The presentation focuses on co-development project “Youth Employment and TVET in Kenya” (KenVET) of Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) in Finland and Finn Church Aid (FCA) with five Kenyan technical and vocational education (TVET) institutions during 2024-25. The project is connected to Government of Kenya proactive reforms in “Dual TVET” emphasizing enhancement of accessibility, quality and integration of practical learning promoting youth employment by TVET institutions collaborating with employers, entrepreneurs and industry. The thematic areas of the project lead by TAMK have been modern teaching technologies, individualized learning, and competency-based education and training (CBET).

KenVET has been a curriculum-based training project with combination of on-line and on-site learning for Kenyan teachers and trainers inviting and inciting all participants to a process of co-production of knowledge for promoting youth employment, implementing modern teaching technologies and principles of individualized and competency-based learning in TVET. Project started 2024 with TAMK professionals analysis of Kenyan policy documents on TVET and visit to Kenya. Three TAMK professionals and three FCA Kenya experts conducted together a short field study in five TVET institutions in Mount Kenya area. The curriculum for the training program was planned based on this field study and on TAMK’s professional teacher education program. It was organized in Moodle LMS with monthly webinars and learning tasks. 11 groups of 66 teachers and trainers implemented development works on modern teaching technology, competency-based and individual learning focusing on their own work with trainees in the institutions to promote youth employment and collaboration with employers. The process has been documented in the Moodle, in the project report of FCAKenya and in the Teams-channel of the process. The data of the process is multifaceted and plenty and the analytical approach in this presentation is to describe the process of the co-production of knowledge in the training and in conducting the 11 group works. A questionnaire for the Kenyan participants was conducted in the end of the training program documenting the the most valuable learning experiences for participants and the broader organizational impacts of the project. 

The invitation for co-production of knowledge incited all participants to collaborate and contribute in the process. The development works conducted by the 11 groups focused mostly on the modern teaching technologies as (n) groups had chosen that theme. The orientation for co-production of knowledge shows also that the ideas started to grow and settle in the future plans of the participating institutions.  

As the funding of the project ended at December 2025 the co-production of knowledge had to be cut. In the presentation in the ECER2026 we describe the process until that point and seek for possibilities to continue in future projects.  The project and disscussions within the project network have raised the questions on how the process combines German Dual TVET, Finnish individualized, competency-based TVET and Kenyan and African perspectives of the FCA’s principle of “from learning to earning”. In the presentation answers to this question are to be discussed further.

The KenVet project is documented and organized as the dataset for analysis and interpretations based on the principles of co-research and collective production of knowledge (Hakala 2007, Holmen et al. 2026, Kulmala et al. 2023). The data is collected to the Moodle -platform following GDPR-principles. The data management plan follows principles of Tampere Univeristies (TUNI) and The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK. The data has been collected in continuum of visits, meetings, training activities on-site and on-line documenting the process of co-production of knowledge. The dataset includes: • Kenyan educational policydocuments on the principles of dual TVET and competency baced learning • observation fieldnotes from the planning and implementing the first visit in Kenya in June 2024 • group interviews of management, teachers and trainers as well as students groups in each of the five TVET institutions during the visits in June 2024 • Moodle-platform documentation of the training process 2024-25 • on-site training session in Kenya in October 2024 • The presentation in EYEOnTAMK-conference in Tampere March 12th , with participating representatives from Kenya • The closing seminar of the training in September 23rd 2025 in Kenya. • Individual final questionnaire for the participants of the training process conducted after the closing seminar. • Documentation of the final seminar of the GIZ-projects in December 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. • Finn Church Aid final report of the project In the presentation we focus on the description of the process and of the development works and on the analysis of the answers to the final questionnaire.

The participants in the training process reported in the individual responses of the questionnaire - the adoption, competence and motivation of using of digitally enhanced learning and modern teaching technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). - This digital transformation promoted more active and student-centered learning, with noting heightened student engagement. The use of digital tools, such as interactive whiteboards and quizzes, was particularly effective in fostering this engagement. The development work group reports underscored: - adopted teaching methods were widely regarded as effective, contributing to improved learning outcomes and quality through increased activation and flexibility - The project’s innovations were also seen as supporting the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) approach, which is a national priority in Kenya’s TVET sector - the integration of work-based learning approaches was found to better prepare students for the demands of working life and to enhance collaboration with industry partners - Importantly, these new methods were considered scalable and suitable for broader implementation within the organization and the project contributed to the ongoing development of trainers’ pedagogical competencies. - supportive factors influencing the implementation of new practices were expressed: availability of open-source or free software, which enabled teachers to create collaborative and creative learning environments, strong student engagement that motivated teachers to adopt new methods, and robust teamwork that facilitated educational development pilots. - several challenges were also noted: technological barriers, such as internet connectivity issues and hardware or software malfunctions, limited access to suitable digital tools for teachers and trainers and, resistance to change, particularly a preference for traditional, teacher-paced content delivery

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