VOOCS for VET teacher professionalization: Lessons learned from the EU Erasmus+ Pro-VET project

This MESH guide is based on the EU Erasmus+ Pro-VET project. Pro-VET has introduced a systematic approach to continuous professional development of VET teachers (in-service trainers, instructors, mentors etc.) via E-learning tools or Vocational Open Online Courses (VOOC’s, as a vocational counterpart of the well-known Massive Open Online Course, MOOC). In the project, EU partners (Finland, Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands) together with non-EU partners (Russia and Serbia) have jointly worked on the development of VOOCS aimed at VET-teacher professionalization in Russia and Serbia. This MESH guide presents the project: Pro-VET’s aims, objectives and revisits its underlying methodology. We also share our collective knowledge, joint theoretical foundations on resp. Vocational Education and Training (VET), VET-teaching, VET teacher professionalization as well as on Online Distance Learning (ODL) and VOOC’s. We will present our design practices, methodology and process and share our experiences and most important lessons learned from jointly developing E-learning tools for VET teacher professionalization. Description of the products as well as the reflections on the process were based on an online questionnaire completed by most project partners.

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The EU Erasmus+ Pro-VET Project aimed to introduce a systematic approach to continuous professional development on European VET policy and practice for VET teachers (in-service trainers, instructors, mentors etc.) and Higher Education (HE) teachers engaged in VET teacher training in both school and work-based settings for Russia and Serbia by specifically using e-learning tools: VOOCs.

Pro-VET provided opportunities for HE/VET teachers for pedagogical skill development and increased work-life relevance and collaboration with proven European approaches and methodologies in VET. It helped to build confidence in the industry on the development of the VET systems. Pro-VET therefore addressed the challenges of the educational quality, relevance, delivery, and management of the VET systems following VET Pointers for policy development.

A VET Educator’s Training Network (VET-ETN) was formed around the eight partner institutes of Pro-VET in Russia and Serbia. VET-ETN actors engaged policy makers and other stakeholders in a policy dialogue on VET issues nationally and explored the potential of European practice to assist development of national and regional vocational sectors. Each institute within the network provided training and consultancy to their own stakeholder networks in VET sector to enhance quality of VET education and meet the requirements of industry stakeholders. The training materials and courses are made openly accessible via the e-learning platform of the VET-ETN that promotes dissemination of the European approaches in VET to Serbian and Russian speaking HE/VET teachers globally.

Project partners:

The specific objectives of Pro-VET were:

1. Training HE teachers of the two partner countries (Russia, Serbia) on using European VET initiatives, best methods and pedagogical approaches and to capacitate them in creating development-oriented in-service training courses for VET teacher training.

2. Setting up and equipping national e-labs on the base of the eight partner countries’ institutes for producing and disseminating content and courses on European VET policy, practice and methods in Russian, Serbian and English languages as Vocational / Massive Open Online Courses (V/MOOCs). The special content is to be introduced also in the existing Bachelor’s and Master’s Curricula of VET teachers study programmes of the partner institutes.

3. Setting up a VET Educator’s Training Network (VET-ETN) on the base of an open access e-learning platform, which serves also as an aggregator of partners’ websites and social networks around established national laboratories providing forums, training and communication on European VET policy, theory and practice for professional development of VET teachers and trainers in national languages.

4. Ensuring aftereffect sustainability of the VET-ETN and to consolidate their role in VET development nationally and build their networks with VET providers, industry, work-life and policy makers.

5. Co-designing roadmaps for VET development in line with European policy and practice in Russia and Serbia in a policy dialogue with National Ministries of Education.

Project activities and methodology

Pro-VET provoked policy learning through the introduction of mutually-agreed good practices in EU-member states and fruitful recommendations by the Commission. In this context, we mean examples of policies, measures, instruments and approaches for the development of VET systems that can serve as objects for policy learning in Serbia and Russia. Trainers and VET experts from Russia and Serbia benchmarked and assessed the European VET policies in Finland, Netherlands, Ireland and Germany with emphasis on e-pedagogy against policies in their own countries to get a comprehensive overview of what works and what does not. Using carefully selected pedagogical approaches, VET teacher and trainers became more engaged in the learning process; this concerns e-pedagogy development of a coherent e-learning strategy with collaborative and reflexive learning instruments, developmental work research, and knowledge building.

