VETangram

Vocational Education through TANgible, Grabbing Resources And Museums. 

VETangram is a 36-month European policy experimentation project, funded under Erasmus+ and coordinated by Citizens in Power, that brings proven museum-based mathematics education into Vocational Education and Training (VET). Drawing on more than 200 interactive exhibits and resources developed through nine earlier EU-funded projects and the collections of Europe’s leading mathematics museums and science outreach centres, the project audits, adapts, co-creates, pilots and mainstreams museum-based methods to strengthen the basic skills of VET learners at EQF levels 3–4 — numeracy, literacy, science, digital and citizenship competences. 

The challenge 

Across the EU, roughly one in three 15-year-olds cannot apply mathematics in real-life contexts and one in four struggles to understand basic texts (PISA 2022). VET systems receive a disproportionate share of learners who arrive with accumulated difficulties — and often anxiety — in mathematics, yet vocational curricula leave little structured time for foundational skills. VET teachers report a lack of adapted resources and training, while company trainers in apprenticeships have typically received no pedagogical preparation at all. Meanwhile, Europe’s mathematics museums have built a rich body of hands-on, inquiry-based exhibits with demonstrated effects on understanding and motivation — but these have been designed almost exclusively for schools and general audiences. No systematic pathway exists for transferring them into VET, despite the Action Plan on Basic Skills (2025), the Council Recommendation on VET and the Herning Declaration all calling for precisely such innovation. 

What the project does 

VETangram maps the consortium’s combined portfolio of over 200 exhibits against the five basic skills, VET sectors and EQF 3–4 learning outcomes, producing a publicly searchable VET Basic Skills Exhibit Framework. On this basis, partners co-create at least 30 pedagogical “suitcases”, each combining a physical or digital exhibit with trainer guides, learner activities set in vocational scenarios, assessment rubrics and Universal Design for Learning adaptations. Delivery follows a three-tier model: permanent Mini Math Labs installed in VET schools; travelling exhibitions rotating between schools and community spaces; and immersive museum visits complemented by digital access for remote settings. A blended training programme — Track A for VET teachers and Track B for company trainers — certifies participants through Europass-compatible micro-credentials. Piloting runs in school-based VET and hybrid school–company placements in Cyprus, Portugal, Türkiye and Greece, with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry opening doors to employers. Radboud University conducts a quasi-experimental evaluation across all five basic skills, while a continuous Policy Lab engages national VET authorities — including HRDA (Cyprus) and ANQEP (Portugal) — throughout the experiment. 

What the project will deliver 

• A VET Basic Skills Exhibit Framework mapping 200+ exhibits, published as an open educational resource; 

• 30+ VET-adapted pedagogical suitcases with trainer guides, vocational activity sheets and assessment rubrics; 

• At least 10 permanent Mini Math Labs and four travelling exhibition sets, reaching more than 1,500 VET learners; 

• An exhibit-based continuing professional development programme certifying over 120 VET teachers and company trainers through micro-credentials; 

• Up to 100 hybrid work-based placements supported by trained workplace mentors; 

• An evidence base of at least 1,200 pre/post learner assessments analysed across countries and learner groups; 

• Country policy briefs, a European Blueprint for museum-based basic skills in VET, and a Scaling-Up Roadmap backed by commitment letters from national authorities. 

Expected outcomes include measurable gains in learners’ basic skills, a certified cohort of teachers and trainers, a network of five regional VETangram Hubs hosted by partner museums, and concrete pathways for integrating the approach into national VET systems. 

The partnership 

VETangram brings together ten organisations from eight countries, coordinated by Citizens in Power (Cyprus): CEPROF – Centros Escolares de Ensino Profissional (Portugal), the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Cyprus), the Konya Provincial Directorate of National Education (Türkiye), Associação Ludus (Portugal), Radboud University (the Netherlands), ScienceCenter-Netzwerk (Austria), IMAGINARY gGmbH (Germany), Curvilinea Società Cooperativa (Italy) and the Directorate of Secondary Education of Pieria (Greece). Associated partners extend the project’s reach, including Maison Poincaré (France), NEMO Science Museum (the Netherlands), PH Wien (Austria), MMI – Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (France), MMACA (Spain), the Universities of Zagreb and Lisbon, VET School Avgorou (Cyprus) and the national VET authorities participating in the Policy Lab. 

CIP’s role 

As coordinator, Citizens in Power leads overall project management, quality assurance and evaluation, and directs the exhibit-based professional development programme, designing the training curriculum for VET teachers and company trainers and managing certification through digital micro-credentials. CIP holds a dual role in the experiment: as an accredited VET training provider and as founder of the Nicosia Mathematical Museum, which hosts a permanent VETangram wing and acts as the Cypriot VETangram Hub. In Cyprus, CIP operates Mini Math Labs and travelling exhibitions together with VET School Avgorou, coordinates work-based placements with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and leads the pathway for integrating the training programme into the HRDA catalogue — committing to continue training sessions, exhibitions and the open resource repository well beyond the funded period. 

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VETangram is co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme. 

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. 

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