In our regional learning hub PREPLET, the Future Classroom Lab (FCL) is taking shape not merely as a physical space, but as a catalyst for a new learning culture — in a region transitioning from its industrial past into a high-tech, knowledge-driven future.

From project to ecosystem

Together with the Regional Development Agency of Zasavje, we co-created this vision through two intense days of dialogue, design and collaboration, supported by Bart Verswijvel (European Schoolnet, FCL).

What emerged was not another project, but a shared realisation:

Sustainable change in education does not come from isolated innovation — it comes from connected ecosystems.

Through PREPLET, we are building exactly that: a regional learning ecosystem where
schools, educators, researchers, industry and policymakers work as co-creators, not as separate systems.

A learning space that belongs to everyone

At the PREPLET workshop, we brought together stakeholders across the entire educational and societal spectrum — from early childhood to universities, from ministries to local communities, from educators to industry leaders.

Two ideas became central:

• PREPLET as a living lab for teachers
  A safe, open environment where educators experiment, reflect and co-develop innovative pedagogies before scaling them.

• Knowledge as a shared public value
  Through a regional consortium, all schools are connected into a network where knowledge flows — across classrooms, institutions and generations.

PREPLET is not owned by one institution.
It is sustained by relationships, trust and shared purpose.

When space changes pedagogy

Introducing FCL is not about redesigning classrooms.
It is about redefining learning.

Through the philosophy of learning zones, space becomes an active partner in pedagogy:

• enabling inquiry,

• supporting collaboration,

• encouraging creation,

• and giving meaning to knowledge through presentation and reflection.

This shift responds to a critical reality:

Traditional teaching models, centred on content delivery, can no longer meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.

Today’s learners need to:

• think critically,

• collaborate across disciplines,

• adapt continuously,

• and apply knowledge in real contexts.

FCL creates the conditions where this becomes possible.

Bridging education, industry and research

Zasavje’s transformation into a region of high-value, low-carbon technologies is closely linked to learning.

With partners such as the DUBT Centre (National Institute of Chemistry), working on battery technologies and hydrogen, we are bringing cutting-edge innovation directly into education.

Because when learners engage with:

• real challenges,

• real technologies,

• and real partners,

they do not only gain knowledge —
they gain direction, purpose and vision for their future.

A European message

The presence of Sofia Alves (DG REGIO, European Commission) reinforced an important insight:

Just transition is not only economic — it is educational.

Zasavje is increasingly recognised as a European example of how policy, pedagogy and place can align.

Final reflection

PREPLET, with FCL at its core, is not just an initiative.
It is a commitment:

• to learning as a driver of regional development,

• to collaboration as a condition for sustainability,

• and to young people as the architects of the future.

This is not a project.
This is how regions reinvent themselves through learning.