The low success rates of students in science courses and the negative attitudes and perceptions towards these courses are frequently mentioned in the science education literature.As a solution of this problem,out of school environments can provide important contributions as a complementary tool in formal education.In this project,it is aimed to develop an out-of-school curriculum for teacher education programs by following these steps:(i)finding out about different out of school learning environments,approaches and resources used in countries where out-of-school education has been successfully conducted over years,(ii) acquire and possess high-quality skills, competences,knowledge and skills related to strategies,methods and techniques that can be used in out-of-school activities,(iii) collaborate with partners to construct scaffolds which will help us to develop an out-of-school curriculum,and(iv) test and refine the curriculum first in Hacettepe University (the applicant university)(v) translate and apply the curriculum in participant countries.The curriculum will consist of following aspects:interdisciplinary connections, STEM education,using mobile applications,virtual museums,augmented reality, assessment.Although in service and pre-service teachers (PSTs) know some out of school environments such as science centres,they have difficulty in planning how to follow a methodological way in these environments and learning how to use them as a complementary tool in their teaching.As a result, these kinds of trips are often an ordinary sight-recognition visits.To overcome these deficiencies,teacher education programs need a structured curriculum which will provide pre-service teachers opportunities to experience and implement out-of-school lesson plans.The goal of this curriculum is to combine the theoretical background with applied activities by creating on-site learning environments. The theoretical knowledge will be developed via intensive collaboration with the input emerged from national and international out of school practices and examples given by the teacher trainers and project experts.In order to support theory with practice,pre-service teachers will create learning environments by choosing one of the out-of-school learning environments (e.g. planetarium,museum,zoo, etc.)The project will start with a need analysis collecting input from different stakeholders (e.g. academicians, teacher educators from formal (private school [Sınav Koleji] and public schools [Etimesgut District National Education Directorate]), and informal institutions (Muğla BİLSEM). The need analysis will inform us what teacher educators, pre-service and in-service teachers expectations are from a new curriculum, what they believe that is important to focus on out-of-school learning.The project will be carried out by four program member countries (Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Turkey) and three associated partners from Turkey. As a result, a common training content will be developed with the participation of each member. In this process, each country will hold a meeting and prepare a visit to out of school learning environments in that country. During these visits,out of school practices will be experienced in the European dimension.These meeting will facilitate to establish the theoretical infrastructure of out-of-school curriculum, and the team members will have access to reliable sources of information.The project will produce two major outcomes:(1)Out-of-School Learning in European Countries as an ebook,(2) The out-of-school learning curriculum for teacher education programs.To measure the effectiveness of the project; the quality of the out-of-school learning environments developed by PSTs during the implementation of the newly developed curriculum will be analyzed. Additionally, we will have different assessments for PSTs to help us identify how their ideas about out-of-school learning developed.These assessment tools include interviews during the course, documentation which presents PSTs’ experiences during the course (e.g. pre-service teachers’ journals),field trip evaluation form, lesson plan evaluation rubric, and course evaluation survey. Totally 7 partners will organize appropriate dissemination activities and meetings with relevant institutions.At these meetings, outputs of the project will be discussed in detail and detailed analysis will be carried out along with stakeholders in all participant countries.This last meeting of the project will host an Out-of-School Learning Conference including invited paper and poster presentations.The purpose of this conference is providing an opportunity for researchers to make connections with the practitioners and enable dissemination of the curriculum and the ebook.The project will be followed up on the webpage after the project ends with an emphasis on how the curriculum will be applied in different universities to ensure dissemination.

The project was based on how universities are currently reflecting on their roles in contemporary society and the relationships between their component parts and institutions and the community. One such relationship between universities and society is considered to be the third mission of universities. A strategy, which has been successfully developed around the world for several decades in the context of the third mission of universities, is the service-learning (SL) strategy. SL is a method of education, in which theoretical training is linked to the acquisition of practical experience. The added value of SL is that, in addition to one’s own development, it allows one to help others in their natural environment through the activity created. SL is described as one of the ways of experimental learning, which includes a balanced focus on the service provided to the community and the learning that takes place in this service. Thanks to this strategy, universities comprehensively fulfill their basic mission and prepare a new generation of experts who can integrate the acquired academic qualities with social responsibility and civic engagement. There are universities in the European educational area where the service-learning strategy has been in place for several years, but in most Central and Eastern European countries it is only at its early stages or is as yet unknown (similar to the considerations of the social role of universities). Consequently, the main goal of the project was to strengthen the capacity of higher education institutions to fulfill their third mission and to increase the civic engagement of students through the implementation of an innovative SL strategy in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. A partial goal of the project was to increase the quality and relevance of the offer of education in the area of implementation of the SL strategy into higher education through the development of training curricula and materials adapted to the context of Central and Eastern European countries.The project was based on the experience and expertise of partners from 6 EU countries (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, Germany and Austria) and two countries outside the EU (associate partners) in the implementation of the service-learning strategy. The project coordinator was Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica.The key activities of the project consisted in the creation, testing and dissemination of innovative outputs, which can be used even after its completion. The main innovative outputs of the project are: 1) Training for teachers on the SL strategy and a handbook for trainers, 2) Service-learning for higher education for teachers. A manual for teachers. 3) Recommendations for the promotion and strengthening of SL in the European context of universities and examples of good practice. Outputs are available in English, Slovak, Czech, Croatian, Romanian and German. All project outputs are available online on the project website www.slihe.eu. The outputs of the project are translated into several languages and are ready for implementation and development within other organisations (universities, secondary schools, third sector organisations). The outputs have contributed and will in the future contribute to the development of the social role of universities, the involvement and competences of young people, but also to the solution of the problems of different communities.Testing of project outputs consisted of the implementation of SL training for university teachers, which was attended by 70 people, and the implementation of service-learning projects accompanied by mentoring of 27 teachers. During the implementation of the project, 67 service-learning projects were implemented within the testing, in which a total of 810 students collaborated with 58 partners in the community whereby their projects had an impact on more than 2,300 people. The project also involved 218 people from within the student and target groups of service-learning projects with a lack of opportunities and therefore contributed to their inclusion in the project. Within the project, 6 transnational project meetings were held, these were used to create the intellectual outputs of the project and its management. The key dissemination activity was a two-day international conference held online, which was attended by 116 people from outside the project partners and more than 250 people during the accompanying activities. The project had an impact not only on the participating organisations, teachers and students but also on local communities. Cooperation between different actors in solving various problems has been strengthened, i. e. between civil society, citizens and universities. At the international level, we can identify an increase in international cooperation as an impact. The project also contributed to the building of a network of institutions in the field of service-learning at the European level.

