The EU is currently facing a paradox: while the youth employment rate stands at 16.1%, there are around 2 million unfilled vacancies across Europe. It has been elaborated that this paradox might be attributed to the fact that “a high number of employers cannot find the right mix of skills in the job market, especially with regard to e-skills.”(Eurostat, 2017, app.1,pt.5). The explanation has been supported by employers themselves who when recruiting young people, look first and foremost for the right attitude and aptitude to enable young people to be effective in the workplace. In particular, 5 key competences are foreseen: - Communication - Adaptability / flexibility - Creative thinking - Problem Solving - Teamwork In order to overcome this skills mismatch, better VET provision is needed to include those soft skills and better prepare the youth entrance on the labor market. The main objective of STRATAGAME is to support young people in acquiring and developing key soft employability, developing an effective open and innovative education through the use of ICT and contributing to professional development of the VET teachers by including common methodologies for introducing soft employability in curricula. These objectives were achieved by providing VET teachers with specific tools enabling them to include soft skills teaching in their professional activity, by developing an online diagnostic test to assess the soft skills of young people such as communication, adaptability/flexibility, creative thinking, problem solving and teamwork; by creating an online game to let young people and VET leaders develop the above mentioned soft skills and by providing to VET teachers electronic guides, equipping VET teachers with digital guides on didactic methods for incorporating the diagnostic test and the online game on soft skills within wider classroom activities. Partners are 7 entities from 5 European countries including Romania, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Turkey. All of them are educational providers and or stakeholders working for territorial development and labor insertion thanks to better adequation of skills to the market demands. The working team created for the implementation of STRATAGAME work under the leadership of the Romanian partner CDA: Arad Development Center. Then, STRATAGAME involves in the project activities two main target groups: VET teachers, including I-VET and C-VET formal, non-formal, and informal providers from all kinds of subjects and specialization to integrate soft skills among their activities. At least 140 VET teachers were planned to be directly involved in the development of project products. As the second target, STRATAGAME addresses young people understood as VET learners and potential VET learners facing the need for soft skills to facilitate their labor market integration. Again, at least 140 young people were planned to be directly engaged during the development of the project outputs. Finally, STRATAGAME also works with educational stakeholders such as VET institutions and teachers associations, youth associations, business associations, employment services, among others, with the aim of widening the outputs diffusion and impact. Description of activities STRATAGAME developed three main products: 1) A Diagnostic test, made of a set of psychometric questions and which aimed at drawing an evaluation of the youth level of competences in the 5 key soft skills addressed. This tool is helping teachers to assess their students' level of knowledge and provides young people with a deeper self-understanding. 2) An online game, which has the form of one building with 5 rooms, each one presenting a new challenge corresponding to one of the 5 competencies. 3) Electronic guides, which are supporting tools given to the teachers with teaching notes related to the online games, new scenarios for classroom implementation, sources of information and references on soft skills theoretical contents, best practices, etc. The methodology used for the development of STRATAGAME products relies upon educational gamification theory. The idea behind it is that learners are motivated and remind better the knowledge while entertaining. Also, it is participative and interactive, based on real cases and a contextual approach. Results and impact The project brings important impact on VET teachers by providing them with a selection of innovative didactic tools to apply within current methodologies and the daily classroom while getting increased teaching effectiveness, an increased understanding of the employer's’ requirements, and higher overall job satisfaction and motivation for Continuous Professional Development- The project has a positive impact on youth by developing their soft skills with the use of online tools resulting in an increased professional potential, an increased level of awareness of their own soft skills, increased confidence in their employability potential, and higher chances of getting a job. Soft skills are crucial not only in the workplace but also in daily life. By developing soft skills in the classroom, young people increase their chances of success within such fields as completion of assignments (time management), peer relationships (teamwork), and job hunting (networking). As long term benefits, partners expect to contribute to a better-trained youth generation able to be more efficient at the time of answering to employers expectation, thanks to an overcome of soft skills mismatch.

