WORKPLACEMENT STUDENTS VET (48 students) Workplacement in 2015 and 2016 for students of the third degree of the departments Restaurant-Kitchen vocational secondary education, the 7the specialisation years Domestic Caterer and Restaurantmanagement-Beverages, Hotel and Hospitality Technical secondary education and the Se-n-Se Hotelmanagement, in France, Spain, Iceland, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands and Malta. The students want to increase the knowledge of the regional kitchen, work in the restaurant, front office and reception, animation program as well as acquire more experience in international first class hotel chain or resort or restaurant. AIM OF THE PROJECT - Confrontation with the reality of working in a restaurant, kitchen, hotel reception - Apply the acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes by working in a real working situation - Learn what are the shortcomings and strong points - Stimulate to be a more mature adult - Improve responsibility and increase social skills and attitudes - Have the possibility to work with new technologies and new European trends in cooking - Learn new techniques and methods - Learn to deal with factors as working time, working hours, work speed, efficiency, productivity, hospitality and quality assurance. - Basis understanding in daily practice in the kitchen, kitchen organization and management, construction and safety, food safety and hygienic laws… - Be more fluent in other European languages - Increase European citizenships WHEN? - The workplacement for the students last 6 to 8 weeks and is scheduled in the third period of the school year 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 There was also a longer workplacement for one student that has finished his studies and wanted to do an international workplacement before starting higher studies in the field of gastronomy and 2 workplacements of 20 days by dental technicians in the Netherlands MENTORING During the workplacements the students have an individual mentor of the company. Co-mentorship is done by a regional Hotelschool or organisation skilled in follow up of students workplacements. During the workplacement all students will also be visited by the schoolmentor and they will use the online reporting platform Quickstage  WINE STUDY OF 14 DAYS (26 students) Students of the 7th specialization yearsreceive a practical en theoretical course in workshops on the field of the following subjects: - harvesting of apples - berries and stone fruit cultivation - harvest of wine grapes - Process of vinification - working in the wine cellar - organization of wine degustations - production of sparkling wines and special work in the cellar - alcoholic drinks (grappa) - production of vinegar oilt - Italian cheese production WHEN? First 14 days of Oktober in 2014 and 2015 MENTORING The students are mentored by the staff of Laimburg Research Center for Agricultrure and Foresty and by the accompanying teachers. WORKPLACEMENT – JOBJADOWING – LESSONS TEACHERS HOTEL (10 teachers) In order to have an optimal functioning of our teachers, to keep the lessons up to date and up to the expectations of the companies in the field of gastronomy, to increase the collaboration between hotelschools and stakeholders, to obtain new insight pedagogically and subject related, Stella Maris offers the opportunity to teachers technical subjects and language teachers to do an internship in other European hotelschools and to have job shadowing or give themselves some lessons WHEN? These internships are scheduled during the examinations or work placements of the students IN SERVICE TRAINING TEACHERS DENTAL TECHNIQUES (5 teachers) The evolution in the field of dental techniques is going very fast and every year new an modern high technological equipment and techniques are coming on the market. The firms Ivoclar and Amann Girbach are offering for free the opportunity to our teachers to follow an in the company a training with this new equipment. These are mainly ICT courses with new scanners and programs. This new equipment of 3D scanners is available as well in Stella Maris due to the support of those companies, but a yearly update of the program and the possibilities of it is necessary in order to be able to give lessons that are up to the expectations of the industry. RESULTS AND IMPACT Students having done an workplacement are a lot more open for new cultures and more willing to start an international career in the field of gastronomy. After a workplacement they are a lot more mature and some of the students decided after to do start higher studies at. We have seen also an increase in practical knowledge and use of European language. The knowledge of our teachers in their field of education (gastronomy and dental technician) has increased and introduced in the theoretical and practical lessons of our students. Due to working together with other hotel schools we have a larger network of first class companies offering workplacements.