Das Fachforum of Vocational Education for Mid-Age and Youth ist eine der größten Fachkonferenzen für Berufsbildungsforschung in China. Von 18. Bis 20. November 2018 fand in der Stadt Suzhou das 13. Fachforum mit mehr als 450 Teilnehmenden statt. Frau Dr. Junmin Li stellte die Ergebnisse eines sino-deutschen Forschungsprojekt zum Einsatz des Peer-Review-Verfahrens der Berufsbildung in chinesischen Berufsschulen vor. In diesem Zusammenhang wurde sie vom örtlichen Fernsehsender CUTV zur Thematik interviewed (http://www.csztv.com/doc/2018/11/19/365582.shtml?from=groupmessage).

Im Rahmen der BMBF-Konferenz zur Internationalisierung der Berufsbildung in Berlin konnte Sebastian Schneider in einem Workshop die Ergebnisse der wissenschaftlichen Analyse zum Kooperationsformat der Auftragsausschreibung dem interessierten Fachpublikum präsentieren.

Das Werk ist Teil des Internationalen Handbuchs der Berufsbildung (IHBB) und wird vom Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB) in Bonn herausgegeben. Das Handbuch behandelt die Berufsbildung in einem weiten Kontext von Kultur, Bildungssystem und Arbeitsmarkt und liefert wichtige Erkenntnisse für die international vergleichende Berufsbildungsforschung mit dem Schwerpunkt Indien und dient Wissenschaftlern und Indieninteressierten als wichtiges Nachschlagewerk.

Das Handbuch ist hier kostenfrei zum Download

verfügbar: https://www.bibb.de/veroeffentlichungen/de/publication/show/9100

Foto: © Frank von zur Gathen

Prof. Matthias Pilz visited several Japanese companies in different regions of Japan during his research visit in context of Vocational Education and Training in June 2018. The visits were strongly supported by Prof. Sakano from the Tamagawa University, Tokio.

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz about the German Vocational Education and Training System at the Teacher Training Center at the Keio University (Prof. Kazuhisa Fujimoto).

Presentation of Dr. Peter Joerg Alexander (Former Director German School of Tokyo-Yokohama) and Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz (Faculty for Economy and Social Sciences, University of Cologne) about „The transition from school to work in times of economic and social instability in Japan“ at the 14^th GJSSS International Symposium: Crisis of Democracy in Osnabrück, Germany.

From 01 December to 16 December 2016 Prof. Rohit Dwivedi and Prof. Santosh Kumar Prusty from the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong stay at the Chair for Economic and Social Education / at the German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.).

During their stay they concentrate on new joint research projects between the Indian Institute of Mangament and the Chair for Economics and Social Education. Furthermore they visit the vocational school Lindenstraße and meet researchers as well as the head of the training department of the University of Cologne.

Muthuveeran Ramasamy shows that the formal way of vocational education and training (VET) in rural areas often ignores the illiterate, the less educated, and the poor. The author demonstrates that VET programs need to be demand-driven and consider the socio-economic aspects of particular regions. Therefore, the significance of the study at grassroots level helps customize VET programs to respond to the demand of the individuals’ vocational training needs of rural people by keeping their endogenous needs at the centre of vocational skill development processes. The findings and lessons learnt from action research are also intensively discussed as guiding principles of demand-driven approaches from the learners’/societal perspectives.

For further information about the book, please visit www.springer.com .

From Oct. 1st to March 2017, Professor Kumar will be visiting professor at the CMIS-UC in Cologne. Prof. Kumar holds the chair of Family Business and Entrepreneurship at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). During his stay at the University of Cologne, he will give lectures for students in the master programs of business studies and business education. Furthermore, various research projects on the topic of Entrepreneurship Education in vocational schools in India are planned.

The chair for Economic and Social Education of Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz is happy to announce two guest lectures hold by Prof. Dr. Roger Harris. Prof. Harris is a recommended expert from the School of Education, University of South Australia. His research interest focuses on curriculum development and evaluation as well as educational policy and reform. Those interested are welcome to attend the session.

