Crisis no matter if it’s financial, environmental or political, is a driving force for transformation of the economy and the businesses. Tоday the digital transformation of the businesses is more needed than ever, since the global need of preventing and managing situations that can affect the market conditions and the traditional ways of doing business. While no one can anticipate organizational, financial, environmental, technological crisis it’s important that new businesses are ready to handle these situations should they ever occur. New business models, digitalization of services and products, remote work systems, cyber security, digital channels for communication with clients and employees are key factors for sustainability of every emerging business. Being an Entrepreneur in the Digital Age means to be aware of how to run a business which is agile and prepared to react to every crisis by implementing the right technologies. The educational programs in entrepreneurship should be also adapted by taking into account the emerging need of sustainability and digitalization.The “SMART Youth” project aims:1) to identify types of crises that can arise, the needed skills and knowledge required for running entirely digital business or business which is agile and ready to respond to change in situation of crisis 2.) to address the emerging needs of the new generation of entrepreneurs by launching a new curriculum; 3.) to build on the capacity of the staff in higher education institutions and other training organisations;4.) to foster collaboration among businesses, students, young entrepreneurs, academic staff and other stakeholders; 5.) to stimulate creativity of young people and to make them think about crisis management, new business models and sustainability through digitalization; The partnership involves four universities from Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania and Ireland as well as two chambers of commerce and industry from Turkey and Bulgaria. The role of the business-support organisations is to analyse the needs, the opportunities and the successful experiences in the field of entrepreneurship during crisis, to promote the project through their network of contacts, including Enterprise Europe Network, organisations in support of start-ups and entrepreneurship.The role of the universities is to bring their experience in development of educational programs, in building entrepreneurial skills and competencies and in implementation of new online methods for teaching and learning. Before starting the creation of the new Curriculum the project foresees the conduction of a research on risks and opportunities and a research on the needed entrepreneurial skills. The Curriculum will include at least six courses focused on development of specific skills that entrepreneurs need when starting a business that is agile and can work or adapt to work during crisis. The next step will be the organisation of a short-term joint staff training in Ireland that will be attended by the lecturers from the participating countries. It aims to build on the capacity of the PPs' staff and to ensure good understanding of the topics included in the curriculum. In order to test the Curriculum and to foster the transnational interactions and the exchange of knowledge between lecturers, students, successful businesses and solution providers, the PPs will organize international pilot training(virtual boot camps). The videos from the boot-camps will also serve as an example of innovative method for interactive teaching and learning that can be implemented in HE and other training institutions. These videos will be uploaded in a virtual space “Smart business toolbox” where young entrepreneurs will also have access to different types of tools and materials that will help them to start their sustainable businesses, to find digital technologies and reliable business solutions, to assess their digital competences, to find inspiring stories and best practices. The PPs will maximize the number of the organisations implementing the Curriculum, by developing a recognition toolkit that will ensure credit transferability, sustainability and substantial impact. In order to multiply the dissemination effect and increase the project visibility the PPs will implement a communication strategy, laying down promotional instruments and multiplier events. The PPs will strive to ensure proper implementation of the planned activities and sustainability of the action and its results. To ensure the efficient management and quality control the Coordinator and the PPs will follow preliminary defined procedures for reporting, administrative and financial control. The project success will be measured by set of indicators and the PPs will follow a methodology for evaluation of the project development at every stage.

FOREMAST R&I activities are structured along 4 ambition Pillars: (P1) Selectable level of automation Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) architecture and interfaces and situational awareness model for interfacing GNC and sensory hardware and processing systems to efficiently solve the control problem unique to IWT. Combined with balanced human-autonomy collaboration (navigation, mooring, cargo handling, propulsion) and safety implications in mixed traffic utilising tailored Galileo/EGNOS services will lead to a Next-generation Remote Control Centre TRL 5 and Small Flexible Automated Zero-emission (SFAZ) autonomy control system TRL 5 protypes. (P2) Zero emission energy management solutions dynamically optimised for prevailing operating conditions. Hybrid Electric and Fuel Cell zero emission solutions will be evaluated against power and energy requirements, lifetime, costs and life-cycle emissions of alternative fuel/energy systems. (P3) Innovative Macro Designs for SFAZ vessels in intramodal & intermodal transport networks reflecting innovations from P1 and P2. Vessel design concepts, verified through simulation, will provide systematic evaluation of SFAZ designs for confined areas and shallow waters, providing an increased operational flexibility in terms of cargo capacity, types, and load units, tied with hydrodynamic and propulsion models and control architectures. (P4) A modelling simulation design and operational optimisation tools (Digital Twining Platform) enables both design and operational measurement and optimisation of Living Lab (LL) solutions, supporting solutions for European coastal and inland or congested urban regions, incorporating if needed third party innovative components, ensuring transferability and sustainability. 2 LLs in Ghent and Caen, that represent coastal and inland congested urban regions, will demonstrate the SFAZ Prototypes integrated through Automated Smart Terminals in optimised logistic networks. A 3rd virtual LL in Galati will demonstrate replicability.

