Education in 2030 will undergo huge changes with generation Z in the classroom. The “real digital natives” will influence economic structures as well as the educational system due to their modified skills, attitudes and behavior. Educators at tertiary level have to be prepared for the requirements and needs of this generation. The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) estimates that in future 83% of the course content will be individualized, with only 17% being standardized. Moreover, the role of educators at the tertiary level will be split between guiding and mentoring processes (73%), knowledge delivery (19%) and validation of student’s work (8%) (online: WISE summit). This means a decisive change in the role of future educators and institutions in Europe are not all at the same educational level. The objective of the EU funded project within the Erasmus+/Strategic Partnerships “Future-proof your classroom – teaching skills 2030” is to deliver an innovative educational Blended-Learning course, (TEACHING 2030) including a web based training in an appealing cBook format for teachers, trainers and educators that can be accessed without limitations and is free of charge. The on-line (cBook) and on-site (iLabs) trainings equip educators with the decisive competencies and skills for successful teaching in future. The course comprises eight modules covering topics like the future professional role of educators, producing technological tools for tuition (videos, podcasts, online presentations...), designing holistic learning experiences; combining technology and emotion in class, framing the course contents by using on-line and on-site education and using Social media, including netiquette, for tuition. The project meets the needs of educators, aged around 40, who are still described as “digital immigrants” in contrast to students belonging to generation Z who are skilled in the use of technology. As a consequence professors, tutors, trainers and lecturers have to be equipped with the competencies and skills in order not to follow but to lead this new generation. The work will be carried out by a consortium of nine institutions, each of them having certain tasks within the project management and the course development. The University of Applied Sciences Burgenland in Austria is the applicant organization, working together with the The Eszterházy Károly University in Eger, the University of Maribor, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Opatija, the St. Kliment Ohridski University in Bitola, the University of Perugia, the University of Valencia and the University of Aveiro. Create mediadesign, situated in Vienna, is in charge of the technical implementation. Each partner has outstanding experience in international project management as well as educational technology. The methodology of the project follows five decisive phases, the designing and structuring of the course is followed by the first version; after a cultural adjustment the final version is produced; the testing and evaluation then makes the course perfect. Feedback and production phases are closely linked together for the best outcome. In contrast to many initiatives and courses that only present a collection of electronic materials or tutorials, the final result of the course TEACHING 2030 follows the entire concept of storytelling. The contents of the modules will be arranged within a dramaturgic setting. Each module is structured like an arc of suspense, which means that during the entire module a story of teaching experiences in future is told. Each partner has to write the storyboards for the exercises of the respective module arranging these exercises in a kind of stage play. The project members figure as stage directors involving the audience - the future “learner” - in the “play”. Longer term benefits will emerge on different levels. Personally, learning within the stay-play approach is fun. Thus educators are motivated to be engaged in technological issues of teaching and to reduce anxiety when it comes to electronic teaching formats. At institutional level, the course can be implemented within teacher trainings, accrediting ECTS points. The more individualized use at universities can be enhanced by the possibility that certain e-exercises or modules can be extracted and integrated in LMS platforms at universities via Open Access. Moreover, the on-site training can be enriched by additional exercises and tools according to the specific needs of the educators at the respective university. At European level, the flexible use of the course is a great advantage for its sustainability. The cBook part can be used as a MOOC across Europe without geographical limitations or limitations in access.

