<< Objectives >>INFORMATION MATTERS is aimed at upskilling adult education staff, enhancing elderly people’s key competences and raising the awareness on the importance and benefits from boosting the digital and media literacy of vulnerable social groups, through the development and exploitation of a training programme and innovative interactive learning materials with focus on tackling the infodemic, misinformation, fake news and the implications created by the digitalisation.<< Implementation >>The envisaged activities will be realised within 4 WPs dedicated to Project Management, Development and Piloting of learning materials for elderly people, Development and Piloting of training programme for adult educators and professionals, and Promotion and Sharing of Results. Among some of the planned activities are: communication, monitoring, evaluation, design, co-creation, translation, exploitation in practice, training sessions, case studies' development, conducting events, dissemination.<< Results >>Among some of the core results of the project are:*multilingual learning resources in the form of tutorials and lessons (non-formal learning format) with focus on building digital and media literacy*multilingual online training course on how to build elderly people’s digital and media literacy within a changed context*promotion and sharing campaign for 3000 audience*300 elderly people with enhanced digital and media literacy*120 adult educators with enhanced competences

The DigiVET Project aims to address the current challenges of the VET sector emerged from the transition to the digital era and the impact of COVID-19 in the provision of VET for both trainers and trainees. The pandemic outbreak accelerated the long-expected turn to digital technology in education and training, providing for a reliable solution during these turbulent times, while the VET sector has been disproportionally affected since its strong work-based component does not allow for much flexibility and reliance on digital tools. The need for innovative solutions is even more apparent to motivate learners to seek for quality VET opportunities and combat the increasing levels of early leaving. The unprecedented shift to digital tools and resources during the pandemic fed the development of the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) to reset education and training for the digital age, focusing on fostering the development of a high-performing digital education system, and enhancing digital skills and competences for the digital transformation. The DigiVET Project aims to contribute to VET trainers’ professional development through improving their digital competences, in particular their capacity to develop digital learning resources to address contemporary needs of trainees. As clearly mentioned in the European Framework for the Digital Competences of Educators (DigCompEdu), professionals dedicated to teaching need to able to effectively use digital technology in various fields of teaching/training delivery. Taking into consideration the challenges faced by VET trainers in their efforts to adapt to the unfolding situation that requires high incorporation levels of digital technology in VET, the DigiVET Project aims to: - Develop VET trainers’ digital competences, in particular the development of digital learning resources for VET, - Build the capacity of VET trainers to adapt their delivery of VET in the digital era, through the incorporation of digital resources and tools, - Support the provision of flexible, high quality VET, adapted to correspond to the requirements of the digital era and the COVID-19 impact, - Develop an online VET Hub that will provide open access to digital learning resources in various VET sectors, - Motivate VET trainees to select quality VET opportunities that reflect their needs and interests, contributing to personal and professional development. To that end, the partnership will first of all, carry out a brief yet comprehensive research to identify in more detail the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of VET, involving at least 360 VET trainers who will respond to questionnaires, participate in face-to-face (or online) meetings and get in-person interviewed on their emerging needs. Based on the research’s findings, the DigiVET Training Programme hosted in the DigiVET e-learning platform will be developed to provide theoretical and practical skills and knowledge on the development of interactive, engaging digital learning resources according to the identified needs of trainees, aiming to keep them motivated in participating in VET, thus contributing to their personal and professional development. The DigiVET Hub, directly linked with the DigiVET e-learning platform and the Project’s website, will act as an open space providing free access to a variety of digital resources, courses, modules, etc. developed by VET trainers who will have completed the DigiVET Training Programme. VET learners and the public in general will have access to quality training opportunities in various fields, improving their personal and professional skills and knowledge, while at the same time having the VET sector adapting to the digital era. Once the Project’s results are pilot tested and finalised, they will be made freely available to the public in English and all partner languages. VET trainers will have the opportunity for professional upskilling through the attendance of the DigiVET Training Programme, hosted in the DigiVET e-learning platform. Once they complete the training, they be able to develop their own digital learning resources to use them in their every-day work on VET delivery, and if they wish, to upload it to the DigiVET Hub to be accessible for free. The Project foresees to equip VET trainers with all the necessary knowledge and skills to incorporate digital technologies in VET provision, thus increasing their adaptability to the digital era, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, VET trainees will have the opportunity to access a variety of VET modules and other digital resources that will be available for free in the DigiVET Hub. The variety of training opportunities offered will substantially contribute in getting trainees engaged with VET, contributing to their personal and professional development.

