​The objectives of the second short-term joint staff training meeting in Italy:
  • Biodiversity and use of Shannon index in terms of wine growing
  • Getting to know the school in Padova;
  • Participating teachers discussing the project objectives and activities for the following meeting;
  • Participating in the workshops about biodiversity, the ecosystem and the harmful and positive effects of wine growing on the environment: erosion, neglected plots of land, impact of the pesticides
  • Visit school laboratories, vineyards, farms and greenhouses
  • Visit and learn about tourist attractions and sights in Veneto region;
  • Visit wine companies and learn about different types of wine produced in Italy;
  • Getting to know the local culture by means of thematic visits; understanding the elements of Italian cultural identity;
  • Setting the dates for the tasks to be done before the mobility in Croatia;
  • Improvement of skills regarding communication in English, the language of the project.
  • Improvement of ICT skills.
 
            During the second short-term joint staff training meeting, the activities have been continuously connected to the objectives of the project as follows:
            The first day of the meeting (18 April, 2016) consisted of the arrival of the partner teams to Padova. The students and the teachers were welcomed by the Italian teachers and students and the students were taken to their host families.
The second day of the meeting (19 April, 2016) started with the visit to the Scrovegni Chapel and Saint Anthony Basilica and getting to know the city. It was followed by the lunch in the school canteen and visit to the school. The students had a workshop on biodiversity and the teachers had a meeting to discuss the tasks for the next meeting in Croatia. We set the objectives and the deadlines when all the work will be uploaded on Twinspace.
The third day of the meeting (20 April, 2016) we all went on a field trip to San Michele- Mazzorbo and Burano and visited vineyards of the lagoon. The local guide explained the history of the lagoon vineyards and how they manage to run it. After that we visited Venice and explored its cultural and historical background. The fourth day of the meeting (21 April, 2016) started with a trip to the Euganean Hills, famous for its vineyards. First we visited Abbazia di Praglia, a monastery where wine has been grown by monks for centuries and visited the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria Assunta and the teachers also had wine degustation while the students had grape juice degustation. ​
 After that we all had a picnic lunch in the hills and went for a walk among the vineyards. In the afternoon we visited CaLustra Zanovello, an organic wine producer.The fifth day of the project (22 April, 2016) the students and the teachers visited school premises with its farm, vineyards and wine cellar. After this visit, the students had a workshop on the positive and negative sides of wine growing and the environment. We had a school tour of the other premises of the school and saw its farm and greenhouses. After that both the teachers and the students filled in the evaluation form to assess the project meeting.
On the sixth day of the meeting (23 April, 2016), the Italian team organized a sightseeing tour of the medieval Padova and visited Palazzo della Ragione. The afternoon was free. The students spent the afternoon together. The teachers went to Vicenza, famous for its Teatro Olimpico and Basilica Palladiana.
The project meeting finished on 24 April, 2016 when the partners left Padova.
The result of this project meeting was learning about biodiversity and the effects of wine growing on the environment, learning about the Italian cultural identity, seeing the running of a big agricultural school. The meeting was efficient as all the set tasks were accomplished and the upcoming tasks and the mobilities were agreed on and there was a smooth communication among the partners.
The success of this meeting resides in the wonderful organization and interesting programme closely related to the project’s objectives made by the Italian team. Communication in English all along the mobility as well as a good communication among all the participants in the meeting is another advantage on the list, especially among the students who learnt a lot of words from different languages.
Photographs, PPTs, travel impressions, newly acquired cultural information and lifelong friendships are other fruitful results of this project meeting.