<< Background >>Last year the entire world experienced how important health care is and what happens when other values replace the priority of safeguarding human lives. It became clear that Health Care must be inclusive, thus allowing everyone to be able to access medical cures, both in times of emergency or in the phase of prevention. Medical systems should take care of everybody, including people that are affected by different circumstances and in need of specialized assistance, also where modern technological solutions are needed. This covers also those medical problems that could be solved in whole or in part by the application of ergonomic and bioengineering innovations, which are the core topics of the project.People with disability have the same general healthcare needs and the right to be provided the highest standard of healthcare without discrimination according to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). However, the reality is that few countries provide adequate quality services for people with disability. According to the report of the Academic Network of European Disability Experts (ANED) it is needed to a) Provide those health services needed by persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and intervention as appropriate, and services designed to minimize and prevent further disabilities and b) Require health professionals to provide care of the same quality to persons with disabilities as to others. Unfortunately, this is not always happening, and the reason is mainly due to the scarce attention of medical and technical staff (in the case of medical implants), which could be increased thanks to a specific training.The ErgoDesign project aims at creating a new interdisciplinary Curriculum which covers different topics (from ergonomics to bioengineering), taking into consideration the requirements of people with special needs, to create a more inclusive care system. The project is going to increase the inclusion and diversity, as it will improve the competencies of designer and producer 3D implants for medical purposes. The project will thus contribute to create a more inclusive environment that is responsive to the needs of the wider community, including people with special needs.Also, the ergonomic and medical implants sector is experiencing a paradigm change, due to the introduction of advanced software for implants design and the possibility of printing them using 3D printers (additive manufacturing). The impact of 3D printing on the medical sector is revolutionary: digital skills are the main leverage for boosting innovation in the sector of medical implants. The project aims at transferring such knowledge and skills to both students (also to increase their employability) and to HE lecturers/academics (so to multiply the impact on the new generation of students from the Faculties of Medicine, Ergonomics and Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, Materials Science and Engineering).The analysis on the actual needs of the MedTech and BioTech sector for new employees demonstrated that the most important hard skills refer to design experience and experience with relevant software. The ErgoDesign e-learning course aims also at filling this knowledge gap delivering a student-centred course mixing both theory and practical exercises for practicing digital skills and boosting students’ employability.<< Objectives >>Currently, the knowledge and skills for training students in all the different topics needed for allowing design and production of 3D designed medical plants are spread in different Faculties and taught in different curricula. This fragmentation is preventing the raise of a new professional figure that has theoretical knowledge coming from different fields, from ergonomics to bioengineering, and specific digital skills (for the use of advanced software and tool for design and production purposes). The project partners want to gather these competencies and bring them together into a new e-learning course, based on a student-centred approach and mixing both theory and practical exercises, to train a new generation of medical and technical staff able to boost the innovation in the medical plants sector. Also, partners feel the need of answering to an unsolved social issue related to the requirements of people with special needs (physical or mental diseases) that are prevented from accessing cures due to their disabilities (UN statistics). This aspect will be included as transversal priority in the development of the project training contents and addressed in a specific module included in the full curriculum.The general objective of the project is to support the introduction of ergonomic and bioengineering innovations in implantology and prosthetics by adopting new digital applications and training in their use. The specific objectives are: to increase the students’ knowledge in the field of ergonomics and bio-engineering and their digital skills for designing and producing related 3D printed medical products (dental and orthopedic implants, prostheses and exoskeletons, etc.) (SO1); to increase the knowledge necessary for the design of healthcare implants for people with special needs (physical and mental) (SO2); to extend the trainers’ knowledge of software/digital tools and their possibilities of use and adaptation for training (SO3); to increase the employability of the students in the medical implants sector (SO4); to create a community of practice around the topics of ergonomics and bioengineering (SO5)<< Implementation >>ErgoDesign