<< Objectives >>We want to ensure that sufficient qualified personnel is available for the jobs that are needed for de-carbonization. We do this by making pupils and students aware of available and emerging jobs and courses and explaining to them how they contribute to the energy transition. These opportunities are not always very well known for pupils and students, creating a barrier for them to choose these professions when they enter further education or the labor market.We want to overcome this barrier.<< Implementation >>Energy challenges with Energy students NLEnergy challenges with Energy students SloveniaQuantitative and qualitative research on impact of our energy challenges, resulting in an impact analysisMultiplier events for new teachers, further education and employers NLMultiplier events for new teachers, further education and employers SloveniaTransnational project meeting in the NetherlandsTransnational partner meeting in SloveniaProject management activities<< Results >>- Interest of students in saving energy and de-carbonization. More students pursuing studies in fields that contribute to de-carbonization. - Savings of energy use and CO2-emissions in the schools. We aim at an average of 15% in energy savings.- 375 children participating in our surveys. 15 teachers participating in our interviews.- 25 new stakeholders to continue our activities after the project in the NL and 15 in Slovenia.- Cohesive group of partners that can easily communicate together.

<< Background >>The DIGITECH project is about the Development of dIGItal and information TECHnological competences by teachers and takes place in the context of the COVID-19 crisis with the climate crisis and the energy transition in the background. This Erasmus+ project focuses on the digital skills that school teachers from both primary and secondary schools need for digital teaching during and after the COVID-crisis. Based on experience, work needs to be done especially on the way of teachers in coping with digital learning environments. Hence, our main goal with the DIGITECH project is to decrease and ultimately take away the backlog of current teachers in using digital skills in teaching.The time of having a separate IT department has passed. If you want to work with digital skills, you have to do this in every terrain. No matter if you teach mathematics, chemistry, languages, or any other subject, we have to work on the digital skills of both teachers and students in all areas. In this project, we are going to work on the improvement of digital skills in the area of sustainability and energy transition. We firstly focus on teachers and then think of how we can train and equip them to teach their students the digital skills that they need.<< Objectives >>This project aims to train teachers to work with digital tools after the pandemic, building further on skills and needs developed during the pandemic. We are going to test and improve the developed toolkits in several existing educational programmes on sustainability, with a focus on the Energy Challenges programme.We will firstly focus on facilitating discussions and evaluations of teacher’s experiences with using digital tools in the classroom. We will use our lessons learned to improve and strengthen digital educational tools, make them more sustainable, future-proof, and pandemic-proof. We will look at how the tools are embedded in the participating schools and which capacity and skills are needed to further integrate them. Secondly, we are investigating how we can improve the content of our developed toolbox and develop a training programme. To do this, we are testing it in multiple schools executing different existing educational programmes from our international project partners. Tknika, the center promoted by the Deputy Ministry of Vocational Education and Training of the Education Department of the Basque Government, will be a central supporting partner in this. Tknika is modeled after some of the world’s most advanced vocational training centers.<< Implementation >>The duration of the project will be two years. Through digital platforms and regular partner meetings, we will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and co-creation of digital teaching methods. Through action-based research methods, we will explore together with teachers, students and actors from outside the classroom how digital tools can improve education and also how these tools serve to connect students to the energy transition in the real world. It will be suitable for Industry and Digitalization 4.0. The tools will be collected within one toolbox that builds digital skills capacity and will be supplemented by the local context. It serves in such a way that students together with teachers can come up with creative solutions to solve the climate crisis with the use of digital tools and skills and subsequently initiate action and mobilize actors around them through digital platforms. The international programme of Energy Challenges '2IMPRESZ' will be introduced, as a pilot for digitalization in primary and secondary education. During the project, there will be three physical two-day gatherings (if possible) in a central place that can be reached by train. Traveling by train contributes to the image of a Green Recovery after COVID-19, and stimulates the idea that flying is not necessary anymore in a digital era. In these two-day gatherings, teachers’ experiences with using digital tools during the COVID-19 pandemic will be evaluated and discussed. We will use a design-thinking-inspired method of diverging and converging problems to come up with solutions. We will co-create digital tools and methods that help to teach in an efficient and more sustainable way.<< Results >>In the project, teachers will have learned how to adapt their teaching to the needs of Industry and Digitalization 4.0, with lessons learned of the COVID-19 crisis on the background. There will be optimal use of the digital tools available. The teachers of the sustainability education programmes from our international partners will have been trained to use digital tools to keep their students involved and enthusiastic, and to stimulate creativity in new, innovative ways. Also, the content of the developed toolbox will have been improved to optimally stimulate the digital skills of both teachers and students. The lessons learned on how to foster digital skills through sustainability education and a training programme for capacity building will be disseminated in the four participating EU member states. By integrating our findings into 2IMPRESZ and other existing educational programmes operating in both primary and secondary schools, the results of this project will remain and evolve in the future.