The combined agricultural and food sector accounts today for 30 million jobs (13.4% of total employment) and for 3.5% of total Gross Value Added in the EU-28 (Eurostat 2014). In 2012, the European Economic and Social Committee of European Union contemplated that regional food value chains and cross-sectoral fertilisation of productive processes have a strong impact on local development. Several initiatives and projects carried out at local and regional level, confirm the huge potential of food to contribute to job creation, social well-being, and cultural and health commodity. Food tourism strategies are significant instruments of regional development, particularly because of the potential leverage between products from the two sectors (Hall and al. 2005), and consequently significant sectors for new enterprises creation and increased job offers. Food is also part of the immaterial cultural heritage, as stated by the WTO (2012), as embedded in local identities of destinations. In spite of high potential and running policies to enhance food tourism, implementation face major problems, such as difficult dialogue among heterogeneous stakeholders, which often have very different set of values and interests; lack of training and business planning, due to limited time, finances, personnel, skills, and experience of food producers and local touristic players (Verbole 2003; Saxena et al. 2007); high skills mismatch between graduates in related subjects and the sector needs.In the frame of a socioecological approach, that is particularly relevant in sectors where the environment and the strength of communities play a key role for local development, higher education institutions could initiate and favour processes of community learning, in particular by focusing on the role of students. Higher education students could be key players of innovation, and key mediators between research, business, and local development: they represent the educated workforce of the future, and to be employable and active contributors of economy, they should acquire skills that are relevant to the labour market. However, in addition to what the universities are used to do (courses on soft skills, career development support and career guidance, entrepreneurship courses etc.), they need to know, understand and be aware of contexts and communities in which they live. Professional network building is also very important, and should be pursued since the study years. On the basis of these considerations, the project implemented a series of learning and networking activities putting the student in the centre of the action. By using participatory approaches, the project has organised workshops, seminars, learning events in order to support co-creation processes of local development in which the students had an active role.At the end of the project in October 2019, informal networks acting as learning communities have been established in the areas of the universities of the consortium. Working to that aim, the project has produced and validated tools and materials, that can support other universities, companies, policy makers and other stakeholders in the field of food and gastronomy, to increase their regional dimension to support both local development and students employability. All project outputs are freely accessible from the project website and the learning platform of the FOODBIZ project, and published with open licenses.

The tourism sector is undergoing profound changes throughout Europe, as we are living in the Project, Digital, Creative, Entrepreneurial and Green Economy era, thus applying a holistic approach to sustainable tourism development is crucial.HyPro4ST alliance seeks to bring positive social and sustainable impact to tourism sector and is built around the idea that collaborative, transnational activities offer opportunities for boosting innovation and progress by pooling resources and the deep knowledge of markets required in a fast-changing world.It aims to develop a new job “Sustainable and Hybrid Project Manager” profile for the Sustainable Tourism Sector, upskill professionals in sustainable, hybrid, digital, creative and entrepreneurship project management, helping alleviate the job losses, inequalities, and other risks, and to build a talent pipeline that tourism sector can mine for future growth. It also proposes the upscaling of VET and higher education trainers’ skills, to be able to adapt to the tourism labour market needs. HyPro4ST develops a joint training programme, HyPro4ST VOOC, in accordance with the ECVET/EQF/EQAVET and Micro-credential approach, the HyPro4ST Practical Guide for trainers, a certification scheme for the new profile and the HyPro4ST Virtual Learning Hub. Through 6 Seminars, 6 online courses, 2 work-based learning activities and the transnational mobility, will enhance the competences of 700 professionals, tackling skills mismatches and supporting the formation of an effective higher and vocational education system for the sustainable tourism sector. This multi-stakeholder partnership, comprising of 17 partners from 6 European countries, develops all the outputs in 7 EU languages, ensuring their cross-border transferability. Furthermore, it assures the long-lasting effect of the project results by elaborating Policy Recommendations, able to inform the policy agendas at national and EU level.

Rural and remote areas (RRA) are rich in cultural heritage, but many also suffer from socio-economic problems such as an ageing population, out-migration, and low incomes. Cultural and creative tourism (CCT) could help address these problems by creating sustainable jobs and investment, but three key challenges and associated knowledge gaps must be overcome: (1) place-specific business models that suit different types of cultural heritage and community needs must be created; (2) tourism development must be balanced and sustainable; (3) policies at different scales should support cooperation between RRA. CROCUS addresses these key challenges by: (a) generating knowledge about which CCT business models are most appropriate for different types of heritage and rural areas; (b) creating eight cross-border living labs in which sustainable CCT business models will be prototyped (16 in total); (c) developing macro-regional and cross-border policy scenarios for each of the four EU macro-regions (Baltic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian, Alpine, and Danube); and (d) synthesising knowledge and experience from the project to create tools and resources that RRA across Europe and beyond can use to develop sustainable and inclusive CCT in the future. CROCUS will achieve this through its ambitious multi-scalar research design, innovative cross-border living labs, and participatory processes of sustainable business model prototyping. The consortium brings together leading scholars and practitioners that have extensive experience with cross-border tourism development projects, stakeholder engagement, and policy analysis. It will be the first systematic study of different types of cross-border CCT cooperation in RRA. The impact of CROCUS will be to increase sustainable and inclusive CCT and cross-border cooperation in RRA across Europe, thus unleashing the potential of cultural heritage as a driver of sustainable innovation.