Supporting the connection of HEIs is one of the KA2 call priorities under the ESCI, further to the European Commission announcement in March 2019 that from 2021 HEIs participating in the Erasmus programme will have to gradually adhere to the EWP standards. Another mention of digitalisation is also placed in the new Erasmus Charter for HE for which the call has been published in February, 2020. As a consequence, the next Erasmus Programme framework is foreseen to be digital in nature taking into account a gradual shift towards fully digital mobility management.The main objective of the SUDTE project is to facilitate this change of paradigm by ensuring extensive support in achieving a smooth and well-coordinated digital transformation process. The project seeks respond the challenges of digital transformation that HEIs, students and National Agencies will face in the next Erasmus+ programme.The EU Commission as the regulatory body needs to provide stability and future certainty for the overarching initiative to be harmonious and streamlined. The digital platforms provided to the HEIs must be able to serve to the needs of more than 5000 universities taking part in the Erasmus+ Programme. To do so, they need to be implemented and tested by HEIs of different structures as early as possible. A systematic set of supporting initiative will be offered by the SUDTE project which is expected to play an important role in contributing the roadmap of the ESCI with the following goals: -Determination of the needs of HEIs and NAs in the integration process through a systematic mapping-Assessing and comparing the available digital tools to address the challenging infrastructural transformation -Assisting HEIs in design and execute their implementation strategies based on evidence-based decision-making and policy formulation-Measuring efficiency gains and impact assessment regarding workload reduction-Equipping students and staff with the knowledge and skills with a view to ensures readiness for next Erasmus programme-Developing software modules to expand available IT servicesDigital transformation of the HEIs is at the core of how we will interact with ESCI in the next Erasmus programme. The EUF universities have been key drivers in bringing about this change of paradigm, and are thus particularly well positioned to take leverage on their shared know-how. The SUDTE project will bring together a consortium of five EUF partners from Italy (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico), Spain (University of Vigo), Luxembourg (EUF) and Turkey (Selcuk University and Izmir Institute of Technology).The project activities leading to achieve expected results and outcomes as described in the Intellectual Outputs are designed to allow active collaboration of all the consortium partners. The SUDTE project will be employing a traditional management approach which uses sequential phases to define, build, test, and release project deliverables, known as waterfall method. When changes of requirements (e.g. as a result of new technologies, changes in the higher education area) cannot easily be incorporated with the waterfall method, more flexible methodology like Agile may be followed to be adaptable above all other qualities.During the project all partner institutions will expected to take leverage on their shared know-how to upgrade and update their IT infrastructure in compliance with ESCI requirements. While the project partners consider their role in addressing digital transformation within their organization as critical, it is targeted to ensure other EU Universities as well as National Agencies benefit from the outcomes of the project on its completion. Moreover, through the training activities, students and academicians will be able to equip themselves with the digital skills which is necessary to cope up with the challenges the scale of the transition presents as the world moves to a digital era. Facilitating the digital transformation of Higher Education Institutions in line with European Commission’s initiative will contribute to overcome the challenges in streamlining the gradual shift towards fully digital mobility management. The outcomes of the project are therefore intended to have a significant impact on the stakeholders of the ICTs.The general impacts of project implementation are also related to increased digitalisation, modernisation of HEIs and EU standardisation of mobility management. This strategic partnership will enable a meaningful, project-oriented and policy-relevant exchange of know-how between the participating institutions. Moreover, it will spread that knowledge to other individuals and institutions through a series of project outputs in which new content can be developed for the interested stakeholders.The project aims to improve in the long-term the quality of university services, the skills of staff of HEIs so as to guide students and aims in the adoption of the ESCI throughout Europe.

