AI-enhanced Vocational Education for a Sustainable Future (SUSTaiN) is an Erasmus+ VET project that equips vocational educators and students to apply Artificial Intelligence in support of sustainability across four key sectors: Agriculture, Energy, Water Management and Transport, preparing a workforce for the green and digital transitions.
SUSTaiN responds to a clear gap in vocational education. AI is rapidly reshaping industry, yet few VET programmes prepare learners to use it in ways that serve environmental goals. The project empowers VET educators to bring AI into their curricula, with a particular focus on sustainable outcomes, so that future professionals can apply AI-driven solutions to real-world challenges in their own sectors.
Bringing together vocational colleges, training providers, a higher education institution and sustainability specialists from Norway, Ireland, Finland, Italy and Bulgaria, SUSTaiN combines expertise in VET, e-learning, agrifood, transport and climate action. Over its lifetime, the project will directly involve at least 60 VET educators, 90 VET students and 15 industry stakeholders, who will test and co-create its resources. Educators will gain the knowledge and confidence to teach AI for sustainability, while students will work hands-on with industry to tackle genuine sustainability challenges using AI tools. Through a dedicated sharing strategy, SUSTaiN aims to reach more than 1,000 VET and industry stakeholders across Europe.
There will be several project outputs:
- Sustainable AI Case Studies and Starter Kit
- AI Training Programme for VET, a suite of flexible Open Educational Resources
- AI for Sustainability Hackathons, uniting VET students, educators and industry
- AI for Sustainability Hackathon Guide for VET colleges
- Share and Sustain Strategy
