Academia+

Project lead 
Prof. Dr. Jane Porath 
Prof. Dr. Clinton Enoch

Project staff
Dr. Rebeca García Murias 

Third-party funding provider
Erasmus+ EU Programme 

Project duration
December 2018 – August 2021

Coordinating institution
HdBA 

Project partners

•  Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovacao, Portugal
•  Aspire Igen Group Limited, UK
•  Applied Vocational Psychology and Policy Research Unit, Luxembourg
•  VšĮ "eMundus", Lithuania

The labour market is experiencing radical change at the beginning of the 21st century, and European societies find themselves faced with a multitude of key employment-related political challenges. For example, the effects of demographic change are becoming increasingly noticeable, and migrants and refugees must integrate into the EU labour market. Labour markets are becoming more international, work more mobile, more flexible yet more volatile, and the information and knowledge-based society is closing in. On top of this, there are far-reaching effects of future workplaces or so-called "Work 4.0". 

Career counselling and work placement services play an essential role in overcoming these challenges. This requires a high level of qualification, and current information on effective concepts and approaches is vital. Due to the increasingly transnational character of such challenges, transnational training programmes, work placements/internships as well as European networking for trainees are becoming more and more important. 

The aim of the Academia+ project is the development and testing of three research-based exchange programmes for study and training counsellors (C-STEP) and for career advisors throughout Europe.

Academia+ enables counsellors to take part in annual one-week C-STEPs in each of the partner countries. Every one of the C-STEPs connects theory, research and practice. Alongside the provision of information on state-of-the-art technology, C-STEPS has a strong focus on giving participants a deeper insight into the approaches of the host countries, in the form of study visits (for example, to employment agencies, vocational training providers, companies, chambers of commerce, etc.). 

In the first year of the project, the main focus of the further training events taking place in partner countries is "migrant and refugee counselling"; the second year is all about "future jobs" (Work 4.0) and the third is concerned with "demographic change".