The project came out as a practical answer to the context of the ageing population in EU. The needs of the beneficiaries targeted and then involved in the project showed that qualified medical assistance for palliative medicine in the partner countries was scarce and in many situations palliative health-care assistants acquired basic knowledge and skills on the job. The need to train qualified medical staff to meet the growing demand of assistance in the field of palliation in EU is a must. How to do this in a qualified, standardised way and with knowledge and skills aligned to the most recent research findings in the field was the practical challenge to be met and jointly answered in the project by the EU partnership. The project created a very comprehensive interdisciplinary MOOC which offers 20 fundamental palliative medicine procedures. Each procedure has a description that follows a standardised approach, with videos to illustrate how the procedure is being done, including the communication that accompanies the performance of that procedure and with a linguistic unit that practices that specialised communication flow. The 20 procedures with the videos and the accompanying linguistic units are available in 6 EU languages: DT, EN, FR, IT, ES, RO.The interdisciplinary approach is definitely an innovation where the medical content is fertilised by the linguistic approach; due to the inter-disciplinarity proposed by this resource, combined knowledge and skills from the medical and linguistic fields ensue plus specialised communication skills in the domain of palliative medicine are practise.The MOOC approach was a total innovation for all the countries involved in connection to the specialised field of palliative medicine. Added to this the pedagogy specific to technology-enriched education is a first applied to resources from the domain of palliative care. Collaborative learning and evaluation of knowledge and skills, networking and constructivism at the basis of introducing and practising skills for palliation through the MOOC resources and techniques are innovatively applied to a vocational field much indebted otherwise to classic teacher-centred approaches. The project covers the following specific objectives:- Promote stronger coherence between different EU and national transparency and recognition tools and ensure that skills are recognised across borders by identifying, defining and standardizing the palliative medical and nursing skills, which allow students across Europe to be active participants in clinical routine after their first year of medical studies.- Improve the level of key competences and skills, with particular regard to their relevance for the labour market (everyday medical practice), through strengthened cooperation between the world of education and training and the world of work; - Improve the teaching and learning of languages and promote the EU's broad linguistic diversity and intercultural awareness- Develop innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning and eLearning materials which support students both during their skills training and their practical module- Foster quality improvements, innovation excellence and internationalisation at the level of education and training institutions, in particular through enhanced transnational cooperation between education and training providers and other stakeholdersStarting with a partnership of 9 partners from 4 countries having complementary significant expertise and experience both academic (medical: P1, P2, P5, P6; linguistic & training: P3, P8, P9) and in the world of work (P4, P7); the project addresses and have a consistent impact on its direct target groups: - Lecturers & students in Medical Universities- (Foreign) in-service medical staff - Social assistants or other staff dealing with palliative care (hospitals/hospices/homecare)- Language teachers/trainers in medical institutions- Volunteering bodies - Educational centres- Companies active in social corporate responsibilityMain project results are:-Specialized research of medical literature and practice about palliative care in Romania, Italy, Spain and Belgium-Guide of 20 Medical Procedures in 6 languages, topics covered are: Catheterisation; Paracentesis; Automatic syringe; Bed transfer; Conspiracy of silence; Active listening; Communicating news; Spiritual assessment; Nutrition; Oral care; Patient bath; Pain assessment; Pain prescribing; Burn out syndrome; End of life care; Terminal phase; Prevention Ulcer; Awareness level; Patients’ network; Caregivers’ needs.-20 videos with simulation of palliative care procedures-120 language units for 6 languages-2 MOOCs in the fields of palliative care and medical communication-7 Educational Toolkits published on hard copies with DVDs (319 copies)-Project website - http://medlang.eu -1.469 people directly involved by the project activities and other 320.000 reached

"Early school leaving (ESL) is an obstacle to economic growth and employment. In 2012, nearly 5.5 million young people between 18 and 24 years had not finished upper secondary education and were not in education and training. On average, the unemployment rate of these early school leavers is 40.1%, compared to 23.2% overall youth unemployment in Europe. Tackling early school leaving is a stepping stone towards improving the opportunities of young people and for supporting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. (EC, 2013). The struggle against early school leaving (ESL) has become a main priority of EU countries especially in the “Strategy Europe 2000”. It combines prevention and mediation focusing on a main goal: each youngster should be able to have all chances to build a future and therefore to succeed in life. Involving all the members of the Educative community, together with public authorities, should allow to offer alternative solutions to each youngster facing difficulty at school.In order to struggle against ESL, extra-curricular activities have been offered outside school, mainly in sensitive urban areas (suburbs, areas characterized by high level of unemployment, single parents, high level of drop outs). Children and youngsters are proposed different kinds of activities allowing them to learn a language, mathematics or any other discipline through games or social activities. The idea , in complement to school, is to give self -confidence and hope to youngsters who feel lost and abandoned by school. These activities combine different profiles of ""educators""- teachers (at chool) work in close relation with volunteers and paid professionals. Diverse pedagogical approaches, different but complementary, have been implemented. This alternative approach may re-engage youngsters who might be faced to difficulties at school to find their way back to school by testing other pedagogical methods with adults (professionals in associations or local authorities) who are not supposed to assess their work but to support them in improving the assessment they will receive at school. This ""detour strategy"" has been enhanced in educative activities offered outside school (through games, sport, cultural activities...) to bridge the gap between informal and non formal learning (outside school) and formal learning (at school). A pionner project, initiated on a European level - the SAS project , 2012-2014- focussed on Volunteering as an alternative pedagogy to re-engage youngsters who might be faced to ESL.The Schola project aims at designing :1. a tool and method for professionals -teachers at school and educators outside school- in order to support them to be able to identify and assess the skills and competences acquired and/or to be developed by youngsters through a volunteering and therefore to support their work among youngsters facing difficulties at school or already early school leavers. Inspired by the Key competences for lifelong Learning (EU, 2006), basic and transversal skills will be identified and assessed on the basis of the experience acquired by youngsters facing difficulties at school through a voluntary experience with a link with skills & competences required at school2. a mentoring for professionals will combine theoretical and practical content- a knowledge on Early school leaving (ESL) and the strategies offered to struggle against it ; an explanation of the roles played by the different educators ; a reminding of the different types of learning (formal, non-formal, informal) ; making work together on the ground different profiles of educators (teachers inside school and professionals outside school) ; a transfer of the experience acquired the first year among professionals 3. a final ebook will be published as pedagogical support for the Schola strategy to be spread among the networks built in the 5 countries gathering the feedback of the participantsThe Schola project addresses educators in the broad sense - professionals and volunteers working with youngsters facing difficulties at school or already drop outs. The project will be carried out transnationaly as the outputs of the PISA study have proved the useful impact of transnational comparison to promote and implement educative policies. The Schola gathers countries with different educative backgrounds where non formal and informal learning is differently taken into account such as France and Belgium where some efforts have been made to enhance non formal and informal learning (at least amoing adults) and Poland, Italy or Slovenia where formal learning is still the main reference for assessing learning outcomes of pupils/students."

Faced with a so-called ‘quadruple burden of disease’, the South Africans’ health situation is challenged in various aspects. For this reason, SA President Jacob Zuma announced in his state of the Nation that health, and more specifically building a high-quality caring capacity and promoting a healthy lifestyle, is one of the principal priorities of the government to work on in the coming 5 years. In addition, there are a serious shortage of health (care) professionals (700 000 – 1.3 million) which undermines the countries’ ability to improve health outcomes and performance of health systems. In addition to the quantitative need for more training and education of health(care) professionals, the SA department of health also urges for improvement of current health(care) education so that (future) health professionals are better equipped in addressing SA’s quadruple burden of disease. Patient-centredness, a mind shift from 'cure to care' and target group empowerment are key in health(care) provision.In the Caring Society (CASO) project, 3 SA HEI’s (CPUT, UCT, UWC) will closely collaborate with 3 highly experienced (Urban) European HEI’s that have ample knowledge and expertise on (1) placing health(care) learners in community clinical settings (Avans); (2) teaching more basic healthy lifestyle and enhanced physical activity education (LUAS) and (3) involving local communities in health(care) education and focus on strengthening the competence level and professional position of the health(care) professional (KdG). Together they will co-create 3 highly innovative 15 ECTS (or its SA equivalence) programmes which will be attuned to local health needs thanks to the involvement of a range of local stakeholders (associated partners). By working in such a quadruple helix setting, CASO will improve the quality of SA Higher Education in the field of health and health care and simultaneously empower and support selected target groups/end-users to face SA’s health challenges.

