Westport College of Further Education.Westport College of Further Education is located in Mayo part of the Border Midlands and Western region. Many students from this region would not have had the opportunities such as * traveling abroad to a European country to take in the allure and culture of a foreign land * would not been exposed to education in a European country to enhance and and practice a language that they would have studied at some stage in their educational experience.*to enhance their curriculum vitae with experiences abroad which will be very attractive for future employers.*Staff need to have an opportunity to enhance their teaching skills by furthering their CPD thus being exposed to our EU partner and their good practice. In this case the CPD would be informal from inspections visits and accompanying visits but it would have a clear benefit for staff that would be involved in these visits and would provide exceptional networking opportunities with a similar college to Westport College of in a region in Southern France. Objectives:This project if successful has the potential to1. Provide our participants (students) with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of a European language, expose them to a new culture which will take them beyond a purely academic experience. This will also help students with their personal development. While abroad ,they will gain an understanding of what it is like to be in a new place by themselves which may be overwhelming but tests their ability to adapt to diverse situations while being able to problem solve at the same time.It will also provide an opportunity to foster links in another country which will be of benefit for future employment. They will have been involved in team work situations and working in relevant areas thus enhances their employability.This exposure to our EU partners who engage in delivery of similar educational material will further focus students on the benefit of maintaining and reaching standards set by the educational providers as our certification is recognized internationally.2.Raising awareness of European cultures is a key aim in the college's attempt to internationalise the agriculture and Horticulture curriculum.3. .Staff will have enhanced their teaching skills, will have been exposed to best practice in a European country. it will have provided them with opportunities of improving skills such as communication, dissemination, and work ethics in a EU country.Number and Profile of ParticipantsWe plan to send 12 participants over the course of two years. 6 in year one and 6 in year 2. These will have two accompanying persons- one for the initial period and one for the returnThe participants are from the BMW region which is classed as disadvantaged. They would not have had exposure to foreign travel, a different culture, the opportunity to practice a European language. This will increase their chances of being more employable in both the home and foreign market. ActivitiesThe mobility project and its aims will be disseminated at various staff meetings, through the use of IT and via local media. As the aims of the project are to enhance the lives and future of the participants activites from the outset will include1. Intensive preparation of those travelling( which will deal with documentation, force majure, insurance, memoradum of understanding and documentation on student monitoring.2.Inspection trip by the co-ordinator to ensure and further liase with our host college and to validate accommodation etc.3.Motivation of studentsMethodology to carry out the project.Effective communication to disseminate the information from the projects inception. This will start with introduction to the project, and what its aims are and how they are going to be met. it will include a selection process of the students.Preparation of students and staff for the project which will include: administration, relevant personal details etc.The communication with our host college will be on going via email and telephone.Post the inspection trip, the information gained will be disseminated to all participants.Abroad students will have a list of all relevant phone numbers, names, addresses etc.The hosting placements will complete relevant information for the students to show the learning outcomes met.Results and benefitsStudents will have achieved an intercultural experience and will be in a more employable position. They will have improved and gained new interpersonal skills which will have included teamwork, working on their own initiative, language upskilling etc.The college as a whole will have been exposed intercultural experiences and will have experienced good practice in areas relevant to the vocational areas of agriculture and horticulture. It will provide motivation based on its success to expand to other vocational areas for students and to look for other partners in other countries.