Western Balkans Taskforce Meeting

Many of the Western Balkan states are in the process of European Integration. This means that Europe has an interest in the development of these countries. STEM and VET training is one such field which Europe is attempting to develop. To facilitate this, the Erasmus Plus program makes funding opportunities available to actors in the Western Balkans, however, the processes and possibilities provided by Erasmus Plus are not always well known in this region. In this Taskforce meeting, the EU STEM Coalition, with the help of experts from the region and beyond, explained to actors in the fields of STEM and VET how to apply for Erasmus Plus funding, and what sorts of possibilities are made available through Erasmus Plus. Furthermore, the Erasmus Plus agency has an interest in better understanding the needs of STEM and VET education in the Western Balkans. For this reason, a consultation letter to Erasmus Plus on this topic was developed with the participation of all attendees of the meeting. The second matter which initiated the Western Balkans Taskforce Meeting was the needs for better regional cooperation. This too was developed during the task force meeting through presentations and guidance administered by existing Western Balkans STEM/VET networks, and person to person networking at the meeting.