CONTEXTIn order to face the challenges posed by the current global socio-economic scenarios appropriately, it is necessary for young people to start acting on the basis of ideas, transforming them into value for themselves and for others. Drawing on this, the need to strengthen entrepreneurial skills among the younger generations has emerged over the last few years (OECD, 2009, 2014). Indeed, entrepreneurship education focuses precisely on transmitting to young people the ability to transform ideas into actions through creativity, innovation, risk assessment and assumption, as well as individual and team work (MIUR, 2018) to every working context and experience of active citizenship, regardless of their actual involvement in entrepreneurial initiatives (EC, 2007, 2016).OBJECTIVESThe general objective of the project is to enhance entrepreneurship education for secondary school students at European level. In particular:Improve the process through which students acquire entrepreneurial skills, through the creation and use of innovative ICT-based tools, such as a free digital gaming platform for entrepreneurship laboratories in schools;Improve teaching methods of teachers, through the development and use of new training methods on the development of entrepreneurial pathways to be carried out, in the specific case, through the use of the serious gaming platform that will be created.NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTSThe project participants are:Second grade secondary education teachers (18 in total, minimum) who will be the main target of project activities and outputs;Second level secondary education students (360 in total, minimum) who will be the final beneficiaries of the project outputs.DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIESThe project includes the following activities:5 Intellectual Outputs  IO1: Need Analysis Report; IO2: Matrix of Learning Outcomes for teachers and students; IO3: Serious Game Platform; IO4: Methodological guide for teachers for the transfer of entrepreneurial skills to students through the platform; IO5: MOOC.6 Management Meetings  Italy, Finland, Spain, Turkey, Greece and Latvia1 Training Mobility for teachers in Latvia.METHODOLOGY TO BE USED IN CARRYING OUT THE PROJECTThe methodology is based on the PRINCE2 model: the project is organized in several phases, in which the activities are divided, planned and assigned on the basis of the outputs.The project is divided into 3 Macro-phases: Preparation; Implementation; Closing. The phases of the project are of 2 types:Transversal: Project Management, Dissemination and Follow-Up;Chronologically vertical: Intellectual Outputs, Training Activity abroad.RESULTS AND IMPACT ENVISAGEDThe project aims to develop and transfer to students and teachers the learning outcomes (skills, knowledge and skills, according to the ECVET Recommendation, 2009):Students (EntreComp, 2016): ideas and opportunities: recognizing opportunities, creativity, vision, valuable ideas, ethical and sustainable ideas; resources: self-awareness and self-efficacy, motivation and perseverance, mobilizing resources, economic-financial knowledge, mobilizing others; in action: take the initiative, plan and manage, face uncertainty and risk, work with others, learn from experience.Teachers (Eurydice Italia, 2017): project-based approach; teaching for case studies in addition to the use of textbooks; interdisciplinary approach; group process management and group interaction; coaching (and not as a teacher); digital teaching and serious gaming.In view of this, the project aims to generate the following impacts:Students: Improvement of entrepreneurial skills, in line with the provisions of the EntreComp Framework (2016);Teachers: Improving entrepreneurship teaching methodologies, in line with what is established by the Document “Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe” (Eurydice Italia, 2017).POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITSThe project aims to generate the following long-term benefits:Improvement of training models in entrepreneurship education, not only in schools, but also in companies and other local institutions active in adult education;Improvement of training policies to support entrepreneurship at all levels of government;Greater diffusion of the EntreComp Framework within EU Member States.