proposal aims at developing a multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary e-learning course aimed at training HE students to become future designers and producers of implants for health care with special attention to the requirements of people with special needs. The course will encompass both theory and practical activities, with the primary scope of developing students and HE lecturers/Academics digital skills, crucial for design and production tasks in the medical sector.The project aims also at creating a community of practice around the topics of ergonomics and bioengineering that could communicate on a collaborative platform, fed with training contents, but also with information and knowledge from the stakeholders.In order to reach the project objectives, the partners will follow a development path: creation of a selection of software and digital tools aimed at extending the knowledge and the digital skills of students and EU lecturers; definition of the main elements on which to build the training courses; creation of supporting materials (Handbook and e-learning course) for easing the replication of ErgoDesign-like courses by other stakeholders.In detail: the first step of the project implementation consists of conducting extensive analysis on software and digital tools that are currently used for the design and production of medical implants (SO1, SO4). The identified digital tools will be analysed jointly by the partners to create an online toolkit with searchable items to extend the knowledge of HE lecturers and students (SO1, SO3).Once the Digital Toolkit will be completed, the partners will define the Design Principles for the course that will be the starting point for the definition of the ErgoDesign Curriculum (SO4). This will be the cornerstone on which to build the training materials (PR4) that are aimed at filling the knowledge gap identified in the need analysis conducted prior to the start of the project. During both the phases of curriculum design and training materials preparation, the partners will take into consideration (transversal approach) the requirements of the people with special needs (SO2). All training materials will be uploaded on the Collaborative Platform, that will become also the focal point for the stakeholders’ collaboration and the place where the partners will build the community of practice on the topics of ergonomics and bioengineering for giving sustainability to the project results (SO5). When all the courses will be piloted and the training materials raised according to the participants' feedback, the partners will create a package of materials (Handbook, webinars, e-learning courses) aimed at increasing the competencies of HE lecturers and Academics for organizing ErgoDesign-like courses and giving sustainability to the project results (SO5).For ensuring a qualitative and effective implementation of project activities, the partners’ approach will include first the design of the proposed results, then the discussion, a piloting phase and, finally, validation and release. The pilot phase is the most strategic, as it will allow the partners to test the prototype of the results with a sample of internal and external testers.<< Results >>The project aims to increase the digital skills of Universities for boosting the capacity of HE lecturers/Academics in supporting students’ innovative skills, taking also into account the requirements of people with special needs. All expected outcomes, such as project Results (PR1-PR5), will produce effects during the life of the project and at its conclusion.The partners will develop 5 project results: PR1 – A Specialized software for design in the Health Care sector dynamic toolkit aimed at presenting several software/digital tools for booting digital competencies of HE lecturers/Academics and students. PR2 – Course Design Principles and ErgoDesign Curriculum aimed at defining the principles on which to build the multidisciplinary curriculum (topics, learning outcomes, duration, etc.).PR3 – A Collaborative Platform. aimed at creating a space for discussion and training for stakeholders, hosting the virtual community of practices. PR4 - ErgoDesign Training Materials, aimed at filling the knowledge and skill gaps of the students, by providing them with theoretical formation and practical exercises. PR5 - Handbook and e-learning course, aimed at creating resources to ease the replication of the ErgoDesign course by other organizations.An Exploitation Plan (§ Sustainability section) will detail the Exploitation strategy (capitalization, follow up, etc.) of the project results in the long term .The project expected outcomes are: increasing the pedagogical digital skills of HE lecturers in the fields of 3D design and production of healthcare implants (linked to PR1, PR4); increasing the number of HE lecturers taking into consideration the requirements of people with special needs when delivering their training in the fields of ergonomics and bioengineering (linked to PR2, PR4); - increasing HE students’ digital skills (linked PR1, PR4); increasing HE students’ employability in the healthcare sector (linked PR4); - promoting the exchange of good practices, open discussion among HE lecturers/Academics, students, other stakeholder in the fields of ergonomic and bioengineering through the community of practice hosted on the collaborative platform (linked to PR3); - promoting the topics of the project and training other HE lecturers/Academics in how to replicate the ErgoDesign course (linked to PR5).

