Training

There were four training activities during the project in Romania, Turkey, Italy and Malta.

The training activities were an important part in the timeline of the project because they were part of a sequence of steps in the development of the UPPScience concept:
i. introduction to the CoP concept for newcomers,
ii. establishing the new augmented CoP dynamic,
iii. introducing all partners to research culture in VET, early HE and enterprise,
iv. giving format and structure to research activities through non formal training,
v. giving non formal training in peer review and
vi. setting cross border activities in a non formal learning environment and forcing the hand of individuals and their organisations to take on the culture of publishing, peer review and quality standards in education through the practice.

Training activities in UPPScience were part of the project being geared towards immediate impact.
Much has been said about instilling the research culture in education but the partnership acknowledged that research does not come naturally to practitioners in education and students in early HE. This is the result of a number of factors:
- teaching is not usually considered an academic profession (at least in practice) and therefore professionals in VET would more often than not assume that research is not for them,
- teaching and training do not very often leave time and energy for learning and research especially if it comes from one's own initiative and if carried out alone,
- publishing is generally equated with long papers that are the result of extensive research and
- students in early HE think research is for later on in their studies and  for the purpose of thesis, dissertation and wherever it is demanded by lecturers in University.

The training activities in UPPScience included:
- training in using the technological tools that UPPScience created to facilitate profiling, publishing and cross border peer exchange,
- training methods and quality standards for self- assessment,
- training in peer review and in the validation of creativity, innovation and research sustained content of good quality and
- training in the adoption of the UPPScience methodology as a quality strategy by policy makers and lower decision makers in VET and in HE.