BACKGROUND.Global competition has generated the need among all the enterprises, especially SMEs, to adjust their strategies for survival.As a result of T4 actions, the interviewed stakeholders complained of lack of skills and knowledge to allow companies have a dedicated person to facilitate the transfer of modern technologies, products and services so as to accelerate the development for survival on the market in the fight with big companies.It has so emerged that the proposed occupation, the Transnational Technology Transfer Manager, is mandatory for the development strategy. TTTM must possess, apart form the professional technical abilities, competences which should enable European harmonization (leadership, economic and legislative knowledge, ability to mediate between social groups with different cultures etc). OBJECTIVES.The general objective of T4 was to increase and upgrade skills and competences of European SMEs in the field of transnational technology transfer and accelerate public and private stakeholder organizations in increasing their responsiveness to SMEs skills needs. T4 aimed at 1)minding the gap between SMEs and transnational technology innovation processes;2)establishing a permanent, transparent, recognition oriented, evolving&multi-actor training mechanism which will allow to respond to the needs of SME's;3)increasing institutional capacity and awareness of responsible actors of industrial, technological and training policies about the role of transnational technology transfer for SMEs and extend cooperation between SMEs, Research, Service Providers and VET&Training System actors.TARGET GROUPS included:SMEs:managers,technical and administrative staff,consultants;Cluster Organizations:technical staff,consultants;R&D Centre / Universities:researchers,technical staff;Technology Parks and Business Development Centres: technical staff,consultants;Economic Development Bodies:policy officers,management,technical staff;VET and Higher Education:trainers, researchers, technical staff, administrative staff, learners.The directly involved target groups members was 650 units, but due to multiple information in various media channels, we consider that the number can be 1000.ACTIVITIES.In order to achieve the planned objectives, T4 has been structured so as to obtain the four IOs which were implemented by 7 complementary partners combining training, technology, outreach to SMEs and policy anchoring capacities.The 8 Work-packages were:WP1-Project Management;WP2-Quality Management;WP3-Evaluation and Risk Management;WP4-Dissemination and Exploitation;WP5-inding the GAP: SMEs& TTT (M2-M6) created a knowledge base about current successful practices which combined technology transfer&training methods to support these processes and further strengthen them; WP6-Mapping skills needs&Develop Competence Profile(M6-M11) which focused on mapping the competences of the TTTM; WP7(M11-M24) focused on producing the curriculum and in the development and testing of the TTTM Training Program;WP8(M20-M26) delivered 2 sets of final guidelines, one for policy levels and the second one for VET system & Innovation system actors and a template of Memorandum of Understanding in order to set up of a TTT Training Cooperation Network.RESULTS. Main project results can be summarized as follows:1)SMEs increased awareness level about technology transfer processes at transnational level;2)Training&Service Providers increased knowledge about how to simplify technology transfer processes;3)available training (including competence profile, training course structure, content and self-enrollment E-learning platform);4)increased capacity of the educational/training/service side to respond to educational/training needs with a more close to market and understandable language;5)participation of the governance level&VET System actors to the information and awareness raising initiatives;6)increased knowledge about how developed training can be transformed & readapted according to technological trends and SMEs needs(and how formal VET training course can be anchored to more situational learning settings based on SMEs daily operations);7)achieving of a good collaboration between partners;8)harmonization of know-how transfer between them and familiarity with cultural specifics of involved countries.The impact of our short-term activities was to raise awareness of the need to develop such a business within companies, creating a win-win collaboration. In a long terms perspective the project aims at creating a winning cooperation mechanism between training&educational system and European SMEs which will contribute to adopt transnational technology transfer as a means to accelerate growth and development.A major benefit consisted in observing the enthusiasm and satisfaction of the contacted stakeholders in finding the solution to solve the problem they had been struggling with for a long time, namely surviving on a market dominated by the big companies.

The project’s objective is the creation and implementation of an online Method-toolbox, which can be used in European education programs and actions in the context of adult and especially older adult education. Central task will be the development of criteria for the analysis of projects and methods with the focus on good practices in the areas of fostering critical thinking, European consciousness and solidarity and the reduction of prejudices. The Method-Toolbox should help to improve and extend the supply of high quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of different target groups and individual learners.Partner organizations from Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria are members of the educational networks Danube-Networkers, the international association DANET e.V., the FEDERUNI Network of Italian Universities of the Third Age and in Bulgaria the Platform AGORA. All partners are experienced in national and international work with different target groups, especially older learners.Collected will be methods of learning and transnational European cooperation, which will then be analyzed and adapted for work with the target groups of this project, especially older people, women, people with low education, and for learning settings (formal, non-formal, informal) in general adult education in Europe.There will be four partner meetings and cooperation via online tools. Taken into consideration will be various learning arrangements, target groups and differences in work conditions, culture, languages, as well as the educational and social framework of the respective countries and the applicability of the methods in the respective countries, focusing the cooperation of education providers from West, middle and Southeast Europe.To identify projects suitable for dissemination, a survey will be carried out on national and international level. Learners in the partner organizations will be asked about the effects of their participation in European projects. In the first partner meeting, criteria for good practice will be developed. In the second and the third partner meeting the partners will present and analyze selected relevant projects with focus on lifelong learning for older people, social participation, intergenerational dialogue and new media, related to the issues of EU citizenship, EU awareness and democracy.The results of the analyses will be documented in a method-toolbox which can be used free of charge by other education and learning providers, stakeholders and interested individuals. Dissemination of the results will be made via mailing lists and newsletters of the partners’ networks and other educational associations and networks. Each partner organization and their networks will offer learning activities identified and influenced by the processes of the project. The cooperation in the project and the utilization of the method-toolbox will promote European networking of education providers.