03 May 2018

TC - "Training for trainers", Vienna, Austria

Three enthusiastic GEYCuleti spent a week in Vienna attending a training course organized by Mladiinfo Austria aimed to help them become better trainers. They got the chance to learn new things from and with other experienced speakers, facilitators and colleagues and, in the end, they were left with one of the most exciting stories to tell.

It all started when we met at the airport before the departure from Bucharest. We couldn’t wait to meet each other and we were instantly happy to realize we will spend a week with like-minded people driven by the same willingness to learn. 
The training's schedule
The first day ended with the arrival at the hostel where magic was about to happen. Our team got the chance to meet all the other participants, get to know them through ice breaking games and getting to know each other activities. We started interacting with people from Spain, Montenegro, Macedonia, Austria, Moldova, Portugal, Bulgaria and Kosovo who would soon become our friends. 

The highlights were the activities about strategizing questions, deconstructing behaviours, digital tools in presentations, roles within teams and self-reflection on Training Competence Framework. 

In the activity about approaching evaluation and discussion questions, we looked at different levels of structuring questions based on specific aims and worked in groups to apply 3 models of evaluation questions. 

Nik, our trainer, explaining the different types of questions.

The activity about behaviors was also very interesting, being focused on identifying challenging typologies of participants and group members. Everyone exchanged good practices and possible resolutions within small international teams. 

When reflecting on Trainers’ Competence Framework we got the opportunity to self-assess and evaluate our evolution as trainers and the steps we need to take to meet the requirements of fully grown professional trainers. 

All the activities were very engaging and triggered many interesting points and reactions. The training enabled us to find common ideas, but also challenged us to tackle differences. During the training, we dedicated time to create a booklet with methods and learnings. It will be available soon so stay tuned for the full experience! 

Here are some testimonials from the team: 

“I was looking forward to attend Training for Trainers mobility in Vienna organized by Mladiinfo Austria. My expectations were concerning mainly presentation skills and inspiration for new methods and tools that I can use in my practice. The experience itself did much more for me as a trainer and as a person. 

I am happy and grateful for this experience, for the wonderful trainers Nik and Alexandra, for the Romanian team, for the many like-minded people I met and with whom I will definitely work in the future.” Andreea Toma 

“It wasn't like any other training I have attended. This one had something special. I still don't know if it was the practices they used, the amount of useful information they shared with us, or the whole vibe of the project; but it was really amazing. Everything worked out perfectly, from managing to present the country in 7 minutes (they made us think of something unusual so we teach them about Romania in under 7 minutes. Can you imagine?! I haven't figured it out in 28 years, so how cand I share it in 7 minutes? Thank you for pushing us! I love it when we get the chance to make it even more interesting that already is) to working with different methods in order to achieve the results we needed.
Romanian traditional table at the intercultural night
I would really like to thank to Nik and Ale (our trainers) as well as to Mladiinfo crew, I also want to thank the 2 amazing colleagues of mine (Adelina and Andreea that supported and helped me through the whole week) and of course, GEYC, for the amazing opportunity they gave me to be a part of this project.” Cristian Purcarea 

All in all, he experience we went through was amazing. All that energy of the people eager to improve themselves was really inspiring and made me want to learn even harder. I am so excited we got to go in depth with subjects like public speaking, designing a presentation and a workshop, behavioural differences, learning styles and training strategies. 

Our team was always there when you needed them and even the big group became like some sort of a foster family for one week, as we took care of each other, respecting everyone’s learning needs and expectations. 

All the participants, together with the two trainers, Nik and Alexandra
The organizing team has made sure we took part in a training that we’ll probably remember for a long time.

Adelina Dragomir.