Background of the EQuiPPE project:Physical Education (P.E.) is recognised as the most effective means of providing children with the skills, attitudes, values, knowledge and understanding that are essential to participation in society. It is critical to the development of physical literacy and civic engagement, academic achievement and good physical and mental health (UNESCO, 2015). Despite the UNESCO Charter for Physical Education and Sport, Article 4’s recommendation that personnel professionally responsible for physical education and sport should be appropriately qualified, a high proportion of primary P.E. in Europe is taught by generalist rather than specialist P.E. teachers (Onofre et al., 2012). There was a clear need to support generalist teachers to develop their professional skills and practices in order to improve the quality of P.E. which the EQuiPPE project sought to address. It was recognised that: • Primary-level schools experience a number of challenges in providing high quality P.E. including finance and appropriate training for staff; • Many primary teachers are predominantly generalists rather than specialists and not trained specifically in the delivery of P.E. Aim:The overall aim of the EQuiPPE project was to develop an online set of materials that supported Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for primary P.E. teachers across the EU. In the present context, CPD is a continuous process through which teachers are able to improve skills, knowledge and experience to help them learn, reflect and review their practices. The EQuiPPE project has provided knowledge, information and materials to create a set of resources to increase teachers’ confidence and improve practice in this area. Via input from the partners, teachers, and wider networks of relevant policy makers and professionals, the project developed resources that reflected the needs and preferences of primary teachers responsible for devising and delivering P.E. Objectives:1. To identify examples of good practice from each partner country concerning the use of CPD and teacher education with respect to the provision of primary P.E;2. To liaise with academics, national and European teacher education networks to identify and develop a competency framework for high quality P.E;3. To collaborate with local school networks to ensure appropriateness and acceptability of the package;4. To engage in dissemination and exploitation activities that promote the practical utility of the CPD package;5. To develop the following intellectual outputs:- Intellectual Output 1 (O1): Needs analysis report;- Intellectual Output 2 (O2): EQuiPPE online materials;- Intellectual Output 3 (O3): EQuiPPE online portal;- Intellectual Output 4 (O4): EQuiPPE pilot evaluation report;- Intellectual Output 5 (O5): EQuiPPE multimedia content. Main activities:The project was arranged into six main activities including Project Management and Implementation (PMI), and the five intellectual outputs described above. Methodology:A mixed methodology was deployed to develop the intellectual outputs. This approach combined different types of evidence to provide a more complete response to the need to enhance quality in primary P.E. This involved the use of quantitative and qualitative data to inform the development of the final EQuiPPE resources via the activities undertaken in each of the intellectual outputs.Number and profile of participants:The EQuiPPE project consisted of five partners from Northern (UK), Eastern (Czech Republic, Romania), and Southern (Greece) Europe. These partners included four Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and an In-Service Teacher Training Centre (Poland). Results and impact: In the short to medium term (0 to 2 years) the following results are anticipated: • enhanced quality of primary P.E. in the partner countries and across the EU; • improved teacher confidence and skills; • increased knowledge and understanding of the importance of physical literacy to a child’s development. Longer term, the impacts of the project activities are expected to accrue benefits for a wide audience including: • better prepared and educated primary P.E. teachers; • improved physical literacy, confidence, physical and mental health, and educational attainment for primary school aged children; • greater access to high quality CPD resources via a freely available online CPD package for primary P.E. teachers; • Improved policy, research and practice through the development of information and evidence concerning the current situation and challenges in primary P.E.