The scope for learning from apparent good practice can be defined and delimited by three main factors: 1) the transferability of the European approach; 2) the openness and adaptability of the receiving educational system; and 3) the effectiveness of the proposed or implemented measures on the labour market. In the preparation stage, policy dialogue, needs analysis surveys, data analysis, benchmarking, digital review and workshops between partner (Higher Education Institutes) HEIs and key VET stakeholders provided a framework to identify the transferable practices that can be adapted to the partner countries’ VET systems to develop and boost the local labour markets.

The Programme Country partners analysed and described the European policies, pedagogical approaches and practices that would add values to the Partner Countries VET sector based on joint agreements. Warnborough College Ireland (WCI) (P3) managed the digitalisation review process in Russia and Serbia that launched the activities for ICT capacity upgrading, as it provided necessary technical and needs analysis for the procurement and planning of the e-pedagogy approaches.

In the next phase, the capacity building steps enhanced the ICT capacity and trainers’ knowledge and understanding on European pedagogical practices and policies in VET. Teacher trainers from institutions in the VET Educator’s Training Network (VET-ETN) were exposed to European VET practices, policies and pedagogies via observations and training in program country institutions. They were capacitated to enable them to train others using best approaches in e-pedagogy for VET. The training in each country was based on expansive learning and the specific “change lab” methodology (Engeström, 2015). This approach was designed to encourage, develop and facilitate the pedagogic and content development for in-service training courses as well as digital learning environment could be created at VET providers in Serbia and Russia. Important contexts and activities in this respect were the ‘transnational meetings’ organised. These meetings were physical weeklong meetings respectively held in Novi Sad (Serbia), Jyväskylä (Finland), Tver (Russian Federation) and Wageningen (The Netherlands) until in 2020 the world was shook by COVID-19 and its consequent ban on international traveling. In spring and summer 2022 international traffic was resumed by two physical meetings in Bremen, Germany.

Trainers designed the 6 (3 in Russia and 3 on Serbia) in-service training courses that addressed local VET needs and attracted VET and HE institutions in Serbia and Russia to discuss, collaborate and implement European policy, theory and best practices in work-based learning, the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), collaborative learning, various form of digital learning, qualification frameworks, validation of non-formal and informal learning, enhancement of horizontal and vertical mobility, etc. The course delivery was tested in three iterations necessary to go from intentional curricula to real ones; feedback was gathered from the target groups and the delivery was improved through a continuous quality assurance process. A work package on Quality Assurance provided a framework for evaluation and feedback collection from beneficiaries. A Quality Assurance Manual for in-service training courses was designed. The manual guided the evaluation process of the test-runs and adjusted the process when needed.

Each partner country institution equipped and took up a modern, interactive e-learning lab for course design and development, teacher training and as a showcase demonstration environment. Pro-VET finally provided several guiding instruments aiming to support other VET teacher trainers to develop similar VOOCs for VET teacher professionalization.

Prior to launching the test-runs and after each iteration, the teacher trainers together with the EU mentors and managers gathered online to joint evaluation meetings to share experiences and to agree on needed adjustments.

Several test-runs provided insights into course delivery and the VET sector’s development opportunities in the partner countries. This provided a strong basis for continuing the policy dialogue with national VET sector leaders and policy makers. After the test-runs (spring 2022) the Russian partners sadly had to leave the project as a result of the EU sanctions against the Russian Federation.

The process of policy learning, i.e. roadmap development entailed 3 phases: 1) Benchmarking in Europe, 2) Surveys and data collection and 3) Stakeholder networking events and policy dialogue.

Finally, the Serbian partners organised a national networking event to present and disseminate a national roadmap for VET development in Serbia. The event was held in Belgrade in fall ‘22 and showcased European VET policy and practice and promoted the in-service training courses and Pro-VET outcomes for policy dialogue with National Ministries.

Vocational Education and Training – abbreviated as VET – is the education, training and teaching related to specific trades, occupations or vocations. The European Commission defines VET as follows: “Vocational education and training (VET) provides learners with essential skills enhancing their employability, supporting their personal development and encouraging active citizenship. VET boosts enterprise performance, competitiveness, research and innovation.” (European Commission). Although VET-systems vary widely among European contexts (see Cedefop’s VET in Europe Database), VET is roughly taking place in educational institutions, part of secondary or tertiary education, or part of initial training programmes aimed for working professionals (apprenticeships or workplace learning) (Eurostat, statistics explained; Cedefop, 2021). As VET is strongly focused on vocations, education and training it is often organized in close collaboration with well-developed networks of VET-stakeholders, such as employers. VET plays an important role in the educational landscape and thus in the education and training of professionals: more or less half of EU upper secondary level students are enrolled in VET-programmes (2018 data, Eurostat).