The present project aims at the development of innovative, future-oriented processes, tools and methods that will foster personal and professional development among European University students, Early Stage Researchers and high school students, including also those that aspire to enrol in University. There is a growing consensus regarding the importance of high-quality adaptation skills as a means to support individuals in acquiring and developing key competences. Conversely, a major part of these transversal competences and “soft skills” is the development of integrated and innovative ways supporting personal development, resilience, adaptation and critical thinking. As Futures Literacy increases individuals’ capacity to ‘use the future(s)’ to explore the present, the project aims to adopt such methodology also to foster professional development. In other words, the training materials developed in the project will empower individuals to realize that their images about the future (anticipatory assumptions) have a significant bearing on (limit or open up) their actions and choices today. The objectives of the project include: - Conducting research on the interconnections of distinctive areas - namely future literacy, foresight, personal and professional development and theatre arts; - Identify skills gaps and shortages, regarding futures literacy skills, common to the partner countries which are preventing students from reaching their full potential, from a personal and professional point of view;- Contributing to innovation by developing, adapting and testing foresight tools and methods (including future-oriented performance-based pedagogies) pertinent to personal and professional development; - Strengthening the exchange of knowledge and practices about foresight and futures literacy amongst key organisations, promoting lifelong learning and counselling for the personal and professional development of young people; - Facilitating increased recognition of futures literacy skills at the European level within the communities concerned.The proposed project calls for the establishment of a well-grounded partnership, consisting of experts and practitioners in the fields of foresight, futures literacy, theatre arts and personal and professional development that will assume the following project activities: Research activities, development of two Foresight Toolkits, one for University students and Early Stage Researchers, the other for high-school students. These toolkits will also include Training Manuals so as to enable other teachers and counsellors to replicate the contents of the training courses designed. All the course contents will be piloted in the 4 countries (Poland, the Netherlands, Greece and the United Kingdom) and will be then revised according to the feedback received from the participants. The methodology to be used in carrying out the project involves: - The implementation of research and evidence needs analysis; - The design of skills development material and tools (toolbox); - The implementation of multiplier events to disseminate the research findings and the toolbox. The project will undertake comprehensive research to contribute to a greater understanding of futures literacy skills, and on how to use foresight to anticipate changes and to improve personal and professional development. The project is expected to have concrete results regarding the research and practical outputs which will cover theoretical, practical and design aspects. The project is expected to have a strong impact for the involved communities at local, national and European levels, from various perspectives. The desired impact could be summarised as the aim to disseminate a novel approach and innovative methods for Futures Literacy and Foresight techniques resulting in personal and professional development.

<< Objectives >>The project aims at providing academic teachers with skills and instruments for innovative and creative teaching, thus developing excellence in innovative and / or online pedagogical approaches, including transdisciplinary approaches, new curriculum development methods, providing and assessing linking education with research and innovation. Increasing teaching competences will allow better and more effective education of students in the bioeconomy, which is necessary to answer market demand.<< Implementation >>The partnership will design, develop and test a training course for HEI lecturers for training on the use of Creative Learning (CL) and establish a platform storing a set of engaging e-learning materials in bioeconomy using the CL pedagogical methodology. These training materials will be produced during the project and piloted with HEI students before being made openly accessible to the wide audience. Dissemination and management activities are planned as well.<< Results >>The results will support higher education in bioeconomy allowing efficient and engaging teaching. A self-paced e-learning course for HEI lecturers for training on the use of Creative Learning together with sample teaching materials in selected issues of bioeconomy will be produced and available to a wide audience together with. On-line teaching platform will be available to facilitate this process. Guidelines aimed at easing the capacity in developing new training materials will be generated.