"The healthcare sector is dominated by a myriad of cybersecurity-related issues that pose new challenges to the healthcare sector. In an increasingly data-driven world, cybersecurity is no longer just an issue for experts. In the past, Europe has encountered an unprecedented number of cyber-attacks in terms of their global scale, their impact on the business sector and their spread rate.Healthcare organizations are among the most trusted institutions with the most sensitive information about patients: name, date and place of birth, medical records, Social Security information. Health care players have become an easy target for hackers because of many difficulties (low budget, lack of IT organization, overuse of legacy systems) and are facing increasing pressure and threats from them. In particular, the situation under Covid19 showed the vulnerability of many IT systems. Through home office and travel restrictions, many contacts were carried out virtually, in the health care system (health offices, medical practices, hospitals, pharmaceutical surge, health insurance) many processes were switched to online and this in a short time, which did not allow much room for safe development. This situation has been exploited by many cybercriminals.The healthcare industry faces major challenges, as cyberattacks can not only result in financial losses and privacy violations. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679, which will be directly applicable in all Member States by 25 May 2018, requires healthcare organisations to analyse their data flows and to reconsider how they deal with and monitor patient data to ensure that they comply with the Regulation. At the same time, the expected massive growth in data protection jobs is leading to new skills, knowledge, and skills of healthcare workers. As a result, the health sector faces the risk of a growing mismatch between the qualifications of data protection officers/employees in European countries with different occupational profiles in terms of skills and competences and, most importantly, a different level of data protection legislation. This project aims to equip the main actors with staff who will fill the gap and the identified mismatch between qualifications: - developing improved regional and supra-regional partnerships to ensure that sufficient health workers and learners can receive the right training/training based on current needs.- More systematic and coherent link between education and vocational training, with the health sector and health organisations - developing an environment that promotes the employability of workers in the health sector by providing appropriate tools to improve their working conditions and the quality of services provided.- Improving comparability and transfer of skills and competences through online training for current or future healthcare workers. - Raising awareness and improving knowledge of patient data protection and providing concrete information on legal aspects In order to achieve these objectives, the following products were created by the consortium members during the project:1. Report on the results of the country-specific needs for the skills and knowledge of data protection officers, a Best Practice research on the training opportunities offered and a summary of a transnational professional profile.2. Two online courses: ""Specialization course on data protection in healthcare"" and ""Awareness Raising of data protection in healthcare""3. A manual on how to apply the developed work-based learning (WBL) provides guidance on how to apply Mobility Tool (see point 4), videos and webinars (especially in pandemic times), as well as a guide how to perform internships in normal times. 4. A mobility tool to mediate contacts between healthcare companies and trainees or job seekers in the field of data protection.5. Report on the specific methodology for quality assurance of educational provision. It also includes a report on the methods that training providers use to monitor the sustainability of their education offerings, as well as more far-reaching suggestions (graduate tracking).7. A website that provides general information about the project and makes all these products publicly accessible in four languages (English, German, Greek, Romanian) without restriction of access.8. Trainers were trained how to use the GDPR4H training material and the online courses."

