The INSEAI project aims to create an international network for knowledge and comparative socioeconomic analysis of informality and policies to be implemented for its formalisation in the EU and Latin America. The interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach involves academic (nine from UE and seven from LA), non-academic (three from UE and four from LA), and four non-eligible funding entities. Training activities and debate events will be organised throughout secondments, and specific tools (to detect, prevent and avoid informality) will be developed with the network members and people from their environment's societal collaboration. INSEAI Network faces at least seven critical challenges currently claimed by stakeholders at HEI in Europe and LA: 1) Raising the level of research organisation in the region in the informal issues covering the current state-of-the-art knowledge and formalisation governance lacks. 2) Multiplying the effect of research results opens the possibility of catching public policy interest. 3) Driving the PhD students' attention to informality as an endemic issue deeply rooted in the globalised dynamics changing people's lives and stratifying world peripheral capitalist positions. 4) Developing Open Science, promoting gender equality, and consolidating the network continuity. 5) Developing training tasks, exchanging knowledge and methodologies, and trying to innovate in analysis and quantification tools with the support of research and dissemination technologies. 6) Managing external databases and those generated by the network to offer tools (using big data, algorithms, apps) for public use in favour of informality knowledge and estimation and the formalisation processes governance. 7) Bringing together research and innovation interests from academic and civil society entities to understand the convergences and divergences in structuring labour markets and informality dynamics in regions with different degrees of development.

The present “NORTEXCEL2020” proposal is the response of the Portuguese Norte region to the call “WIDESPREAD 1-2014: Teaming” for creating or upgrading centres of excellence, building on partnerships between leading scientific institutions in Europe and low performing countries and regions, in terms of research and innovation performance. This proposal is sponsored and coordinated by the Norte Regional Authority and comes as a direct follow-up to the region’s Smart Specialization Strategy, being born from the entrepreneurial discovery process at the origin of the RIS3, and intended to build on and expand the specialization paths selected for the region, that will be supported under the new regional Operational Programme. The consortium is highly complementary and aligned with the challenges placed by the TEAMING call. The three organizations coming from the low performing region in Portugal (CCDR-N, IPP and INOVA+) have previous experience of working together and perfectly complement each other, creating the necessary conditions for the sprouting of a new, successful, innovation initiative in the region, under the guidance of a very experience partner from a high performing region: JOANNEUM RESEARCH. The Vision for the new centre of excellence is to create a world-leading centre in the Norte region of Portugal, contributing to the regional competitiveness of the research, innovation and business contexts through activities of excellence in applied research, technology development and innovation of an international dimension, becoming the leading regional organization in terms of participation in H2020. NORTEXCEL2020 will develop research and innovation activities integrating core requirements and scenarios from the medical technology application domain (focusing on medical devices, assistive technologies and wellbeing solutions). This application domain will explore new results and research in the areas of health technologies, advanced materials and ICT.

The project Mathematics on-line learning model in engineering education was successfully carried out at the very right moment as in recent two years there has been a significant increase in demand for a 100% online mathematics course with interactive learning materials and large-scale practicing opportunities as well as for a mathematics online assessment model. This has made it possible to increase student support when studying independently and teachers support when planning an online assessment. Greater support for learning and teaching in the education sector gave it a more competitive advantage as it helps to decrease drop-out behavior of students and minimize the workload of teachers. According to the New UNESCO global survey studying the impact of Covid-19 on higher education (2021) the pandemic has had an impact on higher education systems in terms of access and quality of teaching and learning. Covid-19 has caused the suspension and cancellation of teaching activities and its major impact on teaching and learning is the increase in online education. Taking into account the above, this project has successfully developed a high level engineering mathematics online course as a basis for offering output oriented education in engineering mathematics.The following activities were performed during the project: Creating the report of educational needs analysis (IO1)- Needs analysis and data gathering of partner countries and institutions were carried out. - Analysis of mathematical on-line assessment systems for partner countries and institutions were prepared.- Pedagogical analysis for on-line assessment of mathematics was made.Creating a new innovative online course in engineering mathematics in seven languages (IO2)The next activities were performed:- Analysis of subject in partner`s institutions- Development of the online course with some theoretical, practical and assessment tests- Translation of the online course- Conducting the pilot course- Asking for feedback from students- Revising on-line course- Development of the definite online course with theoretical, practical and assessment tests, engineering applications and course guidelines- Training for teachers- Asking for feedback from teachers- Conducting on-line course- Asking for feedback from students- Revising on-line courseCreating a mathematics online assessment model (IO3)- Literature review were carried out- Mathematics online assessment model was createdIn order to achieve project results, partners fields of subjects related to engineering mathematics were studied (IO1). This material enabled the team to build up the online course (IO2) and student competition (C1). In order to guarantee the quality the subject was piloted to students before carrying out the definitive course. The quality of the course was piloted to mathematics teachers (teacher training and ME). Based on the experience gained, the online assessment model in mathematics (IO3) was improved. The high quality of the online course is proven by the fact that we passed the preliminary round of the 7th e-Learning Excellence Awards at ECEL 2021.Partners of this project were 6 highly skilled HE institutions: the TTK UAS from Estonia, the Letterkenny Institute of Technology/LYIT from Ireland, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto/P.PORTO from Portugal, the University of the Basque Country/UPV/EHU from Spain, the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca/UTC from Romania and the Koszalin University of Technology/PK TUK from Poland. During the project unfolding the Spanish partner was replaced with Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya- BarcelonaTECH (UPC).This project involved various target groups, impact and benefits: - students and teachers, who benefit from a new innovative subject, which is added to the subjects of engineering mathematics. The innovative implementation makes the subject more attractive for students in each educational institution that participated in this project. The results are possible to use in other higher education institutions, secondary level schools and vocational schools.- expanding businesses, who will have a better educated workforce provided by educational institutions and by the research done by these institutions. As human resources are one of the most important resources in the company, it is important to provide high-quality education and competent employees to increase the productivity, effectiveness and competitiveness of the companies. Strategic international partnerships in the field of education and training are extremely important in order to increase the quality of education and training, which was one of the goals of this project, and it has become one of the most beneficial short and long-term outputs.The most significant indirect impact of the project was the rise of international cooperation between universities and higher qualification of the workforce of the participating institutions.

