<< Background >>COVID 19 exposed how ageism endangers all of society by dividing generations at a time when unity is particularly important. For decades, psychologists’ research has shown that ageism undermines older adults’ mental and physical health by implying they are less capable and more burdensome. The pandemic has exacerbated the portrayal of older people as vulnerable and weak. Similarly, intergenerational tension is also felt among the younger population, as social distancing and other public health measures were primarily aimed to benefit older people, yet the economic and social costs of these measures have been imposed overwhelmingly on young people. At the same time, the failure of younger people to live up to these moral expectations is denounced as selfish and students are stereotyped as reckless. Therein, generational solidarity is at an all-time low. The project grew out of concern for the civic engagement responsibilities of HEIs during the pandemic and the need to do more to help students tackle intergenerational tension, while also meeting community needs. IDOL offers a solution to combat this and rejuvenate the civic service mission of HEIs through intergenerational digital service learning. Therefore, IDOL has been carefully designed to meet the needs of HEI educators and staff, and is aligned with partner needs, some of whom university staff themselves.Our Partners recognize that civic engagement and shared European values are more important than ever. We also know that we NEED to be doing more to tackle these issues, and not just because it meets our “third mission”. Civic engagement and service learning have enormous potential to tackle the multiple negatives impacts of the pandemic, and by engaging more people in service learning and civic activities we contribute conscientiously to the society on whose behalf we are working. Partner recognized that in order to fulfil this objective, we need; i) effective methods to upskill HEI lecturers in digital competences, ii) we need new approaches to pedagogy that enable older and younger students to collaborate together and iii) partners need persuasive resources to showcase service learning as an essential part of HEI education mission. Moreover, in a strategic sense, the project also responds to our need to align our training with wider European trends and policy (eg: European Skills Agenda; EU Renewed Agenda for Higher Education). IDOL’s focus on intergenerational digital service learning will allow us integrate transversal digital and civic competences which have come to the fore in the last year.For the wider HEI sector needs mirror our own partner needs, particularly so amongst ACADEMIC STAFF, while for HE MANAGERS, they are aware that business-focused third mission activities have outstripped civic engagement. They need scalable, practical ways to integrate European values into taught programmes so as to better prepare students for 21st century adult life, and need to provide academics with a broader set of incentives to do so.Finally, IDOL responds to the needs of both younger students (in undergraduate programmes) and older adults, (from our continuous education or lifelong learning programmes) to partake in civic engagement activities- particularly those that build intergenerational solidarity. All our resources need their needs but especially R3, the Hackathons, which will see both groups working purposefully to reflect, deconstruct and reconstruct beliefs and engage in meaningful exchange of knowledge and skills on new intergenerational projects.<< Objectives >>The overall objective of IDOL is clear: to design and develop a new teaching approach which empowers HEI staff and lecturers to implement intergenerational digital service learning through; innovative modes of collaboration, improved digital skills and better understanding of the role of service learning not just a “third mission” activity but as an essential part of HE educational mission.In doing so, we contribute to three important European Priorities. The first is addressing common values, civic engagement and participation. Running through the IDOL project is the message that digital service learning is an essential third mission activity, our resources, especially the Practical Guide to Intergenerational digital service learning (R1) and Digital Service-learning Toolkit (R2) will enable hundreds of HEI educators and stakeholders to better understand this and acquire the knowledge and skills to integrate learning that boosts cultural awareness, value-based learning and active citizenship into exiting educational programmes. We will make an important contribution to the way in which the HEI sector and wider education, approach Digital Transformation and the need for Innovative learning and teaching practices. Service Learning is a proven teaching and learning strategy that is growing in Europe, however, in the context of the pandemic, new norms of social distancing and increasing digitalization requires new forms of practice. IDOL responds by adding two more innovative elements to service-learning practice, making it even more fit-for-purpose in HEIs: 1) The intergenerational focus and 2) The digital aspect of our service learning. These innovative aspects are supported by the Practical Guide (R1) Toolkit (R2), but especially by the IDOL Hackathon Guide. A Hackathon is a contemporary methodology, by encouraging HEIs to use this approach the project is congruent with innovation in both methodology and outcomes.The project aims to have a significant impact on the skills and professional capacities of one of our main target groups: HEI academic staff, tutors and lecturers. As an immediate impact of the project, university educators will have (for the first time) resources and skills to teach intergenerational learning through digital service learning. By engaging fully with the results, the project will enable them to acquire a new mode of collaboration through “tandem teaching” that will equip HEI staff to facilitate intergenerational learning through DSL activities. Ultimately, the project impacts on the professional development of university educators, and this is in turn contributes to the development of digitally proficient organizations who are more responsive to the learning needs of students.In addition, the project will have an immediate impact on students and older learners