"<< Background >>Modern world has met with plastic/polymeric materials for the first time in the 1400s after Columbus encountered a natural rubber ball in Haiti. Today, polymers have found a wide range of applications thanks to their lightness, easy formability, and find a wide range of uses, from kitchenware to artificial heart valves.A large amount of polymers is used in packaging of food, textile, and machinery, and they are important parts of solid waste disposed of in solid waste landfills. According to the EU reports, PM packaging parts represent about 8% of the overall refuse in the landfills. Besides all, microplastics which are tiny fragments below 5 mm in size, are a big problem for leakage of rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. They can remain intact for many years. Reuse in manufacturing, incineration for energy generation, biodegradation in compost or in soil can be counted as disposal processes for plastic wastes. To reduce all negativities caused by polymers, ""A EU Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy"" and “Plastic Waste: a EU strategy to protect the planet, defend our citizens and empower our industries” has been developed. In the EU, around 25.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced every year. EU reports also states that only 6% of plastic products are demanded in the EU as recycled plastics. Polymeric waste is frightfully increased with ‘single-use’ plastics each year. Reusability and nature-degradable polymer production are important parts of these strategies. According to the European Green Deal Communication, reducing wastes, compensating carbon footprint emissions, saving resources, and sustainability are key priorities for the EU now and in the future. For a more liveable and GREEN world, biopolymers should be developed and used. The FutureBio project was carried out to contribute to these basic priorities. Project aims to make the use of innovative practices among university students, academic staff, industry employees, and the community and to increase the competencies of academics and students with in-place training.This project has been prepared in accordance with the European Union's strategy of developing cooperation, increasing quality and encouraging innovation in the learning activities of individuals and groups in the field of education and training. In the preparation of the project, especially the difficulties and crisis caused by Covid-19, the importance of digital education for digital transformation in accordance with the Digital Education Action Plan was taken into consideration. Considering these issues, it is our priority to develop a high-performance digital technology for university students and industrial workers within the scope of the project. In this way, we aim to develop high quality digital technologies for education of universities and industrial institutions providing information of polymer and biopolymer and theirs manufacturing technologies all over Europe. We aim to improve capacity and flexibility in education by making digital tools. The project will apply the most innovative training technologies based on E-LEARNING and mobile learning tools with INTERACTIVE VIDEOS and animation applications in game format and VIRTUAL REALITY tools that contribute to improve the trainees’ motivation and engagement. The learning material will be structured according to a competency based learning approach. The use of e-learning and other related technologies in the FutureBio project can provide new opportunities for learners increasing flexibility, motivation and engagement.Students can take control of their own learning and be an active part of the learning process. In addition, mobile learning offers a number of new opportunities for learners and teachers, including the relatively low cost of Technologies.<< Objectives >>Our primary target group is university students. Academicians and scientists also constitute our other target group. From the industry side, plastic manufacturing firms and their employees, other public and private bodies related to polymers/biopolymers are among our target groups in terms of the use, dissemination and promotion of educational materials.Since a sustainable environment, less carbon emission, promotion of non-harmful plastics, and contributing to the use of these plastics are among the goals of the project, the entire EU community is also among our target groups.We aimed to determine the basic knowledge level of our target groups on biopolymers by preparing a short survey during the preparation phase of the project. Survey results revealed how necessary our project idea is. In the second phase of our project, more detailed needs analysis will be conducted for all of our target groups.The results of the project are to develop a curriculum, preparation of a guide book, and to produce education materials with innovative and interactive tools for university students (PR1,PR2,PR3,PR4). The project will apply the innovative technologies based on E-LEARNING, mobile learning, and VR tools with interactive videos and animations in game format. The learning material will be structured according to a competency based learning approach. The use of e-learning technologies in the FutureBio project can provide new opportunities for learners increasing flexibility, motivation and engagement. Students can take control of their own learning and be an active part of the learning process. In addition, with the in-place training activity(C2), the selected students will learn BDPs and related technologies. It is thought that the project results will contribute to the career development of university students and to close the qualified workforce deficit. All the students, academicians, scientists, and sector workers need new teaching methods and tools to match modern implementation. Mobile learning offers new opportunities for learners and teachers, including the relatively low cost of technologies, also.With game-based animations, videos, and interactive presentations, distance learning tools will be prepared for those who are interested