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Next-UP

Horizon Europe project (2025-2028)

Next-UP Living Lab kick-off, [November, 3 at 11.00-13.00, EET/10.00-12.00 CET]

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

We warmly invite you to participate in the Living Lab activities of the Horizon Europe project:
📍NEXT-UP: Navigating the Next Normal – Innovative Approaches to Enhancing Youth’s Education–Employment Transitions in Post-COVID-19 Europe.
The project aims to understand the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis (and emerging global challenges) on youth education-to-work transitions and to co-create evidence-based employability policies and practices.

📍The Next-UP Living Lab, coordinated by Tampere University, serves as a mediating space for collaborative innovation. Through interactive workshops (e.g., World Café, Foresight Game, Policy Co-design), it facilitates dialogue among youth, educators and career services, employers and HR professionals, policy-makers and public officials, and youth-focused NGOs.

Below you can register for the
đź“Ť Hybrid-mode Living Lab Kickoff Workshop: Tampere (Finland) & Online
đź“Ť Join the NEXT-UP Living Lab Stakeholder Pool - Becoming part of a vibrant network contributing to 5 co-creation workshops and ongoing feedback across the project lifecycle.

Next-Up Living Lab kick-off program

Time: November, 3 at 11.00 – 13.00 (Helsinki time)/ 10.00-12.00 (Central European time)

Venue: Pinni B building, Room 4125, Tampere University central campus (Kanslerinrinne, 1)

Online: Zoom link will be sent to registered participants

Registration by 29.10: https://forms.office.com/e/XTQ0QwwZqv

Time Activity Facilitators/Speakers
11.00 – 11.10 Welcome, Next-UP project intro

coffee, savoury pies, cake

 

 prof. Yuzhuo Cai, Tampere University/The Education University of Hong Kong
11.10 – 11.20 Next-UP Living Lab what’s in it for me? Yulia Shumilova, Tampere University
11.20 – 11.35 Keynote: Youth Voices on Employability Challenges and Opportunities in Tampere Kertu Kajander, Tampere Youth Council, NUVA, President
11.40 – 13.00  Interactive group discussions on:

1. Biggest hurdles that young people face when moving from education into employment: reflections on the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 (20 min).

2. Positive experiences and enablers of youth education-to-employment transitions  (20 min)

3. Support services/programs most needed to equip young people for today’s rapidly changing labour market (20 min)

Conclusions – online and onsite groups reconvene, facilitators summarise the insights from discussions (20 min)

 Facilitators onsite:

1. Yuzhuo Cai, Tampere University

2. Sanja Laitinen-Lindelöf, SAMOK

3. Yulia Shumilova, Tampere University

Facilitators online:

1. Lara Maestripieri – Autonomous University of Barcelona

2. Leonard Geyer – The European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research

3. Dian Liu – University of Stavanger

 

🎯 Why  join? 

Each stakeholder group will find its own benefits in joining the Living Lab workshops: 

👩‍🎓 Youth

  • Share your real-life experiences and expectations 
  • Influence the policies and programs that shape your career pathways 
  • Connect with institutions, employers, NGOs  and decision-makers 

🎓 Educators, researchers & Career Services 

  • Stay informed about policy trends and graduate labour market needs 
  • Contribute your insights to improve education-to-work transitions 
  • Learn from other institutions across Europe 

🏢 Employers & HR Professionals 

  • Voice your needs and challenges in recruiting youth talent 
  • Help shape future skill-development policies 
  • Network with educators and policy-makers 

🏛️ Policy-makers & Public Sector Representatives 

  • Gain early access to research evidence from across Europe 
  • Consult with youth, employers, and educators directly 
  • Co-create future policies that are grounded in real-world needs  

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