<< Background >>The recent pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services across the EU (WHO, 2020); at the same time, the demand for mental health care has increased, as the effects from the pandemic on people’s everyday lives (such as isolation, loss of income, fear, bereavement) have triggered mental health issues and exacerbated existing ones. In spite of the endorsement of the remote provision of health services (where applicable) by medical communities, the mental health care sector has exhibited low readiness to fully exploit the potential of ICT-enabled counselling services, primarily due to a lack of mental health care workers with the required knowledge and skills on how to plan and run effective online sessions, creating a mismatch between increased demand for mental health support and current capacity of mental health workers.The prevalent mismatch can be attributed to a deficit in training offerings on remote-based mental health care provision, impending mental health workers’ capability to acquire relevant skills and competencies. The strengthening of both initial and continuous VET provision in the field is therefore essential so that the European mental health workforce can develop the mix of technical (e.g. using digital platforms), organizational (e.g. establishing a comfortable environment for the “beneficiary”) and communication (e.g. to communicating in a mediated environment) skills required to plan and run online counselling sessions optimally.<< Objectives >>The project aims to make available a curriculum with corresponding Open Educational Resources (OERs) for the continuous professional development of mental health workers, to address the emerging occupational & skills needs related to the provision of ICT-enabled remote counselling services. The project’s specific objectives are to:1.Document the skills required for providing online, remote mental health services2.Define learning outcomes for a C-VET course for mental health workers on effective remote mental health services provision3.Design, test and deliver a sector-validated online course for mental health workers to support digital, organizational and communication skills acquisition4.Provide ready to use tools for mental health workers to facilitate the roll-out and support the provision of remote counselling services.<< Implementation >>Systematic needs analysis and skills intelligence gathering activities leading to the development of learning outcomes that reflect sector specificities and skills requirements for remote mental health care services provision•Joint curriculum design of a continuing VET curriculum on remote mental health counselling for relevant occupations•Creation of corresponding educational materials, a trainers’ handbook and an electronic book for learners, to be offered as Open Educational Resources•Development, testing and delivery of a Massive Open Online Course, enhancing flexibility and openness in continuing vocational training •Development of a toolkit for assessing readiness and facilitating the roll-out of online, remote counselling services •Sharing of project results with multiplier events and dissemination activities, inviting target groups to uptake REMCO results and act as additional multipliers.<< Results >>1. Needs assessment analysis to define common skills/occupational requirements for mental health workers in providing remote mental health support services (R1)2. Evidence based, measurable and assessable learning outcomes for continuing VET provision (R1) on the knowledge and skills required by mental health workers to be able to plan and run remote counselling sessions. 3. Formal VET learning units on remote mental health service provision skills requirements for mental health care workers (R2)4. Open Educational Resources (R2) and a self-standing online course (MOOC) in 7 EU languages (R3)5. A self-assessment tool for mental health professionals and institutions to assess their readiness and skills for remote counselling 6. Best practice guide with remote counselling case studies (R4)7. Planning tools and protocols for the roll out of remote counselling practices (R4)8. 6 national information days in Austria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Italy and Belgium to share & disseminate REMCO results (E1-6)Post-project sustainability-Uptake of project materials & OERs from relevant training providers across the EU-Participation of a growing number of initial and continuous VET learners in courses based on or integrating project outputs.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become one of the standard business practices for business, VET and social institutions in our time. While most CSR definitions mostly evolved around the concept that business can and should act in a manner that respects the legitimate goals and demands of all stakeholders, more recently the concept was enhanced to recognize and include social responsibility and sustainability as an integral part of the business model, fitting and tuned to the core business strategy and thus directly and effectively contributing to the long-term success of the enterprise. The ENGAGE project is constructed on the long term success of the business, VET and social institutions. Based on the three CSR fields KOTO (Turkey) and ISQ (Portugal) from business, GOI (Turkey), BEST (Austria), MYCI (Bulgaria) from VET and CREFOB (Romania), FCPIT (Spain) form Social fields came together to developed ENGAGE project. 7 partners developed four important and useful products which are;1.Benchmarking Compendium Report on CSR Practices2.Platform for self-assessment on CSR and storage of Open Education Resources3.ENGAGE Sectorial CSR-kits for employers, managers and stakeholders4.ENGAGE Integrative Guidelines for boosting CSRCSR’s implementations are well known by the big companies, big VET institutions and big social organizations, but it is not well known by SMEs, small VET and Social institutions. The ENGAGE project worked on CRR implementations and tried to increase the awareness between these small organizations in partner’s countries. First project revealed the existing CSR implementations and situations of the partner countries via Benchmarking Compendium Report on CSR Practices. The second work is to find out the existing CSR ‘s situations of the organizations, a platform for self-assessment on CSR was developed and tested in partner countries. This tool gives a final report for the users how to start, develop and continue the CSR activities in their organizations. Another important touchstone of the project is the training. Three ENGAGE Sectorial CSR-kits for employers, managers and stakeholders were developed and tested in partner countries. This training kits are the guides for any CSR users. The last stage of the project is to present the whole work to the end users. The ENGAGE Integrative Guidelines for boosting CSR was developed to disseminate the project intellectual outputs between other organizations. English and Turkish Benchmarking Compendium Report on CSR Practices developed and distributed via project website and published version to the stakeholders. 90 Self assessment tools (15 per parners in 6 partner countries) were tested and a common integrative report was published in ENGAGE web site. 63 internal staff was trained how to use the Self assessment tool and how to train the other CSR users via CSR training kits. 246 external users were trained and informed via multiplier events about the ENGAGE project.