Lecture 1:
“What part of the elephant are you touching? An overview of VET, HRD and workforce development in Australia.”
•    6th July 2016, 2:00 pm
•    S102, IBW-Gebäude
Lecture 2:
“The big issue in Australian VET: quality – what has been happening?”
•    17th July 2016, 10:00 am
•    S102, IBW-Gebäude.

The chair for Economic and Social Education of Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz is happy to announce two guest lectures hold by Prof. Dr. Roger Harris. Prof. Harris is a recommended expert from the School of Education, University of South Australia. His research interest focuses on curriculum development and evaluation as well as educational policy and reform. Those interested are welcome to attend the session.

Lecture 1:
“What part of the elephant are you touching? An overview of VET, HRD and workforce development in Australia.”
•    6th July 2016, 2:00 pm
•    S102, IBW-Gebäude
Lecture 2:
“The big issue in Australian VET: quality – what has been happening?”
•    17th July 2016, 10:00 am
•    S102, IBW-Gebäude.

Am 7. Juni waren Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz und Kristina Wiemann zu Gast im Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, um sich mit Experten aus mehreren europäischen Ländern und Japan über betriebliche Qualifizierungsstrategien im internationalen Vergleich auszutauschen. 

Herr Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz stellt dazu erste Ergebnisse aus dem DFG-Projekt "Globale Strategien und lokale Formen der technischen Aus- und Fortbildung in deutschen multinationalen Unternehmen - ein regionaler Vergleich in Emerging Economies" vor.

Hier geht es zum Artikel des Bundesinstituts für Berufsbildung.

From 25 to 26 May 2016 a joint workshop of the Chairs of Prof. Frommberger, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg and Prof. Pilz, University of Cologne, took place in Magdeburg. The workshop focused on “Vocational training in international and international-comparative perspective”.

In the course of this workshop four junior researchers took the advantage to present their research projects. There was a lively exchange between the participants and the professors Dietmar Frommberger and Matthias Pilz. Further cooperations between the two institutions are already in planning.

In the period from April to September 2016 Prof. Shinji Sakano from the Graduate School of Education, Tamagawa University Tokyo, Japan will stay at the Chair for Economic and Social Education / at the German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.). During his stay he will dedicate to his research project.

In the context of the lecture "Innovation of the Vocational Training" he led a seminar on the subject of the Japanese vocational training system.

After his stay at the University of Cologne he will continue his research at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB).

Tutan Ahmed from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, India has an academic stay at the Chair of Economic and Social Education / the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CMIS-UC) from 12 May to 11 June 2016. The project is financially supported by the CMIS-UC.

„Germany, we´ll come!“ answered the Indians to our visit in Pune, India in March 2016.
Seven students of the Symbiosis International University were accompanied by their Professor Ms. Khushbu Thadani. The Summer School in Cologne took place from the 17th to 30th of April 2016. A varied program including excursions to neighboring towns, side visits, company visits and interesting lectures was offered.

Our Indian friends saw the variety of the typical April weathe – from sun, to rain and up to snow. But this could not stop the good mood about the visit.

Our Indian guests explored the University of Cologne, got to know basic knowledges about German language, history and educational system. According to this they had a side visit at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training in Bonn and a lecture about the role of the German Chamber of Commerce in Cologne.

Cultural highlights were the side visit of the Duisburg inner harbour, the Zeche Zollverein in Essen and the traditional German Castle Schloss Augustusburg in Brühl. Furthermore they had guided walking tours through Bonn and Cologne. Bonn was amazing due to its cherry blossoms and in Cologne we got surprised by an Indian guide who also came from Pune.

Moreover we had company visits at Bayer AG and the chemical park in Leverkusen and German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne.

A special highlight was the lecture about „Indian IT migration to Germany“ by Dr. Sumeet Mhaskar who is currently a Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), University of Göttingen.