Technological innovations like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are exerting profound changes on the way people live and work. It is impacting all economies, societies and disciplines of knowledge, including how, what, why and where physicians need to best practice medicine and serve their patients. However, change is not only about the mere availability of such innovative technologies, but rather requires soft skills to get better connection with the patients, professionals, organizations and other agents concerning the health processes. The main objective of AIIS is to contribute to improve European HEIs’ offer in the field of medicine by providing a comprehensive programme for medical students, where AI, innovation, intrapreneurship and soft skills will play a key role, and which will be largely disseminated for its integration into universities’ curricula.AIIS proposal is built along three main axes:-A training programme anchored in social and market realities. Making full acknowledgement of latest technical innovations and the best learning methods to address them, as well as targets perceptions on the topic prior to the design of a comprehensive learning journey, training materials and challenges.- An individual and collaborative training programme developed and piloted relying on two main training needs identified:o Artificial intelligence (AI).o Soft skills, intrapreneurship and innovation. This training will be delivered making use of an innovative methodology mixing online contents and collaborative work to answer challenges (health challenges related with AI), making it flexible and attractive for students.-A long-term proposal designed in a way to enable insertion in students’ curricula. A wide network of HEIs, Research centres and companies will be created, and the project will foster public/private collaborations and partnerships. A key result of the project will be an exploitation plan aimed at mainstreaming the AIIS programme to the AIIS network.

<< Objectives >>To provide educators working with women from difficult backgrounds innovative teaching tools to enable them to access public and private funds and increase their financial skills to start their own eco-business;To enhance educators knowledge about gender gap and gender discrimination issues and provide the right tools to tackle them; To upskill women educators in order to offer them new skills to make them more competitive in the labour world.<< Implementation >>- Training activities to teach the educators how to use the resources developed by the project to deliver eco-entrepreneurship classess to empower end emancipate women from difficult contexts- Co-creation sessions involving educators to ensure that the resources are adapted to their needs- Assessment activities to ensure high quality standards- Promotion activities to advertise the project and raise awarenessa bout the importance of women empowerment through financial independence and work<< Results >>- A Women’s needs Assessment Toolkit to allow educators to assess the skills that women have already acquired and that would be useful in starting their eco-business- A Train the Trainers Programme to improve educators skills in delivering eco-business courses to women - An online platform to provide easy, free and immediate access to the training courses- A sound and extensive dissemination campaign to advertise the results of the project, multiply the impact on the target groups

<< Objectives >>The main objective of UPINFOOD project is to promote the transformation of the sector towards a new modernised vision of food that supplies nowadays demand in quality and healthy products while being sustainable, taking the most of new technologies and being a motor of innovation, thanks to education addressed to the key actors of this industry. Thus we intend to:-Develop a competence framework -Train professionals from the sector -Create collaborative tools -Equip VET trainers<< Implementation >>-Working seminars to better our mutual definition of key concepts-Focus groups with our target groups to assess their needs-Development of the project results -Implementation and testing of our results-Validation and certification of our results-Enrolment of further stakeholders thanks to a mainstreaming strategy that will support the spread of the UPINFOOD material and their integration among training offer in the food innovation field-Promotion of results<< Results >>Our expected results are:-A competence profile and learning pathway for the food (future) professionals relating to innovation, sustainability and empowerment.-An online training course including tests of competences, practical activities and collaborative elements -A train the trainer manual that supports the implementation of the course-A mainstreaming strategy-Durable impact on the local, regional and EU level in terms of transformation of food business models

<< Background >>It is extremely clear that the current socio-economic systems are no longer suitable for our society and for the Planet itself, hence the incumbent need for new educational patterns to organize the economic activity and promote a systemic approach designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment.Young people will play a key role in the shaping of a sustainable future as stated by the World Youth Report on “Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. It is only with their actions towards sustainable development that they will be able to establish inclusive societies while also adverting the impacts of climate change, unemployment, poverty, gender inequality, conflict, and migration.Therefore in this scenario, the project ECO-CIRCLE: “Circular Economy as a tool to develop an Innovative eco-inclusive social entrepreneurship educational pattern for youth” aims at becoming a European new educational benchmark within the Circular Economy sector for youth, by creating a solid link and opportunities within the Social Entrepreneurship field, by promoting and enhancing socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable innovation through community learning and national and transnational collaboration.Thanks to the in-depth cooperation of a well-rounded International Partnership represented by 7 Organizations active in the field of sustainable development and youth education, non-formal learning and, with direct expertise on online and