<< Background >>Erasmus is the most successful mobility programme in the world. By the beginning of 2020, it was estimated that around 10 million students had already participated in this exchange programme since it was launched in 1987. However, according to statistics this represents only 1.7% of the European Union’s population, which means that the programme is still far from reaching its full potential. Most of EU surveys and reports carried out in the framework of European projects revealed that the reasons behind low participation are related to lower economic capacity of the majority of students and their families to support their stay abroad which results in unequitable access to quality higher education studies and to future employment opportunities. Mobility is politically desirable and HEIs all over Europe are currently faced with extremely demanding targets concerning the increase of students undertaking an international mobility experience. Universities have therefore a clear need to find the most effective strategies to be able to comply with such targets, and this implies not only financial resources but also the necessary conditions to allow for the widest possible participation of all students potentially undertaking a mobility experience abroad. The overall budget available for KA1 Mobility of individuals is normally satisfactory for universities and in general allows them to provide an effective answer to the existing demand of the academic community. The main issue, however, remains the fact that a significant number of students does not have the necessary financial support to complement the grant awarded by the Programme and to allow for the full coverage of basic expenses in the country of destination.<< Objectives >>Keeping in mind the findings in EU Surveys that the majority of HE students are excluded from the Erasmus programme for financial reasons, the Erasmus for All Project wants to tackle the low levels of HE student participation in Erasmus mobility exchange by proposing a more economically viable scholarship scheme that will allow any HE students to spend part of their studies abroad in any of the 33 programme countries. Contributing to reducing the existing asymmetry in the EU, promoting fairness, inclusion and equity of mobility grants between individuals and among the EU economic diversity are the ultimate goals that this project wishes to pursue. In terms of concrete objectives, they are to:- Keep the topics of inclusion and equity in the policy agenda;- Build a shared understanding among key stakeholders on the desired trajectory/evolution of the Erasmus+ grant system;- Engage with policy and decision makers on resource allocation strategies that address the needs of the political goal of widening participation in mobility;- Provide relevant and in-depth input for the mid-term review of the new Erasmus+ programme.The partnership is composed by highly compromised institutions with quality mobility in the European Higher Education Area and therefore the goals of E4A are anchored in a wider vision for the future of the Erasmus programme.<< Implementation >>The implementation of E4A will encompass the organisation of a series of activities, events and publications with policy relevance to reach the decision makers in Brussels and produce real transformation in the programme’s design, particularly concerning the funding of individual mobility at Higher Education level. Firstly, the team will conduct a mapping of other scholarship funding models to benchmark for the more advantageous examples of grant schemes. This activity will be complemented by a desk research to extract best practises of other studies in the same field and include the results of the feedback gathered during the E4A Student Social Labs – a series of local events in the partner HEIs to engage Erasmus students in voicing their needs during mobility for a reality-based and co-designed solution. These activities will culminate in the organisation of the first multiplier event: Is the new Erasmus for all? » proposals towards a more inclusive Erasmus scholarship where it will be presented the Mapping and Research Report and opening the floor for the discussions around what will be the proposal of a new scholarship calculation methodology. This second round of activities will be led by a transdisciplinary scientific working group in charge of considering multiple variables to design a more inclusive grant scheme and publish a document that gathers the methodologies used in developing this proposal. Thirdly, the organisation of a small-scale impact study will set a pilot-experiment with a sample of real Erasmus participants with similar financial conditions (economically disadvantaged), randomly selected and divided in two groups: the first will test the current Erasmus scholarship scheme and the second will test the impact and feasibility of the more inclusive scholarship calculation formula(s) developed previously. This activity will include financial support from sponsors associated to the project to assure the necessary top-ups in a more inclusive scholarship proposal. Lastly, the E4A partners will prepare a Policy Paper with recommendations based on the conclusions of all the previous activities. The partner institutions will address policy makers in a final high-level conference in Brussels: The future of Erasmus is for all! » Making participation more inclusive through a better grant mechanism to call on the need to prioritise economic inclusion as a way to increase participation in the Erasmus programme through a more equitable scholarship.