From birth to adulthood – a WBL successful Practice! (WBL S.P.) was a partnership between a Polytechnic Institute, 3 VET colleges, 3 enterprises in the areas of Metallurgy, Mechanics, Mechatronics and Industrial Maintenance and 3 Public Bodies from 3 different countries (Portugal, Spain and Italy). It was a 3 year project, whereby VET staff, trainers in enterprises and students from 3 countries participated in a ‘problem based learning’ project, aimed at developing 3 new innovative and creative Competency-based Curricula, in the above mentioned areas, which simultaneously include a creative and innovative teaching practice, relating to Entrepreneurship Education. This New pedagogy was developed for VET staff enabling higher level ‘applied’ and updated skills amongst learners, increasing simultaneously innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial skills and thereby narrowing the gap between academia and the world of work. The 3 companies involved other local similar businesses and provided a real world learning environment leading to more motivated VET students willing to fill in the vacancies in the labour market, more innovative VET staff and more inclusive employers/trainers, able to share their knowledge among apprentices, being responsible actors in the educational process, from the very beginning. Our goal was to give tools to the Businesses, which would make the hosting easier and more productive, not overcoming the capacities of the business and at the same time, validate the learning results, based in the EQVETs. The process and results of this validation (a report to be annexed to the student’s diploma) can be issued by the Platform developed by IPP Partner. The hosting of VET students was an easy process and enterprises & trainers felt motivated to be part of the VET system. This platform is reusable and expandable for other VET areas. At the end, VET teachers became better prepared to give the students the technological knowledge and competences they need by being in closed contact with the labour market needs.Trainers became better prepared to lead with students demotivation and misbehaviour. They were really involved in the construction of a young professional regarding their acquisition of technical competences and entrepreneurial skills. Both teachers and enterprises (tutors) contributed for the platform in what the competences needed in a real environment and this way it was possible the joint construction of a new curricula/programme. Local authorities had as main challenge the promotion of the new curricula at local and regional level and enhancing other enterprises in the development of the project. VET students tested this approach and methodology by participating in a Problem based learning project mostly in national enterprises. Only the Portugues students were able to do it at transnational level, in Spain. Each partner was engaged with local/regional industries with experience or the desire to implement new and innovative Mechanics, Mechatronics and Industrial Maintenance curricula&integration approaches both for VET students, vet teachers and trainers. WBL. S.P! seeked to build on matching the right VET student to the right enterprise&tasks and, at the same time, give VET teachers and instructors a better preparation both for teaching technological subjects and deal better with demotivation and misbehaviour, respectively, involved in the construction of a professional both technical and entrepreneurial skilled. WBL. S.P! focused on this duality of purpose and seeked to move VET students & teachers/instructors from ‘theoretical, technical and entrepreneurial competences’ to ‘Real usage and adaptation of technical and entrepreneurial competences’ and develop the skills amongst VET students&teachers, enabling them to ‘hit the ground running’ in an industry sector that has an in-build bias towards entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. Participation within this project was an opportunity for collaboration between VET providers, students, employers/instructors and relevant stakeholders in the same VET field across southern Europe. The partners exchanged methodologies and good practices approaches, to improve the expertise of VET teachers and to embed extra-curricular activity in the sectorial fi