The training-through-research project SOFIA - Situated Learning Opportunities fostered by ICT applications in Alternative Agro-Food Networks- aims at enhancing the researcher potential to make broad his horizons and support his career development. In the light of his research objectives he will acquire new knowledge and transfer that one previously developed to the host organization The SOFIA project will allow the ER to became a key facilitator of multidisciplinary research and innovation teams, applying his interdisciplinary competences in service design for innovation, thus ensuring an independent position to the researcher and his future employability in the academic and/or non-academic context. The research SOFIA aims to analyze innovative organizational models and explore the value of the use of ICT tools (e.g. ubiquitous mobile services) to increase Situated Learning Opportunities (SLOs) in an Alternative Agro-Food Networks (AAFNs), through two methodologies i.e multi-case study analysis of local food systems and rural areas and a web-survey of ICT tools for AAFN. The expected impact of the research is to define a set of reproducible methodologies, models, tools and technologies that can improve the competitiveness of a selected area, leveraging its potential in terms of materials and intangible resources. In addition, the study will aim to analyze ICT tools supporting the information flows management both for decision making and for operational processes in the identified collaborative networks. The researcher will carry out specific actions to disseminate project results and increase their fruitful exploitation, e.g.SOFIA’s results will be exploited to draw up guidelines based on innovative organizational models, tools and ICTs to support the dynamics of sustainable development in local food systems and to design and develop Mobile services to support SLOs in AAFNs in order to improve mutual understanding and collaboration between value chain stakeholders.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic there was as increasing use of digital media and technologies for learning in HE. Almost all staff engaged in teaching and learning in HE used some form of digital technology. Some of these technologies such as PowerPoint and online learning platforms including Moodle were used extensively, with HE Staff feeling they had a high level of competence. However, the range of digital technologies used was very narrow. Since the pandemic, HE staff have been required to use a much broader range of technologies as they have continued their teaching through blended or online approaches. Now almost all HEI staff are required to use video conference-based classrooms and most will produce voiceovers or video presentations. These changes have been made in an ad-hoc way with limited training and thought about the design and pedagogic implications of the way technology is introduced. In addition, there is pressure to use technologies in ways that were not anticipated by HEIs, with concurrent (e.g. in class teaching that is at the same time streamed to students at home and recorded for others) rather than blended use of approaches being used in prototype forms, as HEIs innovate to meet students’ changing and differing needs. There is a need to expand HE Staff competence in using a wider range of digital media and technologies and the ability to embed them in the design of their programmes so that they have the greatest impact. The PRUDMET project will address the need to support HE Staff in becoming competent in a wider range of digital media and technologies, and to embed them in their teaching and learning programmes. Building on the work of other projects that address digital media competence and using workshops, mentoring, and online video guides, it will develop interventions that support HE Staff. The objectives of the project are to: develop a competency matrix for Digital Media for HE Staff; produce workshops and handbooks for Trainers of HE Staff to support them in training; develop and implement a series of workshops, mentoring, and video guides to train HE Staff on digital media and technologies.Led by the University of Gloucestershire (UK), the project will involve three further Partners from three countries: ISSBS (Slovenia), University of Alicante, (Spain); Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania). The PRUDMET Consortium brings together Higher Education Institutions with expertise in the development of workshops on digital media and technologies, mentoring, and course design for HE. The Partners have experience of creating positive outcomes for individuals through building their skills in a range of sectors.Together, they are experts in the development of HEI diagnosis tools, learning materials, and leading learning interventions that facilitate growth, and the project will use workshops, supplemented by mentoring, and video guides.The outputs of the project will have a positive impact on the skills for digital media and technologies held by HE Staff, and will increase the performance of HE Staff and their impact on students, by embedding the outcomes in the day-to-day activities of HEIs.The project adopts a practical approach that will result in HEIs adopting and embedding workshops and outputs in a way that will ensure their impact is sustained. In the long term, the project results will remain available through a publicly accessible website. The project Partners also expect the materials to be reused and modified by HEIs, providing the platform for long term development of digital media and technology competence across HEIs.

The EU has developed a clear mandate to encourage social inclusion as set out in the EU Youth strategy, the Erasmus+ Inclusion and Diversity Strategy and the Europe 2020 Strategy including the EU2020 European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion.Equality of opportunity, inclusion and diversity are also seen as key principles that many youth workers adhere to. As a result of such strategic, policy and professional direction for equality, inclusion and diversity to be a clear focus of practice, there is a need for educators, trainers and practitioners to continue exploring effective ways to develop and enhance their knowledge, skills and experience in order to meet the challenges that such a drive for these agendas reveals.Given this context, this project aimed to provide a means for youth work educators, trainers and practitioners to develop resources that will support further the development of youth work practice that is inclusive, diverse and which promotes equality of opportunity.The primary objectives were to produce a network of partners and thus a community of practice in order to develop knowledge and skills related to developing quality youth work practice. Such a community has then developed a toolbox of resources that includes:- A principles and approaches report- Good practice examples across the partners- Specific resources for youth work practitioners to use- A University education module to be used with youth practitioners- Training outlines that can be used by training providers - Learning that organisations and individuals have developed through the process such as intercultural competence, EU citizenship, professional linkages, mobility of youth workers and the development of specific skills.The primary target for the RIDE outputs are youth work practitioners, organisations involved in running youth projects, youth work training organisations and university staff and students involved in youth work courses. The project involved 5 partners. It was led by the University of Gloucestershire alongside: CESIE (a NGO from Italy), The Croatian Youth Network (a NGO) as well as Trnava University from Slovakia and Akdeniz University, Turkey.All objectives have been completed and are freely available on various websites especially the project website www.rideproject.euThe resources have been greatly welcomed amongst the networks of the project partners, where, for some, there is a real need for quality youth resources in the local language. The resources are now being used extensively by youth workers, youth organisations and educational/training partners.The project and resources have already been highlighted as examples of good practice by the ministry for education in Slovenia and the ministry for youth and sport in Turkey.