<< Objectives >>The project seeks to promote environmental awareness and sustainable development in higher education institutions to contribute to the achievement of national greenhouse gas reduction targets. It aims to enhance stakeholders' awareness of environmentally friendly practices in teaching, learning, and student/staff mobility in order to reduce the carbon footprint of higher education institutions.<< Implementation >>-Reviewing existing carbon footprint calculation tools and develop a common assessment tool-Calculating carbon footprint in the 4 partner universities -Sustainability awareness study-Curriculum and Module development- from teaching and learning to emission neutrality-Computing CO2 related with students and staff travels-Predicting several scenarios, relating teaching methods with carbon footprint-Student and Staff Involvement-Summer school (with a minimal carbon footprint)<< Results >>- New modules– from teaching and learning to emission neutrality- Turnkey and low-carbon lectures and learning activities related to sustainable development, especially regarding the topic “Carbon Footprint estimation”- A measurement tool for academic carbon footprint, used to ass the participating universities scores, as well methods to continuously improve this score- A collection of sharable best practices for universities related to teaching, carrying out research, staff, student mobility

Moby Dig: Transnational mobility & interdisciplinary STEM modules in the digital eraThe integration of new and innovative teaching methods into higher education (HE) is inevitable in terms of EU modernisation agenda demanded objectives as increasing the excellence of teaching (enhance quality and develop new ways to deliver education), support the internationalisation, provide/deliver the right mix of skills and increasing the quantity of HE students/graduates, etc. Moby Dig wants to implement these objectives in an interantional and interdisciplinary blended learning concept with an integrated blended mobility concept.Moby Dig will develop, test and implement this novel and innovative concept for STEM field courses to increase STEM field attractivity as well as to support the internationalisation process in HE. Therefore, the delivery of chemistry knowledge was exemplarily chosen to serve as a pilot project for the concrete application of the Moby Dig concept. The international (Finnish, Swedish and German) and interdisciplinary (Physician Assistant and Paper Technology) group composition provides besides different language environments also an insight into intercultural and interdisciplinary perspectives. This education and training idea consists of a blended learning concept in a flipped classroom variant and includes a great variety of study modes: online self-study (distance learning), (virtual) group/project work, virtual classrooms, collaborative eLearning tools, eAssessment, etc. To increase motivation of the students and make the course content more attractive, processes as for example gamification, peer learning or self-assessment will be incorporated, too. In this regard, the students can flexibly learn the online course content in their individual preferred learning speed, time and place, whereas the virtual classrooms serve as for example discussion rounds/Q&A-sessions, time for group/project work or exchange of experiences. The embedded mobility (ISPs) enables an increased level of hands-on experiences, offer a direct knowledge transfer to real applications and provide an interactive learning environment. Moby Dig exploits the transformational benefits of the ICTs in the international and interdisciplinary cooperation as well as integrates the usage and production of OERs. Thus, besides gaining scientific knowledge in a new and exciting way, this course concept allows the acquirement of transversal and employability skills, important for the labour market. Especially in modern times, the process of internationalisation with its corresponding achievement of employability skills as intercultural awareness and tolerance gains a greater importance than usual.Moreover, the Moby Dig concept increases the international comparability of modules by standardising course content and generating a joint curriculum. The quality level of the course is standardised internationally, whereat the international comparability/recognition of qualifications will be enabled referring to the Bologna Process with consistent use of ECTS linked to the European Qualifications Framework.Another benefit of Moby Dig is, that not only the students will profit from this modernisation, but also the teaching staff has the opportunity to pursue their professional development in transversal skills.Moby Dig will generate the following key outputs, which will be disseminated on a website and at a final conference/satellite symposium at the end of the project:- Moby Dig concept: transferable modernised eLearning and mobility concept with integrated ISPs to make STEM fields more attractive- Transfer of the Moby Dig concept to chemistry education- OER for chemistry basic knowledge in a new and innovative style