<< Results >>The partnership expects to publish the following documents until the end of the project lifecycle:- Mapping and Research Report - Guidelines for a more inclusive grant calculation formula- E4A Impact Study- Erasmus4All: Recommendations towards a more social and economically inclusive Erasmus scholarship | Policy PaperWith the preparation of these publications it is expected to raise awareness and support from the main target group, the HE students, by having them engaging actively in the projects’ activities, voice their challenges and pressure political leaders to change. The aim is to achieve a more equitable and a fairer grant system that may provide a clear answer to the real needs of participants, and contribute to promote inclusion in HE.It is also expected the reinforcement of the reliability of the Erasmus programme label. By analysing and identifying the potential weaknesses and strengths of the current system, the E4A project is providing the programme an active quality monitoring system. The type of activities designed for this project will also allow the HE students to participate in the co-creation of the programme and feel their needs are heard, addressed and actually produce a real change.This reinforcement of the programme’s visibility in terms of quality will also contribute to increase the circulation of students and improve and facilitate equal access to the European Higher Education Area, which is one of the strategic priorities of the European Commission having as background the Bologna Process.A last outcome is the promotion of a continuous political debate, throughout the project implementation and after its completion, on inclusion. One of the project’s results being the Policy Paper including recommendations resulting from the overall project’s conclusions plays an important role to push inclusion higher in the policy agenda and produce substantial impact in the mid-term review of the Erasmus+ programme.The powerful project values, mission and goals anticipate a guarantee for sustainability in this framework, both partners as well as other European institutions beyond the partnership involved in student mobility are committed to and share the vision of a future truly democratic Erasmus programme.

One of the main challenges for the education systems in Europe is to increase the low level of basic skills achievement, including math and science. STEM education is often carried out in a schematic manner, regardless actual conditions, and is focused on preparation for external exams instead of real development of skills and interests. Technological development and dissemination of research results, which are obligatory in most projects co-financed with the public funds, contribute to increase the availability and open access to research results shared by leading research centers. This allows to increase the attractiveness of science education through the introduction of real scientific results into school practice and to familiarize students with scientific work through contacts with scientists. This requires diligent preparation of materials and equipping teachers in good quality, comprehensive teaching materials and educational resources, and showing the benefits of using inquiry-based learning methods and getting familiar with scientific methods of work. The aim of the project was to increase interest of students in lower and upper secondary schools in mathematics and science, and in making a scientific career through the development, pilot implementation and dissemination of educational packages and methodological materials which allow the exploitation of research results in education systems in 3 European countries. The project was dedicated to teachers of mathematics and science, and students from at least 30 schools: lower and upper secondary schools in each partner country: Poland, Romania and France. ERIS project was divided into 2 parts: testing phase and dissemination phase. In the testing phase teaching materials (total: 60 packages) in national languages and in English to work with students in lower and upper secondary schools were prepared. Packages were tested in schools, which enrolled for the testing phase in each partner country. Packages were adapted to the needs of end-users: teachers and students, according to the results of the evaluation studies. In the dissemination phase all interested schools in partner countries, as well as in whole Europe, had the opportunity to take part in the project for free. They may use prepared packages during their lessons and take part in the webcasts of online lessons conducted by scientist in national languages and in English. Such virtual meetings with scientists give a closer look at the specificity of scientific work, the measurements and research in the field of mathematics and science. That meetings can also be an inspiration for students and encourage them to continue an independent exploration of science. Moreover, a guide for teachers on the effective exploitation of research results in school practice with examples of good practice in this area and the project website containing teaching materials were prepared. In addition, in the dissemination phase conferences and workshops for teachers were organised, which helped to increase the level of use of project‘s products among schools that have not participated in the testing phase. The success of these activities is proved by transferring of packages to almost 1000 users.Furthermore, the project contributes to the growth of students' ability to search for reliable sources of knowledge, which is important in today's world overloaded with information. Usage of modern technologies and forms of communication (e.g. teleconferencing system that allows students to participate in international broadcasts) also positively affects the increase of interest in STEM. Participation in the project allowed schools to exchange experiences and establish Pan-European cooperation. Participation in online lessons and usage of educational resources in English contributed to the increase of students’ language skills and expand specialized vocabulary in STEM. It may be very useful for future students of STEM studies, which are crucial for knowledge-based economy of Europe. In the long term, the project will also help to increase the understanding of the language of science and scientific messages.

