The objections to animal experiments which have accumulated on both ethical and scientific grounds drive the development of new alternative approaches which do not use animals. Despite the plethora of available alternative methods in different fields of safety assessment, there are still either no validated animal-free replacement methods for some toxicity endpoints or they need a thorough improvement/development. NIOM, as an institute from the Widening Country, aims to increase its capacity (portfolio) towards available in vitro methods for toxicity testing. TWINALT project aims to: i) significantly strengthen the research position of NIOM in the field of alternative methods to toxicity assessment by linking it with 3 prominent scientific partners in this field from Belgium (VUB), Norway (NILU), and Italy (UMIL); ii) enhance the S&T capacity of the 4 linked institutions with a principal focus on the NIOM; iii) commercialize and integrate the TWINALT research with the needs of society at the local, regional, national, European and global level. Five research areas have been identified to be focused on in TWINALT: i) modern methods for cytotoxicity assessment (High Throughput/Content Screening); ii) new cell models in alternative methods (co-cultures, 3D models); iii) standard/modern alternative methods for genotoxicity and carcinogenicity assessment; iv) characterization of cell-nanomaterial interactions under in vitro conditions; v) in silico methods in safety assessment. The work will be organized into 4 packages: i) elaboration of a common RTD and innovation strategy on alternative methods; ii) exchange of know-how with partners through training mobilities; iii) communication, exploitation and dissemination activities (web-site, regional and international events, joint publications, press releases, education, contacts with industrial sector); iv) management.

The European Commission Education & Training 2020 programme and the report on the Modernisation Agenda of Higher Education identifies improvement of quality and relevance of teaching and learning as one of the most important current issues. One of the main priorities for Higher Education is reducing the discrepancy between graduates' skills and expectations of society and labour market as well as raising teaching standards in universities.The expectations of the European market in relation to universities are expressed in qualified, competent and skilled graduates. Businesses are able to train graduates’ hard skills, however soft skills are often a prerequisite. Thus, qualified employees, as understood by modern enterprises, should have a thorough education reinforced by diverse soft skills. Typical classes are based on knowledge transfer in form of lectures among a large group. Students learn dry facts, even if they are based on case studies, and lack the opportunity to learn by doing and being exposed to real workplaces. Classroom has become a comfort zone, a place where help and assistance is offered, one that is not present in a real environment. Only practicing a variety of real time interactions allows future graduates to enter the labour market with an adequate skill set.The above mentioned factors manifest in deficiencies in soft skills and practice of graduates and cause inability to properly react to the challenges at future workplace. Responding to above mentioned needs, we would like to enrich study programmes of all partners by implementing an innovative method for teaching and learning soft management skills based on augmented reality (AR). We believe that applying AR as a part of existing curriculum, will allow to achieve the main goal of this project, which is to improving the quality and efficiency of higher education as well as qualifications and competencies of students. The term AR refers to the interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real-world are augmented by computer-generated imagery and sounds. According to Power Research Center 73% of teens have access to a smartphone, thus AR is available for use for the majority of the target group. Therefore, this technology has a great potential to printed materials, making education more accessible and mobile. Among the most significant trends in EdTech, AR has the leading position.The goal of this project will be achieved by creation of interactive AR simulation dedicated for enhancing training of future managerial staff. It will allow the students to gather both, knowledge and experience. The main intention behind creation of such a tool is development of soft skills such as team work, collaboration, communication, self- and group motivation, creativity, time management. The AR simulation will provide an will provide an attractive and engaging presentation artificial environment in which exercises can be performed. Additionally, it will be possible to use the application from different locations, removing the necessity of users colocation (distance learning). The application will contain two types of exercises focusing on Lean Management and Health and Safety at Work. For both cases separate scenarios will be developed and incorporated into the application as an AR simulation.This project involves three target groups: students, academics and businesses. It will improve soft competencies of graduates such as: planning and organizing, staffing and controlling, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and teamwork.The universities, academic staff and students will benefit from:-access to engaging and immersive exercises in the form of group tasks, based on case studies gathered among associated partners,-risk free opportunity to learn by doing, by means of AR,-accessible education - distance learning with AR-aided materials.-attractive teaching tool tailored to fit the curriculum. From the business perspective:-graduates with higher qualifications, especially in term of soft skills;-new employees equipped with high demand skills;The consortium comprises five partners: Lodz University of Technology (the leader), Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Tartu, University of Aveiro, Polytechnic of Šibenik and three associated partners: Siemens Sp. z o.o., DPD group, and Wielton S.A.Associated partners are bound to provide business insight and market-driven analysis of needs and requirements for future employees. Experts from each company will be responsible for providing real case studies that will be implemented into all scenarios of the AR application. The final scenarios and the releases of the AR application will be presented to associated partners’ experts during meetings with target groups (E1 and E2). Collected feedback will be invaluable for developing the application in order for it meet the needs of future employees and employers.

