In the fifth episode of the Knowledge Hub podcast, we’ve got an exciting insight into Europe’s most successful social project: the Erasmus+ programme, and how the programme supports European competitiveness, social development and educational knowledge management. Zsuzsa Rozgonyi, Head of Unit of the Hungarian Erasmus+ National Agency, Tempus Public Foundation, provided a comprehensive presentation of the programme. One wonderful sample for implementation was presented by Dr. Marta Kurucz, a professional staff member and member of the Board of Trustees of the Magosfa Foundation, and by Eva Neumayer, Vice President of the Magosfa Foundation. During the discussion, we learnt about how the Erasmus+ programme’s partnership grants work, and Magosfa Foundation staff gave practical examples of their environmental education project to help us understand how it works in practice.

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In the public education and higher education sectors, the best-known Erasmus+ application type is the mobility application. Since 2014, the public education sector has also been able to offer teachers, trainers and students the opportunity to travel to EU countries to study and work together. However, it is also important to mention Erasmus partnerships, which are a well-known type of grant in the civil and business sectors, as well as in the education, training and adult learning sectors. Small and large-scale partnerships allow organisations from EU Member States to work together towards common goals.

The current priorities of the European Union for the current programme period are the following 4 themes:

  • Inclusion, diversity. 
  • The digital transformation. 
  • Environment and the fight against climate change. 
  • Participation in democratic life, shared values and citizenship.

In the discussion, Zsuzsa gave clear examples of which priorities can be used to achieve which specific goals and activities. Éva and Márta from the Magosfa Foundation explained how they are linked to Priority 3 and how they formed their first partnership on biomimicry!

What on earth is “biomimicry” and how is it related to Erasmus?

Biomimicry takes practical knowledge and techniques from nature with sustainability in mind. A good example of biomimicry is the story of Georges de Mestral, a Swiss electrical engineer.  Georges was on holiday in the Alps with his dog. After his walks, he spent long minutes picking thistles from his faithful companion’s fur. This gave him the opportunity to observe how the burdock’s crop was designed to effectively grip his dog’s coat. Georges didn’t stop there, and soon he created the first prototypes of zipper, using the burdock’s fruit and the dog’s fur as a model. He patented his idea in 1955, and today zipper is used in a wide range of applications, from simple clothing to space exploration.

Biomimicry has been used and is still used by countless scientists and experts, and the project of the Magosfa Foundation aims to demonstrate this observation-based experimentation to schoolchildren. In the framework of the project, the partner organisations worked together internationally to develop biomimicry curricula, and then sent one teacher from each of the schools that had undertaken to test the curricula on a study trip to the Netherlands to learn about the content. The project partners also brought teachers with them, so that the national participants had the opportunity to meet teachers from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia. 

Zsuzsa Rozgonyi from the National Agency points out that this is another good example of how – in addition to the classic mobility opportunities, which are the best known types of Erasmus applications – mobility can also be realised in partnership projects, i.e. there is the possibility to take project organisers and beneficiaries on study visits and cooperation projects abroad.

Biomimicry has many more exciting examples, some of which was presented to listeners during the podcast discussion.

For example, we can find out:

  • How cobwebs have been used to develop a transparent-looking bottle that birds don’t fly into. 
  • In the clothing and dyeing industries, the water-repellent properties of lotus flower and nasturtium have been used to create more durable and less soiling surfaces.
  • How the adhesion of geckos’ feet can be used for gluing or rescuing earthquake victims.
  • How the observation of kingfishers has contributed to dampening the sound explosions of the fastest trains.

To find out more about the project, visit https://www.biolearn.eu/hu, where you can find out how different age groups (9-12, 12-16) can join the programme and how to organise a “Biomimicry Day”.

What does such international cooperation mean in the life of an organisation?

Éva and Márta first met a foreign organisation on a study trip to the Netherlands in 2003 and started their first project with them. They recommended other partners, and year by year the Foundation’s partnership network was built up. In their case, the target group is public education, but they do not work mainly with schools, but rather with organisations providing services to schools.

