"NEEDSCurrently, social groups of seniors use mobile phones and computers with Internet access more and more freely. It is increasingly common for seniors to fall prey to fraudsters as a result of reckless ""network use"". Cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to ""steal"" personal or other sensitive data.Universities of the Third Age provide an excellent opportunity for improving this situation. However, they are generally urban-based and have limited resources, so not everyone can take advantage of their educational programmes.We don’t know the extent of neglect in this field, but by reviewing the education programmes of U3As and the description of their courses, one can conclude that the problem of cybersecurity and critical thinking is either treated marginally or completely ignored. Of course, we don’t know about specific cases, but one can suppose that concentration on basic computer skills (which is a fundamental part of such courses) is not conducive to introducing any additional content.Project objectives:Cybersecurity starts with critical thinking, thus the aim of the “crITic - Critical Internet usage” project to strengthen the self-confidence of Internet users and influence their awareness of the risks they may encounter. The innovative element of the project will be the use of ""creativity/memory training"" elements in the toolkit, which will have a positive impact on learning and assimilation of information by potential participants. It will also be diversified by the scenarios included in the toolkit which make the training more interactive. The participants will be able to memorise the content of the training more intuitively through the exercise elements using creative methods. The project will result in the creation of a user-friendly toolkit directed at practitioners, educators, trainers, local community leaders and authorities. On the basis of the created a toolkit will be conducted trainings among the local community. They will be conducted with the support of people who will be trained at a joint-staff training in Poland while sharing ideas and presenting their part of the toolkit. The toolkit will include activities aimed at implementing broadly understood critical thinking in the area of internet navigation. The group of participants in the international training will consist of a trainer, educator and project manager who will create a team to disseminate the content of the training. At the same time, based on the toolkit created among elderly adults with whom they work and which will be adequate to their needs. Through a 3-days training, the participants will acquire competencies that will complement their existing knowledge with educational values that will have an awareness effect on a group of adults when navigating the Internet using the concept of critical thinking. During this international training, experiences will be exchanged between trainers who work with diverse groups of seniors."

"The Strategic Partnership Project Projekt Key competencies for Lifelong Learning in education of seniors (KEY) was carried out from 01.09.2014 to 31.08.2016. The main goal of the project was the personal development of of older people and the acquisition of key competences for life in the information society.Specific objectives were:- To encourage elderly people to use networking ICT tools as well as mobile technologies and resources to take part in social community life.- To create opportunities for older people to stay active.- To contribute to the participation of older people in the current Information Society (InSoc).- To strengthen relationships and increase social inclusion.- To reduce the mistrust of networking ICT tools, resources and services and promote their benefits.- To obtain good and demonstrative practices by carrying out pilot training experiences during the life of the project.- To train trainers and management staff of adult and/or seniors training organizations and associations how to implement the outlines.Project PartnersThree European organizations participated in the project. It was co-ordinated by the Pro Scientia Publica Foundation from Poland, and the other partners are Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Kairos Europe, Great Britain.Why the project was createdThe inspiration for the project was the fact that education is at the core of the modern information society. Lifelong learning is essential in the new dynamic reality, because only through continual education is it possible to keep up with constant social change. In developing the project, therefore, reference was made to the key competences required for lifelong learning designated by the European Union. On this basis, three key areas in the development of the education of seniors were identified. Elderly people are the target group, because it is they who are most vulnerable to social exclusion, especially in the age of the dominance of new technology.Educational paramatersThree series of workshops, developing the key competences for lifelong learning for seniors, were prepared for the KEY project - interpersonal, English language, and new technologies (creation of an internet blog). The element linking all these workshops was a personal biography of the participant. In the interpersonal section, each participant developed their own biography, which was then translated from English during the workshops. The next step was to post the biography on a blog, as part of the new technolgies workshop. 47 seniors took part in the project - 15 from Poland, 22 from Italy, and 10 from Great Britain.Scientific aspect of the projectIt is worth noting that, apart from the educational aspect, the KEY project also had a scientific dimension. Qualitative and quantative research was conducted during the duration of the project. Quantative reasearch was conducted by means of questionaires, both before and after the project, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of the workshops. Focus groups were also organized at each stage in order to evaluate the workshops. During these focus groups, the seniors expressed their opinions about the workshops, indicating both their strong and weak points. On the basis of this, valuable feedback was obtained, which enabled the programme of activities to be adapted and improved.On the basis of the experience gained during the project, it is possible too to apply practical conclusions for the education of elderly people. Project experiences, its achievements, applications, as well as a developed program senior teaching has been published in the book ""Key competences to Lifelong Learning in education of seniors""."

