Introduction: Two days that took the joint work to a new level

Budapest, 3–4 October 2024. The partners of the LEARNITECT – Meeting of Innovative Learning Design and Inclusive Learning Spaces project held a two-day, intensive and cheerful meeting in which they fine-tuned the professional schedule for the second project year. The programme followed the prepared agenda: plenary sessions to reaffirm objectives, thematic workshops, work package status reports and decision-making sections alternated. The pace was continuously imbued with the positive, supportive atmosphere that is one of the greatest resources of LEARNITECT: the different organisational profiles (civil, professional–development, educational and market) complemented each other in forming joint, concrete steps.

The focus of the meeting: Synthesising results and setting the “delivery route” for final outputs

At the centre of the Budapest deliberations was the harmonised review of the results so far and the precise scheduling of key deliverables. The partners reviewed the pedagogical and architectural experiences gathered through the questionnaire-based diagnosis and study visits, and finalised the editorial schedule for the publications, podcasts and case studies to be published on the website in spring–summer 2025. The decisions not only fixed deadlines but also established a responsibility matrix – guaranteeing that all content will appear with a unified set of criteria, good practices and adaptation guidelines for the target groups (teachers, school leaders, decision-makers).

Partnership atmosphere: Openness, shared learning and professionalism

Feedback from the meeting confirmed that the common denominator of the different institutional cultures is quality, user-centred implementation. Participants highlighted that the “workshop character” of the partnership – mutual critical friendship and co-planning – greatly contributes to ensuring that the project delivers tangible results with practical benefits. The organisation and pace of the Budapest event were both focused and inspiring, while the decision-making was transparent, well-documented and forward-looking.

Professional work: Deepening content, clarifying structures, targeted adaptation

The largest portion of the two-day programme was devoted to professional workshops. Detailed task lists and milestones for the third and fourth quarters were produced along the following main lines:

Diagnosis and research synthesis

The partnership finalised the structure of the synthesis of the questionnaire surveys and leadership interviews. When comparing teacher and school leader responses, three strong, recurring patterns emerged: (1) the relationship between flexible learning spaces and differentiated pedagogy, (2) the role of community spaces in student well-being and project-based learning, and (3) the organisational conditions for spatial integration of digital and STEM tools. Dedicated recommendation packages were attached to these – separately for small rural, large urban and vocational institutions.

Case studies and study visit processing

The partners reached consensus on a common template for case study descriptions. Each descriptive section will be followed by an adaptation module: “What worked?”, “Under what conditions?”, “How scalable?”, and “What obstacles preceded the good solution?”. The articles will appear on the website with a unified visual language, enriched with photos, layout details and “quick tip lists”. A special decision was also made to ensure that interview quotations will be accessible both as audio material (podcast extract) and as edited text.

Complex architectural models and preliminary studies

The workshops discussed in detail which content elements are necessary for school transformation proposals. The final structure strengthens three pillars: (1) pedagogical objectives and use scenarios, (2) spatial typologies and zoning (learning spaces – corridors – community spaces – quiet zones), and (3) feasibility (legal frameworks, cost and scheduling outline, operational impacts). The partners confirmed that proposals will always include multiple variants (low-cost, medium, full-scale), so that institutions can choose steps suited to their own resources.

Digital and knowledge management outputs

The team reviewed the backlog of website content: podcast episodes, interview booklet, diagnosis study, photo galleries and templates (e.g. classroom re-arrangement patterns, staff workshop scenarios). The Budapest decision established that every public output will be accompanied by an adaptation guide – a 2–3 page downloadable add-on that helps local implementation (stakeholders, timeframe, tool list, indicators).

Quality assurance and risk management

The quality assurance plan was updated at the meeting: in addition to internal reviewing, critical friend roles will be designated for every major output. The risk matrix prioritised three items: (1) prevention of scheduling delays through modularisation, (2) legal clarity concerning authorship of photos and layouts (standardisation of publishing permissions), (3) increasing target group reach through involvement of teacher communities and professional networks. Mitigation steps were fixed with deadlines and responsible persons.

