As the beggining of the project was affected by COVID-19 the first meeting with the partners took place virtually. First meeting took place on 22th and 29th of September virtually in GoogleMeet. Team members of each institution got familiarized to each other and the project timetable and different possibilities in this new challenging situation were discussed. Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) organised 5 training days via Microsoft Teams and Moodle in January and February 2021. Each day had a certain topic with its useful information.
2. Joint staff training event “Building a 3D printer from scratch”
Second staff training took place in Kayseri, Turkey on 8.-13. of November 2021. Participants were aimed to train how to assemble and to programme 3D printer. Kayseri Central Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School had prepared modules related to 3D printers learning and teaching and made an overview of their opportunities, facilities and resources in the 3D technology area. As an innovative and entrepreneurial school, they had developed three 3D printers themselves and had given them to the other educational institutions. It was a very interesting training which gave us some new practical knowledge and improved the old ones. As a result every participant had the knowledge how to start composing their own 3D printers . And home task was also given - with the help of your students, new printers must be built.
During training it was possible to visit local companies and university technology parks, also some other vocational institutions. Sharing experiences with universities was very useful. Through intensive peer-to-peer learning all participants learned something new from each other’s best practices in order to enhance their personal and professional development.
3. Transnational Project Meeting in Poland
Second transnational meeting took place in Poland on 24.-25.01.2022. The aim of this meeting was to synchronise the data and to compile the intellectual output throughout the progress.Each team represented the results so far achieved and also draft materials. The final format, layout and other technical details were agreed upon. The partners discussed the matters of theoretical and practical aspects of integrating 3D printing into the teaching/learning process, described and mapped their demands and found the best solutions together. Next project activities were planned, gantt-chart and work-progress cross-checked and updated.
4. Joint staff training “3D design and drawings”
Third training was in Estonia, Tallinn on 25.-30. April 2022 at Tallinn Technical University.
Participants learned SolidWorks and Cura software and were ready to start to create drawings for useful teaching materials. in groupworks and round-table discussions ideas and principles of learning materials which connect technical drawings and practical printing values were worked out. Teachers discovered new methods of teaching the overall vision of a product's lifecycle from drawing up to a tangible product. It gives a new and innovative approach for teaching 3D printing and possibility to develop innovative curriculums in vocational education.
5. Joint staff workshop “3D printer technology integration into professional training”
Our last training session was in Hungary on 17.-22.October 2022. During this workshop every partner introduced their developed materials and connections between different fields. So far created materials were reviewed and tested by the teachers group themselves and for the local students test group in real lessons. It brought out the parts that needed further development. During innovative workshops participants exchanged their best practices, and during a peer-to-peer review and brainstorms got new synergy, confidence and innovative ideas about further study materials and how to amplify the 3D printing technology integration into vocational education.