According to the European Commission Education & Training 2020 programme and report on Modernisation Agenda of Higher Education (HE) improvement of quality and relevance of teaching and learning is one of the most crucial issues that has to be addressed. The biggest challenge for HE is alleviating the problem that is posed by a gap between graduates’ skills and demands of the labour market as well as improving teaching standards in tertiary education institutions. The European Commission surmises that all new products and services should follow the principles of Universal Design (UD) as stated in the UN Convention. They should be designed and produced in such a way that poses no difficulty for any person, regardless of their disability, impediment, age, gender etc.Modern society strives for an increasingly closer integration, at the same time recognizing the need for reducing exclusions and perceiving that as an opportunity for more dynamic development. As a result, the formed environment of social coexistence should eliminate all potential barriers limiting functioning of each individual. It is imperative that future engineers are aware of the needs of their products and services users, as understanding their requirements is vital for successfully developing and introducing innovative products that cater for and answer to the distinct needs of diverse populations.TUL is committed to development of their staff in areas of didactics, educational methods and modern teaching tools. Projects such as ZPU (https://www.zpu.p.lodz.pl) are regularly carried out to increase competencies and analyse the educational needs of faculty members. Conducted surveys and questionnaires demonstrated a great need of academics for new teaching solutions and modern educational methods. What is more, in association with BON, a survey was carried out among students to check their level of knowledge about UD and empathetic approach in design. Results have shown that the awareness level leaves room for improvement. Similar surveys have been carried out on partner universities.The main objective of this project is increasing UD competencies of future engineers, educators and designers by handing them a set of practical educational tools based on Mixed Reality (MR) to better understand various accessibility needs by experience. Planned activities will enhance the following UD competencies:-eliminating accessibility barriers without compromising on primary design concepts,-combining functionality with usefulness without abandoning aesthetic value,-applying UD policies in all types of projects,-applying UD policies in the whole project lifecycle.The success of this project will be achieved by creating an MR application. MR is by definition a consolidation of the real and virtual world into one visual environment in which virtual objects are intertwined with physical ones and both of them can interact in real time. MR as a hybrid of physical and digital worlds provides high immersion possibilities, especially when combined with a set of sensors, peripheric sound devices, haptic components and other sensory accessories. It allows, in a relatively short time, to create an immersion so strong that the effects of MR experience can be compared to the ones in reality. An undisputed advantage of MR technology is the possibility to create educational scenarios that in the real world might be dangerous or expensive, thus impossible to realise.Deploying and sharing a state-of-the-art MR-based teaching-learning Universal Design system among European design education is the key innovation of our proposal. We believe that our haptic multisensory application will enhance future designers’ vital skill - understanding of other human beings. It will be done by putting themselves in someone else’s shoes and the possibility to perceive the emotions of others by MR visualisation will boost their empathy and sensitivity while designing. What is more, by teaching students to be more conscious of other people’s needs and feelings, we can have an impact on building a tolerant, respecting society.There are three target groups for this project: students, academics and professional designers.The universities, academic staff and students will benefit from:-access to engaging and immersive exercises in the form of group tasks, -risk free opportunity to learn by doing, by means of MR,-accessible education - distance learning with MR-aided materials.-attractive teaching tool tailored to fit the curriculum.From the business perspective:-graduates with higher qualifications, especially in term of UD;-new employees equipped with high demand skills;The consortium consists of five parties: TUL (the leader), NIOM, UT, UAVR, and P.Porto.