European Innovative Teaching Award celebrates 104 Erasmus+ projects

The European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA) is a new initiative of the European Commission, set out through the Communication on achieving the European Education Area by 2025. The Award recognises the work of teachers (and their schools) who make an exceptional contribution to the profession.

The objectives of the European Innovative Teaching Award are to:

• celebrate the achievements of teachers and schools and give credit to their work
• identify and promote outstanding teaching and learning practices
• use the prize as a means for mutual learning
• highlight how the Erasmus+ programme benefits European teacher collaboration and supports building the European Education Area

Celebrating innovation

The Award was given for the first time in 2021. 104 successful projects from 31 Erasmus+ programme countries were recognised in four different categories.

The projects were funded under the 2014-2020 Erasmus+ programme. Nonetheless, many of the practices elaborated as part of their implementation were sufficiently innovative to help schools adapt quickly to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular to school closures and the related distance learning requirements.

Inspiring school education

The EITA is focused on school education (including early childhood education and care and VET schools). It rewards schools and the teachers working there, which through their Erasmus+ projects explored innovative, previously less known or less-applied approaches to teaching and learning that can serve as a source of inspiration for others in different countries and contexts.

In 2021, the theme of the award was “Distance and blended learning” to show how using these practices and related digital tools contribute to effective and inclusive education.

This overarching theme is defined annually in line with the priorities of the European Education Area.