Our project team among guests of the European Innovative Teaching Award Ceremony

The European Award for Innovative Learning is an initiative of the European Commission in the field of school education, which has been held under the auspices of the Bulgarian Commissioner Mariya Gabriel since 2021.

Four educational institutions – ODZ 12 “Radost”, Burgas, OU “Hristo Smirnenski”, Haskovo, PG “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov, Vidin and VET school of Chemical Technologies and Biotechnologies “Marie Curie” from Razgrad received this year’s European Award for Innovative Education in Plovdiv. The event was organized on 20.10.2022. in the city of Plovdiv from the Center for the Development of Human Resources (HRDC), and the guests of the forum, where the awardees presented their good practices, were the Deputy Regional Governor of Plovdiv, Daniela Nikolova, and the Head of Regional Educational Directorate – Plovdiv, Antoaneta Pakova. “Such awards are a wonderful occasion to show the importance of the teaching profession,” Mrs. Nikolova said in her welcome speech.

The executive director of the CDHR, Mihail Balabanov, announced that a total of 33 educational institutions were selected, and four of them were awarded. “At the European level, 98 projects from 29 countries were awarded. Next week in Brussels, they will all be awarded at an official ceremony”, added Balabanov.

“Reading without borders” is the project of “Hristo Smirnenski” Elementary School, which was awarded this year. It lasts 24 months and includes students from 6 to 14 years old. The school said that they joined forces with teachers from 9 European countries to motivate students to read. The project involves not only teachers, students, but also parents.

Vocational High School “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov” from Vidin was awarded for their project, which seeks and finds connections between individual subjects. Together with colleagues from seven countries, high school teachers have developed a methodology to help teachers explain science concepts in an accessible way. The paper has been uploaded to the GoScience website. Marieta Georgieva, director of the school, said that the problem with reading comprehension is not only Bulgarian and therefore the goal of the international team was to overcome this deficit with different methods.

In the “Marie Curie” Chemical Technology and Biotechnology College, Razgrad, they practice outsourced training in companies, which disciplines the students and makes them more responsible. According to an “Erasmus+” project, children in Italy were convinced why it is important to learn foreign languages. The high school advocated education, where one topic (water, air) is considered simultaneously in different subjects – biology, chemistry, physics.

Mr. Andrean Lazarov, who is CEO of Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team and Mrs. Penka Nikolova – Project expert at 94 SU “Dimitar Strashimirov” Sofia, both National Consultants on Vocational Education and Training, presented the team’s activities, the possibilities for ensuring a more sustainable impact of the projects financed by the Erasmus+ programme, as well as the conditions for the organized from the  National VET team competition for students “GREEN AND DIGITAL SKILLS IN THE CLASSROOM” (GREEN and DIGEDU).