Earlier this month all of the DesignMyFuture partners flew to Lisbon to take part in a project partner meeting hosted by PIN – partners in neuroscience.
With the research phase of the project completed, the two days of meetings focused on finalising teacher and parent/carer guides (Project Intellectual Outputs IO3 and IO4) based on the data and findings from surveys and focus groups carried out last year. The project partners also explored content for the teacher training modules (IO5) which we hope to complete when we meet together in Norway in October.
The DesignMyFuture game element of the project (IO2) was also examined in detail with partners agreeing a specification based on our research surveys and focus groups with young people throughout 2021. We will now be working with Leeds Beckett University, Ahead Partnership and employer partners Sumo Digital to finalise the specification for the game and putting it into development this September.
Dr Marc Fabri, co-lead for DesignMyFuture, said “it was great to meet up in Lisbon after nearly 2 and a half years of online meetings. We got a lot done and especially the small group work was very productive. There is so much combined knowledge and experience in the DMF team, I cannot wait to see the first drafts of our project outputs with all those good practice examples for professionals and activities for young people.”
The project is particularly aimed at groups at an increased risk of not having the educational preparations and qualifications for a twenty-first century workplace and society due to barriers they may face such as migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families, young people with criminal backgrounds and those facing socio-economic challenges. We were fortunate enough to be able to take our workshops focusing on these groups outdoors during the meeting days to give each group its own focus and examination for the teacher guide (IO4). We look forward to sharing the intellectual outputs from the project later this year.
– Dr Marc Fabri and Prof. Mhairi Beaton, Project Leaders