According to the European Agenda 2020 only one third of the students between 25 and 31years graduate at European universities while in the USA 40% and in Japan even 50% of the students succeed. The lower rate in Europe is caused not only by difficult admission exams or missing access to universities but by failure in completing the studies. For many students writing a Bachelor or Master thesis turns out to be a major hurdle. This is caused by many reasons as students have to cope with certain requirements during their studies (part time studies, studies aboroad) which demand a more flexible and independent way of studies.The objective of the two years’ EU funded project within the Erasmus+/Strategic Partnerships was to develop an online course for Business Studies which provides all necessary skills and tools for writing a final thesis to overcome these obstacles. The approach was a practical one, following the College Writing Programs in the US where Academic Writing is seen more as a practical ability than a supernatural gift. The online course with open access will enable mainly regular part time and incoming students to write an academic paper or thesis by providing all necessary tools and skills in a flexible way.To reach this objective the online course includes 6 modules for students and 1 module for teachers in the field of Academic Writing and tutors of students’ work. The 6 modules cover topics like key items of scientific work/use of scientific language, the composition of a paper/quotation rules, ICT-based administration of literature, research methods for Business Studies, the publishing procedure within the scientific community and the proper management of work/motivation/time management. Module 7 is dedicated to teachers and tutors to improve their communication skills by giving feedback in a motivating way and to be advisory without making any harsh judgments. Every module will be composed of text including exercises and videos with teachers who give explanatory advices. The online course was developed in German and English by the UAS Burgenland and translated into the five CEE languages Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovenian and Croatian by the partner organisations. The translation work was accompanied by cultural adaptions concerning each country. The work was carried out by a consortium of 8 institutions, each of them having certain tasks within the project management and the delivering of the course. The University of Applied Sciences Burgenland in Austria was the applicant organisation, working together with the UJOP of the Charles University Prague (Institute for Languages and Preparatory Studies), Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica, Esterházy Károly College in Eger, University of Maribor and the College of Business and Management in Zapresic. An English translation is also provided. The technical support and the e-learning platform was delivered by the WWEDU (worldwide education), a company located in Wels which is a provider of online MBA studies together with the AIM (Austrian Institute of Management), a subsidiary of the UAS Burgenland. Three modules in German were brought in by the ASAS Company.The results and impact of the project/course enables mainly three groups of students to complete their studies to transfer knowledge from science to economy which otherwise would get lost: part-time Master students who need a flexible time management and a brush up of their Academic Writing after having left the University for a longer period of time; incoming students or students who intend to study abroad for one semester to support them by an online course in their native language when writing their final thesis and students who need additional support during their studies, e. g. when entering the studies without a regular school leaving exam on level A. Furthermore the project establishes a network of experts on the topic of Academic Writing which is essential to enhance the ability for scientific work and to raise the awareness for intellectual property in the internet.The long term benefits will emerge on different levels. Firstly, the number of students who complete their studies, will increase as stated in the objectives of the project; as well as the number of exchange students. Due to this fact, the project contributes to the increase of the mobility rates within the EU. Secondly, students and teachers get acquainted with the didactics of e-learning which is not that widespread as assumed. Influenced by the MOOCs (massive open online courses) the development in Austria and the CEE countries is yet in its beginning. Thirdly, teachers and students will acquire new forms of learning and didactics on to their way to more individual studies. The Academic Writing course will be enlarged after the end of the project to give the students the chance to compose their own one course out of the modules and languages. The course should be accredited at the institutions using it.

The EMMELO Project: European Men, Masculinity, and Extremist Leadership Online examines the role of masculinity in extremist movements online across Europe and the threats it poses to democracy, fundamental rights and EU values. As is well established, the internet has become a focal point for modern extremist activities. What is less understood in a European context is the role masculinity plays in these online communities and platforms. More insight is also required into how extremist leaders use and perform masculinity to appeal to European men, and how, in turn, these men respond to these gender narratives and how this shapes their perception of democracy and the EU. To address this need for deeper, more critical understandings of these gendered phenomena, EMMELO focuses on six countries: Ireland, Sweden, France, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia, exploring how different forms of masculinity are used by extremist movements and their leadership to appeal to men and undermine traditional democratic participation and discourse in cross European contexts. The project explores how extremist movements construct, perform and circulate narratives of masculinity online, how these narratives shape the perspectives and gendered experiences of European men currently or formerly active in extremist online communities, and the wider implications of these trends for democratic processes and social cohesion, online and offline. From its activities, EMMELO will develop innovative, gender-sensitive tools and policy recommendations to enable policymakers, practitioners and citizens better understand and address the role of masculinity in modern European extremist movements. The project's findings will be targeted at key audiences in formats designed to raise awareness at the levels of policy, practice and citizen of the key role masculinity plays in extremism, including how to identify it, discuss it, and challenge it.