"ContextThe TIK – Tradition & Innovation @ Kintergarten project started from the Europe 2020 strategy that identified, within its educational benchmarks, that by 2020 at least 95% of pre-school children of 4 years or older would participate in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)The importance of effectively addressing the theme of ECEC where also confirmed by the conclusions of the European symposium on improving early childhood education and care that stated: ""benefits from high-quality ECEC are wide-ranging and multilevel, economic and social, for individuals and for societies"".In this field the experience of the project partner and the evidence of their everyday activities shows that quality early childhood education and care can bring the highest rates of return over the whole lifelong learning process, especially for the most disadvantaged groups.ObjectivesThe project identified and succesfully addressed three needs that play a crucial role in order to enhance the quality of ECEC:- Reinforce the capacity of preschool teachers to involve their pupils in activities that, according to appropriate didactical and communication methods, can provide an early start of the development of basic and transversal competences- Raise childrens families awareness of the importance that ECEC can have for the preparation and the passage to primary school and for the integration in the social life- Develop pre-school children cognitive skills through the implementation of cooperative learning experiences, aimed at integrating the normal activities with relational and richer verbal interactions between pupils with a special focus on those coming from disadvantaged backgroundsNumber and type/profile of participants The project, exceeding by far its initial yet ambitious expectations has directly involved in the project activities and impacted on, a total of: - 50 kindergartens - More than 100 pre-school teachers - More than 1000 pupils - More than 200 among parents, grandparents, relatives and child-carersRepresenting 4 different European countries and many more different nationalities and culturesPotential stakeholders, to be estimated in more than 40 000 individuals and 400 institutions have been reached through the dissemination activities.Activities and related OutputsProject partners experts cooperated at transnational level in order to produce and make two Guides for the innovation of pedagogical approaches in ECEC directly available and accessible for free and without limitation on the TIK Portal.- Teachers’ Guide (https://tik.pixel-online.org/teachers_guide.php) providing pre-school teachers with a consistent set of learning materials to develop the necessary skills for improving achievement in basic cognitive and transversal skills of their pupils in early childhood education, through a fruitful cooperation with the pupils families- Family caregivers of pre-school pupils Guide (https://tik.pixel-online.org/families_guide.php) in order to raise their awareness on the importance that pre-school has in developing cognitive and pre-cognitive skills that are fundamental in the transition to compulsory schoolProject partner partners have also worked in close cooperation with pre-school teachers and children families, to develop IO 2 - Didactical Toolkit addressed to preschool pupils. The Toolkit contains didactical materials presenting traditional tales both of the local area in which the children live in and of the countries/traditions of the children from other countries and/or ethnic groups who are present in the participating schoolsThe Toolkit combines:- Exemplary materials related to the methodology adopted for implementing the storytelling activity carried out in each kindergarten https://tik.pixel-online.org/storytelling.php including the collection of drawings / collages / clay sculptures with which children will have represented their understanding of the tale itself- Media based products presenting selected tales through a visual based storytelling and the text of the tale to be used by educators to transfer the contents at transnational level https://tik.pixel-online.org/storyplot.php Results and impactThe TIK project successfully impacted on its target groups by:- Strengthening the capacity of pre-school teachers and of pupils’ families to build cooperation patterns- Providing pre-school pupils basic and transversal competences through the transnational comparison of traditional tales linked to the local territory in which they live with the ones linked to the cultural backgrounds of pupils coming from other countries/ethnic minorities- Enhancing pre-school comprehension and communication through innovative audio-visual based approaches and tools- Promoting a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to pre-school education supported by innovative pedagogic materials and references methodological concepts in order to develop children’s cognitive and social skills"

ContextMany international reports highlight the need for innovation in school Science teaching especially towards methodological aspect: so TEST project was born.Thanks to previous valid and meaningful experiences, we created a solid partnership aimed at didactic research and at its immediate application in Science teacher training to have a high quality Science Education, also recognized at European level. Our proposal was created within the school network of Pisa and involves:three university campuses: University of Western Brittany (ESPE), University of Malta (Science Education), University of Patras (Science Education)Scuola Normale Superiore of PisaPisa Section of the National Association of Teachers of Natural SciencesRegional School Office of Tuscany (Toscana USR)Timesis Agency, expert in project evaluationthree School Institutes of Higher Secondary level.AimsThe project promoted development, testing, implementation and dissemination of innovative methods in Science Education, strengthening cooperation between different prestigious institutions, to establish a profitable exchange of best practices in Science Education and teacher' training and to promote the use of ICT.Summary of main activitiesI yearpreparation of materials for tutors and experimenting teachers trainingelaboration of materials for didactic experimentationsharing and discussion of all materialstutors trainingII yearexperimenting teachers trainingfirst didactic experimentation in classesexperimentation reportdidactic proposal reviewIII yearexperimenting teachers trainingsecond didactic experimentation in classesmonitoring and evaluation of the fallout of the trial on teachers and studentsvalidation, dissemination and publication of designed materialsmonitoring and evaluation of the projectDissemination of results at local, regional, national and European level.Results and impactOutput1. dedicated web platform, for the exchange of communications between partners, the circulation of informations, the sharing of materials and research products and to disseminate the materials for tutors and experimenting teachers training;2. methodological Manual that can be