From August 16 to 18, the Department of Vocational and Business Education participated in this year’s EARLI SIG 14 conference in Antwerp, Belgium. Under the theme “Learning Works,” the international event provided a forum for numerous exciting presentations and discussions in the context of work and education. In particular, the two keynote addresses by Helen Jossberger (“Stimulate and Simulate: Making Learning Work”) and Marc Clarà (“The Development of Professional Practice: Emotion and Semiotic Mediation in the Field of Teaching”) offered fascinating insights into central themes in this field of research.

The Department of Vocational and Business Education also presented its own research findings in four presentations:

• Poster “Clinical Teaching in Nursing: A Scoping Review of Predictors, Instructional Practices, and Outcomes” by Roman Höhl and Michael Goller
• Poster “Nursing Students’ Career Choice Motivation: Explaining Training Satisfaction and Dropout Using Q” by Laura Herget, Michael Goller, and Jonas Wagemann
• Poster “Systematic patient observation in nursing: An interview study on visual expertise” by Alina Gierosz and Michael Goller
• Presentation “Career-choice motivations of student nurses: Insights from a two-measurement-point interview study” by Roman Höhl, Michael Goller, and Alena Lehnert

In addition to the presentations, the conference offered numerous opportunities for intensive networking and professional exchange with international colleagues. The department looks forward to incorporating the new ideas gained into its daily research activities and to continuing to play an active role in the development of this dynamic field of research in the future. A particular highlight was the tour of the Antwerp Maritime Academy’s simulation center, which offered interesting insights into innovative learning, research, and testing environments where students, researchers, companies, experts, and government agencies work together on the future of shipping.

Next year, the EARLI main conference will take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The next EARLI SIG 14 conference will be hosted in Kolding, Denmark, in 2028.