Meta-project on research into the internationalisation of vocational education and training

Background and Problem

Various strands of research on the internationalisation of vocational education and training (VET) cooperation exist in the German-speaking world, in the areas of development research, transfer research, European VET cooperation, service research, business research and network research. MP-INVET focuses on providing accompanying scientific support for the funding initiative ‘Research on the Internationalisation of Vocational Education and Training’ (11 collaborative projects in total) and on the systematic analysis of its results, in order to strengthen the visibility and international connectivity of the new research programme in the long term.

Research question

• Knowledge and experience transfer: How can the exchange of knowledge and experience within and beyond the programme be promoted?

• Information management and public relations: What does a programme-wide concept for the utilisation of project results and findings comprise, and how can it be established?

• Scientific monitoring and evaluation: How can the status, progress and results of the funding programme be systematically recorded and made visible?

• Inter- and transdisciplinary research network: How can the existing transfer of knowledge and experience be continued in the long term as a national and/or international network (including early-career researchers)?

Work programme

Knowledge and experience transfer

• Establishment of communication and cooperation structures with all project participants

• Exchange of knowledge and experience beyond the programme

• Support for early-career researchers

Sustainable information management and strategic public relations

• Establishment of programme-wide instrument and data management

• Establishment of a programme-wide concept for the utilisation of project results and findings

• Establishment of a concept for strategic public relations

Scientific monitoring and evaluation

• Support for project implementation

• Systematic programme-wide stocktaking and processing of the results of the individual projects in the funding initiative

• Structured presentation of key cross-project results and findings

Inter- and transdisciplinary research network

• Initiation and establishment of an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research network including early-career researchers

• Implementation, revision and long-term continuation of the research network

• Securing (inter)national connectivity

Results and Transfer Activities

The conferences during the project period were shaped by the coronavirus pandemic, which began almost simultaneously with the start of the project: BWP conference (2020) – a symposium with 6 contributions; ECER conference (2021) – 2 sessions with 6 contributions; DGfE congress (2022) – a forum with 4 contributions and a workshop for early-career researchers; SFIVET congress (2022) – a symposium with 4 contributions.

Publications: The staff of the MP-INVET collaborative project published (a list of publications was available on the project homepage mentioned above):

• a total of 22 articles (2020: 4, 2021: 8, 2022: 10),

• edited three special issues: ‘International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training’ (2021) with 8 articles (editors: M. Gessler, S. Bohlinger, O. Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia), ‘Research in Comparative and International Education’ (2021) with 8 articles (editors: A. Barabasch, S. Bohlinger, S. Wolf) and ‘International Journal of Training and Development’ (2022) with 8 articles (editors: O. Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, M. Pilz).

• published a conference volume, Insights into ‘Research on the Internationalization of Vocational Education and Training’ (2022), and a final edited volume (2024), each with 12 articles: Gessler, M., Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, O., Bohlinger, S., Olivier, C., Toepper, M., Bieß, A., Greppmair, A.-C., Nguyen, H. L., & Scheuch, I. (Hrsg.). (2024). Expanding Horizons: Research on the Internationalization of Vocational Education and Training. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43742-8

Network: During the project period, an international network for early-career researchers was established, which formed the starting point for the ‘European Emerging Researchers Network’ newly founded in 2023 under the umbrella of the European Research Network Vocational Educational and Training (VETNET). The first chairpersons of the network were Dr. Junmin Li and Dr. Susanne Peters.

Follow-up activities: In addition, further activities on the internationalisation of VET research (IBBF) were planned, such as the BWP section conference 2024 at TU Dresden with sessions on IBBF and a further edited volume on the topic of ‘Policy Transfer in Education’ (2025).