The Government Office of Békés County, in cooperation with the Ferenc Gál University and János Kodolányi University, as well as German, Estonian, Spanish and Romanian partner organizations, is implementing an Erasmus + project focusing on the exchange of good practices. The project is entitled “MAP - Mapping Digital Methods Applied in Adult Education in Partnership”.

During a two-year framework that started in January 2022, the partner organisations have expanded their toolkits of methods applied in developing adults’ digital competencies by learning from each other. The partner organizations have also shared their experiences and methods applied in providing services to adults with low digital skills, in determining the level of digital competences and crediting them in studies, in using widespread digital tools in adult education, and in preparing teachers for digital education, and in operating their collaborative systems.

Following the first international partner meeting, which was organised in Békéscsaba, Hungary between 9-10 June 2022, and the second international partner meeting, which was organised in Valladolid, Spain between 26-27 October 2022, the third international partner meeting was held in Tallinn, Estonia between 6-7 March 2023. Besides handling the project management issues, the Estonian partners presented the good practices applied in Estonia in the project's subject area to the representatives of foreign partner organizations.

During the 2 day-long meeting on the topic of adult digital skills development, the partners were introduced to significant examples of the Estonian educational system. In particular, the hosting partner Tallinn Polytechnic School introduced their organisational structure and management and the school, making a tour around the school premises and its main laboratories (printing, photography, IT, automation, etc.).

Following a discussion about the main project management issues, the partners reached the Tallinna Rahvaülikool, an educational institution opened in 1959 and administered by the Tallinn City Government that offers every adult person possibilities for continuous education in the form of theoretical and practical courses in Tallinn. The aim is to place a great value on life-long studies providing highly qualified schooling and also opportunities to get acquainted with new people, their ideas and experience.

In the afternoon of the first day, another example of good practice was introduced by BCS AS at their premises in Tallinn. Founded as an Estonian-Swedish joint venture in 1989, BCS provides IT center retraining courses, a qualification system, professional exams, IT infrastructure outsourcing solutions, business desktop and server solutions, network infrastructure solutions, data-security and IT security solutions, customer support services and technology consulting from small to medium-sized companies and to the public sector throughout Estonia. In particular, BCS offers training, vocational training and certification. Good practices for developing digital competence for trainers were also discussed.

The next day, EFCC Estonian Fieldbus Competency Centre OÜ, the second Estonian partner of the MAP project, introduced their approach to innovation in education. EFCC is using its knowledge, built after years of activity in education in the industrial sector, to offer a very flexible, customized approach to customers of different sizes (from SMEs to large organizations) and different experiences. This approach is based on small modules that can be combined to create a ‘made to-measure’ course for every specific requirement. The presentation of EFCC was hosted by the Tallinn Polytechnic School.

Finally, the partners reached the Tallinn Central Library, where the fourth good practice was introduced, concerning IT courses for adults. The library offers free classes to all readers who wish to develop their digital information literacy skills. In particular, all the branch libraries and departments of Tallinn Central Library offer library tours, private or group classes for present and future readers, teachers, elementary and high school classes and kindergarten groups. Some of the subjects are Computer basics, Counseling for job seekers, E-services, Homework help, How to use graphics tablets, Internet and information sources, Research sources for high school and primary school students and Tablet and Smartphone basics.

The next partner meeting will be in Cham, Germany, between 15-16 May 2023.

One of the project's main results will be the Brochure of Best Practices presenting the methods used by the partner organizations and the experiences and results of their operation. The partnership will make a proposal for a framework for the further training of professionals involved in adult education for the extensive application of digital and differentiated teaching methods. They will prepare a development proposal for policy-makers, adult education providers and other relevant organisations to facilitate the development of adult digital skills and the digital switchover of adult education.

During the implementation of the project, special attention will be paid to impact measurement. In the second year of the project, each member of the partnership will select at least one of the good practices learned, which is considered that could significantly improve the professional work of own and one of the national network of partners as well by trying it out and possibly applying it at a later date. Experiences of integrating the methods into institutional functioning will be presented in a summary study at the end of the project.