A portfolio is an organised collection of materials that presents and verifies skills and knowledge acquired through experience. It is of particular relevance to validating non‑formal and informal learning because it allows the individual candidate to contribute actively to the collection of evidence and also offers a mix of approaches strengthening the overall validity of the process. This is confirmed by the fact that many countries have introduced the portfolio  as a central element in their validation approaches (CEDEFOP, 2009)

The main aims and objectives of the VAB project was to build a pedagogical tool for teachers/trainers working at the University, a portfolio, to identify, assess and integrate in their global evaluation the skills and competences developed by students beyond the University ; this portfolio for teachers/trainers will be usable for identifying and assessing the non-formal and informal learning of their students/trainees; to develop a digital pedagogial tool, an e-portfolio, on this basis thanks to a virtual tutoring for the teachers/trainers (a smart assistant) ;to propose an e-training course for the teachers/trainers in order to use this pedagogical tool ; andto develop a portal meant to access the e-portfolio and e-training.