Training activities in companies (WEPs) are an essential part in VET and Dual VET European student’s learning process. These activities are increasingly being carried out abroad (within the EU). For this reason, it is convenient to compare the different aspects involved (training activity durability, types and contents of the agreements between companies and institutions, means and criteria to select companies, tutor and instructor coordination, etc.) to improve them. In Europe, there is great concern regarding young people’s unemployment (European average rate over 20%), for it is important to contrast experiences between different countries to improve VET’s functioning in order to improve students' qualification and their subsequent employability.The Project “Improvements in the Management of the Work Experience Placements” has the mission of improving the management of WEP in the countries of the three entities which have taken part in the Project, and in EU. This will contribute to increase VET’s quality and social-educative prestige as well as the number of students who will study VET and Dual VET.The three partners have distinguished profiles, but at the same time complementary, and a common interest: improving WEPs in Europe. - USIE, Inspectors' Union, Spain. The Education Inspectorate is a supervisor and assessor of the management of VET and Dual VET in the educational field, as well as an interlocutor between Administration, the educative community, and companies. - KAIROS Europe Ltd., company specialised in students that perform WEPs in the UK. It looks for companies, controls the teaching-learning process, and performs student’s tutoring. For this reason, this institution is aware of the problems that emerge in WEPs.- SCF, Scuola Centrale Formazione associazione, Italy. Non-profit organization that encompasses entities responsible for 94 VET/Dual centres. It works with youngsters that carry out their WEPs, some of them disabled, allowing us to have a differentiated experience in the matter.The partners have shared a common network of education and labour fields, taking into account VET and Dual VET institutions and companies of the three countries. The Project has lasted for 15 months, with a previous phase and 4 development phases. 3 National Work Teams (NWT) and 3 Transnational Teams plus the Coordinator, each one of them with their own responsibilities, have worked and carried out activities cooperatively according to the established plan.Throughout the Project, 30 activities have been carried out, applying the expected timeline and the Quality Plan, respecting a multidisciplinary perspective, cooperative working, and consensual agreements. The objectives and the Project’s mission are directly related with the expected activities and in accordance with the designed methodology: 1st- Diagnostic, based on evidence (registers, surveys…). 2nd- Analysis of the obtained data to detect proper and mistaken practices, with the objective of elaborating our final outcome:-The Good Practice Guide of WEP Management in Europe.-Political and Administrative Recommendations aimed at educational and entrepreneurial authorities to improve VET’s quality and young people’s inclusion in the labour market.For this, three transnational meetings together with one Training Activity have been carried out, in which all of the NWT have participated, as well as the selected participants by each country. The dissemination activities and the impact have had and will go on having as beneficiaries the members of the partners, as well as the educative and entrepreneurial communities, governmental authorities and other social agents. The impact can be measured by the number of participants through the partner's activities throughout the project, since companies and institutions have been visited in the three countries, interviews to the agents involved in WEP have been done, formative sessions have been carried out, highlighting the Final Conference that took place in Spain in October, which was attended by more than 250 participants. Furthermore, meetings with technicians or relevant people of each country have been held. A specific blog has been created: https://imweperasmusk202.wordpress.com/ a logo, and webs and social networks have been used by the partners (Twitter and Facebook, above all).The Project’s dissemination and sustainability have been carried out and will continue by attending activities (meetings/seminars with institutions and companies, interviews to political and employment officials, etc.), highlighting the Final Meeting, which took place in Spain, the Project’s specific Blog and each partners' webs and social networks.The Project's success will be related to the impact obtained applying the Guide of Good Practices by the institutions and companies, and the Political and Administrative Recommendations through changes in legislation and procedures in labour and education fields.

