The UPatras Erasmus + UPENSKILLS project team and the Scientific Student Groups of the University of Patras joined forces to organize the UPENSKILLS multiplier event “Soft Skills for the Youth” which was held with great success, wide response, and participation at the Conference Center of the University of Patras on Thursday the 12th of November 2021. The event focused on the cultivation of soft skills to support youth employment and youth entrepreneurship. More than 120 participants from Greece and abroad (France, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, and United Arab Emirates), following all the necessary health measures due to the pandemic, met on campus to exchange ideas and knowledge.
During the event, the results of the European youth training needs research on soft skills and the training tools developed for their cultivation by UPENSKILLS were presented. Event participants were impressed by the innovative way of presentation (lightning talk / data blitz) in which the representatives of the 14 Upatras scientific student groups talked about how the experience of volunteering in their groups cultivated soft skills necessary for their professional development and future career. The students referred to the skills of leadership, collaboration, crisis and stress management, empathy, social intelligence, adaptability, time and pressure management, communication, active listening and teamwork. After the presentations, the exchange of views continued aiming to form a framework for future joint actions, followed by networking activities in the kiosks of the student groups, which were set up in the Hall of the Conference Center exclusively for this event.
The 14 Scientific Student Groups of the University of Patras which participated in the UPENSKILLS event were the following:
AIESEC Patras, BEST Patras, Children Festival of DESECE, Drasi PTDE, EESTEC LC Patras, EUROAVIA Patras, GPSF Patras, HelMSIC Patras, IEEE SB Upatras, iGEM Patras 2021, Mindspace Patras, Permed Festival, Pharmaceutical Student Conference Association of Greece and Phrynichus.
The event was supported by the Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Office of the Research Committee, the Library and Information Center, as well as the Employment, Career & Liaison Office of the University of Patras.