NICOPA is aimed to modernize curricula in precision agriculture using new technologies - Geographic Information System/GIS, big data, remote sensing- through analyzing and updating existing curricula according to educational needs; developing new certified curricula according to the new achievements in the area, the labor market demands and the Bologna Process; to test innovated curricula and to disseminate the results. NICOPA consortium consists of 16 partners plus 4 associated partners with the required expertise, educational skills and business connections. The outputs/results and products are: • Review of the current curricula in precision agriculture through analysis, •Agreement on instructional strategy and guidelines for BA/MSc curricula design including the use of new Educational Technologies • A set of new core curricula and transferable modules including innovative teaching facilities •Updated current two cycle curricula and programs in precision agriculture according to the Bologna requirements and the new developments • Developed, implemented and accredited new practice oriented, student- focused core, and transferable curricula including ECTS • Bringing the Higher Education Institutions of DZ closer to labor market. Besides that innovative teaching facilities: a new equipped laboratory PAL, a class VCR, a Precision agriculture using sensing data Service Office PASO. Focus on the content, agreed structure, new instructional strategy and the use of new educational technologies with regard to the European modernization agenda for higher education will as a whole function as the envisaged impact.

The YEBO! project, focusing on the promotion of the internationalization of doctoral studies in South Africa, aims to address and redress the problem areas of doctoral studies. The YEBO! project is a response to the target of the South African Government's National Development Plan to have an estimate of 5,000 doctoral graduates per year by 2030 in the fields of Science and Technology. Preliminary findings indicated that capacity building is critical in supporting doctoral studies. The imperative developmental areas include supervisory support and capacity, grant capacity and proposal writing capacity, with the potential to increase access to research networks, international funding and internships. The aforementioned do not exclude capacity support to institutions in support of doctoral studies, from an international perspective, and with a focus on best practices. Three principle approches were identified in response to the capacity development needs of South African universities: - A web-based portal that encompasses research and funding networks, identification of funding opportunities, with an emphasis on training materials and videos accessible to all. - Four themed conferences, co-organized by programme and partner countries, focusing on best practices for the internationalization and promotion of doctorate studies, and fostering networking and cooperation opportunities.- Three training sessions, organized in South Africa, with a focus on supervision capacities.

In recent decades, social economy has been making a significant contribution to employment creation, sustainable growth and a more egalitarian income and wealth distribution. HEIs have a role to play in providing educational content aimed at strengthening social entrepreneurial capacity in their countries. SILICE created a systemic approach that incorporates social entrepreneurship modules within study programs at IL and IN. The HEIs have a positive impact on the above-mentioned issues through innovative methods of teaching and problem-based learning. SILICE also tackles cross-cutting issues like gender balance and equal opportunities for women and promotes connectivity between HIEs and their surrounding regions to develop entrepreneurship and employment. The means was the establishment of SINNOLABs – educational innovation centers for the development of business and creative thinking and search for solutions for social and environmental problems. 9 hubs were established as part of the project: 5 in IL and 4 in IN. The hubs were modeled on the best practice shared by the European partners. The hubs are located inside the academic campuses, but they also serve the residents in neighboring communities. The hubs are operated by senior faculty members in the academic institutions – which guarantee their long-term survival. During the first half of the project – the first 18 months – the teams focused mainly on learning and developing knowledge concerning creative thinking, creative solutions to social and environmental problems, project creation and organization and partners’ recruitment. The second half of the project focused on establishing the SINNOLABs and operating them, as well as intensifying the regional connections with local and national institutions that can guarantee the project’s sustainability. Hence, connections were formed with additional hubs, the public sector, banks and financial companies for regional development. The SINNOLAB management in each institution formed connections with various stakeholders such as government agencies, regional municipalities and NGOs. By doing so, the hubs intensified the partnership of academic institutions with their surroundings, strengthened, and broadened their positions inside the HIEs. Contracts were signed to ensure long-term collaboration between the institutions themselves and stakeholders. SILICE’s significant contributions are: 1. Educational – the HIEs understood the meaning of introducing motives of creative thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship and creative problem solving as a method that can develop the students and help them become socially engaged financially independent citizens. These elements were introduced to the curricula of all students; 2. Promoting underprivileged populations – unemployed, rural populations, minorities, undereducated women, and helping them to adopt thinking patterns and practical tools that can increase their household income and support their financial and social mobilization; by creating social projects with the potential of becoming successful business owners and offering jobs for them and for others; 3. The project served as a focal point for all social innovation and business entrepreneurship in each HEI. The digital platform established by the partners is an open source database that offers syllabi, lesson plans and trainings, as well as presentations that were developed over the duration of the project. Each HEI brought its own experts and we created a pool of experts who are waiting to be approached by students and the public. This database is used by all partners and is open to other HEIs and the public. By this, SILICE contributes to the spreading of the knowledge, methods and tools that were developed in the project. This platform is currently used in HEIs across IL, IN and Europe, and these networks will allow the website to remain relevant after the project ends.

