Asia is, by far, the continent which has registered the steepest growth in population and goods consumption in the last decades. It is a matter of fact that, however - similarly as other part of the World - the capability of the socio-economic system to address the need to dispose the corresponding generated waste is not as much rapid.The problem connected to the lack of dedicated professionals for solid waste management is pressing in many Asian countries and, in this sense, creating dedicated workforce and building knowledge by fostering specialization can be achieved only if specialised courses are offered at different educational levels and if targeted capacity building, governance models, educational and training programmes are conducted. New academic and TVET educational products (the latter to be addressed to informal workers as well) on sustainable solid waste management, health and environmental risks related to improper waste treatment, and business operation will encounter the needs of teachers and trainers, therefore indirectly of their students and trainees, educating them on the most critical areas of waste management. In this framework, the project will also provide them with the chance of a more concrete and practical experience in the Training Hubs to be established in during the SWAP Project.Therefore, the general aim of SWAP project is to contribute and support in building capacity at tertiary level as well as to support training addressed to the vulnerable group of informal waste practitioners. In this sense, the project has the purpose of improving entrepreneurship as well as the employability of university graduates of the HEIs from Southeast Asia in the sector of sustainable solid waste management, thanks to a close cooperation among all the actors of the “Quadruple-helix”. Thanks to this holistic structure, SWAP Project will pave the way to support relevant policies, providing with high quality educational products, strategies and tools.

"The project focuses on the modernization and development of curricula for the qualification students in transdisciplinary education system in the network with companies, research institutions and stakeholders of the region. The project strengthens European co-operation in transdisciplinary education and internationalization, which has been rather limited due to the strong scientific traditions in HE-education systems. This makes it possible to transfer knowledge about the transdisciplinary model to higher education and therefor enable the future generation of scientists and employees in enterprises to draw on synergies from different scientific directions. This seems necessary since environmental problems are rather complex and therefore need even more complex answers. Empirical studies on the needs analysis in the labor market are conducted in the participating PCs and competency catalogs are compiled. On the basis of the catalogs, curricula for the BA level are modernized by the development of modular thematic clusters, the curriculum for the transdisciplinary MA course ""Environmental Management of Fishery Enterprises"" is developed, modularized distance learning courses for continuing education of employees in the fishery sector are developed and the MA course is adapted for online-teaching. A centre of excellence for transdisciplinary env. education and vocational guidance (with eLabs as an innovative element) will be set up at PU for the highly debt-oriented design of the curriculum, training courses for university staff, professional orientation and networking in the local education landscape. Through measures for dissemination and sustainability, the model character of the transdisciplinaryl education in fisheries is supported and the transfer of the project results is ensured nationwide and internationally. The evaluation of the curricula of internal and external experts contributes to effective quality control."

Seafood is nutritious, delicious and probably the healthiest among the food items. Its demand is rapidly increasing in each country and globally as more people are becoming aware of the health and thus are shifting their food habits from red meat to white meat and then to seafood. Therefore, seafood sector has been increasingly important for food security, nutrition, income and employment. Annually 96 million tons of seafood is caught from the oceans and the natural water bodies while 82 million ton is produced from aquaculture (FAO data). Fish catch from the wild is declining due to overfishing. Aquaculture is rapidly expanding with the technological advancement often creating environmental problems causing frequent collapses of some aquaculture systems e.g. shrimp farming. Therefore, seafood insecurity has been a global issue urging the need to ensure long-term sustainability.Recognizing the key role of higher education in shaping the industry, a project entitled, “Curriculum development project for Sustainable Seafood and Nutrition Security (SSNS)” co-funded by EU Erasmus+ programme, was launched in Oct 2017. The main objectives of the programme were to identify the problems and missing gaps in the existing fisheries curricula in higher education institutions in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, and improve the curricula by developing specialized courses in changing context. Other objectives were to establish specialized SSNS centres and offer vocational training courses and internship programs so that the industry could get new dimension and better understanding. The project engaged over 60 lecturers from Asia and over 15 from Europe. A total of 57 MSc courses (target was 20, nearly 3 times more) have been either newly developed or improved from existing ones. Amongst them, more than 75% have already been accredited, incorporated into the curricula and offered to over 200 students (target 90).Typical new courses include Seafood and Human Nutrition, Seafood and Sustainable Development Goals, Seafood safety, Fish Quality and Traceability, Smart and Environmentally Friendly Aquaculture, Innovations in Fish Product Development among others. All the nine Asian partners established a new SSNS centre each or revived or strengthened the one which had earlier. Six of them have established new ones each and three of them strengthen their existing centres to contribute to the project objectives. More than 63 vocational training courses have also been developed, and nearly half of them were already offered during the project period to update the knowledge and also provide specific skills to over 600 professionals. The project also developed 48 Internship programs (target 45) to offer higher education degree students so that they could get exposure to the industry and get hands-on work experience. However, due to COVID-19, it was not possible to offer, although two partners managed to offer somehow, even though the project was extended for 12 months ended by Oct 14, 2021. The project organized two study trips to Europe; Norway and UK during which about 50 lecturers visited the renowned universities of Europe and learn how the courses are delivered. They also visited salmon farms and processing plants. They have learned how the courses are delivered and are encouraged to do more. Due to COVID19, program for Indonesia was organized online. A final conference was organized to review the outcomes and disseminate the outcomes of the project. Overall, the project team considers it very successful.