From March 24 till March 29 two teachers and four students from the Mechanics and Technology College of Olaine were in Lithuania in the framwork of Comenius project ‘Otium?Negotium?’. The participants of this project were from 7 countries – Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Italy. To get to know the culture and everyday life of Lithuania better the students were living in host families. On the first day the students and teachers were welcomed by Kraiziai Gymnasium teachers and pupils were they were discussing the project, prezenting themselves and getting acquainted with the gymnasium. During the next few days all the students and teachers were having nice excursions to Vilnius and Sauliai, they also attended museums, an orphanage and an old people’s house in Lithuania and got acquainted with Lithuanian cuisine, music and dances.

To improve their professional skills and get acquainted with German culture and traditions 9 students from Mechanic and technology college of Olaine (4 mechanics of chemical and biochemical industry and 5 food quality control inspector assistants) had practice in Germany (Bremen) in the framework of Leonardo da Vinci project “New skills acquisition according to the EU demands” from January 5 till February 7, 2009. In Berufsvortbildungswerk training centre the mechanics got acquainted with the principles of functioning of wind generators, got to know how to fix them, how to use digital instruments for taking measurements and process the acquired data on the computer and acquired the skills how to work on computer conducted machine tools. During the practice the students got acquainted with the wind generator service companies, with using wind energy and wind generator industry. The students who acquire the profession of assistant of food product quality inspectors were working in Schulzentrum Utbremen which is one of the biggest vocational schools in Bremen, in the labs where they determined the quality of milk and dairy produce, soft drinks, sugar-containing products and beer by using the newest methods.

From November 4 till November 8 the headmaster of college Valery Krupsky took part in a study trip to Innsbruck ( Austria ) to get acquainted with the vocational education system in Austria . It was done in the framework of Comenius project. During this trip different institutions were visited which not only do the training, but also make the training and education popular: professional education center, professional higher education establishment, vocational school, polytechnic school, exhibition “Education”.

From September 30 till October 21 three students from Bremen ( Germany ) were doing their fieldwork in college labs and joint-stock company Olainfarm. During their practice the young people perfected their skills in medicine preparation production, got acquainted with the opportunities of using alternative energy in college and got to know the culture and traditions of Latvia.

On October 5 in Riga Latvian Society House there took place the ceremony of giving Education and Science Ministry Award 2008. Education and Science Ministry Annual Award is meant to express gratitude to the best teachers, make the teacher profession more prestigious in the society. Juris Gerasimovs, the deputy headmaster of Mechanics and Technology College of Olaine, received this award for creative and qualitative work in higher professional education.

To perfect professional skills and to get to know German culture seven students from Mechanics and Technology College of Olaine (four environment technicians and three biotechnologist assistants) were in practice in Schverin ( Germany ) in the framework of Leonardo da Vinci mobility project “Acquiring New Skills According to the Demands of the EU”. The practice lasted from September 29 till October 30. During the practice the students were learning German and working in the labs determining lake water quality and biological diversity of fauna.