EU4VALLI – Transnational Internships in Europe
Context
The EU4VALLI project was designed to offer students from a local high school the opportunity to gain valuable work experience abroad. Its aim is to promote the development of professional, linguistic, and soft skills that are highly relevant in today’s job market, through direct exposure to real-world working environments.
The project is structured in three main phases:
A preparatory training phase
A three-week international mobility experience in Zaragoza, Spain
A final reflective and dissemination phase
Objectives
The project pursues two key objectives:
Bridging the gap between school and work by fostering skills such as active European citizenship, foreign language proficiency, and professional expertise.
Encouraging personal growth and independence, as participants lived in shared apartments during the mobility period, supported by mobility tutors. This setting helped them develop responsibility, autonomy, and teamwork skills.
Project Details
Funding: Fondo Sociale Europeo Plus – Regione Toscana
Project Coordinator: Liceo Scientifico “Antonio Vallisneri”
Duration: October 2024 – October 2025
Project Partner: Zefiro Società Cooperativa Sociale
Project Development
PHASE 1 – Training (Completed)
After a first round of dissemination and selection (12 participants + 6 reserves), students took part in a comprehensive training program from December 2024 to May 2025. This included:
Digital skills through a video-making course
Language development via Spanish and English courses
Soft skills through cooking classes, orientation activities, and teamwork sessions
The group showed such enthusiasm and commitment that the final list of participants was extended to all 17 students who completed the training (one student withdrew from the project).
PHASE 2 – Mobility (Completed)
On May 21st, the group departed from Lucca and arrived in Zaragoza, Spain. There, with the support of a Spanish partner organization, students carried out internships in various local companies.
They lived in shared apartments with support from two dedicated tutors. This setup fostered a strong sense of community and cooperation—not only in managing daily life, but also in enjoying free time together and discovering the city.
The feedback from both participants and tutors was overwhelmingly positive.
PHASE 3 – Reflection & Dissemination (Ongoing)
We believe this experience should not be an isolated episode in the students’ lives. For this reason, we’ve scheduled a series of meetings after their return from Zaragoza to:
Reflect on personal and group experiences
Discuss what went well, what was challenging, and what lessons were learned
Explore how this experience can influence their future paths
The next steps include evaluating the long-term impact of the project and organizing a final celebration event, during which participants will share their stories—supported by videos they created during and after their stay in Spain.
