Belgium (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): The Excellence Fund, initiated by Minister Ben Wets, supports technical and vocational students through competitions. This year, 19 projects received €2.2 million, promoting economic skills with initiatives like the iCare Olympiad and Lego League Challenge.
The Excellence Fund, started last year, motivates students, especially those in technical and vocational schools, with school contests. Olympiads and school contests have been around for a while, but they generally involve students from regular high schools. Minister Ben Wets started the Excellence Fund to organize contests for technical and vocational students to address this problem.
What New Projects Will the Excellence Fund Support This Year?
Last year, 15 projects got €1.5 million. This year, an independent jury of education and job experts picked 19 projects, raising the budget to €2.2 million. Wets revealed this on Wednesday. Some projects from last year, like Eersteklas, which focuses on hospitality and woodworking skills for students, are set to become regular events. New programs include the ‘iCare Olympiad’, showcasing healthcare issues to young people, and the Lego League Challenge, enabling STEM students to build and program Lego robots.
