Context: Due to population ageing, dementia is a top health and social challenge across Europe. For an appropriate management of dementia knowledge, skills and collaboration of several professions are needed. This requirement is not met in many countries, and students of relevant occupational disciplines care are not being prepared to perform these tasks. The gaps regarding interprofessional shared learning, mutual understanding and networking can be closed by modern learning methods such as e-learning or online courses, particularly in times of social distancing such as the current COVID-10 pandemic. However, such digital learning methods have not yet been applied to dementia education in southeastern Europe and are not available in local languages.Objectives: On this background, a group of researchers and educators from four universities who have been successfully working together on previous transnational projects in dementia education (Technical University of Munich, Germany; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Bucharest, Romania) and one centre for dementia-related vocational training (Centrum Memory, Bratislava, Slovakia) will join forces to strengthen the digital competence of educators and students in the field of dementia and, by enhancing education, improve dementia care. The aims of STUDICODE are to create, evaluate and implement in regular curricula a digital online course on dementia that simultaneously addresses students of various disciplines which have a key role in dementia care (medicine, psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy). Activities and methodology: The project is structured in four workpackages (WP). In WP1 (Content production,) educators (professors, assistants) at the partner sites will select from the previously created multi-language pool of materials (texts, videos, charts, images, graphics, quizzes) the contents that are most relevant for the education of students, adapt and complement it as needed. The educators will be supported by specialists in e-learning, medical education, and multimedia design who will act as external advisors. In WP2 (Course building), the selected contents will be assembled into the learning management system used by the institution, thus creating a dementia online course in the local language. Progress of work will be monitored by regular reports to the lead partner and regular consortium meetings. Quality of work will be evaluated by local review sessions involving independent experts and student delegates at the partner sites. Before and after the production of the online course, a self-assessment of digital competence will be carried-out by the educators. In WP3 (Course evaluation), the dementia online course will be completed and evaluated by approximately 50 students from different of fields of study at each partner institution (200 in total). Evaluation will include pre-post self-assessments of digital competence and knowledge tests, standardised questionnaires of usability and acceptance, and back-end monitoring of user behaviour. In WP4 (Dissemination), the dementia online course and the results of the evaluation will be presented to persons responsible for the education and training of professions involved in dementia care (e.g. Deans of Study), representatives of Ministries of Health and Ministries of Education, and other relevant stakeholders including national and international patient organisations with the aim of implementing the course in regular curricula of higher and vocational education.Results, impact and potential long-term benefits: At project termination an online course on dementia will be available in several languages. The course will nicely complement traditional educational formats such as lectures or face-to-face workshops at the partner sites as well as at similar institutions nationwide. It may serve as a template for digital-based education in other fields of healthcare. By participating in the production and evaluation process, educators at each partner institution will increase their competence for creating and using digital media. By contributing to quality monitoring during the production phase and to testing the final product students will improve their skills in assessing digital learning formats and incorporating them into their individual learning practice. The impact of the project will go beyond increasing digital readiness at institutions of higher education and vocational training. It will improve the competence and potential for collaboration of key professions involved in dementia care by providing shared person-centred and holistic concepts and skills already at the pre-graduate stage. In this way the project ultimately aims to contribute to improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers in southeastern Europe and to support national dementia plans and strategies.