used during training courses and/or by interested teachers; it has been published in three languages (Italian, French and English) both on TEST platform and on Dissemination Platform, access is free;3. proposals for didactic experimentation, complete with Kit of scientific material; all TEST materials have been published on the TEST platform and on the Dissemination Platform.Training- A total of 193 hours of in-presence training were provided, plus several hours online.Tutor -Tutors to be trained were selected among the teachers who had worked on scientific inquiry for at least three years. The training was focused on inquiry in-depth studies and evaluation.Experimenting teachers- Teachers to be trained were selected among the teachers of the TEST school network (from kindergarten to secondary school), none had previous experience of inquiry. The training included seminars, set-ups, group work and a long reflective-active simulation of the chosen didactic propolsal under the supervision of the tutors who subsequently supported the teachers in the classroom experimentation. The training activities were conducted by the teaching managers and there were various opportunities for the exchange of trainers between TEST partners.Experimentation48 TEST courses of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics and Educational Robotics were designed and implemented in 125 classes of the various school orders (2894 pupils) and 2642 hours of experimentation were provided in the classroom ; Italy, which trained teachers of all school orders, involved a greater number of classes (96).The impact that the project had on the involved subjects was good, the monitoring showed motivation and interest and the general perception was highly positive. To grasp the effects and repercussions of the training we can not only focus on the results of the questionnaires, but we will have to subsequently identify the changes actually triggered in the trained teachers and in the contexts in which they operate. TEST trained teachers, implementation of scientific inquiry, the rich educational material produced and the platform that will remain available to users will contaminate and promote new experiences that will give TEST sustainability over time

European countries have fulfilled the right to education, reaffirmed in many declarations, making education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable. But it is not enough. Education plays a key role in determining how we spend our adult life and it has been proved that an individual’s level of education directly correlates to future quality of life. Consequently, there is a need for schools and education systems to focus on equity, as a measure of achievement, fairness and opportunity to ensure that personal characteristics are compensated and everyone can attain the same type of healthy lifestyle. School stakeholders have a key role to enhance equity in education and school autonomy is a drive for school quality. By enabling schools to combine equity and quality, all children are given opportunities for a good quality education. These reasons let us set the aim of this project: To empower schools to enhance and assess equity, and the following specific objectives: -To develop school practices that enhance equity in education -To create a framework to assess equity in schools -To empower school heads to lead school changes that increase equity in their schools -To promote awareness and collaboration in school communities to enhance school equity In a European project, it is important to generate and share new knowledge collaboratively; this is why we have created a partnership with different stakeholders: schools, universities and educational authorities, from five different countries with different schools systems and different school autonomy traditions. The partnership is formed by nine institutions from Belgium, Italy, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom. The coordinator of the project is the General Inspectorate of Education in Catalonia, a regional educational authority, which supervises and evaluates equity in schools. In terms of educational authorities with similar competencies, we have as partners, the Evaluation Council of the Education System in Catalonia, the Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per la Lombardia, the Inspectorate of Education in Sibiu and Scholengroep Brussel, a school group with administrative power. With also count with Istituto Casati and Institut El Calamot, two secondary schools that along with some schools from Scholengroep Brussel have successfully tackled equity with good practices. Finally, the Welsh Centre for Equity in Education and the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu have expert knowledge on equity in education and are essential to set theoretical frameworks and publish good quality materials. The target participants of the project are students, school leaders, university researches and educational stakeholders. They all have participated in different activities. We have applied action research and reflective practice methodologies and we have used teamwork as an organizational strategy. which have brought the following results: The project has had the following results:-103 staff mobilities in four transnational meetings-34 staff participants in one international training activity-More than 500 school heads and educational stakeholders in multiplier events-5 papers on school equity published in academic journals and international conferences on education-35 recordings and descriptions of school equity best practices-More than 200 school engaged in assessing school equity-More than 50 school heads trained in school equity-6 newsletters in 6 languages sent to more than 5000 educational stakeholdersApart from these results, we have produced 4 intellectual outputs: -Framework and methodological guide on equity-Digital tools to evaluate school equity (interactive rubric and indicators software package)-Training course for school heads on equity in education-Academic portal on equity in education with academic papers (written by project staff), best practices recordings and bibliography.Some intangible results are: -School heads have been empowered to deal with equity in their schools due to professional development course and the availability of tools to evaluate equity -All stakeholders have become more aware of the importance of equity in education due to the availability of the project’s intellectual outputs and the planned dissemination activities: school leaders meetings and multiplier events -All the staff in the project institutions have increased their knowledge and expertise on school equity thanks to their participation in the project We also expect a very important long-term outcome, which is an increase of the number of schools that evaluate equity and implement good school equity practices within the project's area of influence, thanks to the availability of all the products developed in the project in different open platforms, which will also ensure the longer term benefits of it.