digital education as well as on Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Economy, Partners aim at creating a (PR1)Framework of Competences for Circular Economy, customized for Youth, Digital Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to navigate successfully the Circular Economy, (PR2)An interactive and cutting-edge Online Course for youth, youth workers and educators to enhance their social entrepreneurship potential within the Circular Economy, capable to boost the needed skills for an eco-inclusive entrepreneurship and equip present and future youngsters and their social enterprises as well as small and growing businesses, with the necessary digital tools and resources to start-up and scale-up through the circular economy. And finally (PR3)An educational e-game (APP), with the aim of engaging, connecting, and empowering youth, youth workers, educators and social entrepreneurs, while learning about global and international development issues, with focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and thus becoming active and global citizens. Moreover, Partners will implement National Focus Groups (A2) with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building Youth workers, Social Entrepreneurs & Educators on their effective use, and thus multiplying the effect in turn, by promoting and training future eco-entrepreneurs. All Project Results will be shared with the main target groups via Final Multiplier Events (E1-E6).Main Project Target groups are:.Present and Future Young Social Entrepreneurs, Youth workers, Educators, Trainers, Facilitators, Teachers, Learners with interest in the topic of Circular Economy as a tool for Social Entrepreneurship..Partner organisations and their Staff.NGOs, Associations, Foundations, Youth Centers, Informal Groups of Youth, Non-formal training providers including SMEs, Municipalities, Development agencies as well as HEIs active in the field of environmental learning, entrepreneurship/social education, willing to test and incorporate the new training curricula into their educational offer. Furthermore, “wannabe agents of change” as well as other present and future social entrepreneurs not directly targeted by the project, will be also able to benefit firsthand from the project online training methodology and tools, which will eventually lead to a multiplier effect and an actual widespread socio-economic impact in Europe and beyond.<< Objectives >>Besides following the main recommendations of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 of engaging, connecting and empowering young people, ECO-CIRCLE is aligned with the following Erasmus+ Programme common and specific priorities & objectives for the Youth field:-Promoting active citizenship, young people’s sense of initiative and youth entrepreneurship including social entrepreneurship-Increasing quality, innovation and recognition of youth work through capacity-building of youth workers on circular economy as a tool for a sustainable and more effective social entrepreneurship education with a more strategic and integrated use of ICTs and open educational resources (OER). -Environment and Fight Against Climate Change through the spread of awareness about environmental and climate-change challenges (among other SDGs).Linear economy approaches based on the take-make-dispose mentality are coming under increasing pressure because of their negative impacts. With this economic model the production of goods is at the expense of the productivity of our ecosystems while also jeopardising their supply, leading to ecological and economic disadvantages.The European Commission has adopted in 2020 a new Circular Economy Action Plan, one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth. With a circular economy the aforementioned problems are solved. Greenhouse gas emissions are automatically reduced on a global scale, the application of circularity in the economy creates vital ecosystems such as soil, air and water bodies, the conservation of nature is systematically preserved by stopping the extraction and dumping mechanism. In addition to that, circularity has several advantages for the economy thanks to substantial resource savings and growth of employment with the adoption of new business models focused on reuse, repair, remanufacturing and sharing models.Moreover, from the World Youth Report on “Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (UN DESA), it emerges the key role of young people in sustainable development as a driving force to achieve sustainable and inclusive societies while adverting the impacts of climate change, unemployment, poverty, gender inequality, conflict, and migration. Therefore, in this scenario the project ECO-CIRCLE aims to train and encourage young entrepreneurs to adopt sustainable business models, promoting waste prevention, systemic eco-innovation, eco-consumption, collaborative economy, eco-design and territorial symbiosis to create new jobs while contributing to the global Sustainable Development Goals and propel our world to a greener future.<< Implementation >>The project ECO-CIRCLE: “Circular Economy as a tool to develop an Innovative eco-inclusive social entrepreneurship educational pattern for youth” aims at promoting an innovative training methodology specifically designed for Youth, Digital Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators, that will empower present and future social entrepreneurs, by developing a flexible learning offer and e-tools when it comes to advance the understanding of eco-social entrepreneurship, identify opportunities and managing entrepreneurship policies and programs to further a circular economy in ways that respect ecological limits, empower people, and build community capacity.The Results set by the project and Partnership itself, will be achieved thanks to the in-depth cooperation of a well-rounded International Partnership represented by 7 Organizations active in the field of youth education, environmental learning, digital and financial literacy, social entrepreneurship and direct expertise on circular economy, representing 6 Programme Countries: France, Italy, Spain,The Netherlands,Finland and Slovenia.To do so, we have divided the activities leading to the production of Project Results, into the following Work Packages (WPs), to better define aims and deliverables, thus enabling a correct and efficient project implementation and workflow:•WP1-(A1) - Project Management & Implementation including Follow-up via a thorough Communication Strategy, supported by transnational and online partners meeting (M)•WP2-(PR1): A customized Circular Economy Framework of Competences for Youth, but also valid for Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators, focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to successfully navigate the Circular Economy (Available in (EN/FR/IT/ES/NL/FI/SL). Based on the Framework, the following 2 Project Results will be developed.