The second transnational project meeting in BestEDU took place in Joensuu, Finland on 24 - 25 March 2022. The focus for the meeting was good practices in universities and teacher training. The two days consisted of several keynotes about the status and responses in Finish universities during and after Covid, as well as site visits to University of Eastern Finland, UEF SM4RTLOC: Learning Observation Classroom, and Rantakylä Teacher Training School.

During the meeting, the project partners received several keynotes which will be available as recordings in the project proceedings. These included:

• University students’ remote learning experiences, motivation, and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic 
  Professor Markku Niemivirta: "University students’ remote learning experiences, motivation, and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic". Article: Juntunen, H., Tuominen, H., Viljaranta, J., Hirvonen, R., Toom, A., & Niemivirta, M. (2021). Feeling exhausted and isolated? The connections between university students’ remote teaching experiences, motivation, and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  
• Digipedagogical skills for in-service teachers and teacher educators
  University Lecturer Sini Kontkanen: "Digipedagogical skills for in-service teachers and teacher educators". Kontkanen, S. (2022, March). Digipedagogical skills for in-service teachers and teacher educators. 
  
  
• Teacher’s role in multilocational post-covid learning
  Vesa Paajanen: "Teacher’s role in multilocational post-covid learning – are we the robots?". Paajanen, V. (2022, March).
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• The Covid Learning Curve: “There and Back Again”? Blurring the Lines between the Physical and the Virtual
  ​Susanne Kohonen: "The Covid Learning Curve: “There and Back Again”? Blurring the Lines between the Physical and the Virtual." Kohonen, S. (2022, March).

Following are the key results from the first BestEDU project meeting (M1) taking place in Haderslev, Denmark. The meeting included all project partners and was arranged jointly by UC-Syd and Keilir Academy. This was the first physical kick-off meeting for the Erasmus+ BestEDU project, with participants from eight European educational intuitions joining for a two-day meeting in Denmark.

University College South Denmark hosted the first project meeting, which took place over the course of two days in the towns of Kolding and Haderslev. 
 
During the meeting project partners met with school representatives and students in the International Business College in Kolding to learn about management perspectives on activities at IBC during Covid lockdown. Additionally, the group learned about experiences with online teaching during Covid through an extensive study across nine higher educational institutions in Denmark, as well as lessons learned from emergency remote teaching in Vocational Education and Training during and post Covid.

Keynotes & Presentations
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• Kim Barding, IBC – International Business College: Experiences as a teacher at a mercantile school during Covid19
• Keynote from Marianne Georgsen: Experiences with online teaching during Covid19
• Keynote from Marianne Riis: Lessons learned from emergency remote teaching - Vocational Education and Training during and post COVID19​​

The first physical kick-off meeting for the Erasmus+ BestEDU project took place in October, with participants from eight European educational intuitions joining for a two-day meeting in Denmark.

The two-year project - which emphasises on bringing together good practice and innovative approaches in European education and training during Covid - is funded by the Erasmus+ EU programme for education, training, youth and sport.

Project meeting in Denmark

University College South Denmark hosted the first project meeting, which took place over the course of two days in the towns of Kolding and Haderslev. During the meeting project partners met with school representatives and students in the International Business College in Kolding to learn about management perspectives on activities at IBC during Covid lockdown. Additionally, the group learned about experiences with online teaching during Covid through an extensive study across nine higher educational institutions in Denmark, as well as lessons learned from emergency remote teaching in Vocational Education and Training during and post Covid.

As a part of the project results, the participant experiences were documented and highlighted with audio and video interviews. This summary of results will be shared both during the project lifetime on websites and social media, as well as project results and outcomes at the end of the project in the Spring 2023.

Resources (in Danish)

• https://www.hojskolerne.dk/sammen-hver-for-sig-kreativitet-i-en-krisetid
• https://www.ucn.dk/forskning/forskningsprogrammer/professionsudvikling-og-uddannelsesforskning/covid-19-undervisning​​