CONTEXT & RATIONALEAs the UK and EU strive to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets, and pledging to the Paris Agreement, it is certain that newer green and sustainable technologies will be adopted powered by renewable energy sources. One such source is “green” hydrogen (H2), which can be used in transport, industry and domestically as a means of decarbonisation. Demonstrating their commitment, the UK government announced £90M funding in February 2020 to reduce carbon emissions, with £28m specifically for projects related to green H2 production in order to move away from “grey” H2 (produced using fossil fuels). Meanwhile, in the wider European Union, The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) which consists of the European Commission, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research, has provided funding to many H2 projects. The funding, from FCH JU and other sources, including private and national/regional funding in Horizon 2020 equates to over €1.5B. The funded projects (in progress and already completed) demonstrate the viability of utilising green H2 while also attesting to the commitment of transitioning to renewable energy use by many countries. H2 can be used in a range of technologies; including fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and combined heat and power (CHP) units. H2 offers many benefits as a fuel source and energy carrier including the ability to store and transport a large amount of energy. When used to power a fuel cell, it produces only water as a by-product of combustion.Collectively, the partnership has recognised a clear need that must be addressed; as new green H2 technologies (and associated systems) are adopted there must be a fully equipped workforce with the ability to work with H2 in a critically safe manner. It has been recognised that this transition will result in the creation of many skilled jobs transnationally;therefore there will be a need for appropriate safety training, technical competency training and accreditation for those workers moving into the sector (including the manufacture of H2 vehicles, H2 refuelling stations and fuel cell power generators). Specifically, the following has been identified as being required for the future workforce:•A sound knowledge and understanding of the potential hazards of H2 in its various states.•Knowledge of safety implications involving working with H2.•Technical skills.•Accredited safety skills.Universities already focus on higher level skills and knowledge (undergrad/Masters level). However, vocational skills& accreditation relating to fundamental health and safety competence are not widely in existence or easily accessible in the partner locations. Therefore, a specialist curriculum is required, not to develop a new discipline of engineer or technician, but to develop technical ability and competency within existing disciplines (mechanical, electrical etc.) and for VET learners in order to upskill the many different sectors who will also be directly impacted by the transition to green H2 utilisation. Given this context, in order to develop the appropriate skills pipeline, research will be carried out by the partners in the relevant locations with stakeholders to directly align skills development with industry needs in this sustainable sector. OBJECTIVESThe transnational partnership aims to develop a modular training course enhanced with practical training focused on the subject of H2 safety skills. The project will also seek to attain and implement a suitable method of accreditation for the course. The course will therefore allow future workers to become fully competent and attain accreditation in key skills for this critical sector. HySkills will also develop a comprehensive teacher training programme to ensure VET trainers have the disciplinary knowledge, technical expertise and pedagogical techniques to effectively deliver VET for this sector. The main objectives are:1.To undertake a comparative needs analysis across 5 EU countries to map the relevant safety and technical skills of future workforce in the H2 sector in order to aid the design and development of the HySkills curriculum and learning outcomes.2.To enhance the labour market relevance of VET learners by designing a modular training course and practical learning to develop accredited safety skills with the intention of creating a workforce fully equipped to integrate into the H2 sector.3.To initially strengthen the key competences of 90 learners through the pilot delivery of the HySkills modular training course within the partner institutions.4.To develop and pilot a teacher training programme to 50 teachers and trainers to enable the effective delivery of specialised cross-disciplinary engineering VET.5.To introduce modern training delivery methods (interactive case studies, project-based learning) and open access pedagogical resources (e.g. online toolkit) for staff and learners across Europe building capacity for the future H2 workforce

