Assistant Prof. Apostolos Kostas of the Media Pedagogy Research Group, University of the Aegean participated in the GREENDALE International Mentor Training, held on 22–24 September 2026 at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) in Malta. The three-day training brought together academics and company mentors from Greece, Malta and Slovakia to explore how sustainability competences can be meaningfully developed, supported and assessed through workplace learning.
The training was organised within the framework of the Erasmus+ project GREENDALE – Green Dimension: Adapting Learning in Higher Education, which aims to strengthen the sustainability competences of Higher Education students across different disciplines. Building on the European GreenComp competence framework, GREENDALE works on two complementary dimensions of students’ learning experience: integrating sustainability competences into university courses and creating internships in which students can further develop these competences through authentic workplace experiences.
From sustainability frameworks to workplace practice
A central focus of the Malta training was the transition from sustainability concepts and competence frameworks to their practical application in internships.
Across the three days, participants explored sustainability competences and the GreenComp framework and worked collaboratively on identifying opportunities for their development within different professional contexts. Activities addressed the mapping of internship tasks, the formulation of learning outcomes, the design of internship plans, and approaches to mentoring, monitoring and assessing students’ competence development.
Particular emphasis was placed on the role of the company mentor. Sustainability competences cannot be developed through exposure to the workplace alone. Mentors need to be able to recognise relevant learning opportunities in everyday professional activities, connect these opportunities with appropriate sustainability competences, support students during the learning process, and gather evidence of their progress.
The participation of both academics and professionals from different sectors created an important space for exchange between Higher Education and the workplace. Participants were able to examine sustainability-oriented internships from different perspectives and discuss how academic learning outcomes can be connected with the realities, constraints and opportunities of professional practice.
The University of the Aegean in GREENDALE
The University of the Aegean is one of six organisations participating in the GREENDALE partnership, which brings together Higher Education institutions and private organisations from Greece, Malta and Slovakia.
Within the project, the University of the Aegean has a leading role in the capacity-building activities for Higher Education teachers, supporting educators in integrating sustainability competences into teaching, learning outcomes and assessment practices.
Earlier project activities focused on the Higher Education side of this process, including the training of university teachers and the preparation for the pilot revision of undergraduate courses. The international training in Malta extends this work into the workplace, preparing company mentors to support the development of the same sustainability competences during students’ internships.
This connection between university learning and work-based learning is a central element of the GREENDALE approach. Rather than treating sustainability as an additional or isolated topic, the project seeks to embed sustainability competences throughout students’ educational pathways and professional experiences.
Towards sustainability-oriented internships
Following the international training, trained company mentors will contribute to the next phase of GREENDALE through the implementation of pilot sustainability-oriented internships in the participating countries.
These pilots will provide an opportunity to test how the project’s methodology and mentoring resources can be applied in real organisational settings and across different professional fields. The experience gained will contribute to refining approaches for planning, supporting, monitoring and assessing sustainability competence development during internships.
Through this work, GREENDALE seeks to strengthen the connection between Higher Education, sustainability education and the labour market, helping students develop not only discipline-specific knowledge and professional skills, but also the competences needed to contribute to more sustainable workplaces and societies.
The GREENDALE – Green Dimension: Adapting Learning in Higher Education project (2024-1-SK01-KA220-HED-000243273) is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and is implemented by six partner organisations from Slovakia, Greece and Malta.