Knowledge transfer from Universities is universally recognised as an effective way to add value to society and the economy. Sharing knowledge, encouraging innovation and developing commercial activities all form an integral part of the knowledge economy and underpin innovation and the resulting economic growth and societal development. With the economic growth in Latin America more attention is being paid to the role and contribution of Universities in providing such knowledge. Yet, in many cases the research infrastructure, the capacity and capability to support Doctoral level research and the management of the research process and infrastructure are variable and in some cases highly limited and fragmented. New knowledge needs to be managed through a good research process and infrastructure or innovation will not occur/reach market. This requires a clear research strategy for the University and the development of an institutional research culture. The process is facilitated and sustained through the development of PhD and other forms of Doctoral students (DBA). The project aims to build the capacity of Latin American Universities to develop their research culture and construct focused, relevant and meaningful research strategies which support the need for innovation and new knowledge in the economy. Secondly, in order to support the creation of new knowledge the sustainability of contributions of the Universities to the society and economy, the project will develop the rigor, quality and transferability of Doctoral provision by building the capability and capacity for Doctoral supervision skills and Doctoral student training in Latin American Universities. The outcome from the project is a roadmap for research strategy development and a toolkit for shaping a research culture in a Latin American University, paired with a Doctoral Support Network and a curriculum of tools and techniques to help students and supervisors successfully navigate their Doctoral journey.

LASIN aims to effectively support and promote social innovation as a means to achieve sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth, social cohesion and equity in Latin America, through intercultural, curricular and extracurricular activities. It will achieve this by establishing Social Innovation Support Units (SISU) within the Partner Countries to promote and support University-social enterprise cooperation, social entrepreneurship and graduate employability with a particular emphasis on social innovation projects, incubation and training. A range of learning and teaching tools will be developed, at a formal level through the development of a doctoral programme and more informally through CPD training of stakeholders in social innovation as well as through books and reports and a social innovation platform – a virtual space for sharing social innovation practices and learning outcomes. The project will establish international cooperation and internationalisation through a network of SISUs across the region introducing a training, mentoring and transfer scheme to ensure that there is an effective roll-out of the scheme beyond the original partnership. In addition, the project will specifically aim to involve local communities and in particular disadvantaged groups to give them access to University facilities and strengthen the ties between HEIs and their local social environment. There are at least two HEI partners representing each Partner country, one of which has experience at delivering social innovation training and other initiatives within their country and beyond. The EU Partners have a wide experience of delivering international innovation projects and embedding social innovative initiatives within their own institutions.

The objective is to establish a global network of remote controlled pendulum experiments for science education purposes and capacity building in higher education.The project main innovation will consist in the deployment of a network of pendulums distributed across the world.These pendulums are therefore remote experiments will allow students/general public to directly collect data from distinct points of the globe and study the physical characteristics of our planet on their own.The pendulum experiment has always been used transversely in different school levels and contexts, due to its simplicity yet rich in scientific information, making it a great experiment to provide diversified objectives, encompassing various educational levels and for developing a project able to promote cooperation for innovation and exchange of good practices between the involved actors.Experimental apparatuses will be accessed remotely via a public web portal, enabling real-time access to the pendulums and experimental data collected, watching live videos stream and provide access to digital quality educational content, seamlessly integrated with the experiment.The main outcomes are: Establish the 1st global scope scientific remote experiment (Collecting experimental data in real time at a planetary scale; Students will be able to measure and conclude about one of earth’s physical characteristics on their own; Accessible to all students/general public via a dedicated web portal).Improving Science Education (Deliver high quality on-line remote experiments: serving education anytime, anywhere.Supporting scientific promotion by providing a modern, state-of-the-art educational asset Deliver open e/b-learning activities and supporting content); Capacity building in experimental learning (Promoting the professional development of staff and youth workers in ICT methodologies;Achieve a low-cost maintenance network, which operation and evolution can be supported sustainable by its participants)

The IRUDESCA project (from its Spanish acronym, Integración Regional, Universidad y Desarrollo Sostenible en Centro America) aims at strengthening relations between Central American and European universities and the social and economic fabric, as part of a new way of understanding economic models, based on cooperation, sustainability, respect for the environment and people as well as the role and responsibility of universities in the training of professionals and entrepreneurs committed to a smart economic growth of their countries. IRUDESCA focused on entrepreneurship education by providing training to entrepreneurs giving special attention to contents related with business cooperation, the creation of sustainable value chains at the regional level, and the improvement of productivity and competitiveness of micro, SMEs and cooperatives. The project proposed new methods of practical training and real case studies in business and industry (through the Work Package 2.4: Double Coach Assistance (GA) that aims at supporting the development of innovative ideas for sustainable projects and students international exchange between Central American partner universities and countries involving the companies related with the Business Entrepreneurship Projects), with a strong focus on regional integration. In short, IRUDESCA proposed University-Business Cooperation and new university guidance and tutoring services for the students, in collaboration with the business sector.The project focused its approach on the articulation of a European and Central American Universities Network that act in coordination in the definition and implementation of a common modular training program connected with the business and productive sectors of the participating countries.Thus, the project created two new modules of 90 hours each (with a 2 CAC - Central American Academic Credits - each), a transversal module of 45 hours (1 CAC), and an online training course for 24 teachers from the Project partners in Central America. Through these new modules, 240 students (20 students per University, 40 per country) have been formed. The modules focused on the topics of business innovation and value-chains development, creating eco-sustainable SMEs and innovative managerial skills. The modules had, as an educational methodology, the development of Business Entrepreneurship Projects (PEE, from its Spanish acronym). A Network of Coaches was organized based on a system of coaching structured with 2 coaches (1 academic + 1 business) with the role of advising students in the definition of the PEE and its implementation in the real economy of their countries. Students were divided into groups of 5 and each group will develop one Project (4 groups and 4 PEE per University). From the total of 48 Projects, the top 12 (1 Project per University) were selected by an Academic Committee (CA, from its Spanish acronym) and the students involved in these projects participated in an International Internship Program (PIP, from its Spanish acronym). IRUDESCA’s results have been transferred to other universities in Central and Latin America as well as companies and organizations in the productive sectors. This was accomplished (i) with the support of 6 National Working Groups (GTN, from its Spanish acronym) that established for the Project, (ii) through the dissemination of a Project’s Newsletter (Spanish + English + Portuguese), and the organization of 12 Communication Conferences (2 in each partner country) during the Project’s lifetime and a Final Regional Conference.