Over the past two years, the transnational Digitrain project consortium has been working to bridge the rural-urban education gap through an innovative digital mentorship model. Funded by the Erasmus+ program, the partnership of universities, vocational schools, NGOs, training centres, and specialists across Europe is tackling the unique challenges vocational students face in remote rural areas.
These rural youth often lack access to additional learning materials, company visits for practical training, and collaborative opportunities compared to their urban peers. Their motivation suffers due to limited exposure to positive role models and real-world projects. As the economy evolves, so does the skills gap, and rural schools struggle to catch up.
Digitrain provides a structured approach for schools to implement digital mentorships, connect students directly with companies and mentors across Europe, and facilitate impactful virtual work-based learning opportunities personalized to the individual. The project outputs include guidebooks, an online portal, and educational content tailored specifically for the rural context.
Over the last two years, the Digitrain project team has undertaken extensive activities including:
- Analysis of existing European practices and challenges related to vocational education in rural areas
- Surveys of students and teachers to gauge attitudes on incorporating digital mentorship into school curriculums
- Focus groups with students and potential mentors to deeply explore student wishes and needs regarding their vocational education.
- Development of processes for implementing digital mentorship in vocational schools and all supporting documents
- Creation of educational material sets for mentors, students and teachers to introduce digital mentorship. These were tested with external teachers.
- Development of the Digitrain Portal platform connecting students, teachers and mentors
- Pilot testing of the methodology through students completing tasks with mentors
- Formulation of implementation guidebooks for mentors, schools, students and teachers
Through pioneering digital mentorship, they aim to uplift rural youth, develop their skills and networks, and unlock their potential as the workforce of tomorrow. We invite local vocational schools, businesses and rural stakeholders to join us and help build a brighter future for all students, regardless of geography.
The project is coordinated by the University of Oviedo, Spain, in collaboration with the following partners:
- VET school Ivan Trnski - CRO
- Rousse Industrial Association - BUG
- School Grouping No1 Gondomar - PL
- Smart Idea - SI
- GrantXpert - CY
- Business Development Centre Kragujevac - RS
- JumpIN Hub - PL
To learn more about the project, please visit the Digitrain website: Digitrain Project.
The Project’s Social Media:
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitrain-project/
- https://www.instagram.com/digitrain_project/
- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083466575692
For further information, please contact David Menéndez, Project Coordinator at the University of Oviedo: menendezdavid@uniovi.es, +34 985 56 23.
Comments ()