Virtual Business Skills Empowerment: IHF asbl joined the online Kick-Off Meeting of VIBES
On April 8th, 2021, IHF asbl joined the Kick-Off Meeting of VIBES, a Project co-funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Commission, which brings together seven Partners from five countries (Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Switzerland). The KOM, originally planned in Brussels, Belgium, was held in online mode due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Recent figures show that about one third of all employed persons in advanced countries work remotely in virtual teams. As the recent COVID-19 pandemic exposed, in times of crisis virtual teams become the only means of functioning for organizations’ activities. In this context, being able to work in virtual teams is one of the basic skills for the employability of prospective graduates. However, while different aspects of digital transformation are covered in educational programmes of higher education institutions (HEIs), a clear focus on building of skills for work in virtual teams is lacking. For European society to prosper in a digital era, there is a need to empower European youth to harness the benefits of working in virtual and multi-cultural teams.
The main aim of VIBES (Virtual Business Skills Empowerment) is to enhance students’ virtual teamworking competences to better cope in today’s global working environment and create and develop entrepreneurial opportunities for the European single market. By co-creating innovative approaches to support collaborative capabilities, networking opportunities and innovation and strategic skills development, the objectives of VIBES are: to develop the innovation and entrepreneurial capabilities of the students, and to support the extension of these capabilities and modules as potential development resources for SMEs that need innovative intrapreneurs.
During the meeting, the consortium as a whole discussed about the overall project implementation schedule, defining timelines and respective duties in the following months. In particular, the Consortium will identify the main trends, issues, best practices and business sector needs in the domain of virtual business skills. This mapping activity will represent the basis for the development of training courses and an open platform for a virtual knowledge exchange and cross-cultural collaboration.
In the Project, IHF asbl brings its expertise and experience as a key social player in international and European projects. In particular, IHF asbl ensures the “European Dimension” of the Project as it carries out all the technical tasks from a “European Perspective”, i.e. carrying out analysis of relevant EU policies and initiatives; extrapolating EU relevant case studies, lessons learned and best practices.
For further information on VIBES and other IHF asbl initiatives:
