The project will develop and establish a new standard of higher educational and scientific knowledge exchange between European and Latin American countries. This will be done leveraging existing Master’s courses/programs of Water Management at the various partner universities. Water is regional priority around the world but synthesis of water resource management aspects from local-to-global scales is not currently included higher education curriculum. This leaves local populations vulnerable to future shifts in climate at global scales and changes in land usage at regional scales. We will change this by boosting the curriculum development in the field of water resource conservation and management from the perspective of climate change adaption and impact mitigation. In detail, we want to 1) improve knowledge, skills and competences of the next generation of leaders in the field of water resource conservation and management thereby contributing to long-term growth, prosperity and social inclusion, 2) incorporate up to date scientific and technological knowledge into the curriculum development to enhance capacities to tackle future water resource management problem anticipated due to climate change, 3) increase local expertise in order to help optimize the water use (water related ecosystem/environmental services) and sustainable exploitation of water resources, in particular in relation to the severely increased water consumption of agricultural intensification and urbanization and installation of hydropower dams, 4) enhance the skills and competences of young people on water resource conservation and management to ensure their competitiveness in the future labour market, and 5) promote common educational values, faster social integration, enhance intercultural understanding and language skills.

EU projects in the region are recognised by leading world organisations and by the local partners, as being impactful and standing as reasons for hope to growth and development. Through cross-fertilization, EU can reinforce its footprint in the higher education systems in the region. Panama is a small and dynamic country receptive to modernisation, and willing to introduce a regional approach. Involving Cuba - isolated so many years - is an important step towards integrating the higher education on the island in a regional context. The Cuban Ministry of Higher Education is a partner in the project and is willing to promote a comprehensive introduction of higher education internationalisation in the country.To achieve concrete results and avoid opportunistic behaviours with uncertain long-term benefits, universities need to engage in a structured internationalisation process.FORINT aims to integrate the international dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of Cuban and Panamanian higher education system, and to strengthen the universities' capacities for education and research and improve their academic quality and standards. The project will use a comprehensive methodology directed at the target audiences of universities ( faculty, administrators and students), addressing a full spectrum of internationalisation objectives, including raising awareness, increasing the visibility of institutions within the region and establishment of international contact points in each partner university.Measurable results will be achieved during the lifetime of the project, visible as concrete international partnerships enabled by the partners’ participation in international and regional conferences.The outcomes of the projects will be turned into guidelines accessible to all institutions in the region willing to replicate the process. The FORINT portal will extend the impact of the project beyond its lifetime, facilitating international cooperation.

The project enhances the quality of Colombian, Cuban and Panamanian universities by transferring the EU expertise to design and implement a quality referential (framework, tools & methodology) based on impact assessment. This tool complements the actual QA systems currently limited to quality of teaching and research. This fosters an evolution towards an impact-driven culture in the institutions which improves the quality and relevance of the services that they provide to their community. The project results in an impact QA system, inspired by EU experience and customized to the 3 national contexts. The HEIs are capacitated for applying the quality referential at the institutional level (impact is measured and included in strategic development) and at the functional level (more activities/projects are targeted at local communities and their impact is maximized). The fitness for purpose and practical relevance of this QA system are verified by its implementation in 11 universities, under the mentorship of European experts.Results and best practices are compiled in two publications series: one for senior university management explaining how to measure, monitor and increase impact and collecting best practices. The second series, for faculty and specialist staff, provides guidelines and inspiration on how to maximize impact of universities activities for local environment and illustrates it it by a case studies compendium. Main findings and recommendations are shared with the 3 countries stakeholders during the project conference to build awareness and stimulate replication.The project promotes cultural changes in the universities who understand better how to answer the needs of their environment how to engage into innovative and more impactful activities. Regional & local communities benefit from the concrete results of the pilot projects and tighten their links with HEIs open to the local environment.