BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
High School of Food Technology and Chemistry, Nis is a secondary vocational school. It was founded in 1935, with 90 years of experience in secondary vocational education. Currently, our school educates 358 students who are 15 to 19 years of age, in two fields of work:
⮚ Chemistry, Non-metals and Graphics
⮚ Agriculture, Food Production and Processing
In these two work fields students acquire three or four years of secondary education in the following educational profiles:
Four years of education:
⮚ Operative Forensic Technician
⮚ Chemical Laboratory Technician,
⮚ Technician for Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technology,
⮚ Environmental Protection Technician,
⮚ Food Technician/ Technician for Food and Biotechnology,
Three years of education:
⮚ Baker/ Butcher
The School staff comprises
55 internal teachers and two external university professors.
The School provides regular full-time and part-time education, retraining and additional training. The course is performed as theoretical, laboratory exercises and practical classes.
The School is equipped with specialized, up to date laboratories for conducting practical lessons and training – laboratories for forensic analysis, quality control of soil, water and air, pharmaceutical and food products. Practical training is performed in the social partners’companies with whom we have signed contracts of cooperation in the field of student practice.
There are numerous extra-curricular activities in the school, such as different workshops, public classes, promotions, charity actions and similar activities in school clubs: Ecology club – Eco School; Baker’s Club; Healthy Food – Lifestyle Club; Creative Skills Club, Literary, Artistic, Music, Sports Clubs. The Student Parliament actively participates in the work of the school. The strategic overall goal of our school development is to create a student-friendly school.
The school employees have good qualifications, a strong desire for professional development and transfer of professional knowledge and they are dedicated to their work. High School of Food Technology and Chemistry, Nis has participated in several city, regional and republic projects. The school cooperates successfully with all relevant institutions: the Local self-government, the Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Education, the Community of secondary vocational schools in Serbia and social partners (51 production companies in which students practice). We have experience in international projects such as CARDS, Eco School, Equal Opportunities in education.
High School of Food Technology and Chemistry, Nis with the Bakery Union Niš organized International Youth Bakery Festival in May 2019. The festival of young bakers was of a competitive character in 4 categories: The most beautiful Slavic cake, Traditional bread, White biscuits (safflower), Stuffed biscuits. High School of Food Technology and Chemistry, Nis is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the building, the spread of positive influence on children, youth and citizens through the motivation and development of creativity – the production and arrangement of various bakery products. Roundup was held on the topic “Exchange of experience on the state of bakery in the participating countries of the Festival”. The event was an excellent opportunity for exchanging experiences among young bakers, acquiring new acquaintances, strengthening interpersonal competences, promoting dual education, empowering young people to develop entrepreneurial competences, promoting youth care at the local level, indirectly reducing poverty through the development of entrepreneurial competencies and acquiring skills and knowledge for self-employment of young people.
In 2020, the School took part and won the first and second prize in international competition for students Old Customs and Gastronomic Traditions held at Coleguil Economi Rm.Valea, Romania.
Our aim is to act strongly on continual improvement of the process of education where knowledge, internationalization and entrepreneurship are in focus, through means of modern teaching methodology, development of learning and communication skills and cooperation with social partners with an important role in the whole process. Moreover, our goal is not only to educate our students, but also to lead them to moral values and attitudes.
European values and European dimension are an important part of our School’s mission.
The school has coordinated four Erasmus+ projects:
United in Knowledge (2019–1–RS02–KA102-000566) KA1, KA102 – VET learner and staff mobility project with the aim of gaining new experiences and knowledge in the field of school management and improving knowledge in the area of organizing and performing teaching within similar school subjects (practical training and teaching in school workshops, as well as through extracurricular activities in school clubs), managing library fond and organizing cooperation with social partners. The project activities implemented mobility of 7 students and 3 school employees in partner school in Bulgaria during the period of 10 days. The school principal acquainted herself with the management and organization of secondary vocational schools in Bulgaria, particularly in the area of regulatory bodies of the school and professional development of the school employees. Teachers and other members of the school staff observed different teaching segments both in school and in companies where students perform their practical training.
