The overall objective of the project is to modernise regional studies in Ukraine through implementing an English-language MA programme in the Baltic and Black Sea region studies. At its core, the project is meant to add value to Ukrainian universities in satisfying the need for comprehensive knowledge in the discipline of international relations and regional studies. The 2-year MA programme in Baltic and Black Sea Region studies, which will be implemented in English at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (IFNUL), as well as the modules implemented in other Ukrainian universities, will provide an excellent opportunity for the students to obtain an interdisciplinary learning experience, combined with innovative teaching practices. The programme will be oriented for both Ukrainian and foreign students, whose academic interests or practical activities are closely related to the Baltic and the Black Sea Region. Implementation of such MA programme and modules at Ukrainian universities will promote further cooperation between HEIs of Ukraine and HEIs of countries of the Baltic Sea region, introduce comprehensive studies on the whole region, its historical and current political, economic and cultural development, national and international co-operation in and among the countries of the region, as well as the region's perspectives in the context of European integration and regional cooperation. The project also foresees training of the Ukrainian teaching staff in modern teaching methodologyThe project will help modernising the higher education curricula and teaching methods and will contribute to the internationalisation of Ukrainian higher education by quality programmes.

When the transfer of modern sciences to and the study of the Black Sea Region (BSR) began in the late 18. century, this area was not yet considered part of Europe. The proposed inter/multidisciplinary research and exchange project’s title refers to that fact. Knowledge and science exchange between Europe and the BSR intensified in the course of the 19th and early 20th century and was interrupted when as result of WWI/WWII a significant part of the BSR was integrated into the Soviet Union’s orbit. The BSR disappeared behind the Iron Curtain and the academic cultures of West and East drifted apart. The previous 25 years have witnessed strengthening ties between BSR countries and between the BSR and the rest of Europe as well as globalisation of knowledge and scientific exchange. The integration of the BSR into the European Research Area (ERA) is on the way but not yet completed. The proposed project provides excellent opportunities to critically reflect the sketched processes and to look into future. The suggested project’s quality, credibility and novelty lies in its * attempt to systematically investigate knowledge and cultural exchanges between the BSR and Western Europe from the late 18th century to the present, * theoretical and methodological approaches with the potential to establish new pathways for future research and in its foregrounding of gender aspects. The suggested project establishes a network consisting of 12 research institutions from 12 BSR countries and Austria. It includes representatives of all the core disciplines of the humanities emerging around 1900. Innovative aspects of the proposed project consist of 1) drawing attention to an emerging region (BSR) consisting of countries previously considered as belonging to separate historical regions, 2) systematic investigation of knowledge and culture exchange within and beyond the region, 3) innovative theoretical framework, 4) inter/multidisciplinary methodology and 5) explicit gender perspectives.

The concept of EU-CONEXUS ENABLES is built upon the strong foundation of our Alliance within the Joint Research Area as an excellent network for cooperation between the partners with several points of gravity such as the 4 Joint Research Institutes (an outcome of H2020-SwafS project) - Coastal Engineering Institute, Environmental Sciences and Biodiversity Institute, Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, Social, Culture and Human Sciences Institute, and the Doctoral School framework of EU-CONEXUS European University. The project is devoted to promote scientific and academic cooperation between the members of the alliance in the same time with an effective implementation of ERA policy agenda main objectives. Using as thematical background 4 major challenges, the project is dedicated to achieve specific objectives that are aligned with mostly all of the ERA goals. The scope of the EU-CONEXUS ENABLES project is to create the framework of an innovative ecosystem promoting sustainable synergies between the alliance and its partners such as the fellow municipalities, other stakeholders, in order to develop long term solutions for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability challenges, based on the Digital Twin approach. The project is focused on one hand to raise excellence in value creation through deeper and geographically inclusive cooperation, and on the other hand to the societal based topics and needs coming from our supporting ecosystems of stakeholders. The project will also offer training and capacity-building programs for researchers, promoting a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.Through hackathons, capacity building, and knowledge exchange activities, the project will engage experts, researchers, and stakeholders in the development and implementation of innovative Digital Twin solutions. Citizen engagement in participatory science activities will also be facilitated, encouraging evidence-based policies and interventions.

OTTERS will aim at promoting and scaling up successful citizen science (CS) initiatives in the marine and freshwater domains via 1) accelerating the co-creation of standards in data collection, semantics, data quality, and data management making sure to abide by all ethical and legal standards; 2) promoting and scaling up successful water-related CS initiatives by clustering them under co-designed Spring-to-Sea campaigns to foster agency and increase ocean literacy; 3) connecting the citizen-generated data to other EU-funded projects and portals, including the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and Digital Twins of the Ocean (ILIAD) to ensure the accessibility and reuse of the data and abide by all FAIR principles; 4) demonstrating the effectiveness of citizen science in participatory research, environmental monitoring and changing people’s behaviors to ensure the sustainability of water ecosystems and reach the goals of the EU Water Framework Directive and UN Decade of the Ocean.

"Substantially obsolete industrial infrastructure in Georgia and Ukraine poses existential challenge for these countries’ economies under conditions of global transformation, often referred to as 4th Industrial Revolution. The gap between availability of advanced technologies coupled with ubiquity of information on the one side and lack of experience in re-setting of business models for an enterprise in Georgia and Ukraine on the other side is bridged in HEIn4 via reinforcing the role of HEIs in Industrial transition through:- building capacities in HEIs (human resource and institutional units);- delivery of tailored business management courses for industrial personnel;- launching consultancy services for industrial companies (large and SME);- setting new taught modules for Master students;- establishing of new forms of collaboration between HEIs and industry.Following major outputs will be produced:- Higher Education 4.0 Concept will summarise pedagogical strategy;- Case Studies will represent the EU practices to wider audience;- short courses will be delivered to upgrade industrial staff;- taught module ""Industry 4.0 Business Management"" will be developed and embodied to official Master programs;- recommendations for updating Engineering curriculum will deliver insights on the new transdisciplinary competencies required for operating the factories of the future and how this can be addressed in higher engineering education;- Virtual Factory Learning Labs will be set in each HEI complemented with their international network as a focal point of collaboration in the Industry 4.0 context.Major long lasting and sustainable impacts will be delivered as follows:-Reinforced role of HEIs in 4th Industrial Revolution;-Industry will attain skills, knowledge and expertise vital for competitiveness;-Employability of graduates will be enhanced;-For academics new opportunities of professional development will be delivered."