Strength from Peer Review – Developing the Quality of International Activities in VET The project will address the objectives of the Erasmus+ program by fostering quality improvements, innovation and internationalization.Enhancing mobility is one of the objectives of Education and Training 2020 framework. Students with vocational qualifications are expected to have international competences. National and European policy objectives have to be taken into consideration when VET providers plan their international activities. Student and staff mobilities as well as development projects are ways to carry out internationality. However the international activities are not always written in the strategies in all the participating countries. Thus the impact of the activities is not easily to be shown. Quality management and continuous quality improvement of VET is a priority in the participating countries. Quality management can be actively developed in collaboration with national and international partners. The Peer Review method will be used to develop the quality of VET and to revise the profession of teaching by developing new skills and competences including quality and international aspect. The project will utilize the results of the nationally funded project Vertaisarviointi kansainvälisyystoiminnan työvälineenä in Finland. Objectives: We aim at developing and piloting uniform operational principles, procedures and processes which help achieve the aims set for VET internationalization in collaboration with national and international partners through Peer Review methodology. The project helps the participating organizations to - get familiar with the Peer Review method - learn how to utilize the method to evaluate not only their international activities but also other activities - improve the quality of international activities - understand the link between international activities and the strategy and development of the organization Participants and activities: The consortium consists of three Finnish VET providers, two of the Special Needs Vocational Colleges. Besides, two nationwide organizations from France and Italy and partners from Czech Republic and Estonia take part in the project. Ammattiopisto Luovi is the coordinator of the project. The participants are staff members directly involved in international activities in the partner colleges either administration staff or teachers. The quality managers or persons in charge of the quality issues are also targeted with the project. The secondary target group is the management of the college. Each partner will choose two to three persons to be trained as Peers. Other staff, students and stakeholders will participate during the self-evaluation and Peer Review Visit phases. The project includes a training module to instruct the participating organizations to carry out Peer Review including description of activities and self-evaluation of the quality area. Real practice takes place at Peer Review Visit and transnational meetings are linked to Peer Review Visits. Besides training the project produces guidelines to carry out a Peer Review and designs and pilots criteria and indicators for chosen quality areas in the field of international activities. Evaluation and dissemination are ongoing activities in the project. Methodology used: Peer Review is a method of external evaluation and can be used in improvement of the quality and development of the services and activities. The Peer Review method will be introduced and the once piloted quality areas will be revised in order to create a truly European Peer Review system to evaluate and assess internationalization and international activities and their effectiveness and impact in VET organizations. Results, impact and longer term benefits: The results of the project are - training module for Peer Review in internationalization in VET - criteria and indicator for o student mobility o staff mobility o strategic partnership projects, management o international activities, international strategy - guidelines for Peer Review in internationalization in VET The impact and long term benefits can be seen at different levels. At individual level the skills and competence of the trained Peer Reviewers will increase. At organizational level the quality of internationalization and international processes in the participating organization will improve. The link between the organization’s strategy and international activities will be strengthened and the concept of quality in connection with international activities will become transparent. The project will also create wider possibilities for co-operation and joint development. The impact and efficiency of the international processes will become measurable At national and European level the idea of Peer Review as a tool for evaluating activities and processes will be enhanced in partner countries and through dissemination activitities.