Project
Pinko, Micro-credentials to support working life
Project sponsors
Abbreviation
Project type
Focus area
Implementation time
1.2.2025 - 31.1.2027
Financing program
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 2021-2027
UN Sustainable development goals
Project description
The Pinko project prepares staff at universities of applied sciences to implement micro-
credentials. Micro-credentials are an emerging concept in the continuous learning activities of
institutions. The project will identify and model the work-life cooperation of micro-credentials,
collect good practices from the partner network on work-life cooperation and engage in a
dialogue with different employer networks on training needs that could be addressed by micro-
credentials.
The project will build different models for the production of micro-credentials, taking into account,
among other things, new knowledge generated by RDI projects and possibly parts of degree
courses. The project will also produce recommendations and content for quality management
and learning management of small modules, taking into account the National Framework
of Reference for micro-credentials and other national and international requirements and
recommendations. Micro-credentials are a Europe-wide concept, based on the EU Commission
Recommendation 2022. The project will identify the state of the art of micro-credentials in
Europe and seek good practices for national action.
The project will organise 8 webinars, open to all interested staff in higher education and
vocational education. In addition, 8 in-depth workshops will be organised in the participating
universities of applied sciences. The content of the webinars and workshops will be the result of
studies and modelling carried out during the project. The project will also organise 2 webinars on
micro-credentials for the management of the institutions.
As a result of the project, awareness of micro-credentials is growing widely in educational
institutions. The staff of the participating UASs will become more capable of producing and
managing micro-credentials in a quality manner, taking into account different requirements and
recommendations. At the same time, the awareness of the working life of micro-credentials and
their added value will be increased through the dialogue with the work life that will take place
during the project.
The project will be implemented as a joint project of 11 universities of applied sciences, thus
having a high impact on the higher education sector and providing the capacity to produce
micro-credentials for a wide range of industries nationally and internationally.
More information: Petri Liukkonen
Projektipäällikkö
p.0503429084
e-mail:[email protected]
www.jamk.fi
Project results
As a result of the project, the competence of university of applied sciences staff in the needs of small competence modules in working life, their production, quality, and study administration will increase, and the staff will have better readiness to implement small competence modules. The project will implement 8 webinars open to everyone, 8 workshops in all universities of applied sciences involved in the project, and 2 webinars aimed at the management of educational institutions.
In addition, the common results of the project are:
Guide 'Small competence modules from RDI projects'
Publication for implementing working life dialogue
Support material on the key factors of quality management of small competence modules and their application to the practices of universities in the implementation of small competence modules
Modeling the lifecycle of small competence modules and proposing a process from the perspective of study administration and quality management, taking into account TNO services
11 other non-scientific articles/publications related to the developing concept of small competence modules
The quantitative measure of the project is the number of participants in joint events and institution-specific workshops. The quality of the project is assessed through feedback surveys from open webinars and institution-specific workshops. Based on the information obtained from the feedback surveys, the content of the training sessions organized in the project can be modified if necessary. The National Strategy for Continuous Learning in Higher Education 2030 highlights the goal of renewing the offer of continuous learning into clearer entities that enable the learner's path to develop as an expert and qualify (National Strategy for Continuous Learning in Higher Education 2030). The competence accumulated in the project supports the ability of universities of applied sciences to renew the offer.
Small competence modules are still a developing concept, and the processes and readiness of universities of applied sciences to produce competence modules are being developed. The webinars implemented in the project strengthen the staff's capabilities. The project's perspective is to utilize information obtained from working life in the development of universities'/educational institutions' capabilities.
The working life dialogue model increases the ability of universities to engage in dialogue. The publication increases the general knowledge of actors about small competence modules (non-scientific publication). In the future, employers are expected to increasingly participate in the training costs of their staff's competence. This requires universities of applied sciences to have the ability to build entities that genuinely respond to working life needs and for which they are willing to pay. Through the project, the staff's understanding of educational business is increased.