who participate in IDOL activities, firstly by strengthening key competences relating to service learning/community engagement i.e. creativity, empathy, problem solving etc. Secondly, students/ learners will develop stronger digital skills and consolidate the learning objectives of their HEI study through experiential learning. Moreover, participating in the IDOL hackathon will rebuild intergenerational solidarity fraught by the pandemic through knowledge exchange. Over time, participating students will be more engaged, connected and empowered digital champions and active citizens. Not only will they improve their personal and professional development, they will make a greater positive contribution to society around them.Finally, we expect that the project will spur stakeholders in the HEI sector to understand the need for intergenerational digital service learning and to reflect on how education must continually update to meet labour market and society needs. They will be conscious of IDOL as a valuable part of third mission objectives and not a niche field and reflect on a policy change.<< Implementation >>The project involves three key educational resources (results), as well as the horizontal activities required for successful project execution: management, impact evaluation, promotion and sustainability.RESULTS DEVELOPMENT Our results will be developed in sequential order; the results of the previous one informs the next. Although the IOs can be used independently, they are designed to be cumulative, based loosely on Bloom’s taxonomy moving from information, to comprehension, to application.RESULT 1: Practical guide introduces Intergenerational digital-service-learning. It comes first to enable partners to quickly engage in knowledge sharing about challenges and opportunities for intergenerational digital service-learning education in respective countries, consolidating working relationships and laying the groundwork for the following outputs.RESULT 2: Digital Service-learning Toolkit is our second major activity. This involves developing a new guide on the use of relevant digital tools/apps. It is the most overtly “train the trainers” aspect of our work since we recognize that educators will not teach digital service learning effectively until they are digitally confident themselves.RESULT 3: IDOL Hackathon Guide for IDOL involves creating an opportunity to translate theory into practice, guiding organizations on how to bring together educators, young students and older learners in a 1 or 2 day event that generates creative solutions to existing community problems (potential service learning topics) All resources will be open, published online and free to download and use, and where possible editable formats will be used to enable materials to be adapted and transferred for further use.ROUTE TO IMPACTBuilt around the resources are the transversal and project management activities which enable us to ensure their introduction, effectiveness and longevity as resources for use in European education projects.Impact Evaluation is a key component to ensure results are translated into impact. In the first partner we will carry out an impact+ workshop session to strengthen our understanding of the theory of change implicit in the project.Testing and implementation with the target groups is also essential. 96 HEI educators and 48 HEI students/learners will use the resources. Their experience will contribute to improvements before the final materials and promotion, as well as playing an important role in our multiplier events, wider promotion and sustainability strategy as “ambassadors” to the project’s impact.In terms of promotion, our plan is robust and will be supported by seven events scheduled for month 23/24. They will ensure that our resources are promoted, and that stakeholders actively understand their value and are motivated to introduce them in their own organisations.<< Results >>The most visible result of the project will be the introduction of a new topic of learning – intergenerational digital service learning –which will contribute to modernizing HE policy and practice, empower learners to engage in civic projects and equip HEI’s with an innovative mode of co-cooperation through “tandem teaching”. This will be made possible by providing HE managers and academic staff with a set of flexible tools that enable them to introduce teaching and opportunities to engage in IDOL:TANGIBLE RESULTSRESULT 1: PRACTICAL GUIDE TO INTERGENERATIONAL DIGITAL-SERVICE LEARNING introduces HEI lecturers to the topic with rigorously researched, up-to-date knowledge on the impact of the pandemic on the practice of service learning, education and intergenerational relationships. The guide will provide best practices to shift service learning to digital service learning and will introduce the innovative method of “tandem teaching”. It addresses the Erasmus+ priority for Innovative learning and teaching practices in HEI, as well as civic values/engagement. RESULT 2: DIGITAL SERVICE-LEARNING TOOLKIT will provide practical guidance and tools for HEI educators and lecturers, wishing to incorporate digital service-learning activities into their curricula/teaching strategies, with a focus on increasing their confidence in using digital tools. These tools will practically support HEI staff, students and the older learners to practically implement the service-learning project either partially or fully online. This will address the E+ priority for supporting Digital Capabilities of HE sectors. RESULT 3: IDOL HACKATHON GUIDE will design, develop and implement a transferable and replicable model of HEI led intergenerational e-service learning which has the power and potential to positively build bridges among generations and help students & older learners in HEIs to collaborate beneficially. This will address the E+ priority for Innovative learning and teaching practices. During the project, the following outcomes will be achieved: - 36 HEI Educator will use/test R1: Practical Guide and once launched it will be downloaded more than 240 times during the project lifespan. They will acquire new knowledge and be motivated to implement both digital service learning and the “Tandem teaching” approach.- 36 academic staff will use/test R2: Digital service-learning toolkit and once launched it will be downloaded more than 240 times during the project lifespan. They will significantly increase their confidence in using digital tools.