As in other types of education and training, teachers play an important role in VET. VET teachers prepare young people for work, they foster the life-long-learning of professionals and provide well equipped professionals for industry, society. Ideally, VET teachers connect the worlds of education and practice by cultivating ‘hybrid learning environments’ (Bouw et al., 2021; Oonk et al., 2022). Sometimes described as a ‘dual profession’: VET teaching requires a unique combination of social, pedagogical and industry-specific skills and knowledge (OECD, 2021). Indeed, the ideal VET teacher is a ‘jack of all trades’. Of course, VET teachers need vocational, pedagogical, social or interpersonal skills. More recently however, VET teachers are increasingly challenged to cross traditional boundaries in learning and education. They need to be reflective and ‘responsive’: able to stay in touch with the developments in society, their industry and innovations for learning (Oonk et al., 2022). COVID-19 has pressed the already stressed importance of digital competence for remote and online learning (Cataneo et al., 2022; OECD, 2021). They furthermore need to be able to effectively work together with (regional) partners in industry to create relevant (hybrid) learning environments (Van den Berg, 2021).

The world is highly dynamic as well as the landscapes of industry and teaching. Continuous professionalization and stimulating (VET) teachers’ innovative behaviors is therefore of utmost importance (OECD, 2021; De Jong, 2019). Global trends such as the transition towards sustainability, digitalization, automation, hybridization of education and learning etc. makes continuous (VET) teacher professionalization and innovation an important theme (OECD, 2021). Life-long-learning and innovation is paradoxically however not self-evident. When one is asked, any (VET) teacher will no doubt agree with the necessity of continuous professionalization and innovation. However, practice often shows a rather different image. Like any other professional, (VET) teachers are primarily focused on doing their jobs which in many cases comes down to teaching. Research shows that innovative behavior is a result of a complex interplay of individual and organizational factors such as self-efficacy, motivation, beliefs, as well as job characteristics, work culture and physical resources (Thurlings et al., 2014). Organizational factors seem determined as teachers often experience a lack of support or incentives in their environments to work on themselves and behave innovatively. In the case of VET teachers, their complex set of both pedagogical as well as industry-related knowledge might even be considered challenging contexts making existing support and training not fitting to their needs (Ramos et al., 2021; OECD, 2021).

The Internet and consequently online learning, or ‘e-learning’, have revolutionized our lives and the world of education. Whereas education traditionally predominantly took place in teacher-driven, classroom face-to-face settings, learning can nowadays take place by students anywhere and anytime. Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, e-learning seems to have been further rooted in mainstream educational landscapes globally.

Various concepts are being used: Online Distance Learning, Online Learning, Distance Learning, Online Distance Education, Blended Learning etc. For Pro-VET and more specifically for this MESH guide, we have focused on the concept of Online Distance Learning or ODL as a specific form of e-learning (Cheawjindakarn et al., 2012). In ODL, learners can participate in tailored learning, in their own pace, from home or basically from anywhere in the world. ODL comes in many shapes and forms, important however is whether it is done synchronous or a-synchronous. Students can for instance participate in synchronous online video conferences or take an open schedule a-synchronous online course. ODL comes with opportunities and challenges. Well known opportunities are its flexibility (in location, time, pace), reach and low costs. ODL needs to be applied in contexts with sufficient support and guidance as well as attention to social learning. When applied in less social learning oriented approaches to learning, a potential lack of social contact, guidance and support, interaction, and lacking of suitable space for learning are challenges. Basic requirements are moreover ICT-equipment as well as internet access. If not executed properly, students may develop feelings of isolation which in extreme forms can heavily harm their motivation and general mental and physical well-being. ODL moreover requires participants access to (for them) suitable physical places to take their course (concentration problems). ODL furthermore supposes students as well as teachers to have well developed ICT skills (Kara et al., 2019). In fact, many have acknowledged that good ODL courses may require structural involvement of specialists such as screenwriters, editors and perhaps even actors (Park and Shea, 2020). These opportunities and challenges have recently become apparent worldwide with the COVID-19 pandemic in which ODL became the norm overnight (Abduhamad, 2020; Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). In short, ODL is potentially a valuable form of education when well developed, carefully implemented and supported with social learning oriented

