Project Name: “Lifelong_DILSE” Developing Lifelong Learning Skills of Young Adults Who Cannot Continue Higher Education

 

Why Is It Needed? Rapidly changing technology has deepened chronic issues among young adults, such as digital addiction, social isolation, and unemployment. In particular, young adults who cannot continue higher education face limitations in accessing Lifelong Learning (LLL) skills that would support their personal, social, and professional development. Existing education systems are insufficient in meeting the needs of this disadvantaged group.

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Objective: The main objective of the project is to provide young adults who cannot continue higher education with lifelong learning skills, thereby increasing their employability, developing their sense of active citizenship, and ensuring their participation in social life. In this direction, it is aimed to create a sustainable model by designing an innovative training program and an e-learning platform.

Project Name and Origin: Lifelong_DILSE is a special acronym that reflects the core vision of our project.

• Lifelong: Refers to the "Lifelong Learning" process, defined by the European Union as "all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills, and competences within a personal, civic, social, and/or employment-related perspective."

• DILSE: Derived from the initials of the key concepts in our project topic: "Developing Lifelong Learning Skills of Young Adults Who Cannot Continue Higher Education."

• The Story of the Name: Adults can find opportunities to develop native language, foreign language, and basic math/science skills through formal education; however, they may experience deficiencies in other essential lifelong learning skills. The name DILSE is a bridge representing the filling of this critical gap; that is, supporting young adults in the areas they need, such as digital skills, learning to learn, social-civic competencies, entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness.

 

Focus of Our Project (Key Competencies): Among the eight key competencies determined by the European Union Education and Culture Commission, our project focuses specifically on these four key areas where adults experience deficiencies:

• Digital Skills: Competent use of information and communication technologies; accessing, evaluating, storing, producing, presenting information, and effective participation in social networks via the internet.

• Learning to Learn: The individual's ability to organize their own learning process, manage time, and overcome obstacles to learn successfully.

• Social and Civic Competencies: The ability to participate creatively in social and working life, reach consensus, and participate democratically in social life through personal, interpersonal, and intercultural competencies.

• Entrepreneurship and Cultural Awareness: The fundamental skills necessary for an individual to develop their competencies in personal, social, and professional fields.

As Lifelong_DILSE, we aim to make young people who are outside of higher education active and well-equipped individuals of modern society by enabling them to acquire these vital competencies.

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Lifelong_DILSE: An Educational Bridge Building the Future

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Social Significance of the Project: In today's world, education has gone far beyond the boundaries of schools. The European Commission (2002) defines lifelong learning as the individual's development of knowledge, skills, and competencies in every field (social, professional, personal) throughout their life. However, young adults who cannot be included in the higher education system face serious disadvantages in reaching the key competencies required by modern society.

While formal education provides basic language and mathematical skills, young people need support in existing in the digital world, managing their own learning processes, and actively participating in social and cultural life. At this point, Lifelong_DILSE steps in as a social equalizer.

Our Innovative Aspects: A New Approach to Education Lifelong_DILSE modernizes traditional educational methodologies and incorporates the following innovative aspects into the project:

• Holistic Competency Model: Our project prioritizes practical life skills not offered by classical curricula by focusing on "neglected" areas among the eight key competencies determined by the EU, such as digital skills, learning to learn, social-civic, and entrepreneurship.

• Digital Transformation (E-Learning): We use digital skills not just as a subject, but as a learning tool. We adapt modern competencies such as storing, producing, and correctly presenting information on social networks to the digital world through our interactive platform.

• "Learning to Learn" Methodology: At the heart of our project lies the individual's ability to manage time and overcome their own learning obstacles. This acts as a sustainable "learning engine" that enables the trainee to produce new knowledge even after the training ends.

• Institutional Integration (HEMBA Model): By integrating our project into the Ministry of National Education's HEMBA (Lifelong Learning Information Network) platform, we are moving it beyond being an ordinary course and giving it the status of a nationally applicable and approved "course program." This means our outputs will be used by thousands of young people for years after the project duration.

 

Expected Impact

• Active Participation in Social Life: Ensuring that trainees are not just knowledgeable, but individuals with intercultural communication skills who participate in democratic processes and have a developed culture of consensus.

• Employability: Facilitating the participation of a self-confident young population, equipped with entrepreneurship skills and capable of developing creative solutions to challenges in business life, into the labor market.

• Cultural Awareness: Strengthening individuals' sense of social belonging by reinforcing their own cultural expressions.

Lifelong_DILSE is not just a project; it is a "life guide" designed for young adults outside of higher education. We aim to move individuals from the position of passive trainees to active subjects who manage their own life's learning process.

We are building an ecosystem that goes beyond accessing information, teaching how to use, produce, and share knowledge.

 

Project Partners

The Lifelong_DILSE project is carried out with the cooperation of strong institutions from Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Poland.

 

Coordinator Institution

Etlik Public Education Center (Turkey)

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Project Partners

Hacettepe University - TR

International Association of Great Educators and Special Educators (UBED) - TR

Achaiko Instituto Ekpedefsis Enilikon - GR

Coordinamento Donne nel Mondo - IT

Green Education Institute - PL

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Project Duration

December 31, 2025 – December 30, 2027 (24 Months)

 

Target Audience

Young adults aged 18-39 who cannot access higher education

NEET individuals (Not in Education, Employment, or Training)

Disadvantaged young adults

Adult education experts

Educational institutions

Non-governmental organizations