in polymers from all age groups and want to learn about biopolymers. It is expected that the interest in the subject will increase with the online webinars that will be held during the project process.Our project team consists of experts in the fields of polymers and biopolymers, development of training methodology and innovative education materials. During the project , mutual information transfer, know-how, and brainstorming are carried out, and the partnership will be more efficient. It will develop its scientific knowledge related to the BDP through the training activity(C1) for the project staff. Therefore, we aim for the project partnership to develop itself in innovative education technologies. Thus, the potential of using these technologies in new projects will also be increased.Sustainable environment, green and reduction of harmful waste are among the needs of the EU. For this reason, it is of great importance to raise awareness on BDP among industrial institutions and employees, to research production methods, and to develop university-industry collaborations. FutureBio will act as a bridge in this regard. The needs of the industry will be investigated in partner countries and a guiding road map will be created. Thus, it is aimed to contribute to the sustainable economy and to be beneficial for the creation of a qualified workforce.along with the contribution to the sustainable environment.In the project's detailed awareness/needs analysis and dissemination activities (E1-E8), a collaboration with public and private sectors will be done. We plan to spread project results faster by taking the opinions of these institutions.In this way, new projects can be produced.<< Implementation >>FutureBio project is aimed:To raise social awareness that plastic pollution is an issue that needs urgent and immediate actionTo obtain awareness about biodegradable and compostable productsTo increase the usage of bio bags replacing and selling plastic bags throughout the country and Europe.To encourage and guide the development of biodegradable and compostable materials and productsTo guide academicians and students to prioritize these issues in their academic career planningTo increase the competencies of academicians and students with in-place trainingTo create a value chain extending from laboratory to industry, from industry to environment and economyTo provide collaboration between university and industryIn order to achieve all these goals, the project implementation is based on phases which are characterized by activities and products.All project activities are designed to have the best overall impact and sustainability on defined target groups. We divided our project into phases in order to maximize efficiency by establishing quality standards, including project implementation, widespread impact, dissemination and sustainability of the project from the project preparation phase. The project implementation phases are characterized by activities, products, and quality indicators.Research conducted during the preparation phase of the project has shown that although plastics and BDPs are very important for the future of the world, it was determined that training and educational materials are not enough at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This point is the main idea of FutureBio. For this reason an innovative curricula (PR1) will be created to develop the knowledge and skills and to gain the ability of undergraduate and associate degrees within the scope of BDP applications. While creating this curriculum, the situation and needs analysis for companies in the sector, employees working in these companies, university students and academicians close to this field will be made. By laboratory videos and online modules(PR2), and VR applications(PR4) developed towards the curriculum. The foundations of distance education will be laid on this subject and open resources will be created for academicians, students, industry employees and interested people in this subject. As known, BDPs as material are crucial technology. Most of the current books are focused on medical or food industry applications of biopolymers. There is no Turkish educational material in this matter. To close the gap and be used as educational material all over the EU, a Lecture Guide Book (PR3) will be created in TR and EN. We will ensure the control and coordination of the project in terms of time and outcomes through 5 TPMs (M1-M5). 2 learning activities (C1,C2) will be organized in Italy. C1 will be an on-site seeing and sharing of experiences activity for academic staff who will prepare the educational modules and books. C2 will be a student training activity including theoretical and practical application. Informative meetings which will be helpful for raising the awareness of community will be held in all partner countries (E1-E7). At the end of the project, a workshop with international participation will be organized with the project closing meeting in Turkey (E8). This event will be organized to present all the outcomes of the project.<< Results >>In FutureBio, all project results have been designed in accordance with*The EU’s strategy of developing cooperation, increasing quality and encouraging innovation in the learning activities of individuals and groups in the field of education and training,*Digital Education Action Plan,*EU Green Deal Communication,*Environment and Climate Action.According to the EU Green Deal, reducing wastes, compensating carbon footprint emissions, saving resources, and sustainability are key priorities for the EU now and in the future. Compostable and biopolymers are also important keys in those strategies. And they have to be well promoted and their use must be made widespread. We believe that for a more liveable and GREEN world, biopolymer materials should be developed and used. That's why we created the FutureBio idea to combine the EU's Digital Education, Green Deal, and Environment and Climate Action Plans and Strategies. At the first stage, we first made a short preliminary study with students, academicians, and industrial workers