The project intends to help modernize heritage education in Egypt and transform it from an antiquarian perspective to a contemporary one through a leap in academic networking, curriculum development, mobility, and a public outreach program using modern teaching methods and technologies. The objectives of the project are (1) establishing an innovative multi-level educational program in Heritage Education that is unique in its setting in being offered by multiple universities, (2) capacity building of university staff, (3) development of supportive teaching materials, (4) provide training and capacity building for school teachers, staff members of related public entities, and other interested parties on a national scale, (5) develop an Outreach Public Program, and (6) create an e-learning heritage platform. The impact of the project includes: the transformation of the outlook of heritage education and the introduction of contemporary and innovative teaching methods, the development of a new program in heritage education, the establishment of a Heritage Education Forum which will have a lasting impact on other universities and heritage institutions and the public at large, and the training of university teaching staff. The project will greatly influence the students who will attend the new courses which are expected to become a regional attraction for students seeking heritage studies education, and will have an impact on advancing heritage research in EG and will allow for international networking. The different activities of the project will also have a long term impact on schools, school teachers and consequently on school students as well as on the heritage industry through the innovations in the field of 3D virtual and augmented reality, mobile applications and 3D printing. The project, in addition, will have an impact on civic society and local communities and the public at large through its website, virtual campus, e-learning, and mobile applications.

Engineering and in general STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and practice is expensive, can drain precious resources (materials, energy etc.) and can be very time consuming (in setting up of physical experiments and different trial and error efforts). That is why numerical modelling is steadily gaining ground in a range of STEM related fields ranging from mechanical reliability of bridges to the design of medically implantable devices. Numerical modelling allows for quick and inexpensive testing without needing to build physical devices, gives insight and understanding into different phenomena, can be used to design products/solutions and can be used to optimize processes. Furthermore in order to create real world solutions and to transform the education, the technical training needs to be coupled with business training. PYTHAGORAS addresses those needs and will provide a total of 8 educational modules (physical and online) covering topics from numerical modelling and design to entrepreneurship and business skills. Those modules can stand alone and can be used to update and modernize existing curricula. The education will be applied for solving real life problems with (3 expected) case studies specified from Egypt and Tunisia and with the students presenting a business case on the solutions they developed. The training will be for the next generation of innovators: University graduate and undergraduate students and professionals (target is over 200) and for professors who will be shaping the next generation of students (target 20). The activities also include setting up of interconnected labs and engaging the labour market. The impact will be on increase of the skill set of the participants, improvement of employment prospects, development of an engineering innovation culture where modernized knowledge (based on advanced numerical and digital methods) is applied and taken to the market.