Curious about the typical German food a dinner in a traditional brewery was obligatory for our Indian guests.

Regardless of the wind and weather conditions we climbed the Cologne cathedral with its 533 steps as part of our Tandem Day. From the top the Indian and German students got a wonderful view over the city.

Finally the German-Indian friendship was demonstrated in the joint elaboration and presentation of a case study which was a fun and nice ending of the Summer School program.

We want to thank all participants and involved persons for a successful Summer School 2016. We are looking forward to see us again – if in India or in Germany.

As production processes become increasingly complex, multinational companies in the manufacturing sector are in increasing need of skilled workers at their production sites. Especially in emerging economies, German direct investors face challenges in finding appropriately skilled workers. The answer how they meet this challenge is a key issue of the project “Global Strategies and Local Forms of Vocational Education and Training in German Mulitnational Companies – a Comparison across Emerging Economies”. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The research team consisting of Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz and Kristina Wiemann (Chair of Economics and Business Education) and Prof. Dr. Martina Fuchs and Judith Wiemann (Department of Economic and Social Geography) was in Bangalore in India and Shanghai in China from 9th to 20th of February in order to find first answers to this question. In expert interviews with plant managers and HR or training managers of German Global Players but also with smaller transnational German companies, they discussed about how the companies organize their training activities and to what extend there is an influence of headquarters or the local plant. In addition, they focused on the way in which the companies develop local arrangements for training activities in their subsidiaries and whether they transfer parts of the German dual system – with which they are familiar. These interesting insights will now be evaluated and compared to the findings, which were identified in the first study in Puebla in Mexico.

During this year, Judith Wiemann and Kristina Wiemann will stay longer in these three countries for a more profound consideration of these issues. First publications are in progress and will appear in the near future.

„India, we’ll come!“, eleven students of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Science and their supervisor Kristina Wiemann thought on Saturday, 27th February 2016. In the context of the CMIS Summer School they will attend an exciting program on “Indian Culture, Economy and Education System”. Next to side visits to urban as well as rural areas they visited a factory for Indian spices, a school as well as old ruins and picturesque gardens.

Friendships were quickly made with students from Symbiosis International University. Luckily they don’t have to wait for a reunion for too long. In April eight students from Pune will come to Cologne to get to know the German “Culture, Economy and Education System” including the German weather, cuisine as well as great hospitality.

For sure, the students of both universities will keep the many interesting impressions and experiences in mind for a long time.

On 12th February 2016 Prof. Matthias Pilz (Ed.) invited to introduce the book "India: Preparation for the world of work - Education System and school to work transition". This book gives a perfect overview of all stages of the education and labour market system in India on the one hand. On the other hand the reader gets the opportunity of being informed about latest research finding on this topic in India. The distribution of the book is now possible.

In cooperation with Prof. Tara Nayana and Prof. K. Kumar the event took place at the renowned Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. We welcomed more than ten authors and also Consul General Jörn Rohde from the German Consulate General in Bangalore. More information about the book launch can be found here: www.india.diplo.de/Booklaunch, www.iimb.ernet.in/Booklaunch.

For further information about the book, please visit www.springer.com.

An article about the book can be found here.

On 2nd February 2016 five delegates from India (CSTARI, MSDE, NSDA and FTI) along with Maren Verfürth (BIBB) and Dörte Merk (DLR) participated in a workshop on "Teachers' Training at the academic level” hold by Prof. Matthias Pilz and Antje Wessels. After a presentation on teacher training in Germany, Ms. Wessels gave also an overview on benefits and status of VET teachers in Germany as well as an insight on the teaching practice of our Masters’ Programme. Prof. Matthias Pilz presented past research projects to highlight the importance of cooperation between academia and government.  The workshop ended with a discussion on possible future projects.

From 19 January to 5 March 2016 Associate Prof. Dr. Chris Zirkle from the College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University Columbus will stay at the Chair for Economic and Social Education / at the German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.).

