The first educational module of the REOPEN (1 Sep 2025 – 31 May 2028) “Next Generation Workforce – Empowering Young People for Improved Employment” project took place during 12-16 October 2026. The first 4 days were arranged fully online (3 hour online, 14 – 17 pm of EEST time), and the last day was carried out in a hybrid mode (starting at 13:30 pm). In total, 865 young people/ students have pre-registered to participate in the REOPEN educational programme during October-November 2026. The programme includes 3 modules: Module-1 on Soft Skills and Competences, Module-2 on Digital and Green Skills, and Module-3 on AI Skills.
The goal of the Module-1 was focused on preparing young professionals for the labour market of the 21st century by helping them develop relevant skills, such as responsibility, reliability, ownership, and accountability, as well as proactive behaviour, independent thinking, and the ability to contribute ideas and solutions.
On 12 October, Monday, session on “Transition from student to professional” took place and included course description, facilitator work, technical introduction, followed by discussion and group discussion on topics of being a student vs. being a professional: key similarities and differences; what is important to transition from student to professional. Then, students focused their online work individual exercise “My Future Career” considering issue on how to become an employee that a manager wants to promote, self-leadership, growth mindset, feedback. At the end of the first day, the individual homework assignment was given to students and debriefing of both facilitator and participants was carried out. In total, 255 persons attended online.
On 13 October, Tuesday, session on “Solution-Focused Approach” took place. It included at the beginning the previous day’s recap and assignment discussion. Then, it followed by theory of the solution-focused approach – from problem statement to solution and parallel thinking. Then, the group exercise with brainstorming, individual and group exercise with decision making and idea validation. At the end of the second day, the homework assignment was given to students and debriefing of both facilitator and participants was carried out. In total, 175 persons attended online.
On 14 October, Wednesday, session on “Ownership and Accountability” took place. It included in the same way at the beginning the previous day’s recap and assignment discussion. Then, it followed by topics on how to manage personal energy and time and outcomes, goal setting, planning and prioritization with the group discussions and individual exercises. Then, it continued with case examples and individual exercises, considering how to transition from using AI as a passive assistant to a thinking partner that helps to develop critical thinking. At the end of the third day, the homework assignment was given to students and debriefing of both facilitator and participants was carried out. In total, 160 persons attended online.
On 15 October, Thursday, all participants/ young people used as a “Self-Study Day”, and they focused on finalising the final campaign idea for own chosen target group, using AI to challenge and polish own idea, and finalising own future career roadmap.
On 16 October, Friday, session on “Skills Training Role-Plays” took place in a hybrid mode. Some students participated in a face-to-face meeting in the capitals of Estonia, Latvia, and Finland. In particular, about 20 students attended in Tallinn, 26 students attended in Helsinki, and more than 50 students joined onsite in Riga. About 100 students participated online on the last day of the training.
After arrival in these 3 cities, participants were welcome by local hosts, students introduced themselves in a roundtable and made joint photo. On the last day, the hybrid meeting started at 13:30 pm with recap and assignment discussions, followed by theory and debrief of role-play on giving and receiving feedback, individual exercise on how to structure a proposal clearly, concisely, focused on business value, and how to pitch own ideas to manager under pressure and manage stress. At the end of the last day, the homework assignment was given to students and debriefing of both facilitator and participants was carried out. In total, about 200 persons attended the hybrid meeting.
The next REOPEN educational Module-2 on “Digital and Green Skills” will take place online during 2-6 November 2026, and in a similar way with the last day (6 November) to be arranged as a hybrid meeting. See detailed programme of Module-2.
Text by: Hanna K. Lappalainen, Alexander Mahura, UHEL-INAR