MOB G.A.E - MOBility as a source of personal and professional Growth, Autonomy and Employability

The results of the MOB GAE project were presented during the International Student Week in Timisoara - ISWinT, which was held from 23rd July to 2nd of August 2015. The event is an international festival that gathers participants from all over the world since 1994. The topic of this year was Develop yourselves - design the future.

MOB GAE was integrated into the programme of the youth exchange "We can do it" and its results were disseminated to over 70 participants. "We can do it" is now in its IX edition, being it the oldest and biggest youth exchange financed by the Youth German national agency. Its focus is on the integration of young people with disabilities in their local societies.

In October results from the MOB GAE research study were divulged in a special report on youth mobility in ARA Criatures. ARA is a top online news outlet and third print paper for political information in Catalonia.

The report results from the analyses of 2289 questionnaires, 250 interviews and focus groups with representatives of different stakeholders. A large majority of respondents attended mobilities from 2008 to 2014 either within the frame of an apprenticeship programme or of a study scheme.
Based on the type of motivation we could identify three main type of participants: "The pragmatic","The traveller" and "The cultural explorer". 80% of participants consider that their expectations were met to a high degree.
On a personal level, mobility is perceived to most impact a feeling of autonomy, self-esteem and learning skills.
On a professional level, the improvement of language skills is by far the element most frequently mentioned along with development of an international professional profile, adding valuable elements to the CV; self-awareness, particularly of ways of working, and the acquisition or improvement of both general skills, like planning, organising, or working in a team, as well as of skills and knowledge related to a specific profession.

It was under this motto that 16 flashmobs (2 of them were co-organised) were carried out across Europe, most of them on Europe Day - 9th May. This was an alternative and creative way to make the local communities aware about our project.

This is the name of the educational module created within the MOB GAE project to be used during pre-departure seminars. The core areas of the module are intercultural and interpersonal sections.
The learning objectives are multiple and go from acquisition of tools to adapt to a new environment and culture, to raising awareness on personal and professional development during a mobility project.
The module is available to download for free and can be used provided the source is mentioned.

Final meeting in Seville - how does the participation in mobility projects change the life of participants at professional and personal level?

This was the question that 18 organisations from 14 European countries sought an answer to in the last two years.
On the 5th and 6th of November over 30 representatives of the consortium partners attended the final seminar held in Seville, hosted by ONECO, to draw the final conclusions of our work.
To support our work throughout these two years several tools were created like the blog, the educational module and the research study.