<< Background >>Erasmus+60 is a highly innovative project focusing on a particular age group that has not been sufficiently considered in the development of HEI activities and framework programmes like Erasmus+: European citizens aged 60 and above. With life expectancy increasingly growing and given the fact that one citizen in three is expected to be over 65 by 2060, the need for studying and training opportunities grows correspondingly. Studies are not only of benefit to the mental and physical health of senior citizens, but they are also important in view of late career development and professional activities during semi-retirement and beyond as well as personal development of senior citizens including critical thinking as well as language and IT skills.From the point-of-view of inclusion and diversity, scepticism about greater European cohesion is often to be found among those above 60. At the same time, as third-age universities and lifelong learning programmes show, there is a great and growing demand among people over 60 to continue to study and possibly to keep on teaching or transmitting their knowledge. The offer of lifelong learning and third-age universities is far from homogeneous in the EU and the current situation may not always reflect diversity of citizens over 60 sufficiently. For retired academics or soon-to-be, it is arguably easier to access such offers, including online courses offered in English, but IT skills and foreign languages are still be a challenge for many other citizens aged 60 and above. It also appears obvious that there is a need for European platforms of Third-Age Education with academically sound and internationally shared content that could eventually reflect or even be a part of European University Alliances. We therefore need to develop higher education offers that are systematically more inclusive and reflecting diversity among citizens over 60.Lifelong learning and Third-Age Education have of course been considered an important issue for a long time. However, continuously growing average life expectancy and the challenge of maintaining satisfying levels of mental and physical capacity, increasing job recruitment opportunities for retired or semi-retired citizens, but also the challenge of European integration and cohesion across all age groups require considerably more sustained and academically consolidated efforts to provide Higher Education learning opportunities to senior citizens. Last but not least, as everywhere in the Higher Education Area, the challenge of internationalizing studies also has to be addressed in view of the needs of such end-users and their teachers, including retired or semi-retired academics. This includes naturally mobility programmes for senior citizens more than likely to enhance their sense of inclusion and greater European cohesion.<< Objectives >>Erasmus+60 aims first of all at taking stock on a large scale of existing Higher Education offers for citizens aged 60 and over in relation to the issues of inclusion and diversity. The project’s consortium representing 8 countries from Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Europe provides a broad platform to undertake such an effort. The second objective consists in developing pilot courses contributing to the aim of building inclusive higher education systems that contain adapted offers to citizens over 60, including student life activities to maintain one’s health.The project’s third objective contributes to the aim of promoting inter-connected higher education systems in Europe by providing a pilot platform for an online offer of shared courses as well as intercultural learning activities for citizens over 60.The fourth and final objective is to develop policy recommendations that will draw on the project results in order to highlight the urgent need to open new and more systematic educational perspectives for senior citizens of the EHEA. Erasmus+60 will thus start off by developing important desk research activities to produce a comprehensive view of existing offers at the partner institutions and within their own national context. The guiding principle of this research will be the challenges of inclusion and diversity, identifying notably the principal barriers and issues that need to be addressed in this context: personal motivation, language barriers (notably for international study offers in English or other major languages of communication), IT skills, critical thinking etc. In response to the need of building more inclusive higher education systems, the project will provide 7 online courses and a toolbox for an online platform in multiple languages including English that can be both fed and utilized by end-users, i.e. academics and other retired senior citizens who may wish to take and/or offer classes. The results of the desk research and feedback to the pilots will serve as a very robust base for the policy recommendations that will suggest new, more inclusive ways of implementing the major steps required to integrate senior citizens and their specific needs in a more systematic and equitable way in the European Higher Education Area.