Culinary Internship and the European Mobility Action Plan: Part One

International mobility for work placement has experienced exponential growth over the past five years with the assistance of European Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus funding for European internships. The main purpose behind the European Commission funding ventures for internship (experiential learning) is to enhance the students’ cultural awareness, cultivate their language skills and develop their professionalism in their field of study. It is generally accepted that experiential learning in the workplace provides many learning opportunities for students (Billett, 2001:121, Fuller and Unwin, 2003, Guile and Griffiths, 2001, Cullen, 2010a, Cullen, 2010b, Kristensen, 2004). In spite of acceptance that experiential learning is a ‘good thing,’ every few studies are conducted to establish the positive or negative impact of experiential learning through international mobility. In this paper I review the European Commission’s ‘Mobility Action Plan’ as a process of developing Europe’s Education and Training strategy. I also examine the Lisbon Agenda and associated reports, such as the Copenhagen declaration and the Nice Council report, to develop the context of the issues involved. I also provide an overview of the Higher Education Authority in Ireland (HEA) and Technological University Dublin.