General Activities
The European Emerging Researchers Network of VETNET (EERN-VETNET) was particularly active throughout the year. It organised networking opportunities, workshops, conference sessions and exchanges for doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers and other emerging researchers. EERN-VETNET also strengthened its links with EERA’s Emerging Researchers’ Group, helping to connect emerging VET researchers with the wider European educational research community. Its activities supported peer consultation, international exchange, professional development and participation in conferences and other VETNET activities.
VETNET’s activities extended beyond ECER. The network continued its involvement in the international Crossing Boundaries in VET conference series. Following the sixth conference in Palma, Mallorca, in 2025, preparations began for the seventh conference, which will take place at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg from 18 to 20 May 2027. VETNET also co-organised the Stockholm International Conference on Vocational Education and Training in May 2026. The conference provided another important forum for presenting state-of-the-art VET research and strengthening international networking and cooperation. ECER, Crossing Boundaries and the Stockholm International Conference provide complementary spaces for exchange within the wider VETNET community.
The network also intensified its collaboration with NordYrk, the Nordic network for vocational education and training. This relationship strengthens communication between the European and Nordic VET research communities, facilitates mutual participation in conferences and academic activities, and creates opportunities for cooperation in research, publications and support for emerging researchers. These activities depend on the engagement of many colleagues. VETNET members contribute by presenting their work, reviewing ECER abstracts and conference papers, participating in programme planning, organising conferences and workshops, and providing critical feedback on the network’s activities.
Publications
Publication activities remained a central part of VETNET’s work. For the ninth consecutive year, selected ECER papers were published in the edited and peer-reviewed series Trends in Vocational Education and Training Research. In addition, edited and peer-reviewed contributions from the Crossing Boundaries in VET conferences are published in Innovations in Vocational Education and Training Research. The proceedings and earlier volumes are available through the VETNET Conference Series and the VETNET publications page.
An important development was VETNET’s partnership with OAPublishing. This partnership enables the network to publish its proceedings according to the principles of diamond open access: neither authors nor readers are charged publication or access fees. It allows high-quality academic work to be made freely available to researchers, practitioners, policymakers and the wider public. The partnership therefore supports both open access to knowledge and a publication model organised by and for researchers and the interested public.
Two papers drawing on the 30th-anniversary symposia at ECER will also be published. They will document the development of VETNET, examine the characteristics that make it a distinctive research network and discuss perspectives on its future. The published contributions illustrate the diversity of the topics, theoretical foundations and methodologies represented in VET research. They also demonstrate the relevance of this research to teachers, trainers, researchers and policymakers.
Future Plans
A major focus will be the seventh Crossing Boundaries in VET conference, to be held in Johannesburg from 18 to 20 May 2027. The conference is being organised by Stephanie Matseleng Allais and Presha Ramsarup of the University of the Witwatersrand, together with Christof Nägele of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and the University of Basel. Under the theme “Learning Across Continents: Conversations in a Divided World,” the conference will examine how VET can respond to major global challenges, including changing labour markets, digitalisation, decarbonisation, and youth unemployment and underemployment. It aims to create a space for critical dialogue, innovative research and collaboration across continents, disciplines, institutions and national VET systems. Particular attention will be given to how different contexts shape VET governance, curricula, partnerships, participation, and relationships between education and work. Through research presentations, reflective sessions, stakeholder dialogue and informal exchange, the conference will seek to identify shared and diverging research priorities and contribute to a more connected and cumulative international body of VET knowledge.
Further priorities include: supporting the transition to the incoming Link Convenors, Susanne Peters and Elena Quintana Murci, ahead of ECER 2027 in Debrecen; continuing to develop EERN-VETNET and its cooperation with EERA’s Emerging Researchers’ Group; deepening cooperation with NordYrk and other international VET research communities; continuing the publication of peer-reviewed ECER and Crossing Boundaries contributions through the network’s diamond open-access publication model; using the insights from the 30th-anniversary symposia to guide the network’s future development; maintaining an inclusive international environment based on democratic culture, scientific integrity, transparency, openness and solidarity.
No specific application for EERA funding has yet been identified. Potential funding needs may arise in connection with emerging-researcher activities, international networking and participation, or activities supporting the network’s strategic development. Further information is available at www.vetnetsite.org.