<< Implementation >>Implementation of activities to achieve the project’s objectives:First objective: Erasmus+60 will take stock of existing Third-Age Higher Education offers and identify end-users’ attitudes and analyze best practices on how to overcome important barriers. Project results 1 to 3 have been designed to achieve this dual objective, that-is-to-say, to take stock of existing educational offers for senior citizens and to analyze best practices on how to overcome important barriers. Our starting point will be a major desk research campaign focusing on the 7 countries of the partner HEIs, deployed in PR1 and PR2. In order to develop proof-of-concept courses and the toolbox we need to have as diversified and accurate a picture of senior citizens’ attitudes to Third-Age Education and their needs (PR1), while analyzing best practices. The second part of PR2 will then be dedicated to the development of a methodology for co-managing online intergenerational learning offers as a particular strategy of peer learning for senior citizens and younger students. Feedback from PR1 and PR2 and the feedback collected during the Hackathon (PR3) as well as the learning activity will provide a very robust base to develop the pilots in PR4. Second objective: Erasmus+ will develop pilot courses to facilitate access to Third-Age Higher Education Programmes drawing partly on existing offers but also developing several new pilot courses to address specific needs. PR4 will be dedicated to the development of the online courses dedicated notably to the issues of European identity and diversity, critical thinking, developing digital competences for citizens 60+, intergenerational online learning, and promoting healthy and active ageing. Third objective: It appears obvious that there is a need for European platforms of Third-Age Education with academically sound and internationally shared content that could eventually reflect or even by a part of European University Alliances. As there is no e-learning platform specifically designed for 60+, PR4 addresses this need by providing a toolbox and guidance on how to create national/local entry points into a safe European learning space for seniors that supports their unique learning interests, motivations and needs. Fourth objective: Erasmus+ 60 will provide ground-breaking policy recommendations based on very robust research results that incorporate end-user feedback from 7 European countries. They will contribute to the effort of raising awareness about the challenge that inclusion, diversity and the internationalisation of studies represents in Third-Age Education.PR5 will point ways to make Third-Age Education the norm in the European Higher Education Area and formulate concrete recommendations, which include both an educational offer that HEIs can develop as well as full scale student services, including mobility opportunities.<< Results >>The project’s main outcomes will be the result of having analysed European Third-Age Education offers and collected feedback from end-users in a as comprehensive a manner as possible within the scope of this project, while developing seven online courses and a toolbox to connect digital offers in view of making a certain number of policy recommendations for the development of Third-Age Education in the EHEA.The Erasmus+60 project results’ objectives and outcomes will be as follows:PR1 - Desk research on senior citizens’ attitudes and willingness to embark on intercultural exchanges (LEAD : UVSQ, CO-LEAD UPORTO)This PR will analyze existing Third-Age education offers and perceptions thereof, be they proposed within Third-Age Universities or as part of intergenerational learning programmes. The outcome will be a general report based on sub-reports from the 7 partner HEIs reflecting their countries. PR2 - Enhancing lifelong learning through intergenerational learning - toolkit development for Third-Age educational activities (LEAD: ELTE)PR2 will provide desk research on best practices to overcome barriers and to put into place intergenerational offers in the higher educational context. It will also develop a toolkit to propose a model for planning, implementing and evaluating intergenerational learning based on the collaboration between senior citizens and universities. PR3 – The hackathon with stakeholder organisations regarding the co-design of an Erasmus+60 Third-Age educational offer integrating intergenerational learning perspectives (LEAD: UL)The purpose of this hackathon is to stage a large effort to collect feedback from stakeholders such as HEIs as well as local, regional, national and international educational authorities and other organisations reflecting the partners’ countries. This PR will allow the consortium to collect extensive feedback on the results of the desk research in view of preparing its piloting courses and toolbox for online platforms. The outcome will be a general report.PR4 – Creation of 7 online courses and toolbox development for online platforms to offer, exchange, link, and access community-specific and European across-community distance learning courses designed with and for citizens 60+ (LEAD: UNIST, CO-LEAD: UZURICH). Following the desk research and feedback collected from stakeholders in P1-3 and the learning activity, this PR will develop 7 online courses (each one in English and the national language of the course leader) as well as a toolbox with guidelines, and cost-effect evaluations for a European network of online platforms offering distance learning courses for citizens 60+. The outcomes of this PR will be the 7 courses and the toolbox.PR5 - Policy recommendations (LEAD: EUF)The reports, hackathon and feedback from the platform’s testing phase and final outcome will provide a very robust basis in academic terms and as far as end-users' needs are concerned on which the project’s policy recommendations will be made. EUF which can draw on longstanding expertise in this domain and will coordinate this final phase of discussions involving all partners leading to the writing of the policy recommendations report.In a nutshell, the outcomes will be: - The desk research reports analyzing the specific needs of senior citizens and best practices in Third-Age Education and intergenerational learning;- A toolkit of co-managed intergenerational learning practices;- 7 online courses in English and the national language of the course leader;- A toolbox to establish a European network of distance learning platforms; - A report on the intercultural learning activity reflecting feedback from participants;- The policy recommendations report.The Erasmus+60 project will thus provide innovative solutions to a number of major challenges in Third-Age Education. Its policy recommendations aim to put Third-Age Education high on the agenda in the EHEA.

