Skills4Life : promoting the transition to active life through gamification and game-based learning
After two successful years of project implementation, the regular working schedule of Skills4Life is being subbed out in favour of its long-term sustainability and exploitation plan. Consortium partners are extremely pleased with the results they have delivered, and feedback from key stakeholders has been almost universally positive. In this article we will provide an overview of the project, its deliverables, and its anticipated long-term impact.
Skills4Life launched in late 2022, bringing together seven partner organisations from Vienna, Portugal, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Poland. This consortium had identified a common trend across Europe: young people leaving alternative care settings, such as institutionalised living arrangements or foster care, are almost invisible where statistics are concerned. Our research found that there is potential to enhance the outcomes of institutionalised young people leaving these settings if they are equipped with the skills necessary to navigate independent adult life. Furthermore, the partnership noted a distinct lack of educational innovation on this topic; inspiring the concept of our “serious game”. For more general information on Skills4Life, consider visiting the project website.
At the heart of Skills4Life’s success was the delivery of its outputs. The project partners decided to create a Learning Platform to host our “Serious Game”, an interactive learning experience to help better engage young adult learners. In addition to this deliverable, the following innovative educational materials were created:
Skills4Life Handbook on the Development of Transition to Autonomy Programmes
A dynamic instructional guide for youth and social workers hoping to implement the core concepts of this project in their professional contexts.
Skills4Life In-Service Training Programme
A tailor-made training scheme designed to equip youth and social workers with the skills they need to address the various topics discussed in this project.
Skills4Life Policy Paper
A series of recommendations based on the findings of the project partnership, drafted to encourage policy review in this area.
Each of the resources mentioned above are informed by quality research and topic-specific expertise, comprising a mix of theory and readily applicable activities to further engage learners.
As well as producing these high-quality resources, the Skills4Life project generated several noteworthy events including productive transnational meetings, piloting sessions, a training course in France, and multiplier events. All of these occasions contributed to the widespread dissemination of the project, allowing the consortium to reach a high number of key stakeholders and familiarise them with its deliverables.
Accordingly, we anticipate that the Skills4Life project will continue to resonate with existing resource users, but the story doesn’t end here. At the outset of the project, consortium members agreed on the adoption of a Sustainability and Exploitation approach that will see Skills4Life’s outputs remain available for years to come. It is our hope that continued promotion by the organisations involved in the project’s implementation, as well as the individuals who have been using its deliverables up to this point, will allow Skills4Life to go from strength to strength long after the submission of the final report.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our project, Skills4Life! If you’re interested in learning more or utilising any of the resources we have produced, we encourage you to visit the websites linked above. Alternatively, if you would like to touch base with any of the partners involved in the project, consider visiting the organisational websites listed below.
Consortium:
- Moveo International (Austria)
- Proportional Message (Portugal)
- Spectrum Research Centre (Ireland)
- Universitaet Paderborn (Germany)
- CBE Sud Luberon (France)
- Quarter Mediation (Netherlands)
- Acumen Training (Poland)
