Internationalisation as a driver for VET innovation

Digital transformation is rapidly changing manufacturing, and VET providers need to ensure that learners develop not only technical knowledge, but also the ability to apply new technologies in realistic industrial contexts. The Erasmus+ Digital Twin on Smart Manufacturing project is addressing this challenge by bringing together VET, industry and technology partners to develop learning resources, methodologies and practical experiences around Digital Twin technologies.

At Politeknika Txorierri, the project has become a concrete example of how international cooperation can be translated into everyday VET provision. Rather than treating European projects as stand-alone activities, the centre has used the project to connect emerging technologies with existing programmes, teacher development and student learning.

The teachers involved in the project participated directly in the development, testing and adaptation of new methodologies and resources. These are then connected with existing programmes instead of remaining isolated as project outputs. Teachers therefore act as the bridge between international innovation and sustained classroom implementation. 

The approach is also highly transferable. The key is not simply to adopt one particular technology, but to establish a cycle in which VET providers identify relevant innovations through international cooperation, involve teachers and external stakeholders, test new approaches with learners, adapt them to existing curricula and retain the elements that bring real value to teaching and learning. 

For emerging technologies such as Digital Twins, this connection between European cooperation, industry and the classroom is especially important. Learners understand new technologies more effectively when they can relate them to concrete industrial processes and realistic problems, while modular resources allow teachers to adapt learning to different programmes, learner profiles and available infrastructure. 

For Politeknika Txorierri, and for the wider Digital Twin partnership, it is a practical example of how European cooperation can help VET respond to technological change while giving learners the skills, confidence and international exposure they will need in the factories of the future.