- 24 HEI staff (6/HEI partner) will use/test R3: IDOL Hackathon Guide with a minimum of 48 students & older people. Educators will grow in confidence in this new teaching approach and participants will develop new competences to develop and implement innovative intergenerational social good projects.- At least 190 academics, HE managers & stakeholders will participate in multiplier events. They will gain knowledge of emerging models of intergenerational digital service learning and be more equipped to integrate these across all faculties.As a result of the above:As a result of the above, the project will make a significant contribution to updating the provision of service learning within HEIs, particularly with regard to digital and intergenerational approaches:- Partners and HE Institutions will have more relevant, high quality training products that are free to use.- Lecturers and teaching staff will develop skills needed for 21st education, helping them thrive in the post-pandemic context and navigate the challenges of increased digitalization. - Students and Older people will benefit from improved approaches to service learning, with effective pedagogies and a learning culture that enables inclusion, civic engagement and intergenerational solidarity.Additionally, partners will use the project to facilitate the professional development of their own teaching staff and to better fulfil 3rd mission.

The Primary Objective of SPEC is to initiate a replicable model of learning that enables enterprise centre managers, tenant businesses and learners to adopt sustainable and responsible business practices. Focusing on the dimensions of sustainable practice such as: sustainable buildings (NZEB), energy and resource efficiency, sustainable eco-systems and collective action, the SFEC programme will assist the participant cohort in developing practices that will make a transformative contribution to addressing climate challenges. Many enterprise centre managers want to take measures to improve the sustainability of their centres and gain expertise/learning that they can pass onto their tenants but there is currently no VET training or offering of best practices available to help drive change or improve their own environmental practice as part of an innovative pedagogical process . SFEC’s effort to align national priorities, needs of local communities and high-impact sustainable initiatives through the establishment of robust business models will result in more sustainable, scalable and replicable solutions. OEC, NASEC and ANCES have vast dissemination networks that the project will utilize. The transition to a low-carbon economy means a new economic model is necessary, focused on low-carbon growth, resource efficiency and sustainable development. That presents significant transformational challenges for enterprise where sustainable transitions are highly dependent upon technological solutions: industrialisation has catalysed a linear economy in which take-use-dispose culture is accentuated. A transition to a circular, sustainable economy is essential. The SFEC project will work to:1) Identify best practices that enterprise centres can replicate to reduce their carbon footprint, improve their services/supports and future proof their infrastructures (IO1)2) Guide enterprise centre leaders through strategic sustainability planning which will bring sustainable practices and ideas to fruition via concrete actions (IO2)3) Empower enterprise centre leaders to become Sustainability Educators and Agents of Change capable of teaching and training SME and start up clients about the principles of sustainability and green business (IO3)4) Develop a self-learning sustainability and climate-action online course for Enterprise Centres tenants and wider SME’s to enable them to operate in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and align their sustainability goals with those of the enterprise centres where they are based (IO3)Our target participants span four categories:• Organisations linked to target groups: Enterprise Centres networks in partner countries and across Europe, and businesses and representative bodies for innovation supports companies • Policy makers in terms of energy and sustainability and economic development • Partners’ links to associates, peers, stakeholders and policy makers at regional, national and EU sustainability development networks.• Media - specialist education, energy and sustainability sector press and sustainability influencers will be a useful means of recruiting the aforementioned target groups and we will target relevant sections of media to reach stakeholders across the other three key target groups.Impact is at every level of the project. SFEC will develop the competences of leaders in enterprise centre management in sustainable business practice to include: sustainable buildings (NZEB), energy and resource efficiency, sustainable eco-systems, collective action, state of the art digital technologies and working practices. Impact will take place at every organisational level: Board of Directors, Management Team, Operational Staff, Volunteers. Enterprise centres business advisors, mentors and VET educators will increase their awareness of the importance of sustainable practice capabilities as a specific competence, will grow professionally with the ability to teach new skills through pedagogic strategies & new exposure to digitally adept teaching tools.SME owner, managers & employees, who have not traditionally had access sustainability practices and climate mitigation actions training, will acquire the skills & confidence to undertaken new sustainability projects & are likely to actually do so in the first 6 months after completing the course. This will contribute directly to their professional development as they will strengthen their eco innovation mindset & skills. Last, but not least, will be the economic advantages conferred by the greening of their businesses. SFEC will help partners gain an in-depth specialist knowledge of the contemporary climate change mitigation actions for business and the future-proofing sustainability practices as an innovation driver. SPEC also has impact on Sustainability Advocates: Non-affiliated members, public or otherwise, who may be interested in learning about best practices in the sector.