•WP3-(PR2): A customized Online Training programme (Available in (EN/FR/IT/ES/NL/FI/SL) designed for youth, youth workers and educators to enhance their social entrepreneurship potential within the Circular Economy, capable to boost the needed skills for an eco-inclusive entrepreneurship and equip present and future youth and their social enterprises as well as small and growing businesses, with the necessary digital tools and resources to start-up and scale-up through the circular economy - including minimum 180 people (30 per Country involved) belonging to the project target groups that will register and benefit from the online course). Partners will also develop an Open Badges’ system which will allow participants to the online course to be awarded with an Open Badge after successfully completing each module and, a final Certificate at the end of the whole Online Course.•WP4-(PR3): ECO-app:e-game for ECO-Agents of Change, with the aim of engaging, connecting and empowering youth, youth workers, educators, social entrepreneurs, educators and adult learners, while learning about global and international development issues, with focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and thus becoming active and global citizen via Gamification (min. 150 downloads)•WP5-(A2): National Focus Groups, with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building participants on their effective use and benefits, Partners will involve 5 educators and 5 experts in Circular Economy & Social Entrepreneurship per Country (60 participants in Total)•WP6-(A3): Promotion, Sharing and Use of Project Results Plan (including the Exploitation of the results): not only includes the Sharing & Promotion Plan (SUP Plan) but also a multilingual project website and social media pages, multiplier events E1-E6 for which each partner is responsible for organising their own National Event (minimum 150 attendees among all Partners/Countries involved).•WP7-(A4): Quality Control, Monitoring and Evaluation<< Results >>ECO-CIRCLE:“Circular Economy as a tool to develop an Innovative eco-inclusive social entrepreneurship educational pattern for youth” aims at promoting an innovative training methodology specifically designed for Youth,Digital Youth Workers,Social Entrepreneurs and Educators, that will empower present and future social entrepreneurs, by developing a flexible learning offer and e-tools when it comes to advance the understanding of eco-social entrepreneurship, identify opportunities and managing entrepreneurship policies and programs to further a circular economy in ways that respect ecological limits, empower people, and build community capacity.Throughout 2 years of project implementation, the Partnership set the following results and outcomes to be achieved:•A multi-level project website available in 7 Programme languages & Social Media page (EN/FR/IT/ES/NL/FI/SL).•A Framework of Competences for Circular Economy, customized for Youth, Digital Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to navigate successfully the Circular Economy. At least 120 Online Surveys (20 per Country) will be answered by experienced youth workers/social entrepreneurs. Based on the Framework, the following 2 Project Results will be developed.•An interactive and cutting-edge Online Course for youth, youth workers and educators to enhance their social entrepreneurship potential within the Circular Economy - including minimum 180 people (30 per Country involved) belonging to the project target group that will register and benefit from the online course (Piloting). Partners will also develop an Open Badges’ system which will allow participants to the online course to be awarded with an Open Badge after successfully completing each module and, a final Certificate at the end of the whole Online Course.•A multi-level e-game (app), with the aim of engaging, connecting and empowering young people and promoting youth participation and active European citizenship via gamification. (min. 150 downloads)•National Focus Groups, with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building participants on their effective use and benefits, Partners will involve 5 educators and 5 experts in Circular Economy & Social Entrepreneurship per Country. (60 participants in Total)•A set of 6 informal offline and/or online dissemination activities during project implementation: at least 6 informal dissemination events,complementing 6 final multiplier events (E1-E6): min.150 attendees in total.Moreover,after its completion,the project will contribute to generate the following minimum outcomes:-Building capacity and modernising youth work through innovation and more sustainable practices-Improved competences in various sustainability-relevant sectors, developing green sectorial skills strategies and methodologies-Improved levels of skills for employability and new business creation within the circular economy (including social entrepreneurship);-Improved competences and increased opportunities for the professional development -More strategic and integrated use of ICTs & open educational resources(OER) in education & training;-Openness to synergies with organisations active in different fields or in other socio-economic sectors; -Increased capacity and professionalism to work at EU/international level ;-Strengthened awareness about European identity and Active Citizenship & more “Agents of Change” among the EU through the spread of awareness about environmental and climate-change challenges (among other SDGs).Aforementioned minimum results &d objectives will be achieved thanks to an in-depth cooperation among the partners involved,supported by the Management,Communication and Implementation Strategy,Sharing & Promotion of Project Results Plan (including Exploitation Plan)and a consistent Quality Control, Monitoring and Evaluation of the project activities and results.