It’s an exciting time for them, as Biolearn has been so successful that first a Turkish and then a Belgian expert approached the Foundation to translate the content into their own language. Later, partnership projects were submitted with both of them to translate and further expand the content. This example illustrates that when an organisation enters the international stream, it is quickly found with exciting projects and opportunities, and the number of partners available increases exponentially with each successful project.

Zsuzsa says that Erasmus+ is the best tool for Magosfa and similar organisations. Ideally, Erasmus+ grants should be added as a resource (and not as an objective) to a foundation’s existing objectives and operations. 

The Foundation’s story is also a good example of how, for an objective such as the introduction of biomimicry in national public education, the proposals implemented can further develop the objectives and multiply the impact at national and international level.

Anyone can apply for Erasmus+ partnerships on the website of the programme’s national agency, the Tempus Public Foundation (for your local information, please reach out to the local national agency in your country). The deadline for large-scale applications is typically in the spring (March) of each year, while small-scale projects typically have two submission periods, one in the spring (at the same time as the large-scale applications) and one in the autumn (so far typically in October).

Members of the conversation

Zsuzsa Rozgonyi

She has been working at Tempus since 2018, but before that she was already working on Erasmus+ projects as a project promoter. Among the horizontal priorities, inclusion is the closest to her heart, as she has coordinated and implemented international and national cooperation projects in this field. She is a member of the European Commission’s Adult Learning Task Force and has already been involved in the preparation of the new programme phase in 2019. She is happy to be involved in this programme because it embodies the values and opportunities she considers important: equal opportunities, international engagement, learning about other cultures, foreign language use, environmental awareness and active citizenship.

Dr Éva Neumayer (Magosfa Foundation, Vice-Chair)

Graduate in horticulture with a specialisation in herb production. During her PhD thesis, she researched the protected wild medicinal plants of the Somlyó area in Fót. She spent the 1997-98 academic year as an intern at Wolf Ridge Environmental Education Center in the USA. After returning home, she worked as an environmental educator for various NGOs and from 2003 at the Magosfa Foundation. Main tasks: running environmental school programmes; writing proposals; coordinating and implementing projects; developing, organising and delivering teacher training; editing publications; developing teaching materials; developing and delivering other programmes. She is a member of the Hungarian Association for Environmental Education and a board member of the Hungarian Association of Nature Conservationists. 

Márta Kurucz

She graduated as a teacher of Biology and Chemistry at the ELTE TFK. She started working in environmental education in 1994. She has worked for several NGOs and is currently a staff member and curator of the Magosfa Foundation. Her main tasks include: writing national and international proposals and coordinating projects, running environmental education programmes and curriculum development. She also organises and delivers training for teachers, writes sustainability education modules and produces publications for teachers, delivers workshops for adults on sustainable living, runs field programmes for kindergarten and school children, organises and delivers intergenerational learning sessions and organises nature camps for children aged 9-16.

Bertalan Péter Farkas, editor-in-chief

Knowledge manager, knowledge management consultant, trainer, project manager, but originally a teacher of geography and history. In his day-to-day work he provides global knowledge management for management consultants, coaches and international experts, and as an entrepreneur he works to promote the education scene in his home country and Europe. After a few years of teaching, she worked for government agencies (Educatio, EMET, Tempus) and headed the Knowledge Centre of the Tempus Public Foundation for almost 6 years. As managing director of Learnitect Design Ltd. he is involved in knowledge management and design of learning spaces for knowledge transfer, online and offline learning management, design of community spaces and international project management. He conceived the idea for the Knowledge Hub podcast in 2022, which finally became a reality in autumn 2023.

More information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bertalanpeterfarkas/ 

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Article written by Kristóf Györgyi-Ambró edited by Éva Tóth.

Thank you for the support of our media partner, Modern School! 

This content was produced with funding from the European Union. The opinions and statements expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA). Grant agreement number: 2023-1-HU01-KA210-SCH-000152699.