In Pro-VET ODL took shape as Massive, Open, Online Courses (MOOCs). In the project, they were called VOOCs for Vocational Open Online Courses as the project focusses on professionalization of teachers in Vocational Education and Training (VET). MOOCs are basically free, open access, online courses aimed at unlimited numbers of participators. Deng et al. (2019) put it as followed: “MOOCs are open, large-scale web-based courses designed and delivered by accredited higher education institutions and organizations in which anyone with a smart device and internet connection can participate, regardless of age, gender, geographic location, or education background” (p. 48). MOOCs cover a plethora of subjects and come in all shapes and sizes (see for instance www.mooc.org). Jacoby (2014) distinguishes between so called connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCS) and extended MOOCs (xMOOCS). Whereas the first is grafted on connectivism, openness and participatory teaching, the latter more on pre-set course content from a more behaviorist approach to learning. MOOCs furthermore generally integrate both pre-developed course materials such as lectures, short movies, talks, texts, imagery as well as synchronous interactive elements such as real-time dialogues or discussions with teachers and or peers (Palacios Hidalgo et al., 2020). Since the rise of the phenomenon in 2008, much work has been done on the value of MOOCs for learning and education. Despite well recorded strengths and limitations, MOOCs are generally considered to have great potential for learning and education (Palacios Hidalgo et al., 2020). MOOCs can be hosted in many ways. The Pro-VET VOOCs were all based on Moodle. Moodle – or Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment – is widely acknowledged as an effective, low-threshold, user-friendly, open-source learning platform and learning management system (LMS). It has been successfully used as a learning environment on many levels as well as by many institutions and sectors worldwide (Gamage et al., 2022).

Table: 1 Overview and description of the developed VOOC’s:

title, audience, aims, medium and design.

In each of their institutions, the Russian and Serbian partners formed local VOOC development teams and labs. Despite local dynamics, all institutions followed the same overarching Pro-VET development methodological approach. Russian and Serbian teams were supported by EU-partners. Some national cooperation developed as well during the course of the project.

The first step was to discover and question the target group(s) (VET and HE teachers) and discover their needs in order to decide upon the VOOCs main focus. Foci of the VOOCs were ultimately determinded together with EU partners.

The VOOCs under construction were tested in two iterations: alpha and beta testing. Feedback was gathered from the target groups and used to improve prototype VOOCs. A work package on Quality Assurance provided a framework for evaluation and feedback collection from beneficiaries. A Quality Assurance Manual for in-service training courses was designed. The manual guided the evaluation process of the test-runs and adjusted the process when needed.

Pro-VET enabled each partner country institution to equip and take up a modern, interactive e-learning lab for course design and development, teacher training and as a showcase demonstration environment. In these labs local teams improved their skills regarding building Moodle environments, mastering the construction as well as producing content such as texts, assignments, video’s etc. Pro-VET finally provided several guiding instruments aiming to support other VET teacher trainers to develop similar VOOCs for VET teacher professionalization.

Coaching was organised at regular moments in the development stage. Project partners gathered online to join evaluation meetings to share experiences and to agree on needed adjustments.

For this MESH guide, project partners were asked questions via an online survey (see methods in 'design practices'). To begin locally, from within the local Russian and Serbian development teams, the overall development process was experienced as an interesting but rather ‘bumpy road’. Partners mention that while the overall teamwork was well-coordinated, it nevertheless took a lot of time and effort to make the course development process run smoothly due to various external and internal factors. Examples are the lack of an e-platform to build the VOOC on, cultural differences in approaches to online learning as well as varying levels of ICT literacy and ICT competence of the participants. This is an interesting observation as one of the main objects of Pro-VET was local capacity building with regard to developing ODL tools.

Generally, highly valued were the ‘EU good practices’ from the start, as an inspiration, the general supervision or ‘mentoring’ by experienced EU-partners but first and foremost the co-creation happening from within the Pro-VET project community. Regular transnational meetings and later more online contacts, consults, due to COVID-19 were clearly highly valued by all project partners and fostered capacity building and learning. One of the team members puts it as followed:

“The collective process in Pro-VET has had a profoundly positive impact on our group as we have experienced in practice how the commitment of people from different cultures, countries and institutions to a joint program to achieve specific common goals and objectives can take a structured form of effective collaboration. Our regular participation in different collective events and meetings, timely support of the project coordinators and their recommendations on demand, constant contacts with other partners of the project helped us a lot in developing our course.”