In 2014, a new law on the provision of childcare services in the so called children's group came into effect in the Czech Republic which enabled to run facilities providing childcare services for children in the age from 1 year. A preschool for children so small (also nursery school, pre-primary school) used to be a popular concept in the Czech Republic before the Velvet Revolution. The nurseries used to be run as healthcare facilities and children were taken care of by healthcare personnel – nurses.Currently, the so called children’s groups are designated for children from the age of 1 and are complementary to kindergartens which accept children from the age of 3. There is demand for the services of children’s groups from parents who are willing to return to the labour market soon after the child's birth. The demand has also risen after the new law on state social support came into effect, which enables parents to get the parental benefits in shorter time as it is standard in more developed EU states (Nordic countries, Germany, Austria etc.). The problem we are facing now is that there is lack of qualified nurses who have competencies and experience needed for taking care of children so young. In the ProChil project we have formed a partnership with partners who already have experience in this field, and we exchanged know-how in the area of ECEC professional education and we created a new set of materials for an educational programme for nurses-to-be. The project involved 7 partners from 6 countries - preschool facilities, NGOs, entreprises and a university. Each of the partners brought special expertise to the project and together they created the following ouptuts: 1) comparative study of early child education and care in the partner countries 2) curriculum of a course for future nurses 3) worksheets for the course for future nurses based on the Montessori approach 4) one pilot module for web based learning The educational programme we created during the project contains the following 6 chapters chosen carefully by the partners: 1)The Pedagogical Work of an ECEC professional (by MBM Training and Development Centre, UK)2)The Developmental Stages of a Child and its Socialization (by Paizontas/Playing, GR)3)Pedagogical Approaches based on Montessori System of Education (by Montessori mateřská škola a klub Kladno, CZ)4)Specific Educational Situations and Approach to Children with Special Needs (by Brudhammar Forskola, S)5)Guiding Children towards Hygiene Habits (by Montessori mateřská škola a klub Kladno, CZ)6)Application of the Healthy Lifestyle Principles according to the Age of the Child (by Asisttel, ES)Apart from these six chapters the curriculum is completed by 3 annexes:Annex 1: Born to socialize methodology (by Karel de Grote University College, Belgium)Annex 2: Worksheets for testing the acquired knowledgeAnnex 3: Learning Activities for face to face learningThe outputs were disseminated towards ECEC professionals, future ECEC professionals and also towards policy makers in the partner countries in order to improve the child care systems with regards to best practices in the other European countries. The educational programme was pilot tested during the project and in the Czech Republic the programme will be prepared for accreditation by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2020.The pilot module is a base for future reference and for future development of web-based educational programmes for nurses.

COSMOS (Creating Organisational Structures for Meaningful science education through Open Schooling for all) uses socio-scientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL) as a pedagogical means for opening up schools to their communities through a transformation process, aiming to create new partnerships within communities that can foster science education for all citizens, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or cultural background. To transform and open schools from an 'inwards' to an 'outwards' mode of engagement in, with and for their communities, our open schooling approach is unique in combining key pivotal elements of innovative constructivist pedagogy, teacher education, and transforming school organisational culture. We will (a) establish Core ORganisational structures for Promoting Open Schooling (CORPOS) in primary and secondary schools to facilitate community engagement. CORPOS will (b) support the creation of Communities of Practice (CoP), which include non-formal and informal education providers, enterprises, families, other stakeholders. The CoP will engage in SSIBL focusing on relevant socio-scientific issues, ensure engagement of all societal actors, and create significant life experiences, enhancing students' interest in science and science careers. We will (c) ensure the viability and sustainability of open schools by working closely with science teachers, stakeholders and school leadership, offering teacher professional development, supporting networking and collaboration and capacity building. The COSMOS consortium (12 partners, 7 countries) provides transdisciplinary cooperation and expertise in non-formal and formal science education, science teacher education, educational organisation and leadership, and strong societal links within communities, all of which warrant the successful implementation of COSMOS. The resulting tools, policy briefs and roadmaps will be used by schools across Europe further impacting communities through science education.