<< Background >>The VETTER project aims at improving the evaluation and monitoring process of the internships carried out by VET students, as this process sometimes lacks quality and does not take into account several dimensions of the students’ life. After analysing the situation in the different countries that conform this partnership, the members of the consortium realised that there was a need to be covered in terms of the evaluation and monitoring of internships. The VETTER project aims at improving these processes, providing new methodologies and innovative methods that can make the monitoring and evaluation of the internship period of students more transparent and useful for all parties involved. In this way, the VETTER project aims to work along the lines of the Erasmus+ priority of supporting the development of VET programmes which offer a balanced mix of vocational skills and create work-based learning opportunities well aligned to all economic cycles, evolving jobs, and working methods and key competences. In order to deliver a high-quality VET training, it is necessary to adapt the programmes to the needs of the labour market, as well as to strengthen the communication and coordination among the agents involved in the process: VET centres, students and companies. This project aims to promote the experience of VET placements, the quality of life at work and synergies between organisations and VET centres for a better management and coordination of work placements.<< Objectives >>The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of the internship period of students in the companies. Also, the project aims at improving the involvement and participation of the three key actors in the environment of VET training: VET centres, companies and students. The project also wants to provide different tools that allow both VET centres and companies to identify the needs of students, and also mechanisms to implement changes to cover these needs.To guarantee the quality of the internship periods within VET through a greater participation of the companies and the monitoring of minimum standards of quality to ensure the provision of health standards at work in a holistic way.•To study and adapt methodologies of good practices.•To identify needs affecting this sector.•To raise awareness among educators and employers of the importance of implementing quality internships.•To provide the actors involved in the internship periods with the necessary knowledge and skills to implement changes and adapt the internships period to the specific challenges of the market always guarantying a set of quality standards at work.•To create an international cooperation.•To promote quality internship periods that promote the access to the labour market of students upon completion of the VET studies.<< Implementation >>In order to achieve the objectives of the project, the consortium proposes different activities. The first one is the creation of a platform that will host a MOOC that will help the key actors to learn how to make the working environment safer and improve the quality of this environment. The second activity will be the development of the mobile app, which will serve as a method of monitoring the internship period. Then, the partners will create a guide of methodologies that companies and VET centres can apply in order to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the students. Finally, a network of organisations that comply with the objectives and requirements of the project will be created. Apart from the creation of the results, the project will have two piloting activities, one in Result 1 and another one in Result 2. Apart from all these activities, the partners will implement dissemination activities that will ensure that the target groups are aware of the results developed during the project. This will also improve the impact of the results and activities proposed.<< Results >>The first result developed and achieved will be an online platform that will host a MOOC to help VET centres and organisations develop their competences on how to make their working environment safer and improve the quality of the internship period. The second result will be a mobile app for Android users. This app will be used as a tool for monitoring the quality of the internship process, as well as facilitating the work of the tutor. The next result to be developed will be a guide compiling several methodologies that VET centres and companies can apply to their own internal structures. These methodologies will ensure that the evaluation and monitoring process is improved, as well as the whole process of the internships for the students, which will be adjusted to their real needs. Finally, the project plans on developing a network of organisation and a badge to identify all the organisations and institutions that belong to this network. With this result the project’s outcomes can be further spread across the European Union, assuring that the new tools developed will be used by more organisations.