Mobility, new knowledge and new experiences (2020-1-RS01-KA102-065150). The project’s focus was on students and teachers mobility with the stress on practical training and job shadowing in the laboratories of the vocational school Colegio San Miguel Adoratrices in Seville, Spain. The aim of the project was the enhancement of personal and professional competencies of both students and teachers in order to contribute the social development by creating prerequisites for a competitive economy and higher employment rate. 15 students accompanied by two teachers participated in the mobility, as well as 3 teachers on job shadowing.
Cooperation is the key of success (2022-2-RS01-KA122-SCH-000093681). The project was created based on the needs identified through external evaluation and self-evaluation and is a guarantee that teachers will apply the newly acquired knowledge in direct work with students, but also transfer it to other members of the team through horizontal professional training. By implementing the project, we raised the level of tolerance and learned to respect diversity. By applying newly learned techniques, teachers will help students improve their social skills, communicate more successfully and solve problems without mutual conflicts. With their newly acquired soft skills, teachers will be more successful in motivating students, which will create an environment in which they learn happily and diligently. Lessons will be more diverse, interesting and comprehensive. As such, the school will be more attractive to new students and will produce better quality staff. At the international level, we will get references providing us with new projects and partners. 5 teachers accompanied by school principal participated in the structured courses during one week mobility in Malaga, Spain.
Through training towards a new school (2023-1-RS01-KA121-VET-000125837).This project was implemented within the framework of our school’s VET accreditation. In order to obtain accreditation, we had to determine our long-term goals and plan the activities that will be supported by Erasmus+ funds, the expected benefits, as well as our approach to project management. The award of Erasmus accreditation confirmed that as an applicant we have established appropriate and effective processes and measures and that we can implement high-quality learning mobility activities as planned and use them to achieve benefits in a given field. High School of Food Technology and Chemistry, Nis, as an accredited organization, is committed to follow the rules and principles established for each type of activity and to adhering to the Erasmus quality standards and providing high-quality mobility activities in the relevant field. All activities and decisions during our international projects, including this one, are guided primarily by the guidelines outlined in our European Development Plan.
The strategic goals of the school’s development are defined as short-term and long-term, with the task of achieving the improvement of the teaching process through the development of the competencies of employees and students by following European educational models and modern technologies, as well as the internationalization of the school. Short-term strategic goals were individually achieved through the project activities: – The development of multicultural awareness and interest in the implementation of European projects was improved through the engagement of teachers and students in the development and elaboration of the project and international contacts during the implementation of mobility activities. – The improvement of the language and digital competencies of teachers and students was upgraded by working on digital platforms for applying to the project, for improving the English language, for the evaluation of candidates and later the project itself by participants. – The development of cross-curricular competencies and entrepreneurship in the teaching process was improved through various types of theoretical and practical teaching abroad, accompanied by by teachers and participated by students of our school, as well as by familiarizing ourselves with aspects of the functioning of the partner institution. – A responsible attitude towards the environment is supported by familiarization with environmental awareness in Italy, – Observation of the work of foreign teachers with both our own and our students contributes to the improvement of the quality of the teaching process, – The development of awareness of the importance of the European dimension and the regional connection of the school are the result of familiarization with the new educational and economic system and the establishment of partnership relations with foreign institutions. The long-term strategic goal in terms of preparing and acquiring the conditions for participating in as many international projects as possible, primarily Erasmus+, and entering into strategic partnerships in Erasmus+ projects, is being developed and upgraded through the continuous implementation of each project, including this one, and through the continuous enrichment of the experiences and knowledge of students and teachers in the field of internationalization. Our goal is for teachers to use the knowledge, competencies, and experience gained in mobility in their daily work and thus respond to the challenges of modern teaching, which requires creativity, learning by following examples of good practice, project-based orientation of the teaching process, access to international school networking, and the development of the competencies of a modern teacher. We expect that the greatest benefit will be for students, whom teachers will empower with newly acquired competencies to reflect, discuss problems, interdisciplinary cooperation, use and apply acquired knowledge, and creativity in the teaching process. In an international and multilingual European environment, we have successfully improved the competencies of teachers and non-teaching professional staff in order to empower them for higher quality teaching. With the acquired knowledge and competencies, teachers can respond to the challenges of modern teaching.
10 students accompanied by one teacher participated in the mobility, as well as 4 teachers on job shadowing in Bologna, Italy.
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