And:

“For me, this is the first participation in an international project of this kind and the first time to develop a course program with several colleagues with whom I will implement it together. The joint process we built with our colleagues from the EU, as well as the cooperative activities in my team, were very stimulating for me, for my interest in working on the project and the effort to prepare teaching materials with a target group that is very demanding in terms of prior knowledge, experiences and expectations related to the topic of the course.”

Also, the project and the development of VOOC’s simultaneously was experienced as challenging due to COVID-19. In the words of one of the partners:

“The motivation to work on the development of MOOCs weakened, considering online teaching and many other additional activities and changed life and teaching circumstances during the pandemic. This was present in our team, but the bigger problem was that potential participants in alpha and beta testing also faced this, which made these phases in the development of MOOC more difficult.”

Communication was regularly, face-to-face or virtually, this supported the development teams in developing the required skills for effective teamwork. Sharing ideas, points of view, information, and expertise helped to keep everyone informed and in the loop. Communication was also about giving and receiving feedback, brainstorming ideas, and listening to one another. In a way, Pro-VET not only helped in developing ODL tools, but it also meant getting experienced with a new international and more co-creative way of working.

In the following we will summarize the impact of Pro-VET, as asked in the online survey sent to all project partners for this MESH guide. For partners personally, Pro-VET clearly meant a lot with regard to roughly: 1) developing VOOC’s as such, 2) getting to know new (more interactive) pedagogical approaches, 3) improving teamwork, 4) new national cooperation and international experience.

According to project partners:

“The impact of MOOC development on me personally lies in the opportunity to try new equipment, in exchange of experience with colleagues from different countries. The impact of MOOC development for our Pro-VET development team lies in new pedagogical approaches in the development of online courses.”

“- this [Pro-VET] opened up broader prospects for my further professional growth and development as a VET teacher and helped me start using new digital tools/methods (e.g., H5P; digital storytelling, etc.);
- it was an opportunity to improve our teamwork and expand our knowledge in MOOC design, development and delivery in close collaboration with our Russian and European partners;
- it was a brilliant experience to become an integral part of international cooperation of various institutions working towards the common goals of promoting and disseminating the best e-learning ideas and practices.”

Interestingly, aside from being experienced as a challenge in the project, COVID-19 strangely enough also created a lot of momentum for the project and work done by partners in Pro-VET:

“When Covid-19 broke out, higher education institutions faced the challenge of adapting to the digital mode of teaching and learning. Teachers and students recognized the lack of digital literacy, equipment, methods and tools to conduct online classes. Then the pandemic situation has been changing continuously: digital and traditional face-to-face classes have been interchanging, sometimes part of the class is delivered online, while another part of the lesson is conducted in face-to-face mode. Teachers and students felt vulnerable and unprepared for the uncertainty of educational scenarios. Moreover, current circumstances require a winning combination of traditional face-to-face and digital modes. Hybrid teaching and learning combines face-to-face and online teaching and learning into one cohesive experience, where synchronous educational interactions occur in both modes. However, it is difficult to organize hybrid teaching and learning because universities lack proper facilities, methodologies, tools and staff capacities. That is why PRO-VET project is implemented just on time .”

And:

“For me personally, working with MOOCs was my first experience with the preparation and implementation of this type of teaching. As a professor at the faculty for more than 15 years, I taught directly, in direct contact with students. For the first time, I prepared online lessons for experts from non-pedagogical professions. For me, it was a professional challenge and an opportunity to learn, primarily about the technical possibilities of the online learning platform for a large number of students. As a team, we had the opportunity to get to know each other better as professionals working at different faculties and with different research interests. Work on the development of the MOOC has influenced the improvement of competencies related to teamwork in the development and implementation of the curriculum. It is important for the institution to have developed programs, such as ours, intended for pedagogical training of teachers of vocational subjects at the level of higher education. Such programs can be an opportunity for [institution] to have a significant impact on improving the pedagogical competencies of teachers at all levels of education, not only at the university level, which has not been adequately implemented so far.”

