EURO4VET Virtual EU Skills Competition

The end of summer did not only mean going back to school for Vocational and Education Training (VET) students across Europe. For hundreds of VET students in Portugal, Finland, Spain, Turkey, and Northern Macedonia it also meant it’s time for the Euro4VET Virtual EU Skills Competition to begin, a contest that sought to test their knowledge concerning European Union (EU) matters.

Euro4VET is an acronym that stands for the European network for better EU skills in VET providers. It is a Jean Monnet initiative project aimed at raising awareness of VET students and teachers for the benefits of being an EU citizen, which brings together seven partners: one tertiary education institution (Polytechnic University of Leiria), five VET schools (INSIGNARE (PT), KPEDU (FI), Escola Pia de Mataró (ES), SABA (MK) and Şehit Ramazan Canıgür Vocational & Technical Anatolian High School (TR)), and a non-profit organisation that represents more than 450 VET organisations across Europe and beyond (EfVET - European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BE)).

One of Euro4VET components was a virtual competition designed by the Polytechnic University of Leiria, located in central Portugal, that was constituted by two phases. There was an initial phase that sought to evaluate the VET students’ knowledge related to the project’s course that they started in Spring 2025. The second part of the competition was tied to the idea of the future of Europe.

Beginning in late September and throughout the month of October, students from the partner VET schools undertook an on-line test/quiz every week for four weeks. The test covered the first four topics that were given in the course related to the building of the European Union (from the Schumann Declaration to the EU post Treaty of Lisbon), EU values (dignity, respect for human rights, democracy; rule of law, freedom, equality), EU institutions (i.e., European Parliament, European Council; Council, Commission; Court of Justice of the European Union; Court of Auditors; European Central Bank; other bodies and agencies), and EU citizenship (i.e., right to free movement and residency; right to vote and stand for election; right to petition; right to diplomatic protection; European citizen’s initiative).

The objective of this initial phase was to select ten teams (i.e., two teams from each of the five participating countries) that would proceed to the next phase in the competition.

In the second and final phase of Euro4VET Virtual EU Skills Competition, each team was asked to produce a short video (up to 10 minutes) regarding their ideas on the future of Europe. This part of the test was evaluated according to five criteria: (1) video quality (clarity, structure, sound, and image); (2) demonstration of acquired knowledge involving critical thinking and reflection; (3) plausibility and relevance of the proposals presented; (4) creativity in approach and format; and (5) communication and expressiveness in the presentation of ideas. It promised to be thought-provoking, and the jury at the Polytechnic University of Leiria was eager to visualize the videos submitted and consider the proposals made by the ten best teams, as well as determine the overall winner.

After having visualized the videos submitted, the jury reached a final decision and a winner was declared: team “limephbk” from KPEDU, Finland. However, they were not the only winners… The winner and the best teams from the other participating partner VET schools will have an opportunity to travel to Brussels during the month of February of 2026 and meet each other, as well as to get a firsthand look at the EU institutions and interact with EU officials.

Throughout the competition, several students stated that it was helpful for them to participate as it allowed them to take in all the things they learned about the importance of being an active EU citizen. The winners of the competition are now looking forward to travel to Brussels and to see in loco how EU institutions work!