Summary

Experience has taught the partners that discussions about building bridges between schools and enterprise will never develop into a permanent interaction unless one goes beyond sporadic and periodical initiatives as is mostly the case today in the VET sector.

VISConti has created a common area of discussion and active interaction between school and enterprise. It has created a permanent space very much in tune with the Generation Y and Z natives of social networking and virtual profiles and that has now also gained ground in older generations. It will bring together students, teachers and science professionals working in enterprise in one social space for innovation and the validation of scientific creativity.

VISConti built on the practice of project work and assessment that is used in most professional and vocational schools as its point of departure. It created brand new on-line tools and methods to assess project work and concepts in science and information technology. VISConti tools enable the assessment and validation of the technical and economic viability of concepts behind projects. They also enable the validation of scientific creativity based on a 360 degree spectrum of criteria for innovation and invention.

VISConti does not just tap the innovation and creativity in the minds of students, trainers and professionals. It also instils a sense of entrepreneurship by giving users the opportunity to push their work higher up on the three assessment criteria, through continual improvement and reassessment.

VISConti players can choose if and when to publish their concepts and projects within the network. It fosters a culture of creating and improving one’s own profile either as an innovator or as a member of a network whose opinions on projects and concepts bring added value to the network and its members. It is a new environment in which students and professionals work towards innovation and better employability.