"How are digitisation and new technologies changing work processes in industries and the competences required of skilled workers? And what should a realignment of vocational education and training look like to ensure keeping abreast with social and technological developments in the future? Our ""DigiCon"" project will explore these questions and provide impulses for coping with digitisation in VET - exemplarily for the construction sector.""Digital construction"" and ""Construction site 4.0"" - these keywords highlight the current challenges the construction industry is facing, which also need to be met by vocational training. In the future, construction specialists will have to be able to handle digital technologies and applications - from digital communication and operating mobile devices to construction robotics.""DigiCon"" is our contribution to innovation excellence in VET. The aim is to enhance the job-related digital competences of trainees, to promote the digitisation of educational institutions and to strengthen cooperation with industry and research. This will make vocational education and training more attractive and forward-thinkingWith digital construction as a subject in VET, the European construction industry will have access to skilled workers with a broad understanding of ICT and precisely tailored digital skills. The young skilled workers will be innovation ambassadors in their companies. And digitisation is also changing the role of teachers - from knowledge mediators to facilitators of self-directed learning.Participants will comprise the trainees of the participating VET institutions (400, they acquire competences in digital construction) and the teachers (60, they can use models and materials for teaching), but also companies and branch associations, authorities and regulatory bodies (220, they make the regulatory decisions). Further target groups will be teachers and learners from educational institutions outside the project partnership (as users of the model) as well as actors from business, politics and administration (they use the results of the project to further shape digitisation in VET.„DigiCon“ will be implemented by six partners from three EU countries - under the leadership of BGZ. The three countries - Germany, Poland and Belgium - represent three typical VET systems in the EU - school-based, dual and a combination of both. This ensures that the project results will be designed for transferability in different systems across the EU.The VET institutions and the universities will bring in many years of training experience and extensive technical expertise in the construction sector. Associated partners from industry and science support the project and will add their perspectives.The project partners will jointly develop a model for teaching digital construction skills that is consistently geared to the requirements of the construction site 4.0. The model will comprise a set of process scenarios, learning scenarios based on those, as well as digital applications (such as augmented reality) and tools (such as the digital construction file). The learning tasks will be embedded in realistic construction processes - thus the trainees will develop a systemic understanding of the complexity of the processes and the interaction of digital and construction skills. The development of the learning scenarios and applications will take place in a participative process with learners and teachers. Interactive forms of teaching will support the trainees in shaping their learning process to a greater extent themselves. Digital communication is increasingly being used for peer-to-peer learning by working on learning tasks either as a team or with a division of labour.At the same time, we will support educational institutions in developing and implementing their digitisation strategies - with solutions for the various design fields - didactically, in terms of training organisation and regulatory policy. The project will produce a guideline for capacity building for the institutions as well as solutions for access to learning materials and the design of e-learning - using digital construction as an example.The main result of ""DigiCon"" will be a model for the consistent teaching of digital skills in the context of complex work processes, based on real work scenarios. This means that the trainees will have directly applicable skills and abilities. Further impacts will be improved teaching skills, closer cooperation with industry and with universities and research institutes and a stronger internationalisation of vocational training institutions.The long-term benefits will be economic, social and societal: attractive training opportunities for young people, secure employment and career opportunities for young skilled workers on the European labour market, strengthened role of VET institutions and the future orientation of vocational training, improved competitiveness of the construction indus"

Increasing the part of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in modern power grids is of critical importance for the transformation of the global energy system. However, stability and participation to ancillary services issues related to RES limit their use. Indeed, the RES grid integration faces major limitations when high RE penetration is expected. A solution to overcome this is to increase the share of so-called dispatchable RES, i.e., the ones which have a natural storage capacity. The main objective in the POSYTYF project is to group several RES into a systemic object called Virtual Power Plant (VPP). VPP is a way to aggregate RES sources to form a portfolio of dispatchable/non-dispatchable RES able to optimally internally redispatch resources in case of meteorological and system variations in order to provide sufficient flexibility, reliable power output and grid services. The POSYTYF project will provide TSOs, DSOs and generators with knowledge, models and tools for synthesis of VPP controls both for local (production) and grid (ancillary services) objectives. New analysis (stability assessement) and control (centralized vs decentralized concepts) methods will be particularly proposed. Solutions will be immediately implementable in the actual grid and regulatory situation. Realistic (large-scale grids and concrete RES technologies) cases will be treated and full validations – both in simulation and hardware in the loop along with the codes for regulator’s implementation will be made available. Proposals for some main problems like stability will be formulated for next generation grids of massive RES penetration and low inertia systems. The interdisciplinary and ambitious POSYTYF project brings together 10 partners from 4 EU countries. They will bring the VPP technology from TRL 3-4 to TRL 4-5 by evaluating new stability issues, proposing new control algorithms.

