About Digital Pathways
H2 Learning, the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA), the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Krzyzowa Foundation (Poland) and MFG Baden-Württemberg (Germany), have partnered-up to develop a project called the Digital Skills Pathways for Youth across Europe.
The Digital Skills Pathways for Youth across Europe project was directly inspired by The Digital Hub Future Creators Programme developed by H2 Learning and NCAD. The project aims to provide teenagers across Europe with opportunities to develop a range of digital literacy skills; to provide them with a virtual space to showcase their work and to network with peers; to expose them to the wide range of possible careers in this evolving sector and to identify pathways they can follow into further education and future employment in the field of digital media.
The area of digital literacy is a new and evolving concept within society and there is a growing recognition that schools are not preparing our youth with these core sets of skills.
Project objectives are:
- Set-up and run a ‘Creative Lab’ in each partner country engaging a group of youth learners and their tutors. Evaluate and assess youth’s needs and skills in terms of the digital media. Introduce them to the variety of digital media jobs through meetings with business representatives.
- Produce a structured Digital Pathways Programme that develops a range of digital skills that can be delivered in any informal learning setting across Europe.
- Develop CPD Materials for Digital mentors so they are empowered to lead and facilitate the learning workshops.
- Organise Workshops and Study Visits to partner countries for digital mentors.
- Validate the Digital Pathways Programme and CPD materials for Digital mentors with youth learners across all partner countries, placing a strong emphasis on young people creating and sharing their work and ideas online.
- Provide youth across partner countries with meaningful career guidance engaging representatives from the industry, schools and parents.
- Disseminate the project outcomes across EU member States.
The project will assist teenagers in developing their digital competences outside of the school setting and will provide a teaching model as a robust learning experience for young people that takes place not in school, but in the community. The focus of the project will be on young people creating digital artefacts and in the process developing skills – both technical and soft skills.
We believe that schools across EU struggle to provide such opportunities so there is a real need to develop them in non-formal learning spaces. Based on that the following two outcomes will be developed aimed at youth organisations, tutors and learners:
- Digital Pathways Programme
- CPD materials for Digital Mentors
The project partners are:
- H2 Learning from Ireland
- NCAD from Ireland
- MFG from Germany
- Krzyzowa Foundation from Poland
- DHDA from Ireland.
The project, which will run for two years until January 2017, is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme, which is managed in Ireland by the National Agency Léargas.
