Module 3: Establishing and Operating SmartLabs in Vocational Education and Training Centers

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About Course

This module aims to support VET institutions in the planning, development, and effective implementation of SmartLabs as innovative learning spaces connected to current labour market and industry needs. Participants will explore the essential elements involved in creating a SmartLab, including infrastructure design, equipment and technology selection, integration of digital tools, and health and safety considerations.

The module will also examine pedagogical methodologies that promote hands-on, competence-based and learner-centred education through SmartLabs, encouraging creativity, innovation, and stronger links between training provision and employment realities. Furthermore, participants will address management and sustainability aspects, such as maintenance, collaboration with stakeholders, and the strategic integration of SmartLabs into institutional approaches for digital and green skills development.

By the end of the module, participants will gain practical knowledge and guidance to design, implement, and manage SmartLabs that contribute to flexible, modern, and industry-oriented vocational education and training.

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What Will You Learn?

  • In this module, you will learn how to establish and operate SmartLabs in VET centres as innovative spaces for entrepreneurship, practical learning and competence development. You will explore how to plan and equip a SmartLab, connect it to the institution’s strategy, mentor young entrepreneurs, build links with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and apply methodologies such as Design Thinking, Challenge-Based Learning and EntreComp. The course also helps you integrate digital tools, Work-Based Learning and international collaboration into realistic, inclusive and pedagogically coherent learning experiences.

Course Content

Synchronous Sessions Calendar
This section includes the calendar of live synchronous sessions planned as part of the PULSE online course. These sessions are designed to support participants throughout the learning process, provide additional explanations on the course modules, and create a space for interaction, questions and exchange between teachers, trainers and project partners. Attendance is highly recommended, as the sessions will help participants better understand the course contents and stay on track with the learning pathway. All sessions will be recorded, uploaded to YouTube, and made available on the platform for those who cannot attend live.

  • Calendar of Synchronous Sessions May – June 2026

Unit 3.1 — SmartLab Foundations
This unit introduces the pedagogical approach “Emprender para aprender” (Learning by Entrepreneurship), which places entrepreneurship at the core of the learning process in VET education. Participants will explore how entrepreneurial thinking can be used not only to teach business creation, but also as a powerful methodology to develop transversal competences such as initiative, creativity, teamwork, problem-solving and responsibility. Through practical examples and guided activities, this unit presents the foundations of the entrepreneurial mindset in VET, introduces opportunity-oriented thinking, and explains the basics of value proposition design. Participants will discover how to shift from content-based teaching to learning experiences where students learn by designing, testing and improving real or realistic projects. Entrepreneurial education in VET requires more than isolated activities or theoretical content. It needs spaces, methodologies, and institutional approaches that allow learners to experiment, collaborate, and transform ideas into action. In this context, the SmartLab emerges as a pedagogical environment that connects entrepreneurship, practical learning, and competence development.

Unit 3.2 — Equipping the SmartLab
Learning environments are not neutral: the way a space is organized influences participation, safety, collaboration, and experimentation. For this reason, planning a SmartLab involves more than purchasing equipment; it requires aligning physical infrastructure with educational objectives and operational needs.

Unit 3.3 — Institutional Strategy
A SmartLab can only create lasting impact when it is embedded within the broader strategy of the institution. Without planning, governance, and long-term vision, innovation spaces risk remaining isolated initiatives instead of becoming sustainable drivers of educational change.

Unit 3.4 — Mentoring Young Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial learning is strengthened when educators move beyond direct instruction and adopt a more facilitative role. Mentoring helps learners reflect, build confidence, make decisions, and develop resilience, making it a key practice for supporting entrepreneurial growth in VET contexts.

Unit 3.5 — Ecosystem Building
SmartLabs do not operate in isolation. Their relevance and sustainability depend on the quality of their connections with the surrounding ecosystem, including companies, mentors, alumni, institutions, and community actors. Building these relationships expands learning opportunities and reinforces the real-world value of entrepreneurial education.

Unit 3.6 — Design Thinking in Practice
Innovation in education benefits from methodologies that are both creative and structured. Design Thinking offers a human-centered approach to problem-solving that encourages empathy, experimentation, collaboration, and iterative improvement, making it especially valuable in entrepreneurial and vocational learning settings.

Unit 3.7 — Localising EntreComp
Competence frameworks are most meaningful when they are adapted to the realities of learners and institutions. In entrepreneurial education, this means translating broad reference models into priorities, language, and actions that respond to local labour markets, community challenges, and educational needs.

Transversal Module — Digitalisation and Internationalisation in VET
General module introduction In today’s vocational education and training landscape, innovation depends not only on what institutions teach, but also on how they teach, connect, and evolve. Digitalisation and internationalisation are two key transversal dimensions that strengthen the quality, relevance, and future-readiness of VET centres. On the one hand, digital transformation helps educators and institutions improve teaching practices, foster entrepreneurial competences, and respond to changing labour market needs. On the other hand, internationalisation opens the door to cooperation, mobility, project development, and strategic partnerships that enrich institutional capacity and broaden opportunities for both staff and learners. This module introduces both dimensions as complementary pathways for strengthening VET centres through innovation, collaboration, and long-term strategic development.

Unit 3.8 — How to use Smart Labs to Promote Entrepreneurship in VET Safaa Essadouk, ESITH
Smart Labs are practical, innovative environments that support entrepreneurship in VET by helping students develop creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, and business-oriented skills through hands-on activities, real challenges, and project-based learning.

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