The European Union needs competences, innovation, balanced and integrated territory development in order to boost its growth. Indeed, innovation is not only a linear process, a result of R&D activities. On the opposite, more and more innovation sprouts in broad, multi-sectoral socio-economic contexts, strongly application-oriented, and through complex processes, integrating top-down (based on economic development policies) and bottom-up (user- and market-driven) approaches. Higher Vocational Education and Training (HVET), specially for qualifications around EQF level 5, has a relevant role, and a tremendous potential to that aim. In fact, its curricula: - link to high-tech production sectors; - without being academic, fulfil the market demand of technicians with new and high-tech competences, able to foster innovation and master and manage advanced organisational and productive processes; - lay between upper secondary school and university, right at the hub among education, academy and business; - are governed, designed and managed jointly by public authorities, schools, training bodies, enterprises; - are highly interesting to students, as they offer tempting perspectives on several fronts: steady employment, career advancement, continuous training.Aware of such challenges and potential, SHINE targets actors governing and managing HVET programmes, as well as to students, aiming at bridging the gap among individual local economic contexts and goals set by corresponding regional Smart Specialization Strategies, by acknowledging the role and innovative potential of high-level technical professional profiles. SHINE locates in the expertise of actors like ITSs in Italy, Fachochschulen in Germany, and others, the best tools to contribute to the development of local production contexts. The project followed a cycle foreseeing: - survey and evidence of excellence in HVET in partner territories, as to crosslinking HVET and business, management practices, governance; - peer review of excellence and identification of innovations/spillovers for improvement, especially regarding smart specialization and local development strategies, proactive approach to training and skills supply design, business involvement, ability to deliver innovation services; - definition of an innovative model for design and governance of HVET programmes, in order to encompass the above issues at stake; - piloting the model in practice, by local action plans; - assessment of results and subsequent identification of policy mechanisms to improve the use of EU tools (e.g. ESCO, ECVET) by HVET; - definition of possible improvement processes and related indicators for high level (national/EU) policies; - review of the model, by involving the “Triple Helix” stakeholders (training/innovation, business, institutions); - validation and fine tuning. In compliance with what mentioned above, the methodology adopted by the consortium includes a constant switch among bottom-up (collection of information, stakeholders involvement, piloting) and top-down (model definition, process definition) phases, always flanked by monitoring of progress made.Main results achieved are: - improvement of training offer by partners, with subsequent increase in the employment chances for students and in competitiveness for local companies; - improvement in competences of company trainers involved in programme delivery, thanks to sharing and discussion with other EU excellent partners; - set-up of a permanent, relevant EU network, gathering public and private excellent HVET actors; - capacity building of decision makers governing HVET, and subsequent acknowledgement of tools for reviewing innovation policies, with special regard to professional technical issues, as innovation driver inside business; - definition and piloting of a governance system, based on the integration of HVET policy makers and the labour market. SHINE is performed by a strong consortium of 8 partners in 6 EU countries: Italy, Germany, Sweden, Romania, Croatia and Belgium, representing a competent and skilled mix of public and private organisations, profit and non profit, decision makers and technical, with education and training organisations, employers associations, public institutions, European networks, in the spirit of providing for a true strategic partnership.