During the lockdown, near-universal school closures affecting 192 countries and impacting more than 60% of the world’s student population heightened concerns about the vulnerability of many countries to significant long-term learning losses. Reducing the negative impact of this situation is an urgency for the whole HE sector. All the lecturers have faced issues related to the impossibility of physical coexistence with the students and among these issues they have faced those that affected negatively the lessons’ effectiveness as well as the learners’ motivation.The general objective of the project is to enhance HEI educators skills for enabling them to develop digital training contents promoting equal opportunities for learners attending courses in the virtual/extended class. The detailed objectives include:- improve/innovate online teaching so to fulfil the needs of HE when delivering training in the V/E class and remote class- promote blending pedagogical, technical and technological aspects in the redesign of the training course- increase the lecturers’ skills in the three aspects highlighted above, considered individually and in their mutual interactionsTo win this challenge and close the gap between in-presence lessons and virtual lessons the educators should be supported in developing their skills and innovating in three dimensions: pedagogical, technical and technological. The partnership is composed of 4 Universities (Poznan University of Technology (PL) - Distant learning support unit and Faculty of Industrial and Management; LUMSA, Rome (IT) - Department of Pedagogy; University Ramon Llull - Barcelona (SP) - Department of Engineering; University of Maribor (SL) - Knowledge Transfer Office and Department of logistics) and one company, ValueDo, Florence (IT), operating in the field of online and digital training. Valuedo will contribute in a transversal way to the project outputs and will boost the innovativeness of the results. To achieve the goal the workflow includes 4 major phases producing 4 intellectual outputs. IO1's workflow aims at producing a gap analysis that will provide the inputs for the definition of the validated list of digital tools to be further analysed in the other IOs. To reach this output the partner will conduct a desk research, in-deep interviews and collect questionnaires from both lecturers and students that will be analysed in IO2 and IO3. IO2 “The virtual/extended class (V/E) Teaching & Learning Tasks Dynamic Toolkit” is designed to support teachers in the acquisition of pedagogical and digital skills. It will be organized as an open online tool with searchable and downloadable items, analysing the pedagogical features of the digital tools selected in IO1 and providing suggestions for their adoption. In parallel with the development of IO2, the partners will create, test and release IO3 “Adaptive interactive platform supporting HE educators in solving technical problems”. This output is designed to diagnose teaching capabilities maturity and support the lecturers with tips and methods to be retrieved in just one place (the online platform). Finally, URL will lead the activities for developing IO4 “Software and dashboard for monitoring the technological aspects of the virtual training” that will allow the partners to measure several indicators (audio and voice quality, face landmarks, etc.) from all the attendants to assess their engagement and suggest the lecturers corrective measures. All the contents of the last three outputs aimed at providing an holistic support to the academic staff will be piloted jointly by the Universities: they will develop 16 new lessons, involving at least 8 lecturers and reaching at least 480 students (30 students in each class) to ensure the effectiveness and efficacy of the tools. To monitor the impact the partners will conduct both semi-structured interviews and quali-quantitative questionnaires. Thanks to the IOs, the project will deliver ready-to-use solutions for:- improving the skills of educators in various pedagogical methodologies, suggesting them practical online and free tool that could be used for delivering innovative training contents- identifying easy solutions to the most frequent technical problems- ensuring technological quality of the online lessons identifying in an automatic way when the attention of students in the online environment is decreasingIt will result in short term impacts including the raising of skills of the lecturers regarding the pedagogical, technical and technological tools necessary for the effective conduct of lessons with virtual/extended class (V/E) classes and an increase in student participation and involvement. In the long-term the project aims to ensure greater inclusiveness that will allow every learners (in class or online) equal opportunities for participation in the training, also through appropriate customization of the educational path in respect of individual difference.

<< Objectives >>The general objective of the project is increasing the number of students with Special Education needs enrolling in Higher Music Education Institutions (HMEIs). By the end of the project the partners will create a self-paced course for reinforcing the competencies of HMEI teachers and administrative staff in the field of Special Education, creating a new professional role aimed at monitoring on social inclusion practices and training process and create a community of inclusive HMEIs.<< Implementation >>Following the results of a detailed training need analysis, the partners will develop a training course for HMEI teachers, HMEI administrative staff, including the tutor specialized in SEN, to be first piloted within the partners' organization. After this first validation, the revised course will be delivered to the same target groups in other HMEIs. Thanks to the external feedback, the partners will revise the materials and develop an open and freely accessible self-paced course.<< Results >>By the end of the project, the partners will develop two e-learning courses (one for HMEI teachers and one for administrative staff/tutors), aimed at improving the learners skills and break down the barriers that limit the access to HMEIs to people with Special Education Needs. All the training materials will be freely and openly available on an e-learning platform in English and partners' languages. The partners will also create a community of practice around the project topic.