CLIKC

Status: 
ongoing
Period: 
June 2021 - May 2023
Funding: 
48.244 € for Nexa
Funding organization: 

European Commission (Erasmus+)

Person(s) in charge: 

Giovanni Garifo (Machine Learning Engineer and Software Developer)

Executive summary: 

CLIKC is an Erasmus+ project which intends to experiment with an innovative way to effectively train unemployed people, in an attempt to shorten the duration of the unemployment period and allow the active labor market system to focus on weaker categories. The project aims to create and test an educational catalog and a new distance learning tool of their kind, focusing on 4 innovations described as follows:
• innovations regarding the teaching methodology (Content Language Integrated Learning and Micro-Learning)
• innovations concerning the ICT intermediation tool (Adaptive Learning and Advanced Analytics)
Moreover, the training catalogue will focus on 4 specific skills in the area of basic personal and relational skills.

Background: 

Unemployment is one of the more relevant issues in the European Union. In 2019 7,5% of work force in the EU-19 area was unemployed (6,7% in EU27 area) and 44% of them was jobless since more than 12 months. The 2012 EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments) study asserts that the annual cost of each unemployed person is roughly 25.000 euros and, although only 25,2% of unemployed people receives economic public subsidies, the total annual cost of unemployment is around 90 billion euros per year. In particular, it is the length of individual unemployment periods which constitutes a threat for the social and economic sustainability of the system. It is crucial to support rapidly unemployed people with placement and career services. Training is a powerful driver of employability support. Skills are the main asset capable of qualifying the job offer and their enhancement is essential to support entry and permanence in the market. Among the skills that have the greatest impact on employment, a specific weight is covered by transversal skills: “personal, relationships and learning skills” are defined by (Recommendation of the EU Council 189/2018 as key competences).

Objectives: 

The project will develop one deliverable, namely the adaptive learning web app containing a multilingual catalog of modular teaching pills on the above-mentioned key competences, to be used in different foreign languages (CLIL): Italian, English, Spanish and German. Furthermore, the contents will be divided into 15-minute didactic objects (micro-learnings) to allow a fruition in pills provided through ICT devices (desktop or mobile). The courses will be included in a Web Application for the use of asynchronous e-learning. The platform will use 2 technologies: adaptive learning and advanced analytics. A system powered by artificial intelligence will select for each user the didactic objects (among
544) most suitable for him and update the path based on individual learning outcomes. Advanced analysis and reporting systems will feed user dashboards aimed at both individual users (unemployed) and labour market operators who will be able to integrate the tool into the ordinary methods of verifying skills, orientation and training.

Results: 

The project saw the planning of EDUCATION several meetings, held both online and face-to-face. The “CLIKC KICK OFF MEETING”, one of the most important meetings of the project, was held online, and launched the activities, defining the basic key concepts of the project. Later on, during the “CLIKC COORDINATION MEETING”, held online, the technical functions for users and any reference frameworks were discussed in order to define the “soft skills”. During the “CLIKC LTT MEETING”, held in presence in Malta, an analysis was carried out on the “CLIL” and “MicroLearning” type courses and on how it is possible to connect them; Together with the discussion regarding the proficiency level system, the participants also tackled the issue of applying such systems to the 4 soft skills specifically identified in this context. During this meeting, participants discussed the structure of the web platform to be produced for Intellectual Output 2, any needs on contents and metadata for users and contents were also discussed. The "F2F CLIKC MEETING in Turin" marked the beginning of the development activities of the intelligent adaptive learning algorithm based on machine learning and advanced analytics technologies, connecting them to the development of the Learning Catalog of Intellectual Output 1. In this meeting the team took stock of the situation regarding IO1, dissemination, planning activity and administrative issues. User journeys and signin and self-assessment procedures were also discussed. On this occasion, a workshop concerning the loading of the Learning Units on the CMS produced by Quantitas was also presented.

Related Publications: