Building Fellowship Connections: Ani's Research Project with SFUVET

 As part of Ani Tom Vellaramkunnel’s 2022 International VET Practitioner Fellowship, she travelled to three different countries—Switzerland, Thailand, and India, to explore the role of industry collaboration and work-based learning in vocational education and training (VET). The institutions she visited during her Fellowship had strong industry connections, integrating these partnerships into the planning, delivery, and assessment of their VET courses. 

Ani at SFUVET with the international delegates who attended the The Swiss International VET Academy Programme.

Her research demonstrated that work-based learning significantly enhances employability by allowing learners to apply their theoretical knowledge in real-world work scenarios. Expanding collaboration between the VET sector and industries will create better opportunities for work-based learning, ultimately benefiting VET learners by providing them better learning experience and employment outcomes.  

Ani has been able to apply her learnings to her workplace, improving work-based learning opportunities for students. Additionally, this Fellowship provided her with the opportunity to collaborate with a university in Switzerland on further applied research in vocational education and training. She is currently working with the Swiss Federal University of VET (SFUVET) on a project titled “Comparative Analysis of VET Teacher Training in Australia and Switzerland.” This project is funded by Movetia, the Swiss national agency for promoting exchanges and mobility in the education sector. 

With the Academics and Teachers at IDM VET School, Thun, Bern

As part of this project, SFUVET team and Ani engaged with key stakeholders in the Victorian VET sector. They met with the RMIT VE College leadership team and the TAE team to learn about RMIT's role as a dual-sector university in Victorian VET sector and to experience the best practices implemented in VET learning and teaching spaces at RMIT. They also connected with the Chief Executive Officer of the ISS Institute and several Fellows who have conducted significant research in VET teacher training in Australia and overseas. Additionally, they networked with the TAE reference group, CMM, and staff at the Victorian Skills Authority (VSA) through workshops organised by VSA. These workshops provided valuable opportunities to discuss and learn about best practices in VET teacher training in both Australia and Switzerland.  

The Victorian Skills Authority (VSA), ISS Institute CEO, Fellows and the SFUVET Delegate team at the ISS Institute office for a collaboration meeting.

 This project also provided opportunities to many people in the Victorian VET sector to connect with SFUVET and learn from the work and research they are undertaking.  

Commenting on the professional and sector impact of her Fellowship, Ani remarks: 

“This Fellowship has significantly improved my applied research skills, expanded my professional network, and opened up new opportunities that I would not have otherwise had access to. I am deeply grateful to ISS Institute and VSA for this invaluable experience.” 

You can read Ani's Fellowship report here.