The project aimed at creating disability-specific, EG/EU accredited postgraduate certificate for developing a new line of teachers, social and psychological specialists for special-needs education students, qualified with up-to-date knowledge and experience and with access to adequate ITC-based and smart hardware resources to be the fuel to schools with inclusion programs as well as private/NGO rehabilitation centers. The teacher qualification program is a Master’s program divided into General foundation level in special education composed of 12 courses (108 ECTS), which is followed by three specialization tracks (each is 5 courses equivalent to 36 ECTS) in the area of intellectual disability, learning disability and Autism. Learners choose form one of those tracks. This is followed by 36 ECTS thesis work. Alongside the master’s academic tracks, there are 3 targeted professional certified lifelong training programs in ADHD, behavioral disorder and inclusion systems. These are directed towards the professional practitioners, who need to enrich their knowledge with practical training.The theoretical part of the master’s is offered online, while the practical part shall be in-class in a blended learning format. The engineering team developed e- and hardware tools/resources for the disability-specific tracks to be used by the teachers with the inclusion students as well as an online virtual inclusion campus. The academic program is supported by an innovative line of electronic and smart hardware resources, matching academic, disability level and type, to facilitate graduates in delivering the targeted competencies and skills. A virtual inclusion campus is also planned to host special-needs and regular students, parents and teachers in shared learning environment equipped with social, pedagogical and academic virtual tools. The developed academic program is accompanied with 3 professional certificates (5 ECTS each) for practitioners for skills improvement in 3 imminent areas; ADHD, Behavioral Disorder and Inclusion systems. The targets are the employed and future special needs teachers, social and psychological experts as well as regular school teachers accommodating special-needs children in class. The plan is to start running this diploma during the third year of the project to account for fine adjustments. A gap analysis will be developed and followed by comprehensive course development. A wide community impact is expected as outlined by various stakeholders from the higher and pre-university education communities.

"Crop protection science deals with plant disease, pests and pesticides misuse that cause significant economic losses in crop production in Egypt and the world. Qualified expert is responsible to apply phytosanitary control measure and serve as ""plant doctor"" operate the plant clinic and provide services to crop producers. Crop protection is going to a rapid modernization and expansion as a result of global investment in sustainable agriculture, food security and environmental protection. The problem is “qualifications mismatch” as phenomena of HE graduates integration to deal professionally in labour market of crop protection job area. #The overall objective of the project #To establish a new joint professional diploma programme in plant clinic and phytosanitary technologies for the first time in Egypt at 6 agriculture higher education institutions to strengthen skills of students, graduates and employee in agriculture sector to match crop protection labour market needs.;# The major outcomes/results are• Network in the Plant Clinic and Phytosanitary among Egypt partner institutes• New PRO-PDPC centers with plant clinic unit (6) established each partner institute in Egypt• Trained staff on pedagogical and ECTS system, modern Plant Clinic Techniques at EU partner universities• Accreditation of the new diploma program (PRO- DPCP) with new and updated modules by late 2021.-This project will enhance the integration of Egyptian partner institutions in global education market; integrate the main EU expert knowledge in BG, IT and HU education and will create a sustainable network between universities in the field of plant protection. As well as it would impact wide range of stakeholder in crop protection areas of science by means of offered innovative courses and advanced specialized training. Therefore, this diploma is expected to offer its future specialists better chances to compete in the national and international market dealing with plant health."

The aim of this project is to increase the conversion efficiency of conventional photovoltaic solar cells by incorporating photonic up conversion layers based on photoemissive nanostructure materials. Such photonic layers will allow to take advantage of the UV radiation contained in the solar spectrum (about 5-8% at the earth level). Indeed, current solar cells are sensitive to photons located in the lower region of the solar spectrum (visible light), while incident UV photons are unused in photovoltaic processes. Upon incorporation of the photonic conversion layer to the electrodes of common photovoltaic devices (e.g., Si-based, perovskites, dye sensitized) we expect and overall conversion efficiency increase between 2-3%, due to a better exploitation of the solar spectrum. Our approach consists in the incorporation of photonic conversion layers based on photoemissive carbon nanostructures and polymer complexes that are capable of harnessing such UV fraction of sunlight and can be easily implemented on existing PV cells. Hence, a cost-effective approach with minimal impact over the readily available fabrication techniques is proposed. Although the use of photonic up-converting materials has been already explored in the literature, the novelty of this proposal stands from the nature of the photonic layers, combining carbon nanostructures and polymers as well as the integration in electrodes of large dimensions to evaluate the performance of the full solar cells operating in real conditions (illumination and outdoor harsh environments), as opposed to common studies with the focus limited to measuring the indoor photochemical response of lab-scale electrodes. In this regard, previous studies of the consortium partners have demonstrated the photochemical characteristics of carbon nanostructures and polymer complexes with high photoemissive features, and that can be embedded in polymeric matrices to generate optically transparent polymer composite. Such materials can also be manufactured using low cost procedures and local resources (e.g., in the case of carbon nanostructures), which is extremely important for boosting their large scale implementation. Several photoemissive materials will be incorporated in different polymeric matrices to create the photonic layers, and cast them on commercial electrodes to determine the efficiency obtained by the systems. The aging mechanisms as a function of exposure to UV radiation, and as a function of the number of cycles of the temperature variation will be investigated in terms of the impact in the overall photovoltaic conversion. The materials will be tested for durability in aggressive environmental conditions (e.g., dust, high level of irradiation) in the African countries of the consortium.

Despite development of programmes and services for students with disabilities (SwD) in Egypt and Morocco over the last three decades, major challenges remain regarding the expansion of these programmes and in improving their quality (Hadidi and Al Khateeb 2015) A wide range of inhibiting factors prevail including: beliefs and prejudices in education and employment; lack of resources allocated; lack of structured approach for inclusive education; lack of consultation and involvement of disabled students; lack of data and evidence of programmes that work.Given that engagement in higher education leads to increased cultural, economic and social capital, it is imperative that the sector adapts to accommodate the diverse needs of students with disabilities. Most specifically, understanding and supporting the transition from higher education into employment, which can influence the subsequent life course of graduates, is a key outcome pursued by the world’s major economies. The overall aim of the PACES project is to progress and set up a programme of initiatives in four universities in Egypt and four universities in Morocco to support the modernisation of higher education by developing Accessibility Centres (static, mobile and virtual) that will enable students with disabilities (SwD) to access assistive technology and support services. Outcomes include developing 8 static Accessibility Centres and training for teachers, technicians, administrators, employers and students. Innovation in the project includes: Student Support Service (peer-to-Peer) 2 mobile (pop up) ACs and an Employer/HEI Network. The project impact will be at several levels. At micro level SwD will gain employability and transition skills to enable them to move forward into employment. Institutions will benefit from improved performance of its students and sharing of best practice, which will lead to wider impact at a macro level across the partner countries.