<< Background >>During the pandemic, 95% of Higher Education Institutions were affected. Higher Education institutions worldwide were forced to shift towards an emergency remote teaching (ERT) to respond to the restrictions and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Purcell, W.M., Lumbreras, J., 2021). This situation had its toll on the way assessment took place in HE, which was already affected by the proliferation of technologies in the past couple of decades. Assessment plays a vital role in HE; “it can be a facilitator or bottleneck to innovation in education” (Redecker & Punie, 2017, p.21). Based on the DigCompEdu framework, any attempt to integrate digital technologies into teaching and learning, should take into consideration how digital technologies can enhance existing assessment strategies. At the same time, according to the DigCompEdu authors, it is important to consider how digital technologies can be used to create or to facilitate innovative assessment approaches (Redecker & Punie, 2017, p.21). Digitally-competent educators should be able to use digital technologies within assessment with those two objectives in mind. These two aforementioned objectives are at the heart of the DigitalHEIghts project. According to the European Framework for the Digital Competences of Educators (2017), the digital teaching competence of academic staff is of the low level. The research completed for the OpenEdu Project and its related investigations (OpenCases, OpenCred, OpenSurvey and MOOCknowledge) shows that albeit digital training is a priority in Europe, numerous HEI in Member States do not have a strategic plan for opening up their practices. It is essential for faculty members to re-conceptualise their professional profile, functions and roles, but also, enhance their training and professional competences and skills to keep up with emerging technologies and digital transformation.<< Objectives >>The DigitalHEIghts project aims to promote a sustainable pathway for transforming assessment in higher education, through development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity, and support digital capabilities of the higher education sector, by making use of the DigComp Edu framework for higher education, the Digital Action Plan, the HEInnovate self-assessment tool and the European Education Area policy making and strategies. Within the Digital HEIghts project the aims are to: support the digital upskilling of faculty members within the field of digital assessment; develop integrated learning material in the field of digital assessment that will support faculty members/academics and researchers; provide academics with the opportunity to expand their network and practice mentoring through the use of an interactive map on the E-Learning platform. More specifically, the intention through the project is to enhance educators’ pedagogic competences in assessment through digital means with regard to the following categories identified in the DigCompEdu framework: a) Assessment strategies: to use digital technologies for formative and summative assessment and to enhance the diversity and suitability of assessment formats and approaches b) Feedback and planning: to use digital technologies to provide feedback to learners; to adapt teaching strategies and to provide support, based on the evidence generated by the digital technologies used and to enable learners to understand the evidence provided by digital technologies and use it for decision-making.<< Implementation >>The following activities will be implemented:1. Produce an Internal Communication Protocol2. Produce a Project Management Report – guidelines and Minutes for each meeting3. Produce a Quality Assurance Report4. Piloting activities5. Produce a Pilot reflective report 6. LTTA7. Produce a Dissemination Plan8. Produce a Sustainability plan9. Produce an Impact plan10. Produce the project's e-Brochure and 4 e-newsletters - the documents will be translated in Greek, Italian, German, Portuguese, English11. Website. The website will be updated frequently and is imperative towards the different results of the project 12. All content on the website will be translated in Greek, Italian, English, Portuguese and German13. 3 face to face Transnational Partner Meetings and 3 Virtual Partner Meetings 14. Multiplier Events15. A final Conference<< Results >>The Digital HEIghts project seeks to set forward a clear methodological and strategical path for integration of digital assessment in Higher Education. The project will result in the following outcomes:- PR1 E-Learning Platform with peer mentoring interactive map functionality. This platform will work as a database of the project results (PR2 and PR3) and a dedicated online digital upskilling portal between members of the platform and the broader target audience.- PR2 Online Learning Toolkit for sustainable assessment through digital technologies, accessible in all partner languages and available via the E-learning platform. The toolkit is drawing on the specifications of the DigCompEdu Framework for Educators' Digital Competences.- PR3 A microlearning professional development online course for sustainable assessment through digital technologies. Based on the research methodology, the project results and multiplier events to be produced, what is anticipated, is to produce the following outcomes:1. Internal Communication Protocol – establish the rules of communication among partners (1 document)2. Project Management Report – guidelines and Minutes for each meeting (1 report)3. Quality Assurance Report – Quality Control principles and evaluation framework ongoing, to ensure implementation of maximum standards (Interim and Final reports)4. Pilot testing activities for project result 3 - This phase will involve 10 faculty members in each partner country.5. Pilot reflective report – following piloting of PR3, a pilot reflective report will be produced in M26. The report will incorporate findings from the responses of academics and students who participated in the course. 6. LTTA Report – A reflective evaluation report of the training modules and training activity to take place in Germany, will be produced (1report) between M16 and M18.7. Dissemination Plan – a detailed systematic plan on how the project will disseminate the process and results to its target audience. This report will include and document all dissemination activities of all partners throughout the project lifecycle (1 report).8. Sustainability plan – detailed strategy for how to ensure the project remains beneficial and active beyond its funding period (1 report).9. Impact plan - guidelines with indicators for all development actions (1 report).10. Project's e-Brochure and 4 e-newsletters - the documents will be used for dissemination purposes and will be translated in Greek, Italian, German, Portuguese, English.11. Website - a project website should be published online before month 3 of the project. The website will be updated frequently and is imperative towards the different results of the project. All content will be translated in Greek, Italian, English, Portuguese and German.