During his stay he will conduct research on "Work readiness in Anglo-Saxon areas" in collaboration with Prof. Matthias Pilz and Lea Zenner. Furthermore he will lead a seminar on the subject of "The United States Vocational Education System".

Dr. Jun Li from Institute of Vocational and Technical Education, Tongji University has an academic stay as a visiting professor at the Chair of Economics and Business Education/ the German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) from 07.January to 24 March 2016.

Dr. Li is conducting the research project “Social mechanism of firm involvement in Vocational Education and Training (VET)” during his stay at the University of Cologne. The purpose of the research project is to investigate the socio-economic factors influencing the participation of firms and their representatives in vocational education in Germany and possibly draw some policy implications for the Chinese vocational education system, in which the reluctance of firm to invest in VET was widely regarded one of the major challenges.

The project is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Chinese Ministry of Education.

In his report “Reinvigorating VET: Best Practice in Trade Apprenticeships” the Australian researcher Peter Jacobson, Director Training, Trades, Hair and Beauty at Victoria University in Melbourne, provides full details of his experiences as participant and speaker at the 2nd International G.R.E.A.T.-Conference at the University of Cologne from 22nd – 24th September 2014.

Peter Jacobson presented and shared his knowledge of the Australian VET environment through his presentation entitled ‘Pre-vocational programs and Pre-Apprenticeships: The Australian Experience’ at the conference.

Professor Lorna Unwin from the Institute of Education, University College London, was a guest of the chair for Economic and Social Education of Prof. Matthias Pilz from 05 to 13 November 2015. As well as advising PhD students, the renowned Professor from London led two PhD seminars on the topics of “Publishing in English language journals” and “Critical reflection on research papers”. She also gave a lecture on the topic: “Why VET needs to change: towards a more fluid concept of skill formation“.
She will continue her visit in the middle of December for a few days in order to continue the seminar on “Publishing in English Language Journals”.

In October 2015 Muthuveeran Ramasamy from the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) came to the University of Cologne to finish his dissertation. After about 5 years of work and recurrent research stays, he successful defended his thesis "Demand-driven Approaches in Vocational Education and Training: A Case Study of Rural Population".

The ECER-Conference is the biggest conference in the field of educational research in Europe.
Under the topic “Education and Transition. Contributions from Educational Research” the international conference has taken place at Corvinus University of Budapest from 7 to 11 September 2015. In various parallel paper-sessions, research workshops, round tables, and symposia research from all areas of educational science, amongst others Vocational Education and Training, Curriculum development, Teacher training, have been presented and discussed.
The title of the lecture of Dr. Susanne Berger was “The Role of the Curriculum in Teaching Practice. International Comparative Study on Pre-Vocational Education in Germany, France and Great Britain” which discussed the similarities and differences between the “curriculum-on-paper” and the “lived curriculum” in the three core European countries.

The paper presented is based on parts of the finished PhD-thesis of Susanne Berger, which has been published recently by wbv-publishing house (in German): “Vorberufliche Bildung in Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien: Eine internationale vergleichende Fallstudie zur curricularen Ausformung in Theorie und Praxis“ (ISBN Book: 978-3-7639-5536-7; ISBN E-Book: 978-3-7639-5537-4).

From August 09 to September 04 2015 Lea Zenner stayed with Prof. Dr. Paul Ryan at the King’s College in Cambridge. In her thesis she works on the lack of readiness for initial training of young school leavers. She compares the discussion of this topic in Germany and England. The purpose of her research in England was on the one hand to gain a deeper understanding of the English system and on the other hand to conduct interviews with key players of the English discussion.

In total Ms. Zenner carried out explorative talks with six Professors from different areas of specialization in VET. Next to that she interviewed nine key actors from the business, politics, interest groups (employers, employees and further education colleges).

The research was financially supported by the IPaK Mobility Grant.

