ISS Institute Illuminate Forum: Applying ETHAZI principles within Australian VET teaching and learning
As part of the ISS Institute's partnership with the Victorian Skills Authority (VSA), the VSA annually invites an international expert in vocational education and training to Victoria. This year, we are pleased to welcome Prof. José Ramón Gómez Laconcha, CEO of iTlent and Prof. Natalia Gaston Estanga from Tknika and iTlent in the Basque Country.
Description
ISS Institute Illuminate Forum
Applying ETHAZI principles within Australian VET teaching and learning
Friday 8 November 2024 | Hybrid Event: Online and at VET Development Centre
As part of the ISS Institute's partnership with the Victorian Skills Authority (VSA), the VSA annually invites an international expert in vocational education and training to Victoria. This year, we are pleased to welcome Prof. José Ramón Gómez Laconcha, CEO of iTlent and Prof. Natalia Gaston Estanga from Tknika and iTlent in the Basque Country.
Join us for an enlightening forum that introduces the innovative ETHAZI model from the Basque Country to the Victorian Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. This unique opportunity will provide participants with an understanding of the ETHAZI model, its core principles, and the potential for integrating these groundbreaking concepts into Australian VET teaching and learning contexts.
Led by international VET experts, participants will explore how the ETHAZI model can enhance student engagement, promote active learning, and foster the development of crucial skills required in today's rapidly evolving job market.
About iTlent and ETHAZI
The Basque Institute for Talent in Vocational Training, iTlent, was established in February 2023 with the aim of redefining vocational training by shifting from a competence-based approach to one centred on talent development. Affiliated with the Vice-Ministry and an extension of Tknika's Learning and High-Performance Area,iTlent is dedicated to advanced learning models and systems that enable students to cultivate their talents, strengthen Industry 4.0 values, and anticipate emerging future needs. This approach integrates STEAM culture into learning and promotes the development of entrepreneurial skills.
One of iTlent’s most significant achievements, in collaboration with Tknika, has been the creation of the ETHAZI model — a challenge-based, collaborative learning framework rooted in problem-based learning. This model has proven effective in enhancing students' professional and personal skills and has gained international recognition as a benchmark for vocational education. Grounded in its commitment to talent development, iTlent focuses on advancing research in learning methodologies, implementing innovative learning systems, and building strong collaborative networks.
About the ISS Institute
The International Specialised Skills Institute (ISS Institute) exists to foster an aspirational, skilled and smart Australia by cultivating the mastery and knowledge of talented Australians through international applied research Fellowships.
The ISS Institute is proud of its heritage. The organisation was founded over 30 years ago by the late Sir James Gobbo AC CVO QC, former Governor of Victoria, to encourage investment in the development of Australia’s specialised skills. Our international Fellowship program supports many Australians and international leaders across a broad cross-section of industries and sectors to undertake applied international research that benefits economic development through vocational training, industry innovation and advancement. To date over 570 Australian and international Fellows have undertaken Fellowships facilitated through the ISS Institute.
Our Fellowship Program encourages mutual and shared learning, leadership, and communities of practice.
Program
Panel
Prof. José Ramón Gómez Laconcha is currently the executive director of iTlent (Basque Institute for Talent in VET Euskadi), a new Basque Government centre created in 2023 from the Learning and High Performance area of Tknika (Basque VET Applied Research Centre). He has extensive experience as a VET teacher, as well as in management responsibilities in training centres. In Tknika he worked for 14 years as a researcher in learning methods and processes, and together with his team developed the ETHAZI model (Collaborative Learning based on Challenges), which is being successfully implemented in Vocational Training centres in the Basque Country. He has extensive experience in training teaching teams in active methodologies throughout the world, as well as in formative student assessment systems.
Prof. Natalia Gaston Estanga is currently a researcher with iTlent. Previously, she has been a vocational teacher for 18 years and has held various responsibilities in the pedagogical innovation of the centers in which she has worked. For the past 11 years she has worked in Tknika as a researcher in learning methods and processes, and together with her team developed the ETHAZI model (Collaborative Learning based on Challenges), which is being successfully implemented in Vocational Training centres in the Basque Country. She has extensive experience in training teaching teams and in designing processes for the implementation of the model in VET schools in the Basque Country.
Associate Professor Melanie Williams is Associate Dean (Scholarship) at William Angliss Institute. Her primary roles are to lead teaching innovation and to support vocational and higher education teachers in taking a scholarly approach to improving their learning and teaching practice. Melanie has worked in the secondary, adult community, vocational and higher education sectors, in addition to providing consultancy services to commercial, statutory and educational organisations. Her research interests include innovation in learning and teaching, scholarship in non-university contexts, transformative learning, and scenario planning, a form of long-term futures research.
Richard Scarf is a highly skilled, motivated and dedicated professional and well respected in his field with over 40 years’ experience across four countries, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Australia. Richard has held various senior roles in kitchen management including Executive Pastry Chef at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, Head Chocolatier at Chocolatier Australia, Melbourne, Pastry Chef Sheraton Park Tower London as well as running his own business in Melbourne. Richard has been teaching in the VET sector for almost 20 years. In his current role as a Patisserie Teacher at William Angliss Institute, Richard enjoys teaching the Certificate IV in Patisserie qualification, and has been actively involved with the pilot program of collaborative challenge-based learning (CCBL).
Session includes
- Certificate of attendance
- Session recording
Venue
This session will be held concurrently online via ZOOM and In-Person.
If attending in person, the session will be held at the VET Development Centre located at Level 8, 379 Collins Street, MELBOURNE VIC 3000.