January was a busy month at STEP! With project kick-offs, in-person and online meetings, and planning for the months ahead, we’ve been focused on moving our initiatives forward and getting ready for an exciting year. In this post, we’ll go through the key project activities and highlights from the month.
BAGAL – Bridging the AI Gap in Adult Learning
In mid-January, we attended the kick-off meeting in Leipzig, officially launching the BAGAL project. Together with our partners, We4You and Bildungsinstitut PSCHERER, we are tackling one of the most pressing challenges in adult education today: using artificial intelligence in a thoughtful, safe, and pedagogically meaningful way to design and deliver training.
What will we be doing?
- Researching practical examples of AI applications in adult education.
- Developing learning content, exercises, and support materials.
- Exploring AI safety, ethics, and bias to ensure responsible use.
- Building a learning platform equipped with tools and resources.
- Creating AI assistants to support educators in their work.
- Conducting intensive training and mentoring sessions for educators.
This project aims to empower educators to leverage AI effectively while keeping learners’ needs and ethical considerations at the forefront.
DIDA: Disability-Inclusive Debate and Advocacy
In January, we hosted the second TPM of the DIDA project in Ljubljana. The meeting focused on developing training for young people and planning pilot activities in the participating countries. We also had a fun and challenging moment ourselves: debating whether beauty pageants should be banned! It was a great exercise in critical thinking, discussion, and advocacy.
We are excited for an active 2026, and look forward to working with young people with disabilities to develop their debate skills and advocacy capacity.
P2P: Pathways to Progress
In January, we attended the kick-off meeting of the Pathways to Progress (P2P) project in Belgium, where we had the chance to meet our project partners and plan the work ahead. Our focus during this meeting was WP2, where we will research the needs of migrants, employers, and trainers working in the employment sector, so that we can later develop high-quality training programs tailored to their needs.
As part of the visit, we also visited PlastIQ and Anziplast, where we explored local initiatives, gaining inspiration for how to link training and real-world employment opportunities. A big thank you PlastIQ for hosting us!
UP2NEB
We are concluding the month in Turkey. We are currently in Ankara, where the second of four mobilities (Transnational Learning Activity – TLA) within the UP2NEB project is taking place. The TLA, entitled Regaining a Sense of Belonging, is organized by the project partner Ankara Aks. Today, we are concluding the week with a final event where young people present (pitch) their ideas. Below are statements from the Slovenian participants.
Karin: “Through the exchange, I gained valuable experience in developing ideas in a new and different environment, which gave me a broader perspective and greater openness in my thinking. From day one, we were professionally and encouragingly guided throughout the project, which created a safe environment for collaboration, exploration, and creativity. Together, we developed high-quality, well-thought-out ideas and concrete solutions that responded meaningfully to local challenges related to space and a sense of belonging. The exchange gave me a sense that our work is meaningful and has a real impact, which made it a particularly valuable experience.”
Katja: “The exchange in Ankara on the topic of New European Bauhaus was an interesting experience. I gained a lot of new knowledge and experience, met many new people, and broadened my view of sustainability, architecture, and cooperation in the European space. As this was my first exchange, I needed some courage at the beginning, but I quickly broke the ice. This experience has enriched me greatly and I can say with certainty that it was definitely not my last.”
A quick reminder if you missed it: we also took part in the European Parliament’s stakeholder meeting on education and skills, contributing to discussions on the future Erasmus+ programme (2028-2034). Read more about it here.
And we’re already busy preparing new project applications for the upcoming Erasmus+ calls, so stay tuned for more exciting updates!
