Effective EU support to a large external crisis requires new approaches. In response to this challenge and to identified user and market needs from previous projects, Reaching Out proposes an innovative multi-disciplinary approach that will optimize the efforts, address a wide spectrum of users and maximize market innovation success. This approach results in five main objectives: to 1. Develop a Collaborative Framework, with distributed platforms of functional services, 2. Implement a flexible and open “collaborative innovation” process involving users and SMEs, suppliers, operators and research organisations, 3. Develop, upgrade and integrate 78 new connectable and interoperable tools, 4. Conduct 5 large scale demonstrations on the field: o health disaster in Africa (Epidemics in Guinea, with strong social and cultural issues), o natural disaster in a politically complex region and a desert environment (Earthquake in the Jordan Valley, led jointly by Jordan, Israel and Palestine), o three global change disasters in Asia targeted at large evacuation and humanitarian support in Bangladesh (long lasting floods, huge storms and associated epidemics,), EU citizen support and repatriation in Shanghai (floods & storm surge), radiological and industrial disasters impacting EU assets in Taiwan (flash floods, landslides, storm surge and chemical and radiological disasters), supported and co-funded by local authorities, 5. Provide recommendations and evaluations for future legal and policy innovations. The project will be conducted under the supervision of senior end-users. It will be performed with flexible and proven procedures by a balanced consortium of users, industry, innovative SMEs, RTO and academia in the EU and the demonstration regions. The main expected impact is to improve external disaster and crisis management efficiency and cost-benefit and increase the EU visibility whilst enhancing EU industry competitiveness and enlarging the market.

The midterm review of the Sendai Framework highlights persistent challenges in disaster risk reduction (DRR), particularly the lack of coordination between disaster risk agencies, sectoral ministries, stakeholders, and policies, hindering coordinated planning and effective decision-making. Recent disasters, such as the 2024 Spain Valencia flood and the 2020 Gjerdrum quick clay landslide in Norway, reveal governance weaknesses, inadequate risk management, and communication barriers, intensifying disaster impacts. These events demonstrate the need for integrated, multi-sectoral coordination, decentralisation, and better risk-informed decision-making. A positive example is Greece's wildfire risk management system, which integrates science and technology for improved governance in DRR. However, gaps in local- and regional-level implementation persist. The TOGETHER project aims to address these challenges, focusing on multi-level and cross-sectoral coordination to build a disaster-resilient society amidst climate change and multi-hazard risks. The final outcome of this project is a toolkit that embodies three innovations: (1) Five interoperability frameworks (legal, organisational, technical, semantic, and cross-domain) to provide FAIR data, (2) a multi-tool system (MTS)- an intelligent AI agent to generate insights using the FAIR data for Disaster Risk Management Governance (DRMG), and (3) DRMG that comprises innovative solutions and existing systems and best practices to enhance multi-level and cross-sectoral interactions within the existing governance systems and protocols for more efficient disaster management coordination. The tool will implement a novel public-private-civic partnership (PPCP) approach in three Disaster Risk Management Innovation Hubs ( Norway, Greece, Spain) to co-create, co-evaluate, and demonstrate the functionalities. Two replication studies in Portugal and Türkiye will showcase the robustness of the toolkit for DRM.

The AutoTRUST project aims to develop and demonstrate a novel AI-leveraged self-adaptive framework of advanced vehicle technologies and solutions which optimize usability, perception, and experience on-board, and when boarding/off-boarding, in terms of security, privacy, well-being, health and assistance. AutoTRUST provides enhanced inclusiveness and trust in the interaction between users and new automated modes of road transport and mobility services in the transition from human-driven to automated vehicles. Safety and security of vehicle occupants in all circumstances even when the vehicle is driverless by helping to prevent dangerous and inconvenient situations will be of paramount importance. Intense cooperation between users, vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, researchers, and other stakeholders to co-design vehicles with solutions that optimize the on-board experience will be adopted. Moreover, an in-depth knowledge of the benefits of new vehicle technologies and solutions in terms of on-board experience, accessibility, inclusiveness, and trust will be acquired to enable wider user acceptability and contribute to the creation of future standards.