Dissemination and community building

The communication team finalised the timetable of autumn–winter releases: website segment updates, social media series (teacher-friendly “mini-adaptations”), and an online event focusing on inclusive spaces and STEM-compatible environments. KPIs (reach, download, feedback, number of adaptation attempts) were defined for measuring dissemination, to be evaluated quarterly.
In summary, professional work in Budapest deepened in two visible ways: the content architecture became clear (what, for whom, in what form, and with what adaptation support we publish), and the implementation pathway became tangible (who is responsible, by when, with what quality assurance points). This dual focus guarantees that in the last project year the results will not only be valuable but also directly applicable.

Decisions and milestones: What happens next?

• End of autumn – early winter: publication of diagnosis results and edited interviews, first “adaptation guide” packages.
• First half of 2025: case study series, podcast blocks and publication of “quick-to-implement” space re-arrangement patterns.
• Period before project closure: final study and multi-variant architectural model recommendation packages; toolkit and sample collection for teachers and school leaders.

Quotations from partner leaders: Shared goal, shared language, shared responsibility

LEARNITECT has value if it really sets schools in motion: giving simple, adaptable steps into the hands of teachers and school leaders.

— Bertalan Péter Farkas, managing director of Learnitect Design Ltd.

The spatial and digital conditions of community learning create opportunities together. We help to make these conditions accessible in everyday practice.

— Tibor Dőri, President of Hungarian Association for Digital Education

Innovation is sustainable when we respect local culture and pedagogical practice. Each of our proposals seeks this balance: European inspiration, local adaptation.

— Gabriella Pusztai, IAL Toscana project leader

A good space is not an end in itself: it serves student well-being and learning outcomes. Our task is to draw clear, feasible pathways to these objectives.

— Lisa Gomes, project manager of Previform

Lessons and messages: Why was the Budapest meeting outstandingly successful?

• Unified view of objectives. All agenda points focused on ensuring that the project’s three specific objectives – understanding and developing functional and inclusive school spaces, capitalisation and dissemination of knowledge, and elaboration of modern architectural models – form a coherent, mutually reinforcing process.
• Shared language about implementation. As a result of the Budapest workshops we now have detailed, shareable answers not only to “what” and “why” but also to “how”: templates, schedules, responsibilities, quality assurance points.
• Open, supportive culture. Feedback highlighted that the atmosphere of the meeting encouraged experimentation – while the quality-oriented framework (critical friend, reviewing, KPIs) guarantees that the outcomes of such experiments will be measurable and transferable.

Closing thought: Budapest as a common springboard

The Budapest partner meeting is not only a milestone in the project timeline: it is a springboard towards the final outputs. The decisions, shared structures and distributed responsibility provide a framework in which the coming months will focus primarily on delivery. With this, LEARNITECT remains faithful to its original commitment: supporting teachers, school leaders and communities in shaping learning spaces to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Partners

• Magyar Digitális Oktatásért Egyesület (Hungary – co-ordinator)
• IAL Toscana Innovazione Apprendimento Lavoro srl. Impresa Sociale (Italy)
• Previform – Laboratório, Formação, Higiene e Segurança do Trabalho, Lda (Portugal)
• Learnitect Design Kft. (Hungary)

Project duration: 1 September 2023 – 31 August 2025

Grant amount: EUR 60,000

Grant Agreement No.: 2023-1-HU01-KA210-SCH-000152699

LEARNITECT – Az innovatív tanulási tervezés és inkluzív tanulási terek találkozása c. projekt (Hungarian)

LEARNITECT – Meeting of innovative learning design and inclusive learning spaces (ENG)

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

GA Nr.: 2023-1-HU01-KA210-SCH-000152699.

With the main partner of the project, the Hungarian Association for Hungarian Digital Education, and with partners Learnitect Design Ltd (Hungary),  Previform Lda (Portugal) IAL Toscana carries out the project activities, financed by Erasmus Plus programme.