"Learning Analytics (LA) as a key aspect of Learning Process Management (LPM) supports the measurement, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs (statement on Learning Analytics and Knowledge from the 1st International Conference from 2011). LA focuses on learning and teaching activities in digital supported learning environments such as Learning Management Systems (LMS). It enables both, learners and teachers to receive feedback and status reports the own learning and teaching track and therefore enables to put quality aspects into learning and teaching processes, emphasizing self evaluation on individual learning and teaching tracks. Hence, individual key performance indicators for these teaching and training processes will become much more transparent through analyses on collected digital data from learners. The main objectives of this project ""Learning Analytics 4s"" is to integrate already carried out experiences in the LA and LPM fields, in combination with aspects of Learning Semantics (LS) and transfer innovations of these fields into the area of small size Higher Education institutions like the University of Liechtenstein. Development and implementation of LA is strongly needed, because it enables to implement quality measurement in teaching and learning. A number of European initiatives, such as the Digital Agenda 2020 and the eSkills initiatives, show the need for this project, and it directly addresses a number of ERASMUS+ priorities, for example, enhancing digital integration in learning, teaching, training, and youth work at various levels, supporting the implementation of reforms in line with the 2011 EU Modernisation Agenda's priority areas, and supporting the implementation of the 2013 Communication on Opening Up Education, just to name a few. The project brings together leading LA research institutions and leverages their potential to boost education in an area that is highly important for the European economy and society. Partners include the University of Liechtenstein (Professor Dr. Jan vom Brocke), the Technische Universität Graz (Dr. Michael Kickmeyer-Rust), the Open Universiteit Nederland (Ass. Professor Dr. Hendrik Drachsler), the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover with its research center L3s (Dr. Stefan Dietze), and the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (Professor Dr. Albrecht Fortenbacher). The project will produce five intellectual outputs in five transnational meetings, in virtual meetings and supported by ICT collaborative tools the consortium, that will be ready to use for educational institutions throughout Europe, including a platform prototype for testing and implementing LA-tools and approaches, a literature review on the state of the art of LA, a report with recommendations, about ethical issues, privacy and data protection considerations for LA, concepts for identifying learning paths covering key performance indicators and published as applicable case studies, and a prototype of a LA toolbox ready to use for small size Higher Education institutions, and other interested stakeholders. These outputs go far beyond existing results because they integrate world-leading up-to-date research results and they are tailor-made for the needs of EU Higher Education institutions using innovative digital and blended learning scenarios. The consortium members contribute profound LA expertise they have gathered through past years research. The project will consolidate this knowledge by workshops and creative techniques. The involvement of LA researchers, practitioner and educators in the discursion will facilitate shaping the outputs towards the specific needs of LA. All participants have profound experience in managing and conducting large-scale research projects on the European level."

"Context: INTENSE – INTernational ENtrepreneurship Skills Europe is a transnational project of five European Higher Education Institutions (HEI). INTENSE responds to the needs for internationalisation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME), the needs of students to gain international, entrepreneurial, and innovation competences and HEIs’ needs to stimulate these competencies by creating a holistic and joint teaching approach. The project was funded by the EU programme Erasmus+ from September 2016 to September 2019.Objectives: INTENSE promotes the internationalisation, entrepreneurial, and innovation skills of students, HEI staff, and European SMEs and established a network between these stakeholders. It established an innovative and complex teaching module, which stimulates entrepreneurial behaviour and the internationalisation of students, HEI staff, and SMEs. This contributes to the employability of students and HEI staff.Participating organisations:INTENSE was implemented by five HEIs (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (HTW), Germany; Hogeschool Utrecht, the Netherlands; University Colleges Leuven-Limburg, Belgium; Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland; J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia). The consortium is a mix of universities and universities of applied sciences with different backgrounds. All partners set up national steering structures with students, SMEs, and other relevant stakeholders. During the project, five additional HEIs joined the team and started to implement the INTENSE teaching approach.Main activities:INTENSE developed an interactive and transnational teaching module on SME internationalisation. This 15 ECTS teaching module includes material on international entrepreneurship, SME internationalisation, project management, and practical skills; additional teaching material of 5 ECTS was also created.Several rounds of the transnational student consultancy project, in which student teams act as real entrepreneurs supporting the SMEs’ internationalisation, were conducted. Student teams do not just consult their local SME, but also cooperate with student teams in the target market of the SME and gain insight into several SME projects while broadening their international competences and network.Furthermore, a toolkit was developed prioritising the entrepreneur’s perspective to support its quest to internationalise. INTENSE also re-developed and tested an instrument to measure innovation competences among students, entrepreneurs, and HEI staff members, and developed policy recommendations.Results and impact:More than 950 students benefitted from the INTENSE teaching material and were trained in analysing the internationalisation potential of SMEs in the last 1,5 years of the project. 290 students worked on real-life SME cases and developed individual situation analyses for the SMEs during transnational student consultancy projects. These students cooperated transnationally to solve their SMEs’ challenge and presented their work at multiplier events to potential future employers. Several students per country were offered a job from participating SMEs.The INTENSE teaching material is openly available on the INTENSE platform. Staff from participating HEIs were trained in this new learning module and in the innovation measurement instrument, in total 44 HEI staff benefited from international experiences during the project. A teaching manual plus a module description ensures the transferability of the project outputs to additional HEIs. Awareness for this module was raised by international multiplier events and by publications in relevant journals.Besides the tailor-made support that 49 SMEs received during the transnational student consultancy, INTENSE gathered relevant information on internationalisation on the SME toolkit, openly available to all SMEs. INTENSE lessons learned and recommendations on how to stimulate the internationalisation of SMEs, modernisation of HEIs, and employability of students was elaborated in a public conference with relevant stakeholders.Longer-term benefits:INTENSE contributes to the reforms of the 2011 EU Modernisation Agenda. It improves the quality and relevance of teaching & learning (KP2) of the participating and further joining HEIs. The fact that five additional HEIs already implemented the teaching approach emphasizes the quality and relevance of the teaching approach. Due to the design of the transnational student consultancy, INTENSE promotes the mobility of students & staff (KP3), extending beyond the funding period, and strengthens the “knowledge triangle"" of education, research, and innovation (KP4) through the close cooperation in the steering group.INTENSE supports the implementation of the 2013 Communication on Opening Up Education, as all teaching material is openly available.INTENSE increases the employability of students and HEI staff, through the acquired entrepreneurial and transversal competences."

"<< Background >>The European Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 aims to foster a high-performing digital education ecosystem, and to enhance digital skills and competences for the digital age and specifies “online, distance and blended learning” as specific examples of how technology can be used to improve and support teaching and learning.In 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced and accelerated the development and use of digital technologies in education. Higher education institutions (HEIs) switched very fast and to a large extent to online learning. While digital technologies enabled many students to continue their studies during the pandemic, it also proved a barrier for others. One main concern of stakeholders regarding digital transformation in education is how to ensure access, equity and inclusion and how to prevent “digital divides”. Yet the COVID-19 crisis is considered a “turning point” for technology use in teaching and learning, creating a sense of urgency, which provided continuity for education, but at the same time, led millions of students to drop out due to digital divide and other structural barriers (UNICEF, 2020). Current studies show that lack of a convenient learning place has been a barrier for students to participate in education during the pandemic (Baticulon et al., 2021; Kapasia et al., 2020).The dramatic rise of online, distance and blended learning in higher education has increased the extent and variation of learning activities, which take place outside of formal learning spaces, including synchronous/asynchronous and individual/collaborative online learning activities, in which students participate while they are physically in different locations. Due to the eroding boundaries between online and offline, the construction of space must be reconsidered. Research studies show that an integrated understanding of ""Onlife Spaces"" leads to changes of existing physical places and evokes the activation of new physical places.While barrier-free design has been recognised as precondition for inclusion, recent research findings provide broad evidence on the impact of physical learning environments on learners’ health, well-being and performance. These findings are increasingly being taken into account in the design and management of formal campus learning spaces, like seminar rooms or lecture halls. Although it is known, that students spend more time in informal than in formal learning spaces, these are only lately coming into focus.Informal and non-conventional learning spaces which can be categorized as places provided by university, by third party or personally provided (e.g. informal campus spaces, home learning environments, public spaces, learning cafés, public transport, outdoor spaces, public libraries, cafés) are thus taking on a new relevance and significant importance in the context of lifelong learning. Yet there is little information available where digitally supported higher education learning takes place, how these physical and hybrid learning environments impact students’ well-being and learning experience, and which barriers they pose on different student groups, depending on socio-economic background, gender, age, disabilities, family responsibilities and geographical location.With the project NIILS we want to address these barriers, which students in higher education face during digitally supported learning activities due to existing inequalities or lack of access to technical equipment, internet and suitable physical-spatial informal learning environments. We aim to create awareness for existing barriers, to mitigate inequalities and to promote technologically enhanced inclusive informal learning environments, which are conducive to learning and users’ well-being.<< Objectives >>One of the biggest concerns regarding the digital transformation in education is the exclusion of learners from vulnerable groups. Ongoing research activities, strategic measures and interventions address “digital divides” caused by inequalities regarding connectivity, accessibility, digital equipment and skills, as well as didactical implications and the impact of digitalisation on the design of formal learning spaces, like seminar rooms. But yet, there has been little discussion on the interaction of digital teaching and learning methods and the spatial environments in which students are located, while they participate in distance and online learning activities. Only limited information is available about where digitally supported higher education learning takes place, how these physical and hybrid learning environments affect students’ well-being and learning experience, and which barriers they pose on different student groups.In order to address the incurring chances and challenges, the NIILS project targets the following objectives: 1) Provide comprehensible information regarding the context situation and users’ perspectives in higher education institutions in different European countries and regions, as well as on the impact of technologically enhanced informal or non-conventional learning spaces on students’ well-being, self-regulation, knowledge acquisition and university belongingness2) Analyse and categorize digitally supported informal learning spaces for lifelong learning processes3) Identify structural, contextual and individual barriers related to informal learning spaces for different student groups, depending on their socio-economic status, gender, age, disabilities and geographical location, as well as approaches and strategies for mitigation and empowerment4) Create awareness among target groups and stakeholders and provide tools (mapping platform), methodological frameworks (learning communities) and practical guidance materials to promote inclusive and supportive technologically enhanced informal and non-conventional learning environments, to mitigate inequalities and to empower students with fewer opportunities5) Establish networks and enable knowledge transfer between participating institutions, involved target groups and stakeholders, to start a transdisciplinary and co-creative process and to build a foundation for further development and innovation regarding technologically enhanced inclusive informal learning spaces.Our vision for universities is to transform them as inclusive points of attraction with access to learning environments on and off campus that meet the needs of all students and learners. With the NIILS project we aim to contribute to a critical understanding on how to exploit the opportunities offered by digital technologies for teaching and learning, to increase access, participation and completion rates of higher education students with fewer opportunities. Furthermore, we want to contribute to the understanding of how the necessary spatial, technological and didactical frameworks should be created to stimulate innovative learning and teaching practices, which also relate to the inclusion and diversity aspect of the Austrian National Strategy for Higher Education.<< Implementation >>To reach the defined objectives, to ensure high quality project results and sustainability of these results, the implementation of NIILS will be carried out in 4 partly overlapping project phases: (1)Data collection and analysis(2)Engagement of target groups and stakeholders(3)Co-creation and knowledge exchange(4)Review and sharing of experiences and project resultsThese phases will lead to five project results: “Country context analysis” (PR1), “Users’ perspective analysis” (PR2), “Mapping Platform” (PR3), “Learning communities” (PR4) and “Recommendations and guidance to promote inclusive and supportive informal learning spaces” (PR5). Each project result will be led by one of the project partners according to their respective expertise and experiences. The main activities leading to the project results will include:(1)a desk search and focus groups/interviews with stakeholders to gather information regarding the “state of the art” and the context situation in the participating institutions, project countries and regions(2)a students’ survey and focus groups with students and lecturers to collect and analyse data on the users’ perspective regarding availability, characteristics and usage of informal or non-conventional learning spaces by different student groups; their impact on students’ well-being, self-regulation, knowledge acquisition and university belongingness; existing inequalities and barriers; students’ and lecturers’ awareness and enabling strategies(3)the development of a mapping platform and conducting of walking interviews with students and lecturers to mark and share data on characteristics, usage and accessibility of informal and non-conventional learning spaces(4)the development of a learning communities co-creation framework and guidelines for creating learning communities which address inclusive informal learning spaces, based on previous project results, the collection of good practise examples, resulting in the implementation of one pilot community and four further learning communities with students, lecturers and university administration(5)the development and stakeholder review of recommendations and guidance material for students, lecturers, university administration and key stakeholders to promote inclusive and supportive informal learning spaces and mitigate existing barriers and inequalitiesFive national and one transnational multiplier event will be organised to reach beyond the partnership to all interested groups and stakeholders at the local, national and international level.We will also conduct a wide range of dissemination activities to make the project visible at local, national and international levels, to exchange ideas with the interested parties and to share our project results to ensure their sustainable usage. Project management and content development as well as dissemination activities will be closely linked. Internal and external monitoring processes will ensure quality and achievement of project results. The consortium will develop a sustainability plan to regulate the further use, data management and necessary maintenance activities for project results after the project ends to ensure their further availability and deployment.<< Results >>The project will produce five main project results and a number of related deliverables:PR1 Country context analysis: availability and infrastructure of informal learning spacesDeliverables will include 5 country context analyses and 1 comparative report, providing information regarding the “state of the art” and the context situation in the participating institutions, project countries and regions.PR2: Users’ perspective analysis: usage, perception and impact of informal learning spacesDeliverables will include 5 users’ perspective analyses and 1 synthesis report providing comprehensive data on the users’ perspective regarding availability, characteristics and usage of informal or non-conventional learning spaces by different student groups; their impact on students’ well-being, self-regulation, knowledge acquisition and university belongingness; existing inequalities and barriers; students’ and lecturers’ awareness and enabling strategies.PR3: Mapping Platform: collecting and sharing data on informal learning spacesDeliverables will include 1 mapping platform on which informal learning places will be marked with their characteristics using the data from walking interview participants and volunteers (students and lecturers) for presenting data on accessible informal and non-conventional learning spaces and their usage.PR4: Learning communities for students’, lecturers and university administrationDeliverables will include 5 learning communities with students’, lecturers and university administration addressing technologically enhanced informal and non-conventional learning spaces to enhance inclusion and support students with barriers.PR5: Recommendations and guidance to promote inclusive and supportive informal learning spacesDeliverables will include recommendations and guidance material for students, lecturers, university administration and key stakeholders to promote inclusive and supportive informal learning spaces and mitigate existing barriers and inequalities.Besides these project results an important outcome of the project will be the established networks and knowledge transfer between participating institutions, involved target groups and stakeholders.NIILS will provide the first step on the way to create inclusive and sustainable learning spaces that caters to students’ and lecturers’ well-being through use of technology in higher education institutions. Thus, the project outcomes will contribute to the development of a high-performing and inclusive digital education ecosystem in European higher education institutions."