The Higher Education (HE) sector suffers globally from a number of flaws which are currently being enhanced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Communication of the European Commission it is stressed that “If education is to be the backbone of growth and inclusion in the EU, a key task is preparing citizens to make the most of the opportunities and meet the challenges of a fast-moving, globalised and interconnected world.” (COM(2018) 22 final, p. 3). This document points towards a strong need for enhancing online, distance and blended learning in the EU including support for teachers and learners. This need has been also expressed in the Extraordinary Erasmus+ call to support Digital Education Readiness in response to Coronavirus pandemic.To make the HE institutions ready for Digital Education (DE), the two main project objectives are:A) to synthesize the main pedagogical and technological principles in the development of DE approaches including preparation of the supporting teaching materials, and development of a basic structure for DE recognition,B) to apply, test and validate these principles in different pilot modules/courses targeting different student cohorts at all partner universities.The project consortium is composed of partners with the distinct experience in DE on different levels, ranging from a few months to decades. The consortium partners represent universities with different history and educational profiles, from general to technical and business oriented.The project consortium consists of:1) Brno University of Technology (CZ),2) University Politehnica of Bucharest (RO),3) University of Agder (NO),4) Bifröst University (IS).Two Intellectual Outputs will be developed:(1) Digital Education Methodology, including several case studies with the description of relevant pedagogy, teaching materials, digital learning tools and simulators in DE; each partner university will contribute with two methodological cases for two different study disciplines covering engineering, quality management, mathematics, media studies, leadership.(2) Digital Education Recognition, where possibilities of recognition of higher education achievements will be explored including use of the blockchain technology in digital recognition of ECTS. A needs/gaps analysis will be prepared as well as a case study and a pilot concept for digital recognition based on blockchains.Other project activities:-4 transnational project meetings, one in each partner country,-4 Multiplier Events, one in each partner country,-4 Learning/Teaching/Training activities, one organized by each consortium member.The project is innovative in both methodology and results. The most important innovation characteristic is applying an advanced DE strategy based on the Design Thinking and the Universal Design methodologies to transfer multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge in HE.Anticipated main project results:-8 DE methodologies for HE institutions in 8 different topics,-one case study about application of blockchain technology in DE recognition, including design, implementation and testing of a recognition system.The project target groups:i) students of a variety of study programmes with diverse background and learning skills,ii) teachers involved in DE,iii) education and ICT experts with specialization in online learning.We envisage the following short and long term impact on target groups and institutions:a) Partner institutionsShort Term: increased level of knowledge based on exchange of evidence on DEconcepts, focus groups and results of the pilot training; increased knowledge to be transferred into more extensive projectsLong Term: introduce schemes into daily practices; contribute to changes in economic policies and learning techniques b) Authorities/expertsShort Term: increase knowledge and awareness on circular bio-economy conceptsLong term: stimulate DE concepts schemes policies; developing ideas for further improving modern educational mechanismsc) Academic service providersShort Term: increase awareness levels about the possibility of introducing modern DE concepts / blockchain technology support in their own administrative rules; increase responsibility in promoting modern curricula and coursesLong Term: increased capacity of the involved HEI to cooperate with authorities in designing appropriate DE conceptsd) Students/learners: increased awareness of the potential of DE concepts; increased capacity of learning based on modern practices; increased chances to be enrolled on the unique European labour market based on Digital Education RecognitionAddressing Priority 1: Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning put forward in the Digital Education Action Plan of the European Commission, the BoostEdU project will provide a solid methodological basis and valuable recommendations for the efficient implementation of Digital Education across European universities.

