The second Transnational Partner Meeting (TPM) of the DIGIFABS project was hosted by the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) on December 2nd and 3rd. Over twenty representatives from the 14 project partners, including us, ECECT EU, gathered to present and review the latest research, report on progress to date, and conduct workshops and strategy sessions in preparation for next year’s Bootcamps and Summer School.
The meeting began with a review of Work Package 3: Investigation, presented by Mike Russell of AUAS, the lead of this Work Package. Mike outlined progress achieved, including a literature review of 96 articles, interviews with 84 educators and SME staff, identification of over 50 best practices, and analysis of 24 training programs. The Work Package 3 team has also prepared a detailed Synthesis Report. The final part of this Work Package, a Student Skills Gap Analysis, is being finalized by team members from Maynooth University. These findings will be published in the coming weeks and will inform the next phases of the project.
Next, Dominik Gisa of FH Münster, the lead of Work Package 1: Project Management, updated the consortium on progress to date, alignment with the project timeline, and future plans. He confirmed that all key milestones and deliverables are on track. Additional updates included budget reviews and confirmation of dates for future meetings.
Paula Whyte of Momentum, who leads Work Package 2: Quality Assurance, presented next. Paula reported on quarterly surveys assessing quality assurance, highlighting key findings and identifying areas for improvement. She also introduced a survey to evaluate the TPM on-site and another to assess performance over the last quarter.
Day Two opened with a co-creation workshop using the World Café format, focusing on Work Package 4: Summer School & Challenge, and Work Package 5: Bootcamps. Facilitated by Zohreh Pourzolfhagar (Maynooth University), Jose Villagran (UIIN), Dominik Gisa, and Judith Helmer (FH Münster), the sessions featured lively discussions. The insights gathered will guide the Work Package leaders in finalizing plans for the next project phase.
Following the workshops, Kiet Bronkhorst of Preneurz and Denise Callan of Momentum presented updates on Work Package 8: Dissemination, highlighting achievements in reaching target audiences through various platforms. Discussions explored additional strategies to engage students, educators, and food and beverage SMEs.
The final session, hosted by George Georgiou, founder of ECECT EU, addressed Work Package 9: Sustainability. The consortium explored steps to ensure long-term sustainability of project results, discussing licensing options, material creation, and necessary conditions for implementation.
The meeting successfully provided an overview of the project, clarified upcoming responsibilities, and laid the groundwork for the development of Bootcamp and Summer School materials.
Project Management Lead Dominik Gisa reflected, “These in-person meetings are essential for our project and a great opportunity to deepen discussions, co-create ideas, and close open threads. The atmosphere and spirit of our two days were super active, energetic, and positive. Big thanks to Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences for hosting us and enabling such a creative setting.”