We are partnership of four organisations - MEMORY Center and Terapeutika from Slovakia, Spokojeny senior from Czech republic and Educational Centre Socialization from Latvia. We see that there is quite strong pressure on seniors and they are facing to rapidly changing environment. Our elderly citizens want and are able how to be part of a strong Europe. Being mentally healthy and flexible is a big challenge for them. We know that the European population is growing old.The generation of current seniors grew up in different conditions and in a different cultural and political situation. Creative approaches and solutions were not required at that time as they are today. How to be prepared for change and at the same time train your brain and memory? A creative approach can be one of the answers.All project partners are providing adult and elderly education. We are partners who see a challenge in this project. A challenge how to bring elderly people an interesting and unique approach to education. Memory training is a strong topic. We know and we want to make it better. We have joined forces to bring creative methods to senior education.During our joint training events, we will try and verify specific creative methods. We get the feed back in the experimental group. During our mobilities, we discuss and elaborate the creative methods. After demanding but beautiful work with creative methods, a unique manual will be available to all project partners as well as other colleagues. We consider this manual as living guide - the collection of tried creative methods can be great opportunity for other educators to push the memory training to another level. We are also looking forward to communication activities, which we can be delivered, thanks to the interesting team.Through our project, we are bringing activation and stimulation of cognitive skills like thinking, memory, emotional expression and mental health. This is the prevention of memory loss, potential dementia syndroms and other mental ilnesses. We hope that this can be one of the way how we can help our lovely Europe to make a better place for live. We are ready! Let's make this project real.

<< Background >>Professional caregivers for older people play a major role in the physical and mental health, recovery and rehabilitation of the patients. A low quality of life for caregivers, will result in a low quality of life for service users.Caregivers hold responsibilities of intimate nature and work in spaces where hopelessness and staleness may take over the occupation experience, affecting their own mental and physical health to great extent; especially now, with the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic stressing the European Geriatric Sector and professionals who work in the field to unprecedented levels.The stressful work of professional caregivers makes them highly susceptible to burnout, a severe threat to their personal and professional lives with symptoms like:1. Decrease in energy levels or chronic fatigue2. Increased susceptibility to illness3. Self-neglect and lack of satisfaction in the work4. Sense of helplessness and hopelessnessBurnout has lasting effects and if left unresolved, the problem can grow out of control:- Caregivers: burnout can be devastating their professional and personal lives. In extreme cases people fall into depression and have suicidal thoughts. It is important that they are able to identify symptoms themselves and seek help through support systems, preventing further decline of their mental health. The earlier burnout symptoms are identified, the easier it is to combat the syndrome.- Long-term Care Institutions: they face a difficult situation when their staff is experiencing burnout, as the services they offer are compromised. Additionally, they need to secure and dedicate resources for the recruitment and training of new staff.- Ultimately, compromises in healthcare services are a hazard to the well-being, physical and mental health of patients/service users who are dependent on caregivers in order to satisfy even their most basic needs.There are a few ways which we can reduce the risk of burnout one of which is to educate healthcare management about the syndrome, train them to act as mentors and be on the lookout for symptoms among their staff, and to be able to facilitate effective and consistent supervision/mentoring sessions with the use of tools.In the context of this Vocational Education Project, the consortium aims to deliver products that will train managers of Long-term Care Institutions on:A. Becoming mentors and providing support for their staff. This way they will be able to take preventing measures against the burnout syndromeB. To be on the lookout and able to identify its symptomsC. To be aware of how it affects people and their organisationD. Applying methods to monitor and support staff who exhibit/report symptoms of the syndromeE. Implementing new methods during regular supervision sessions and methods with their staff, to promote self-reflection, boost morale and identify potential issues as means of prevention<< Objectives >>PROCARE Project Objectives:1. To raise awareness of the burnout hazard, especially in the field of geriatric healthcare where service users are dependent on professional caregivers in order to satisfy their needs2. To provide quality of life improvements to the occupation of professional caregiving, through the education of management, mentoring methodology and creation of innovative digital tools3. To ultimately improve the quality of life of older adults in the EU, who are depended on professional