Foundation Smart minds has wide experience in project management and education policies.

Ruta Porniece, Founder CEO of Smart minds, has unique and broad experience in education and employment related policies at regional, national and European level for more than 13 years. She has been the representative of all three national level social partners: Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia, Employers Confederation of Latvia and the Ministry of Welfare of Latvia and has excellent understanding of national and European education policies, knowledge of stakeholders and their needs.

She has been a member of several European Union institutions governing boards, labour market and education committees, working groups at national and European level. She has been member of Committees who monitors quality of State Employment Agency of Latvia organized trainings for unemployed and employed, member of Tripartite Council on Vocational Education and Employment, member of Adult learning committee in Latvia, from 2016- 2020 she is member of European Commission (EC) ET2020 Working group on adult learning, Member of EC Meeting of the advisory committee on vocational training, was governing board member of CEDEFOP and Eurofound, member of ETUC Education and training committee and others.

For more than 10 years Ruta Porniece has been national coordinator of sector skills councils who deal with VET, training of sector experts about EQAVET, employability of VET students, occupational standards, modular training programs, Qualification frameworks and others.

Ruta Porniece has led more than 20 national and European projects, involved more than 400 experts in the field of vocational education and training, apprenticeships, employment and active labour market policies and others.

Main projects and researches: 

1. Erasmus+ Project (2022-2023) “Baltic VET competition for smart growth” (SmartGrowth) – project manager, researcher of country report about requirements for qualification examination, organization of competition
2. Erasmus+ Project (2021-2023) “Development of Support System for Novice Teachers” (SupportTeachers)” - project manager, researcher of country report, stakeholders needs, establishment of support framework, digital materials, recommendations.
3. Erasmus + project (2021-2023) “Promoting new adult education opportunities at local level (Adults@local)” – project manager, researcher of adult learning organization at local level, governance models, preparation of ocupational standard of adult learning coordinators, stakeholders discussions 
4. Erasmus + project (2021-2023) “Development of a Subsystem for the Assessment and Recognition of Qualifications Acquired in the Work of Specialists in the Transport Sector”( SQinVET) - project manager, researcher of  methodology for assessment and recognition of competencies acquired in work activities, training materials, sets of descriptions of competencies.
5. Erasmus + project (2021-2022) “Better career guidance in Mechanical Engineering and Metalworking Industries (BetterCareer)” project manager, researcher of European employment tendencies, future skills needs
6. Erasmus + project (2021-2022) “Digitalization of the whole process of organization, conducting and certification of adult trainings” - project manager, researcher adult training needs, support of trainers
7. Erasmus + project (2020-2022) “Mobile laboratories for improvement of STEM knowledge”(Lab4STEM) - project manager, researcher of general education content, stakeholder surveys, interactivity of digital training materials, organizing pilottrainings
8. Erasmus + project (2018-2019) “Present Stakeholders for Future Wellness Tourism Skills’ Development” (WellTo) - project manager, expert of wellness sector needs, development of occupational standard, stakeholder involvement
9. Erasmus+ project „National Authorities for Apprenticeships: Implementing Work Based Learning in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia” (2014-2017) – project manager, expert of work based learning legislation
10. Erasmus + project “Industry 4.0 CHAlleNGE: Empowering Metalworkers For Smart Factories Of The Future (4CHANGE)” (2017-2019) – project manager, expert of Metalworking occupational standards, establishment of training programs, materials, organizing pilot trainings
11. Erasmus+ project „Developing Apprenticeship: In-Company Trainer Training and Apprenticeship Promotion” (2015-2017) – project manager, expert for developing training program for in-company trainers in work based learning
12. Erasmus+ project “New Work Based Learning” (2016-2018) – project manager, expert of work based learning, social partner involvement in vocational education and training
13. ESF project “Improvement of a sector qualifications system for development and quality assurance in vocational education and training (2017-2019)- project coordinator of involvement of sector experts in traineeship organization, in creating Latvian sector qualification structure according European qualification framework (EQF), in creating occupational standards, module VET programs and examination.
14. Erasmus+ project „National coordinators for implementation of European program in adult learning” (2016-2020) – researcher of informal and non-formal adult learning and its quality
15. Erasmus+ project “VET For Employment (2014-2017) – project manager/ expert of guidelines for qualitative apprenticeships, organizing stakeholders discussions
16. In Latvia in 2017 with cooperation of Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies she organized practical trainings about industries and their needs for labour marker for more than 250 career guidance teachers.
17. Erasmus+ project "Partnerships for lifelong learning in engineering and technology" (2015-2017)- researcher of partnerships for lifelong learning, involvement of stakeholders , reporting
18. Project “Governance and financing of apprenticeship” (2014-2015)  -  researcher of Latvian vocational education system, organizer of national stakeholders workshops, prepared visions of development of education systems
19. ESF project “Development of a sector qualifications system and improvement of the efficiency and quality of vocational education and training” (2010-2015) – project coordinator of 12 sector skills councils for improvement of vocational education (VET) in Latvia, involvement of sector experts in traineeship organization, in creating Latvian sector qualification structure according European qualification framework (EQF), in creating occupational standards, module VET programs and examination.
20. ESF project „Strengthening capacity of Free Trade Union confederation of Latvia” (2010) – researcher for social, education and employment policies
21. ESF project “Evaluation of higher education study programs and proposals for quality improvement” in the direction “Sociology, political science, anthropology” (2010).

If you need a partner in Latvia, please feel free to contact me:

Ruta Porniece

A founder CEO of Foundation Smart minds

info@smartminds.lv

www.smartminds.lv

+371 28383021