<< Background >>Major problems in the EU and in the world regarding health, environment, and climate-change constitute an enormous challenge for the continued prosperity of citizens and countries, as it appears from the European Green Deal Communication and the Erasmus+ program 2021. The solutions to the problems are complex and increase the demand for cross-border, North-South EU, educational and intercultural collaboration in the educational sector at HEIs. This project seeks to place the partnership between four experienced, Higher Educational Institutions in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Norway and Denmark, at the center of a much needed development of a future-oriented curriculum. The need for this stems from the current lack of a curriculum within sustainable development at the participating HEIs. Instead of each HEI developing its own curriculum, the partners want to enter into a joint partnership that is about developing a common curriculum for HEIs in the EU. They will do so in recognition that the subjects to be taught are general to the countries of the European Union and of Europe.This innovative and green curriculum addresses environmental, health- and climate related problems via innovative, digital and project-oriented teaching methods. The outputs of the project are relevant for a.o. HEI teacher, nursing, nutrition and environmental education. The outputs consist of seven SustainComp project results: PR1 State-of-the-art-report, PR2 Development of sustainability curriculum/student course PR3 Developing teacher training CoursePR4 Planning, development and conduct of a pre-pilot course on COIL methods (3 ECTS) PR5 Planning, development and conduct of a pre-pilot course on project-oriented methods (3 ECTS) PR6 Planning and conduct integrated pilot of a full-scale student course (10 ECTS)PR7 Planning and development of a ‘Teacher Support System Website’.In addition, a learning, teaching and training activity will be conducted for HEI teachers, who are going to teach at the pilot courses. All of the developed results will be available by open access from the SustainComp homepage and the teacher support website and in an additional 5 years period after the end of the project period.The SustainComp project aims to bridge the gap between former educational, sector-divided curricula and the current need for a versatile, integrated and transformative Higher Education curriculum that is conducted in accordance with the European Council Erasmus+ program, the 21st Century Skills and the 17 sustainable development goals. The project will contribute to this aim with an innovative development of educational methods and HEI curricula. During the process, lecturers and researchers from the partnership HEIs will collaborate in an approach that will support and encourage students to become true factors of change with regard to saving resources, reducing energy use and waste, compensating carbon footprint emissions, and opting for sustainable food and mobility choices.<< Objectives >>The project aims to bridge the gap between sector-divided, discipline-embedded national curricula in education and addresses the current need for competence-based, integrated, interdisciplinary, and transformative Higher Education that is in congruence with the European Council Erasmus+ program and the 21st Century learning goals.This will positively impact and update the current and new teacher education curricula, learning objectives, digitalisation readiness, transversal skills and effective intercultural communication for students from teacher, nursing, nutrition and environmental education.The project has several objectives: 1) To bridge the gap between sector-divided, discipline-embedded national curricula in higher education. 2) To address the current need for competence-based, integrated, interdisciplinary, and transformative Higher Education that is in congruence the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, with the European Council Erasmus+ program and the 21st Century learning goals.This will positively impact and update the current and new education curricula, learning objectives, digitalisation readiness, transversal skills and effective intercultural communication for students from teacher-, nursing, nutrition and environmental education.3) To facilitate, that students can participate in the developed courses as an attractive supplement and added value to their respective educations. 4) To facilitate, that HEI teachers can participate in the developed SustainComp 'learning, teaching, training' activity, as a supplement and added value to their respective academic educational backgrounds.5) To ensure that the developed materials, courses, reports become available to all interested via open access on the developed 'teacher support system website'.6) To facilitate the development of online and onsite collaboration among students and teachers via support systems website.<< Implementation >>The project will reach this aim through 7 Project Results:PR1: Conduct a state of the art report based on surveys in the field across countries and HEIs. The report will function as the shared starting point for curriculum development.PR2: Develop a basic module / Curriculum Development for sustainable teaching in health and environmental topics and to incorporate green practices in all projects through an environmental-friendly approach. The learning goals focus on development of students' knowledge in sustainable development, development of students’ sustainable competencies, building their digital readiness and group-work skills for participation in COILs and project-oriented work. PR3: Develop a teacher-training module that will educate and facilitate teachers who are going to teach the new SustainComp curriculum at their own HEI, as guest lecturers at the partner HEIs or other HEIs. Teachers will be trained in the cross-national aspects of the SustainComp curriculum, effective intercultural communication and intercultural pedagogy for engaging participants’ cultural diversity, and development of digital competences for international teaching in COILs and onsite project-oriented work. PR4: Plan and conduct a pre-pilot of a student course based on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).This online module will build on the SustainComp curriculum content and innovative pedagogy for engaging international and cultural diversity of