CONTEXTThe provision of learning mobility opportunities – through Erasmus and other programs – has been an exceptionally successful initiative of the EU. Yet, even though the number of international mobilities has been steadily increasing, disadvantaged groups continue to be relatively less likely to participate in them. After 2020, the Erasmus program plans to focus on creating more mobility opportunities for disadvantaged groups. However, making mobility more inclusive requires additional efforts for the preparation of disadvantaged participants, as these learners typically face multiple (often mutually reinforcing) challenges and constraints that prevent them from fully benefiting from the experience.The project is based on the rationale that suitable training resources need to be developed to prepare disadvantaged learners for implementing and benefiting from mobility. Specifically, the project proposes to introduce game elements into the mobility preparation training experience.PARTNERSHIPThe project is a joint initiative of a VET provider, an organization active in mobility, 2 public authorities responsible for education, a technical university and an institute specialized in working with disadvantaged and disabled persons. These six partners represent four European countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Slovenia.TARGET GROUPSThe project is mainly targeted at:-VET learners exhibiting mild to moderate learning difficulties that lead to low achievement-VET learners belonging to socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, including minorities and migrants-VET learners in remote and rural areas-Organizations and educators working with disadvantaged learners.THEMATIC FOCUSThe project activities concern VET in the field of tourism and hospitality.OBJECTIVESThe project’s overall objective is to promote the participation of disadvantaged tourism and hospitality VET learners in learning mobility and training placements abroad and to enhance their capacity to benefit from the experience, specifically by facilitating their effective training and preparation prior to the mobility.The specific objectives are to:-Develop an effective training curriculum for the preparation of disadvantaged tourism and hospitality VET learners prior to their participation in learning mobilities-Develop a gamified e-learning training program for the mobility preparation of disadvantaged tourism and hospitality VET learners-Raise awareness and develop comprehensive guidelines for educators and VET providers looking to organize effective international mobilities for disadvantaged learners.MAIN ACTIVITIES AND RESULTSIntellectual outputs:- IVET and CVET mobility preparation training curricula for disadvantaged learners- Gamified mobility preparation e-learning training program- Educators’ toolkit on facilitating mobilities for disadvantaged learners and introducing innovations and gamification in mobility preparation trainingDissemination events:- Gamification Co-Design workshops and Pilot Mobility Preparation Trainings for disadvantaged learners and their teachers (respectively, 45 and 75 participants)- Dissemination conferences for 140 representatives of target groups and stakeholders METHODOLOGYGamification refers to the integration of game elements and mechanics in e-learning. Gamified learning has a number of advantages that can make a difference with any learner, but especially so with disadvantaged learners. It requires active learning, increases motivation and engagement, allows the learner to experiment and fail without negative consequences, allows for micro-learning in the case of short attention spans, facilitates instructional scaffolding to reflect each individual learner’s needs and is appealing to the new generation of ‘digital natives’. Due to the above advantages, the project opts for a gamified e-learning program over conventional instruction. The benefits of gamification will be augmented by relying on non-conventional learning resources, such as multimedia and situational judgement tests.EXPECTED IMPACTSThe project will target VET providers, educators and learners at local level, and regional public bodies responsible for education at regional level. At national and international level, it aims to raise awareness of the benefits of providing mobility preparation training for disadvantaged learners.The project is expected to have the following impacts:Short-term:-improved process of preparation and organization of learning mobilities for disadvantaged persons-introduced focused and effective preparation training for mobilities in the areas of tourism and hospitality-more mobility opportunities for disadvantaged learnersLong-term:-improved international competencies and employability of disadvantaged learners-increased internationalization of VET-increased willingness of VET educators to use gamification in the learning process