"Project ""Leaders of change – mentorship program for entrepreneurial leaders in local communities"" was conducted between September 1st 2016 and August 31st 2018.The aim of the project was to improve the functioning of adults in small, local communities, affected by the problem of unemployment, economic stagnation, the need to change jobs, or the profile of activity through the development of activities conducive to creating entrepreneurial attitudes and entering the path of entrepreneurship.Project partners: - The AdMERITUM Foundation, a non-profit organization, founded by the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs, business trainers and mentors, and specialists in management, from Mazovia Voivoid based in Warsaw, Poland. It provides entrepreneurship education, especially for the adults and the youth. - CREF Education, a non-profit association of schools and other educational institutions, from Sesimbra, Portugal which provides educational support for basic and secondary school staff and for the continuous training of working and non-working adults and teachers from public and private sectors in the municipality of Sesimbra.- Center Spirala – Center of Selfmobility from Ljubljana, Slovenia, a private and non-profit institute for research and development within social and humanistic area. - Kairos Europe from London, UK, an organisation dedicated to promoting international education and training. One of the areas of expertise are the International partnership projects focused mainly on social inclusion, multiculturalism, employability and entrepreneurship, use of ICT in education.Main activities:During the two-year implementation of the “Leaders of Change” project, we have prepared a group of approximately 40 people in the Polish-British-Slovenian-Portuguese partnership - so-called ""leaders of change"" to work with local communities on the development of entrepreneurship in the area of SMEs.The target group of our activities were adults who looked for new job opportunities, who were changing jobs, or who had lost their jobs, as well as micro and small entrepreneurs, who were not very successful in their businesses. These people were looking for new opportunities for personal development, which would translate into changes in their life and a new career prospects. Our aim was to introduce to them and to encourage them to start in their life the entrepreneurship path or to support them due to facing certain difficulties regarding their entrepreneurial path. About 7-10 people were recruited from this specified project target group in each partner country. These people wanted to become “the leaders of change” – the leaders of entrepreneurship in their local communities of entrepreneurs and/or future entrepreneurs.In each country, each project partner organization chose the mentors among its educators’ staff (small business and entrepreneurship educators and trainers) who provided the meetings for the leaders in the form of the trainings and workshops.In each country, each project partner organized the international meeting for the leaders with a view to exchanging of experience with other leaders and entrepreneurs from partner countries who are successful in their own businesses.In conjunction with the leaders’ international meetings, mentors took part in their own meeting, which followed a separate agenda.Project results and impact:On the leaders’ return from international meetings, they organized in their regions and communities the meetings with the target group (adult entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs) with the support of mentors from partner organization. The leaders became the advocates of the new routes/ changes in their local environments. They became “the leaders of change” and “the face of entrepreneurship” in their communities. Their role was to promote the value of entrepreneurship to the society, emphasise the importance of developing entrepreneurial skills and experiences in education, and highlight entrepreneurship as a career opportunity. Together with the mentors, the leaders developed these ideas for further actions in the region, called: “Small Business Mentors’ Clubs”. At the end of the project, these Clubs continued to operate in accordance with the methodology and strategies developed during the project and would be supported by partner organisations.The description of the above educational process of mentoring for the leaders of change is the book ""Leaders of change. The mentoring program for the leaders of entrepreneurship in local communities”, which is the intellectual output (the result) of this project. Long-term benefits:-During the project, the leaders participated in the mentoring program, which influenced the development of the key competences: entrepreneurship, initiative, learning to learn skills.-The mentoring program developed by mentors has been made available to all European educators - trainers of entrepreneurship and small business.-SBMCs."

In 2015, more than 6,6 million young people (aged 15-24 years) were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEETs) in the EU. Many of them come from disadvantaged background. Most services addressed to NEETs are delivered by youth educators, however a European standard for youth educators working with NEETs, and tools to check the quality of their work is missing.This project aims was to improve the current situation by mapping the Competence profile of youth educators working with NEETs, and by developing a methodology for assessment of their competence called expertise checkup, a E-course course for assessors, a European certification and a register for assessors and youth educators that have passed the checkup. The checkup was carried out thanks also to a web platform. The description of the Competence profile of the youth educator working with NEETs is based on ECVET, and the checkup on the European Council recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning and to the European Guidelines for Validating Not Formal and Informal Learning developed by CEDEFOP.The project consortium is composed by organizations working with NEETs based in PL, UK, ES, SK. Also, many other organizations working with NEETs and youth workers were involved in project activities thanks to partners wide networks.Thank to variety of dissemination activities, over 20 000 people from target groups was informed about the project, and over 400 youth educators were directly involved in it. Main intellectual outputs of the project were:1. The Competence profile of youth educators working with NEETs.2. Guide to the expertise chekup with youth educators working with NEETs.3. Web based assessment tool.4. E-course for assessors of youth educators working with NEETs.All those results are available in English and partner languages.Long term benefits will be better quality of European youth work with NEETs and improved recognition of skills of European youth educators.Target group of the project were as follows:1. partner organizations and their Staff;2. organizations working with NEETS;3. youth educators working with NEETS;4. other interested parties, decision makers in the youth field and of NEETS, youth association, parents’associations, youth educators’ associations, researchers in HR and youth work and so on, at regional,regional and EU level.Impact on participants: higher awareness on youth educators’ expertise, identification of youth educatorscompetences, skills, activities and knowledge and the differences among partner countries; highersatisfaction of their work with NEETs.