CONTEXT: In many countries of Europe, the past decades have seen a reform of doctoral training from the individual ‘apprenticeship model’ to the structured ‘graduate school’. This institutionalized change is accompanied by the development of trainings in ‘transferable skills’ and the setting up of curricula in this field, yet many universities still experiment with the right quantities and qualities of these trainings, answering to unclear needs of early stage researchers and varying employment markets. This is especially true in the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) fields. The discussion on an ‘Europeanization’ of doctoral training has until now, however, missed any disciplinary specifications. OBJECTIVES: This project aimed at developing a common European core curriculum in transferable skills for doctoral training, especially designed for the SET disciplines, including for example entrepreneurial, leadership, communication and organizational skills as well as education in research ethics and good scientific practice (IO1). Furthermore, the project wanted to serve as a resource for training the trainers, offering a training manual with detailed course outlines (IO2) and a coaching manual in transferable skills (IO5). Three tutorials have been shot to remove obstacles regarding the use and implementation of the other outputs at non-partner universities. The competence self-assessment tool (IO4) allows doctoral candidates to assess their strengths and weaknesses and, as a result, to elaborate a course schedule for closing skill gaps that is based on the curriculum and the training manual. Moreover, universities can use the self-assessment tool to check if their curriculum covers the needs specific for SET disciplines and if and to what extent their students have acquired the desired transferable skills.In addition, training the mindSET was designed to enhance the possibilities of cross-national mobility of early stage researchers, trainers and academic staff and their orientation within an international employment market. It is a contribution to a deeper and broader Europeanization of doctoral training, an advancement of training in transferable skills for a new generation of researchers in disciplines decisive for our common future.TARGET GROUP AND PARTICIPANTS: The prime target group of this project is supervisors, graduate schools and training centres, which are likely to benefit from the curriculum and the training and coaching manuals. Doctoral candidates have been involved in trainings and in the discussion and development of the manuals. They have been the target audience of the LTTAs besides the trainers. Special attention was paid to women as a minority in the SET disciplines and to international doctoral candidates studying at the partner universities. On a higher level, national and international stakeholders (professional organisations and umbrella institutions of science and research) have been targeted and made familiar with the project results. On the long run, this will contribute to developing and promoting results that are transferable to other universities, particularly in the EU but also beyond. The participants of the LTTAs have been selected at each sending university, especially with regards to gender, so as to have, whenever possible, at least 50% female participants. In total, 164 doctoral candidates have participated in the LTTAs carried out throughout the project, all writing their thesis in a SET or closely related discipline, such as architecture. ACTIVITIES: The project team has written the curriculum, manuals on training and coaching, developed the competence self-assessment tool and conceptualized three videotutorials to help other universities implement the outcomes of the project. Moreover, the project has been presented at various occasions to different stakeholders and target audiences, such as the council for doctoral education at EUA, the annual conference of UniWinD, and the multiplier events. MAIN RESULTS AND IMPACT: A sustainable network of the partner universities for exchanging trainers, staff members and supervisors or doctoral candidates with respect to transferable skills qualifications has been set up. The results of the network have been applied and made public in open accessible manuals for the different training areas, various international and national conferences, and were disseminated to other European Universities of Technology. The contact and debates with policy makers and employers may result in an alteration of policies and priorities through mutual learning on the European level.

mCloud Alliance brings together 18 higher education institutions (HEIs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop Cloud-based European infrastructure and organisation for education in microelectronics providing a range of open educational resources (OERs), remote access and sharing of educational and professional software, remote and practice-based learning facilities. Neither university can afford the necessary infrastructure, clean rooms, technology and experts in all fields of this multidisciplinary science. Sharing of laboratory experiences, CAD tools, project ideas, and a common infrastructure represents a sort of “educational cloud” on top of the cloud software/hardware infrastructure. 8 European HEIs and 8 SMEs jointly developed e-learning materials for 25 courses on: CAD and technologies, test, and application of integrated circuits and systems, and we will deliver them as OERs to strengthen the virtual mobility. 4 of the courses are developed by the business partners. Each university provides remote access to its facilities, laboratory experiments/software systems for the partners in a cloud teaching system, giving them access to new resources. In the pilot test and field trial 1128 persons were involved and the results of the survey are very positive. All developed courses are considered to fulfill a more than average need of SMEs in short term. In long term the industry will need even more skills and competences in the proposed topicsWe can conclude that the university world is close to the industry needs in the sector of microelectronics.New National and Regional Knowledge Alliances were created – 45 memoranda of understanding for future collaboration within mClouds and knowledge sharing Business-Academia signed.More than 50 European enterprises involved and another 15 universities.New countries joined the Microelectronics Knowledge Alliance: Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Serbia.