caregivers4. To develop mentoring methodology and tools, VET curriculum and corresponding training material for LTC management, so they are able to become mentors for their staff, to be on the lookout for burnout symptoms, and secure/manage resources to to support them5. To expand the EU VET providers’ portfolio, to develop a methodology to be used for future training course developments to address the issue of burnout in other sectors of the EU market6. To contribute to the COVID-19 recovery efforts of the VET and LTC fields on local, regional and European levels7. To contribute to the advancement of VET and LTC policies that will promote the inclusion of mentoring skills and practices as an important asset in supporting the development of LTC managers and caregivers<< Implementation >>The PROCARE Main Project Activity AgendaProject Management main Activities:- Four transnational project meetings in Poland, Italy, Greece and Cyprus- Monthly online meetings- Bi-annual internal financial reports- A Project Management and Implementation Interim Report to the NA- A Final report to the Polish NAQuality Assurance Monitoring and Evaluation Activities:- Drafting and implementation of a Quality Evaluation Plan- Evaluation of consortium meetings- Gathering and processing feedback from participants of project activities- Monitoring of project indicators and ensuring high quality of project resultsDissemination Activities:- Preparation and implementation of a Dissemination Plan- Development of the PROCARE project visual identity- Development of a project website and promotional material- Creation of project social media pageC1 - Training of Trainers:The Training of Trainers event will take place in Greece and will also include an online delivery part. For this activity, the partner organisations will designate trainer learners from the VET Training and Education field in order to satisfy the necessary education needs they require to carry out training for LTC managersProject Result 3 Pilot test of the Mentoring Methodology and Curriculum:Participants of C1 will carry out training sessions for 5 LTC managers from all partner countries. The Pilot will serve as means to receive feedback and comments regarding the PROCARE Mentoring Methodology, Tools and Training curriculum.Multiplier Events:Multiplier Event invitations will be sent through the consortium contact networks. The PROCARE Multiplier Events will take place in all 6 partner countries; Poland, Luxembourg, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Slovakia.Invitees will be members of the following groups:- LTC management- Geriatric Healthcare and Social Work stakeholders (nursing associations, associations for older people etc.)- VET Policy makers and stakeholders- VET providers; trainers and organisations- Local authorities (Ministries of Healthcare)- Representatives from the LTC caregiver beneficiaries<< Results >>The PROCARE consortium expects the following Project Results and Outcomes:- The PROCARE PR1 Mentoring Methodology- The PROCARE PR1 Digital Mentoring Toolkit- The PROCARE PR2 Mentoring Curriculum and Training Material- The PROCARE PR3 Policy Paper- The PROCARE Project Management Handbook- The PROCARE Quality Assurance Handbook- The PROCARE Dissemination Strategy Handbook- Six National Findings Reports with research findings, learning needs data and conclusions- PR3 Pilot Mentoring Activity- The PROCARE C1 Activity- The PROCARE project website, social media page and other dissemination material- 5 x Multiplier Events in Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Slovakia and Poland- 1 x Multiplier Conference in Luxembourg

More than 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. Alzheimer disease (AD) is the main cause of this fatal disorder, without any effective disease modifying therapy. Early diagnosis and lifestyle modifications can significantly reduce the costs of care and treatment. There is no conceptual plan implementing modern diagnostic methods in the clinical practice in Czechia and Slovakia. The interaction between universities and private sector developing molecular diagnostic tools is fragmented and lacking. Limited number of talented students are invested in applied AD-focused research. The aim of ADDIT-CE is to interlink two ecosystems in Brno and Bratislava region, embracing the full quadruple helix of innovation driving actors: excellent scientific teams from Masaryk University and Slovak Academy of Sciences, collaborating with top biotech companies: Geneton, BioVendor, and MultiplexDX. Societal actors will be represented by organisations such as Slovak and Czech Alzheimer Societies, Memory Center and Czech Brain Aging Study. The regional government will be involved via Ministry of Health Slovak Republic, and South Moravian Innovation Centre. The joined ecosystems will unite R&I activities focusing on new diagnostic methods and their applications and further interlink academia and business spheres by creating a pilot industrial PhD programme. ADDIT-CE will generate a joint cross-border strategy covering basic and applied research activities aiming on accelerating the development of new tools for preclinical AD diagnostics and lifestyle/pharmacological intervention monitoring. New cutting-edge technologies will be transferred into clinical practise. Results of ADDIT-CE will be used to develop the Slovak National Plan to Combat Dementia, to enrich the Czech National Plan for AD, and will be widely disseminated to end users and society. ADDIT-CE will join forces of the involved ecosystems to revolutionise diagnostic approaches in both countries.