One of the most exciting activities of the SSPICE IT! project, the students’ mobility, started this month with a visit of a group of Italian students (and teachers) from the VET Center of Castelfusano to the VET Centre EHOJA in Spain.
For five days, students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a unique educational environment at the prestigious “Escuela de Hostelería y Turismo de La Rioja”, located in the charming city of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, renowned as a stop on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. Various activities saw them as protagonists; among these were guided tours of local businesses at the forefront of sustainability in the food and restaurant sector. These experiences allowed them to acquire new knowledge and skills.
The official visit to the city and historic buildings, accompanied by local authorities, was particularly interesting. They were enthusiastic about hosting students and teachers from the Metropolitan City of Rome. The occasion allowed the students to explore not only the artistic and architectural beauties of the region but also to immerse themselves in the local culture and discover the gastronomic excellences of La Rioja, celebrated for its fine wines and refined cuisine (La Rioja is the region with the highest number of Michelin stars per capita in the world).
An exciting experience, therefore, that represented not only a learning and personal growth opportunity for the students of CMFP Castelfusano but also strengthened the bonds of collaboration and cultural exchange between the educational institutions involved in the project.
In fact, the learning mobility, a specific task of WP4 “Living Labs on green, digital, and entrepreneurial skills for the food and restaurant sector” aims to sustain the creation of a community of practice fostering a stable and continuous cooperation between VET centres, research centres, enterprises, agencies/authorities responsible for planning and updating VET courses, at local and European level. It promotes also direct contact with enterprises that are at the forefront of sustainability.
But it doesn’t end here. In the coming months, all the VET centres participating in the project will send a group of students to another country, an opportunity for enrichment and mutual collaboration in pursuing the objectives of SSPICE IT!, namely skills development and the promotion of sustainability in the restaurant sector.
