Awareness and education regarding natural disasters, especially flash floods, remain alarmingly low in many regions. Despite the increasing frequency and severity of such events due to climate change, many individuals lack the essential knowledge and preparedness to respond effectively. This is evident not only in the high number of casualties and injuries resulting from flash floods but also in research studies that highlight public unawareness. Surveys conducted with randomly selected citizens reveal a significant gap in understanding the phenomenon of flash floods, their causes, impacts, and appropriate measures to mitigate their effects or respond during emergencies.

In response to these findings, the PROFF – Protection against Flash Floods project was developed under the Erasmus+ program. The project, successfully completed, involved six partners from four countries, including representatives from universities, vocational schools, and educational organizations. The coordinator of the project was the Technical University of Kosice.

The main idea of the project was to create a series of 12 workshops for vocational education and training (VET) students focused on natural disasters caused by climate change, with an emphasis on protection against flash floods. The project aimed to raise environmental awareness and enrich curricula with engaging activities that explain basic climate-related concepts and the cause-and-effect relationships of climate change.

The primary goal was to enhance the skills of VET educators in applying innovative teaching methods and digital tools. The project outputs offer practical examples of using the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) approach in education to address climate change and the consequences of natural disasters.
The success of the PROFF project was largely due to the collaborative efforts of its international partners. Each partner brought unique expertise and perspectives to the table, contributing to the project’s comprehensive and multifaceted approach.

This cross-border collaboration fostered a rich exchange of ideas and best practices, ensuring that the project’s outputs were relevant and impactful across diverse educational settings.

This contribution summarizes the experiences of the collaborative efforts among the project’s partner teams.

Keywords: Collaboration, Erasmus project, experiences.