student participants in the online environments of COIL. Student participants will earn minimum 3 ECTS upon completing the online module. The expertise and experiences gained during the pilot will be assessed and utilised to fine-tune the SustainComp curriculum and for the implementation of the full scale pilot (PR6).PR5: Plan and conduct a pre-pilot of an onsite student course on project-oriented methods. The onsite module will include lectures on project work methods in relation to the SustainComp curriculum. The experiences and knowledge gathered by the participants will be assessed and utilised for further fine-tuning the full scale pilot (PR6)(3 ECTS).PR6: Full scale Pilot of SustainComp Student Course in Bachelor programmes. The full scale pilot will integrate and implement the experiences and competences developed in the COIL pre-pilot and the on-site pre-pilot and will follow the fine-tuned SustainComp curriculum. Students participate online/onsite or blended and earn 10 ECTS. The order of topics and activities are presently expected to be like this: Theme I: Introduction to the SustainComp interdisciplinary curriculum. This curriculum integrates and combines natural-, social-, health-, and humanist sciences. By this theme, students will understand the interdisciplinary nature of environmental and climate-change challenges for the future.Theme II: The concept of the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’. Students will engage with the goals in order to obtain knowledge about goals and subgoals and to share their understanding and meanings across countries. An assessment of students’ understanding will follow and students will receive feedback and recommendations for further work.Theme III: Students will engage in group-work in project teams across countries and professions. The project work will be based on Erasmus+ priorities combined with students’ own interest for further inquiry and discussion.Theme IV-VI: Students will meet online/onsite to share their knowledge and experience across groups. Furthermore, the investigations in the groups will be complemented by field visits to local institutions or companies of relevance for each group. Presentations at multiplier events and sharing at ‘teacher support website’.PR7: Conduct a website with an online teacher support website. The website and the online materials will meet the educational needs teachers for learning, meeting and working activities; students, stakeholders and communities can benefit from the website as well.<< Results >>The project will reach this aim through 7 Project Results:PR1: Conduct a state of the art report based on surveys in the field across countries and HEIs. The report will function as the shared starting point for curriculum development.PR2: Develop a basic module / Curriculum Development for sustainable teaching in health and environmental topics. The learning goals focus on development of students' knowledge in sustainable development, development of students’ sustainable competences, building their digital readiness and group-work skills for participation in COILs, and development of students’ intercultural competences for appropriate and effective intercultural communication. PR3: Develop a teacher-training module that will educate and facilitate teachers who are going to teach the newSustainComp curriculum at their own HEI or as guest lecturers at the partner country HEIs and other HEIs. Teachers will be trained in the cross-national aspects of the SustainComp curriculum, effective intercultural communication and intercultural pedagogy for engaging participants’ cultural diversity, and development of digital competences for international teaching in COILs. PR4: Plan and conduct apre-pilot of a student course based on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). This online module will build on the SustainComp curriculum content and innovative pedagogy for engaging international and cultural diversity of student participants in the online environments of COIL. Student participants will earn minimum 3 ECTS upon completing the online module The expertise and experiences gained during the pilot will be assessed and utilized to fine-tune the SustainComp curriculum and for the implementation of the full scale pilot (R6). PR5: Plan and conduct a pre-pilot of an onsite student course based on project- oriented learning methods.The onsite module will include lectures and project work within the SustainComp curriculum. The experiences and knowledge gathered by the participants will be assessed and utilized for further fine-tuning of the SustainComp curriculum and in the implementation of the full scale pilot (R6) PR6: Full scale Pilot of SustainComp Student Course in Bachelor programmes. The full scale pilot will integrateand implement the experiences and competences developed in the COIL pilot and the on-site pilot and will follow the fine-tuned SustainComp curriculum. Student participants will earn 10 ECTS upon completion of the course.PR7: Conduct a website with an online teacher support system. The website and the online materials will be meeting the educational needs of students and teachers. Additionally, it will facilitate learning activities for stakeholders from local, regional and national communities. Among these, the future employers of bachelors having conducted the SustainComp course as implemented in their education. Dissemination of the results of the project will be conducted in combination with the multiplier events in each country, via the SustainComp project homepage. There will be open access to the state of the art report and all other related scientific or popular papers. Additionally, access to videos, moocs, testimonials and student work.. Implementation will also include six transnational meetings between the partner HEIs. Starting with a kick-off meeting at UCL in February 2022, followed by a meeting in May on curriculum development at UiA and a meeting at MUNI in October on teacher-training development. In May 2023 there will be a meeting on development of teacher support systems at UL, followed by a meeting at UCL on development and evaluation of the full scale pilot of the SustainComp Student course in bachelor programmes. The final face-to-face meeting will take place in May 2024 in the Czech Republic. Supplementary to the transnational meetings will be regular, online project meeting, approximately two per semester.