ReCall: Retail Sector Competencies for all Teachers

The G.R.E.A.T. will assume responsibility for the project management and coordination of the new EU-funded project “Retail Sector Competencies for all Teachers”, short “ReCall“. The twoyear project will already start at 1st November 2015. The project is funded by the Erasmus+ - Programme, Action “Strategic Partnerships for Vocational Education and Training“.

The project partners are three vocational colleges in Poland, Italy, and Germany as well as the University of Bergamo/Italy and the Pedagogical University of Cracow/Poland.

Within the ReCall-project, a web-based Teacher Training Tool (TTT) for teachers at vocational schools and colleges will be developed and tested. Consequently, the focus of the project is directed to the professional development of teachers in vocational schools, especially in the retail sector.

By progressing through the TTT, teachers will be trained in teaching self and social competencies.

Teaching self and social competencies in vocational education and training has great relevance to achieve employability in all European countries. This, especially concerns the customer-intensive retail sector.

More Information about the project and its partners will follow soon on this website!

Funded by the European Commission (Projectnumber 2015-1-DE02-KA202-002315)

From 2nd to 4th September the International Conference “Crossing Boundaries in Vocational Education and Training: Innovative Concepts for the 21st Century” has taken part in Bremen. On the first day of the conference, Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz has given a keynote speech, addressing the topic “A Comparative Perspective: In-Company Vocational Training in USA, India, China and Japan“. He presented the findings of an international comparative research project to the over 100 conference participants, coming from 29 countries.

Together with Mrs Junmin Li, Prof. Dr. Pilz also presented a lecture entitled “Modularisation and VET: The Quiet Revolution Crossing European Boundaries“.

At the second day of the conference, Dr. Susanne Berger presented parts of her recently finished PhD-thesis and discussed them with the international expert audience: “‘Living’ the Curriculum at School and Classroom Level. An International Multilevel Study on Pre-Vocational Education in Germany, France and Great Britain”.

Further information about the conference you will find here.

All papers of the conference can be looked up in detail in the conference proceedings.

From 14 to 16 October 2014 the global forum “Skills for Work and Life Post-2015” took place in Bonn. Organised by the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the forum offered over 200 delegates from 71 countries from all continents a platform to discuss the role of technical and vocational skills in addressing two major global challenges on the post-2015 development agenda: making youth employable and achieving sustainable development. The event aimed to develop recommendations for policy-makers in the areas of youth employability, skills development and “greening skills and competencies” through TVET.

The forum was attended by two representatives of the G.R.E.A.T.: Antje Wessels and Dr. Susanne Berger were actively involved in the debate at the plenary session.

The discussions of the forum resulted in a report which has been published recently.

Announcement of the Conference Volume of the 2nd International G.R.E.A.T.-Conference “Youth in Transition: Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Times of Economic Crisis”

The conference volume will include about 25 selected paper of the G.R.E.A.T.-Conference, hold at the University of Cologne in September 2014.

The book will appear in the well-respected series “Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects”,edited by Rupert MacLean (Springer Publishing House):
http://www.springer.com/series/6969?countryChanged=true

01.12.2014

Aktuelle Veröffentlichung: Rückblick zur 2. internationalen Tagung des German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) in der Zeitschrift "Die Kaufmännische Schule" (Vol. 59, Issue 7, p.5):
"Die Herausforderungen in der berufliche Bildung zu Zeiten der Weltwirtschaftskrise: Ein Rückblick zur internationale Konferenz des German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.)."

27.11.2014

Das UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning berichtet über die 2. internationale Tagung des German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) vom 22. bis 24. September in Köln.

Den Beitrag können Sie hier lesen.

Announcement G.R.E.A.T. Conference 2014

From 22 to 24 September 2014 the 2nd International Conference of the German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) under the topic “Youth in Transition: VET in Times of Economic Crisis” takes place at the University of Cologne. For further information, please click here.

Click here for announcement of the 2nd International G.R.E.A.T.-Conference in the news of Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Cologne.

Visit of Prof. Pilz at Shyamal Majumdar (Head of the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre).