As operational objectives V.I.R.TU.A.L. aims to di:- develop teaching methodologies availing of technology and/or ICT tools and develop teacher’s ability to incorporate Digital Technologies in teaching- equip students / learners with competencies to use/access tools, software and platforms- increase interaction between teachers and students- increase the level of understanding and reduce the grasping time and the effort that students need to learn information by using 3D concepts instead of 2D ones- offer a better delivery of basic knowledge even for complex issues, higher learning efficiency and better learning experience by AR/VR techniques- foster cooperation between VET and tourism industry by organizing conjoint sessions to co-design digital didactics materials- improve the level of competences, skills and employability potential of VET learners through new and innovative VET educational programs, in particular by applying innovative technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality in the VET institutions involved (AR) and simulators to facilitate the delivery of practical learning but also to improve the effectiveness of face-to-face and online teaching in long-term VET (Education 4.0)- establishing bridges of collaboration between training and tourism industry as means to ensure the proper usage of Education 4.0 at Western Balkan VETs- integrate the contribution of entrepreneurs (business associations, individual companies, etc.) in the production of innovative teaching materials capable of guaranteeing the practical approach required in VET as well as in study programs;- foster the exposure of staff, managers, policy makers and high-level teachers to approaches that bring the labor market closer to VET (dual learning, development of curricula with private sector partners, secondary schools).

STEM for ALL - STEFORA is a result of the self-as the results from the on-going STINT project funded by the Swedish Government, where diversity and gender equality are identified as topics of interest aiming at sharing knowledge and experiences in terms of frameworks and empirical studies to investigate Generation Z’s enrolment and involvement in the development of STEM. The on-going (STINT) project was designed by LNU and RIT (AUK), for starting a long-term collaboration in academic development with RIT (AUK) and with other HEIs in Kosovo and the region, for supporting internationalization and enhancement of HEIs’ STEM capacities. A part of the core activities of the project are designed to address the findings of self-assessments and strategic meetings between LNU and beneficiary HEIs in Kosovo and Albania from December, 2021. The other focus is to take advantage of the Committee for Women's RIghts and Gender Equality (FEMM) Study produced by the European Parliament. As such, STEFORA’s is designed with a holistic approach around three wide/general project objectives: (1) digital citizenship focusing on mitigating institutional barriers, (2) apply universal design principles in formal and non-formal learning activities including premises, and (3) adopt norm critical approaches to raise cultural awareness and foster gender sensitive education, in the target countries specific to STEM engagement for women.

Information Technology (IT) is a key aspect for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). IT is present in almost all HEIs activities and, as a result of this importance, is a strategic asset that needs to be managed in an effective and efficient way. Moreover, IT will transform the way education is delivered, managed, and accessed by students. On the other hand, IT Governance is one of the concerns for organizations all over the world. IT Governance is the organizational capacity to control the formulation and implementation of IT strategy and in this way ensure the fusion of business and IT. Apart from generic IT Governance models and standards (COBIT, Calder-Moir, ISO/IEC 38500, …), literature reported several efforts on IT Governance for HEIs, being University-oriented IT Governance Frameworks in Spain, one of the most important, cited, and recent ones and the pioneering work from Juiz. This project gathered a set of researchers from four European universities with a wide experience in developing and deploying IT Governance (including ITG4U and dFogit) framework models from three different countries (Spain, Germany, and Norway) to develop, adapt and test a new IT governance framework to be implemented in several Universities in Albania. The project was developed in three main blocks: first, the training and capacitation of stakeholders, second, the assessment and development issues, and third the deployment. Results of this project include a better governance model for IT in Albanian HEIs as well as an overall modernization of the governance processes for HEIs and a contribution of the cooperation between EU and Albania.

Since 2013, Albania is going through a process of structural reforms on several areas. The reform on territory administration (Law 115/2014) reduced the number of the local units to 64 municipalities. Both rural and urban areas constitute now these new larger and more complex territorial units. The local administration has a limited knowledge on sustainable territory administration of both rural and urban areas and their interactions. Secondly Albania is moving forward on its process of joining the EU. Implementation of the acquis communautaire, requests necessary reforms for Albanian government on national as well as local institutions. Thirdly the reform on higher education and scientific research of 2015 (Law Nr 80/ 2015), created a new type of third cycle degree Master called Executive Master which adapts even more the teaching offer with the job market needs. The main objective of the project is to address new job market needs induced by new and forthcoming Albanian public policies by collectively designing 9 teaching modules on sustainable territory administration, agricultural policy and negotiation, as well as innovation on rural areas.The project tends to improve the classical way of curricula building by proposing adapted teaching modules build up by building blocks that will serve to several teaching level (i.e. professional master, Master of science and executive master). This will increase the possibilities of collaboration among HEI-s (public and non-public) that want to build up master degrees dealing on the same issues without being competitorsThe project is focused on a strong relation with the job providing institutions and the importance of the practical work that will be projected, conducted and evaluated jointly with actors of the sector. The project will capitalize the practical and theoretical findings of their own students and lecturers by using them as theoretical and case studies in master teaching modules.

The general objective of this project is to contribute in the development of the research and innovation capacities of HEIs in Albania and Kosovo by enhancing their institutional capabilities, staff skills and networking.For both countries, improved capacities are needed in terms of the HEIs research management and adopted methodologies, but most importantly a closer cooperation of the universities with other actors in the innovation ecosystem, especially local actors as businesses and international partners. The cause for poor performance in both countries, in terms of innovations, lays not only in the economic structure of Albania and Kosovo (dominantly composed by SMEs), but also on the underdeveloped capacities of the HEIs, and the weak links they have developed locally and internationally. The needs analysis for both countries reveals two major fields for action:- The need to improve the HEIs capacities for research and innovation,- The need to foster the links and cooperation among the actors in the innovation ecosystem.As a result, the project seeks to support the development of capacities for research and innovation in intra and inter institutional level.The foreseen outputs can be summarized as follows:- Newly established/ strengthened research and innovation support structures- Modernized teaching and mentoring methodologies that enhance students’ capacities for research - Trained researchers and managers - Research quality indicators developed- Enhanced International linkages through interdisciplinary research groupsThe short term impact is to have increased capacities for research in the HEIs participating in the project, as well as generate synergy and a stronger cooperation among them.The expected long term impact is improved research performance in quantitative and qualitative terms.