The SME Cluster Growth project aims at empowering SMEs in the engineering sector to ensure their maturation and stable growth by equipping them with horizontal skills and knowledge. This will be achieved via a collaborative effort of higher education institutions (HEIs), future skills and business growth professionals and university-industry relationship experts that will respectively contribute to the advancement of SMEs’ operational, attitudinal and adaptive capacities. The project will do this via (i) SME cluster growth training (ii) student business consulting, and (iii) a launch of cross-border facility sharing schemes. More particularly, the consortium will:1. Identify cluster growth needs of SMEs in 6 project regions and 65 (6x10 + 1x5) good practices on successful SME growth strategies (Mapping);2. Develop and implement SME growth mobility and training programmes for a group of 60 (6x10) SMEs including workshops, peer learning and cross-border hot desk schemes (Learning); 3. Launch cross-border network support structures in science parks and business organisations in the form of hot desks, university access points, and facility sharing for SMEs to explore growth opportunities (Facility sharing);4. Match 24+ (6x4) MA & PhD students with SMEs to conduct in-house research and 24 (6x4) BA students to take up business challenge projects in the areas facilitating cluster growth (Consultancy & practice-based learning);5. Develop and pilot test the ‘Change of Perspective Programme’ where 6+ academics and 6+ business professionals exchange their workplaces for a day to experience a different environment (Learning);6. Build 6 cluster growth networks through forming stakeholder councils and community and capacity building events in the partner regions and linking the project cluster SMEs to the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) for visibility, network and future collaboration opportunities (Growth).

I-EAS-IT enables SMEs facing an acute business crisis to precisely determine the crisis status, identify causes and initiate appropriate countermeasures. At the same time, (future) entrepreneurs are trained to implement early crisis detection mechanisms to prevent future company crises. The project achieves a sustainable impact by directly securing jobs on the one hand and by professionalizing VET organizations, management consultants, entrepreneurship and SME support infrastructures and by providing first of its kind resources to be implemented into their curricula and services.Experts are increasingly speaking of a renewed impending economic crisis. This crisis will hit the European economy - which has just largely recovered from the previous crisis - particularly hard. This is particularly true for SMEs, often referred to as the backbone of the European economy. Various studies assume that, depending on the country, between 7% and 25% of small and medium-sized enterprises are already in advanced stages of crisis as so-called zombie companies, without having often realised this. The more advanced the stage of the crisis, the more complex and unlikely a successful restructuring becomes. While entrepreneurship support justifiably occupies a special position in European policies, the creation of crisis resilience for SMEs and start-ups must be given greater attention in future.Based on our daily experience and many projects with VET, consultants and support infrastructures, we are realising a great demand for this topic area. At the same time, it becomes clear that the people involved are often overburdened and underestimate the consequences of a looming corporate crisis.Therefore, we build on the existing phase theory on corporate crises and initially research early stage crisis indicators for SMEs. Comparable, practice-relevant studies on this subject area do not yet exist. Building on this, we will develop an app-based, interactive crisis analysis model as well as specific learning resources which will enable SMEs to develop suitable countermeasures. In order to achieve the most sustainable impact possible, we also focus on future generations of entrepreneurs by developing resources that can be integrated into the entrepreneurship curriculum and help to implement crisis prevention mechanisms. To guarantee the widest possible use, we involve VET organisations, trainers, management consultants and support structures (incubators, chambers e.g.) in our work and enable them to professionalise themselves and their services.Specifically, we will:1-Identify the most relevant early phase crisis indicators for SMEs (IO1)2-Develop an innovative curriculum and learning framework for (future) Entrepreneurs (IO2) empowering them to implement early warning systems into their organisations to become more crisis resilient (Stand-alone Online-Course as well as curricula to be implemented by trainers, consultants, VET and Entrepreneurship/SME support structures)3-Develop an interactive crisis analysis tool (IO3) that enables SME owners/managers to identify the phase, the extent and the causes of the crisis. On this basis, individual countermeasures are proposed, and the specific knowledge is provided4-To ensure wide and free access, all produced resources will be shared together with a large variety of additional information on our interactive knowledge exchange platform as OERs (IO4)In doing so, the project addresses the following needs of our target groups and will create sustainable impact for them:a) SME Owners/managers and future entrepreneurs gain a profound understanding of the importance of early detection mechanisms and indicators and are enabled to take appropriate countermeasures. b) VET organisations, trainers, management consultants and support structures such as chambers or incubators are put in a position to sustainably professionalise their services and increase their impact. c) By enabling companies to identify crises at an early stage and take appropriate measures before a crisis causes irreversible effects, we make a sustainable contribution to securing jobs at regional level. Against the background of networked value chains, this strengthens the resilience of the economy at national and EU level.d) Project partners will acquire new strategies, tools and methods for improving the effectiveness of their services. They will improve their own competences in knowledge sharing and strategic relationship building and have a clear understanding of how to sustain and grow the project in the long term.The results of the project are basically universal and, in combination with our multidimensional impact and dissemination strategy, will have a sustainable effect beyond the partner regions. The project is important because we need to ensure that local, mostly SME-based economies are strengthened to be more crisis resilient in order to strengthen the European Economy as a whole.