The project “Mainstreaming Procedures for Quality Apprenticeships in Educational Organisations and Enterprises” (ApprenticeshipQ) wanted to support educational institutions and placement providers to offer high-quality education to their apprentices. The project’s proposed assessment of quality has made these processes more manageable and will benefit all stakeholders. These benefits include lifelong learning for teachers, professors and tutors, enhancements for placement providers, improvement of apprentice’s skills development and overall higher quality of the learning experience.Quality is key to assuring positive outcomes for all stakeholders involved and this project therefore focused on approaches to securing and developing high quality apprenticeships that will in turn help foster stronger collaborations between employers, providers and students. However, experiences, concepts and vision on how to leverage the potential of practice and work-based learning (WBL) for the field of HVET was lacking. The project addressed this issue through comprehensive quality criteria to give guidance and orientation on how to structure those parts of HVET which take part in the world of work. In fact, no proposal existed on how European Higher Vocational Institutions may adapt their internal quality systems to ensure proper supervision and control of apprenticeships, or even what a minimum level of quality for an apprenticeship should entail. The intention of the ApprenticeshipQ project was to:develop an ApprenticeshipQ toolkit, which provides a clear framework for quality management of apprenticeships at organisations, particularly educational institutions and placement providers, ensuring systematic feedback; foster mutual trust and respect through regular cooperation and better quality management between the apprenticeship partners;ensure the content of HVET programmes is responsive to changing skill needs in companies and society;ensure fair, valid, and authentic assessment of learning outcomes in apprenticeships; support the continuous professional development of in-company trainers and improving their working conditions. The ApprenticeshipQ toolkit was developed by:identifying and analysing different forms of apprenticeships and work-based learning to design and test a typology of apprenticeships;identifying the strategic goals of the main stakeholders involved in HVET to inform quality management;identifying the factors that stakeholders consider essential for QM within the strategic partnership;providing a set of best-practice examples for QM at education institutions and at placement provider sites;identifying quality criteria including their measurement indicators in different education institutions and various industry sectors. This knowledge was applied for target groups including educational institutions, placement providers and apprentices by creating the ApprenticeshipQ toolkit, consisting of:an institutional quality management framework for apprenticeships;an online-assessment tool for quality management;an apprenticeships QM manual for educational institutions containing instruments, methods and tools they can work with to develop a joint quality culture between themselves and small and medium enterprises; an apprenticeships QM manual for enterprises containing instruments, methods and tools they can work with to develop a joint quality culture between themselves and educational organizations. a harmonisation and translation guide with policy recommendations. To test, validate form consensus in the field the project consulted extensively with stakeholders by organising:Workshops in 6 countries involving more than 500 QM experts and other expert stakeholders from the training and education site;Field tests in 6 countries involving more than 300 employers, quality managers, trainer and teachers, HVET institutions, etc.;Surveys, interviews and presentations in 6 countries involving more than 1.300 employers, QM person responsible for the placement as well as the HVET institution site, teachers and trainers.Through the involvement of chambers of commerce, standardization bodies and associations of European institutions of Higher VET in the project, ApprenticeshipQ reached a wide impact, and ensured the inclusion of its processes amongst both placement providers and educational institutions. This in turn led to an enhanced quality management and hence improved quality of apprenticeships in Higher VET around Europe, which is going to increase the attractiveness of HVET as an educational pathway thus enhancing the employability of apprentices and students.

The European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE) is an innovation initiative to respond to European policy priorities of opening up and modernising the European Higher Education sector through the creation of a coordinated European OER area for innovation. ENCORE will support uptake of OER through business & academia by taking a leading role in sharpening existing value propositions and implementation strategies for OER in academia and transferring them to the world of work thus bringing both sectors together into a Knowledge Alliance leading to a European OER area.1 ENCORE will contribute to the development of sustained and well-mapped European OER innovation area for well connected Higher Education & business stakeholder communities.2 ENCORE will realise a new vision of a technological infrastructure which fosters collaboration and connection of OER repositories into a European OER-Repository Ecosystem.3 ENCORE will foster the uptake of OER in Europe through stimulating the integration of policies for OER in organisations of business & academia and encourage both to learn from their practices.4 ENCORE will establish open, distributed and highly trusted community-based quality review communities for the Future European OER Repository Ecosystem and involve businesses as well as Higher Education Institutions into a dialogue on quality & innovation through OER.5 ENCORE will establish a connected European multi-stakeholder ecosystem of business and entrepreneurial innovation around OER for business & academia.The project starts from the insight, that while there are islands of innovative, viable, working and established solutions for each of the particular systemic challenges either on a practical, institutional or policy level in European institutions and member states, currently there is no orchestrated alliance to bring them together into a European overarching consensus leading to a European Open Education Area.

Institutions of professional higher education (PHE) play more and more an important role in enhancing European competitiveness and innovation capacity, especially on the regional level where PHE institutions act as connectors and crucial links between the regional SMEs, regional organisations and the society. In addition to this role of PHE, the applied research activities play an important role in developing students' skills including their innovative thinking and enterpreneurship and contribute thus to further economic growth and jobs within the regions.Despite the wide benefits of PHE institutions activities within society and their region and the fact that in many regions they act as the connecting link between the regional actors (authorities, employers, organisations), their full potential is still to to be revealed. The wide range of activities falling within applied research, innovation and regional engagement and their relatively small scale make it relatively difficult to address them as a whole when it comes to support, assessment and recognition. Due to its practice-oriented approach and specific characters, the applied RDI and regional activities do not fit the same metric as the reaearch and activities done at the more traditional universities.Therefore there is a need to support further development and enhancement of the PHE institutions staff capacity to engage into applied research activities, link these to teaching and develop relevant ways for engagement of students in these activities.The main objective of the project is to strengthen the profile of applied RDI in PHE in Europe - both within the institutions, as well as towards the regions they operate within.Specifically, the project intends to- gain an insight into the scope and nature of applied RDI activities within PHE institutions in Europe- clearly distinguish the different competences required of applied researchers- assist researchers in RDI to enhance their capacities (also on involving students into applied RDI activities and cooperating with small businesses)- provide a clear future vision for applied RDI in Europe, together with a strategy on how to achieve it.From the research perspective, the project will produce an overview or RDI activitiesFrom a practice perspective, it will design a competence framework for researchers.The teaching component of the project will design a modular online course on applied research skills.The policy component of the project will concisely explain the distinct profile of RDI research, and use scenario-building methodologies to forecast possible futures for the areas, so as to make recommendations as how to strengthen the profile mof RDI within PHE institutions, through funding, training and regulations.The impact of RECAPHE will be most felt at local and regional levels via enhanced capacity of staff of concrete PHE institutions within the project or benefiting from the project outputs. EURASHE participation will give to the project European dimension (also through EURASHE RDI Work Group).