In the survey, project partners were asked to reflect on Pro-VET and compose a series of concrete lessons, with regard to collectively developing VOOCs. The following main lessons can be drawn:

• Developing VOOCs is a puzzle: developing requires the team to constantly navigate between ambitions, goals, appropriate pedagogy, available resources and what is technically possible within the platform and used architecture of the course. Sometimes one has to compromise in all that. And stay realistic (overambition).
• The availability and quality of the needed hard- and software: hard- and software are key resources in developing good VOOCs. A good and appropriate platform to host the VOOC for example, the features of the platform are determined for its design. For instance, a design using peer-review assessment activities will be only possible on a platform offering this assessment functionality. Furthermore, a recording studio, webcam’s, microphones, editing software for example to make high quality content.
• ICT literacy and pedagogical competences of team members: the quality of the team is especially important. Developing VOOCs requires members with sufficient ICT skills, for building the VOOC as well as members with pedagogical competences thinking about designing the content and pedagogical principles underlying.
• Appropriate pedagogy: taking an online course is something different to participating in real-life synchronous educational settings. Sounds obvious, however, an important aspect while designing a VOOC. Important aspects are for instance: length, intensity, work pace, active vs. inactive learning, interactivity, listening, assignments etc.
• Help participants in taking the course: partners suggested to prepare instructions for participants to use the software tools and platforms in use as well as to provide them with support throughout the training process.
• Privacy and rights: take account of participants privacy and the rights connected to materials and methods incorporated.
• Make it attractive and personal: make your courseware more personalized, convenient, interactive and user-friendly to reduce the impersonal nature of any MOOC.
• Interests and needs of target groups: the target groups are of utmost importance to any MOOC. Do not think for them, closely involve them in the development process, from beginning to the end.

This MESH guide is based on the EU Erasmus+ Pro-VET project. From 2019 to 2022, a team of Dutch, Finnish, German and Irish (EU) educational professionals joined their Serbian and Russian colleagues (non-EU) (until the invasion) in the development of Online Distance Learning tools. These tools – in Pro-VET known as Vocational Open Online Courses or VOOC’s – focused on various key aspects of state-of-the-art VET teacher professionalization.

This guide introduces the concepts of resp. Vocational Education and Training, Online Distance Learning and MOOCs. For this introduction a modest desk study/literature review was undertaken. Empirically, the guide then revisits the project and reflects upon the joint VOOC development process. We will present Pro-VET’s objectives, set-up and underlying methodology. An impression is given of the VOOCs developed: platform, aims and target groups.

An online survey – undertaken in spring 2022, when the project was near completion – was used to capture Russian and Serbian project partners’ reflections on their VOOCs as well as on general participating in Pro-VET. Altogether, this international project provides a valuable case for other collaborative design teams focusing on Online Distance Learning/VOOCs worldwide.

List of Pro-VET key publications.

The Pro-VET project needs to be considered a unique case: Russian and Serbian (non-EU) professionals designing VOOCs with support of their Dutch, Finnish, German and Irish (EU) counterparts. Nevertheless, on an aggregated level, project partners experiences are universal and thus still extremely value for educational professionals with similar ambitions of developing MOOCs for VET teacher professionalization, worldwide.

One of the major lessons underlined by Pro-VET’s Russian and Serbian partners was that developing VOOCs is considered a puzzle. Partners argued that it requires teams to constantly navigate between ambitions, goals, appropriate pedagogy, available resources and what is technically possible within the platform and used architecture of the course. A ‘balancing act’ between ambition and staying realistic. In other words: there is no ‘golden bullet’ for developing ODL tools. 

The project was also a very bumpy road: learning about ODL, technical designs, needed skills, for partners new and rather unconventional pedagogical approach to learning (active learning vs. inactive teacher centered learning), cultural differences in collaboratively working on ODL tools etc. not to mention the outbreak of COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent EU sanctions against Russia (which terminated our collaboration with the Russian partners). Altogether this strongly underlined the value and importance of Online Distance Learning and M/VOOCs. 

In short, some inroads for further research/development (capacity building):

• International educational professionals’ experiences and competencies in developing Online Distance Learning Tools / M/VOOCs. Exchange between more and less experienced professionals (EU / non-EU / globally). 
• Their experiences and competencies of collaborating in international and inter-disciplinary / cultural dimensions. 
• Exchanging innovative and effective active pedagogical strategies in general as well as applied in online learning environments.  
• ODL and MOOCs as effective learning tools. Developing of new methods, techniques, platforms. Studying effects, approaches, methodologies etc. 

The Pro-VET team/community welcomes future dialogue, contacts, partnerships and collaboration, globally, with professionals of all kinds (researchers, practitioners, teachers, trainers, educators etc.) interested in collective new endeavors in the above fields of research and development.   

The Pro-VET team/community welcomes future dialogue, contacts, partnerships and collaboration, globally, with professionals of all kinds (researchers, practitioners, teachers, trainers, educators etc.) interested in collective new endeavors in the above fields of research and development. Contact: website, Facebook, Twitter.