The Erasmus+ Academy - Foster TCA activity through a set format
A TCA is often a unique event that offers a great way to support Erasmus+ project beneficiaries and exchange experience at European level. However, organising, coordinating and implementing a TCA consumes resources from National Agencies in terms of staff and time. So, is there a way to make TCA more efficient and improve the output of a TCA?
One suggestion is the creation of the “Erasmus+ Academy”.
The idea is to organise and implement certain training TCA jointly between at least three National Agencies and to offer these formats on a regular basis.
Erasmus+ Academy TCAs deal with general management and big topics in Europe that are relevant for a longer period and for a broad group of Erasmus+ beneficiaries. Possible topics for the Academy could be European project management, impact, dissemination or internationalisation. Other TCAs, which deal with a theme that is unique, serve specific needs, or are a reaction to political developments are very important but should continue to be organised by the National Agencies on an individual base.
The idea of the Erasmus+ Academy
- Support of high quality implementation of Erasmus+ and mobilising a maximum number of organisations and individuals to whom the Programme is addressed;
- Strategic support to the development of the fields of education, training and youth work in line with the specific objectives of Erasmus+;
- Strategic support to the cooperation between organisations active in the fields of education, training and/or youth.
- support beneficiaries to run their European projects;
- have a focus on rather general management and European topics;
- Academy TCAs approach a longer period;
This approach offers several advantages:
- Three or more National Agencies are committed to organise and implement a TCA together. Thus, the burden is carried on several shoulders.
- National Agencies can rely on a proved concept, on existing materials, and on a pool of experts, which makes planning easier and saves resources. This should especially support National Agencies to organise a TCA who usually do not have the resources to implement a TCA on their own.
- There is continuity for beneficiaries and for NAs. If beneficiaries didn’t get the chance to participate this time, they may participate another time because the seminar will be offered again. Also, this continuity will lead to quality improvement.
- Planning and organisation of TCAs will be easier, because you can rely on a proved concept and existing materials.
(April 2019)
An example:
The TCA, Internationalisation strategies in VET, is a seminar that aims at supporting VET institutions in their process of strategic internationalisation. The concept for the seminar was developed by several National Agencies. The TCA format started in Hungary and the Netherlands and was also organised in Germany.
The British National Agency Ecorys developed another successful concept – the TCA Impact+ Exercise, which now has been taken up by the Hungarian National Agency. Other TCAs have the potential of becoming a TCA within the Erasmus+ Academy, too.
In April 2019, there was a directors meeting in Bucharest, Romania, where the directors looked at existing TCAs that could potentially become Erasmus Academy TCAs, because they deal with the previously mentioned topics. The directors expressed their interest to commit to a certain topic for a TCA.
The potential TCAs were listed on a pin wall and directors allocated their National Agencies to the topic in which they are interested to cooperate.
Directors of national agencies and TCA officers have identified several suitable TCAs. Now we should start to make the Academy operational, so that the start of the Erasmus+ Academy in 2020 is successful.