CONTEXTDigital technology has transformed the way we use visual resources to share knowledge. Today’s business executives prefer processing information through non-text formats, including infographics, photos, graphic storytelling and video and both the influential enGauge report and the EU’s work on digital media literacy has established the importance of visual literacy in the 21st century because of its relation to critical thinking and learning to learn.The topic is especially relevant to engineering education, across all disciplines from mechanical and electrical engineering, to automotive, environmental and computer engineering. While sketching was traditionally used to cultivate spatial reasoning and problem solving, the recent digital technology transformation has rekindled debate how today’s engineers should use the myriad digital tools available to them. Put simply, engineering is a strategic sector in European economies driving innovation and growth. If we want our engineers to be more creative, productive and competitive, and produce more value for our economy and society, we can do through improved visual literacy. Yet, paradoxically and worryingly, visual skills are almost entirely absent from engineering curricula. Updating research carried out by our colleagues at UPM, in 2018 the NOT team found only two European HEIs that offer engineering graphics courses linked to creativity and that visual literacy is entirely absent from engineering VET. OBJECTIVEHence, the objective of our project is clear: strengthen the visual literacy of engineers across participating countries and further afield by introducing innovative visual literacy training into our vocational teaching and provision. ACTIVITIESTo achieve our objectives, we will undertake the following activities: Catalogue and communicate the specific visual competences that most contribute to engineers’ creativity and productivity by producing the VLEE Competence Framework - so that stakeholders and VET organizations are motivated to introduce this new element of teaching. Carry out rigorous testing to determine the most relevant, useful and easy-to-use digital graphic, image and video technology and share this knowledge with the VET sector so that engineering teachers have the knowledge, skills and resources to improve teaching and learning using visual content - VLEE Toolkit. Produce the first visual literacy for engineering VET training course to enable engineers to develop their visual competences in a very practical manner - VLEE online course.PARTICIPANT PROFILEThe project will respond to the following needs of these target groups: i) ENGINEERS. Students attending vocational colleges and working engineers need practical training opportunities to become better at problem solving, innovation and communication, and to stay up-to-date with the technologies affecting their sector ii) VET TRAINERS need support in modernizing their pedagogic approach and strategic use of digital technology in ways that better cater to students’ learning needs and future performance in the workplace. iii) VET ORGANIZATIONS AND STAKEHOLDERS, from technical colleges to professional membership bodies, education policy makers, need cost-effective, scalable solutions to improving the quality of education and its relevance to real life work skills.RESULTSWe will produce 3 main results:1 Visual Literacy for Engineering COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK, a digital publication that introduces our target groups to the concept and benefits of visual literacy education and the digital innovations that help teach it effectively. 2 VLEE TOOLKIT, an interactive publication providing practical guidance on the top 20 digital technologies, tools or platforms can be used to teach different aspects of visual literacy in engineering and advance students’ visual competences.3 Visual Literacy for Engineering ONLINE COURSE, a multilingual e-learning course & user driven platform which consolidates learning for students who have received classroom teaching, and enables distance/flexible learning for engineers already in employment irrespective of age, level of study or geographic location.IMPACTVLEE has been carefully structured to enable VET Schools & providers of professional education for engineers to better respond to labour market needs by enabling the introduction of high quality visual literacy education for engineers. All of our project’s outputs, combined with our dissemination/exploitation strategy, are focussed on both raising awareness of this gap, & equipping educators with the means to better teach these competences. As a result, thousands more engineers will have the skills they need to flourish in an ever-changing labour market.Furthermore, the unique structure of the VLEE project provides a reliable means of introducing and scaling improved visual literacy competences for engineering students & engineers in the workplace across Europe.