The context of this project is two-folded and aligned to the European Commission’s priorities. On the one hand, it addresses the need for the development of the students' key competences for socio-educational and personal development and on the other hand, the need for an increased relevance of the educational offer of HEIs in line with structured dialogue between academia and business.The ERUM project aims to develop a relevant transversal educational offer on the topic of “quality of information between mis and disinformation today” for higher education students who are partaking in the shaping of the present and future of the information and knowledge society. It also brings about a shift in the way higher education institutions and media are collaborating vis-a-vis evidence-based and research communication.The core objectives of the project lie in the quality of information today, between mis- and disinformation or so-called “fake news”:To improve the educational offer on the topic of quality of information in higher education and equip students with transversal skills that are necessary for the exercise of democratic citizenshipTo foster structured collaboration between higher education and media and contribute to the policy discussion about the role of universities and media in the knowledge and information societyImprove the quality of information with regards to research-based communicationThese objectives are translated into four main outcomes namely, media representation gaps reports and evaluation methodology to debunk and raise awareness about the impact of mis/disinformation, guidelines for evidence-based communication to reduce risk of misleading scientific information, learning material to develop media literacy skills and deepen knowledge about “fake news” as well as policy recommendations to foster structured academia-media cooperation. The training activities (intensive study programmes) will further the impact of the abovementioned outputs towards higher education students, academics and media experts and pilots in the HEI partners as well as OERs of the learning material will enable proper implementation.The specific target groups to be reached by the project activities are a) higher education students, in particular postgraduates, as well as lifelong learners; b) higher education institutions targeting both teachers and researchers; c) media organisations, including general and scientific journalists; d) policy-makers and civil society organisations. It is to be noted that the project ERUM focuses on, but is not limited to, higher education students who are postgraduates since they have already accomplished research work and are familiar with the concept of evidence-based communication, therefore, they would be able to apply the methodologies, and relevant recommendations as well as gain additional knowledge from the courses.The project aims to have a systemic impact across EU higher education institutions and the media industry with about 2000 people reached both directly through the project outcomes and piloting and indirectly. At short and mid-term, higher education students from different study fields will benefit from advanced learning tools and material to develop and reinforce their skills and resilience related to the mis/disinformation topic. At long-term, the project will enable the establishment of structured collaboration between media and academia on a structural systemic level.The project will be implemented by the University of Vienna (Austria), University of Alcalá (Spain), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), University of Versailles (France), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus) and the European University Foundation (Luxembourg).

The aim of the project is to contribute the modernization of higher education systems in Ukraine by introducing National Centre of Teaching Excellence for the promotion of European educational innovations.Specific project objectives are the following:1) to de-monopolize formal systems of university teachers’ professional development and certification in Ukraine by establishing of independent National Centre of Teaching Excellence and its 8 branches, as well as creating their network, focusing on enhancing the quality of university teaching;2) to introduce the professional university teachers’ certification programs based on European good practices and education innovations for ensuring teaching excellence;3) to develop and pilot a new teaching excellence curriculum, including courses syllabi, which are permeable with educational needs of Ukrainian academic community and resulting in professional certification of university teachers;4) to develop professional standards for university teachers and draft for regulating for teacher attestation.National Academic Council is to be formed. Benchmarking research on teaching excellence will be conducted, the report is published. Retraining of the academic and administrative staff (78) for NCTE will be conducted on special retraining program by the specialists from WrUT, UVSQ and TNU.8 NTCE branches will be established and well-equipped. Multilateral agreement will be signed.A curriculum will cover 4 modules on Innovative Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Academic Integrity for Excellent Teaching, Blended Learning Techniques for Teaching Excellence, Linking Research and Teaching in HE. Sample of courses syllabi and certification methodology will be piloted for 40 university teachers from Ukraine. MOOC in Teaching Excellence will be launched to improve dissemination effect.Proposals to legislation will be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to validate TE curriculum and certification.