A comprehensive guide for VET professionals to organize and implement innovative education hackathons.
EDUCkathons GUIDE
Welcome to the EDUCkathons GUIDE, a pioneering resource developed as part of the Erasmus+ Project KA220-VET: “Design Thinking for Quality VET Education Matching Labour Market Needs – VETdesign.”
This guide translates the design thinking approach into a practical framework for the VET sector, enabling educators to apply creative methodologies in real contexts. It introduces EDUCkathons as both learning content and a teaching method, offering a structured, hands-on way to embed creativity, inclusion, and innovation into vocational learning.
Who is this guide for?
Whether you are looking to revitalize your training methods or build high-impact learning paths, this guide provides the exact roadmap you need to succeed.
VET Managers & Leadership Staff
Empower your institution.
Gain strategic, methodological guidance to seamlessly launch high-energy education hackathons that position your organization at the forefront of vocational innovation.
VET Educators & Trainers
Transform your classroom.
Discover hands-on frameworks to break away from traditional lecturing, bridge the gap with the labor market, and co-create unforgettable learning experiences directly alongside your students.
Instructional Designers
Innovate learning design.
Bridge skills gaps by embedding creative, human-centered Design Thinking into your training strategies, ensuring every module delivers tangible, future-ready learning outcomes.
Curriculum Developers
Build high-demand offerings.
Master a structured approach to designing agile, market-driven, and learner-centered curricula that instantly align with evolving modern workplace demands.
Transforming VET through collaborative innovation
EDUckathons are collaborative, innovation-driven learning events inspired by the hackathon model but redesigned for the education and training context. Instead of traditional passive instruction, participants — educators, trainers, learners, and stakeholders — work together to address real challenges within the VET system.
The guide details how to implement a conceptual framework that blends Design Thinking, Experiential Learning (Kolb’s Cycle), Gamification, and Andragogy (Adult Learning). It offers a complete roadmap to plan, execute, and evaluate your own EDUckathons, ensuring that learning outcomes are relevant, transferable, and impactful.
Key Features
Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and rapid prototyping. By applying Design Thinking to VET, we can:
Conceptual Framework
Explore the theoretical foundations that shape the methodology, including Design Thinking, game-based learning, and adult learning principles.
Practical Planning & Execution
Discover various activities and methods to implement each Design Thinking step in your projects, driving innovation and inclusivity.
Roles & Responsibilities
Learn how to effectively utilize organizers, facilitators, mentors, participants, and industry experts to guarantee a successful event.
Ready-to-Use Tools & Templates
Find a comprehensive collection of resources, including planning checklists, short and multi-day agendas, feedback forms, and prototyping materials.
Open the EDUCkathons GUIDE or download for free
© 2024–2026 [Design Thinking for Quality VET Education Matching Labour Market Needs – VETdesign Project].
The document is under a CC license (BY SA): “This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License”.
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