from different professions such as engineering, social and health sciences, answered the survey from over the EU. The needs analysis showed that the awareness of BPs is far below the desired and required ratios among students, academicians and industry employees.Using a competency based learning approach, low-cost educational technologies for learners and teachers will be an effective and innovative way. For this purpose, we built our project within the framework of 4 project outputs:An innovative curriculum (PR1) will be created to improve the knowledge and skills of undergraduate students, teachers and individuals interested in the subject, in order to bridge the gaps identified between educational materials and the sector.The detailed situation analysis will be made with all target groups to reveal awareness situations for individuals and institutions. These analyses will be a road map for preparing digital modules and guide book.An online course platform will be created on the project website (PR2). The primary role of the platform will be enabling the student to learn on his own and encouraging them to evaluate themselves. It can provide new opportunities for learners, increasing flexibility and motivation. It is aimed to create innovative technologies based on e-learning and mobile learning tools with interactive videos/animations in game format.The digital materials will be tested by pilot applications. The lecture guide book (PR3), will contain examples from the project partners' works and industry applications. Most of the books are focused on the medical or food applications of BPs, and there are very few books on biodegradable plastics and their applications.On the other hand there isn't any course book in TR related to biopolymers. In this area, a scientific resource that can be used in TR universities and all over the EU and the world. To close an important interdisciplinary course material gap in TR and EU and to contribute to the literature, development of environmental awareness, to encourage biopolymers to be included in the study and research topics of students, academicians and industrial companies, raising awareness about sustainable environment and decarbonization are the aims of this Project result.The created VR training solutions(PR4) complement the PR1,PR2, and PR3.VR as a technology has the power to take the user into another place. This will be utilized in making more immersive, interactive and illustrative training materials which complement the more traditional book and online materials. Furthermore, VR solutions makes the training more motivating for all the target groups.All project results will highly impact on all target groups, and it has high potential of dissemination and transferability. As the book will fill a gap in the literature, it will be one of the basic works in the related field. The quality of each output will be controlled by its own quality tools."

Cases of violence, suicide bombers, blasts in capital cities and planned terror attacks, combined with the worrying number of young people joining extremist groups and enlisting to fight for them abroad, had already proved that radicalisation and extremism remained a challenge for our societies. All types of extremists had turned out to be more globalized and they make use of opportunities provided by internet. As a result, it was getting difficult to detect the actions of these groups earlier and protect lives of innocent people.. By taking into account these realities we initiated SAVE Project as a prevention based approach.Our first target group was teachers. We created educational materials to equip them with the knowledge and the skills to detect the warning signs of extremism and how to respond to them. We prepared a guide “Empowering Teachers Against Extremism” and we organized a training activity for teachers in Poland. Then participant teachers organized training activities for the teachers in their schools. Our second direct target group was students. We focused on strengthening their resistance to extremism. These young people were defined as Peace Envoys and they were selected by other students by elections. With the help of these elections they experienced democracy from the first hand We organized two different LTT activities for young people. The first one was in Hungary. During this training activity the topics were selected to empower them on respect for human dignity, freedom (including freedom of expression), the rule of law and respect for human rights, citizenship, preventing stereotypes, discrimination, extremism, enriching democratic values, cultural diversity. Materials used in this training activity was brought together as a guide to be used by other young people both in and outside the partner organizations. These guide has been translated to Turkish, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian and English. After the training young people organized training activities for their friends in their school who didn’t take part in this activity in Hungary. The second LTT activity towards young people focused on improving students critical thinking and media literacy skills. This training activity was released in Slovenia. Participants learnt how extremist and radical groups use online channels to deceive young people and recruit them in their nets. Youngsters learnt online propaganda techniques and how radical groups use them for their purposes. During the training activity participants learnt how to create their own propaganda as counter-extremist movement. They developed their own videos and disseminated it through their own and institutional social media channels. Training materials have been brought together as a guide and tranlated into English, Polish, Turkish, Hungarian and Slovenian so that participants of the training activity could use them to organize similar training activities for their schoolmates. Number and profile of participants There were seven partner organizations from 6 different countries. There was one local educational authority, one university, one NGO, one ICT company and three schools within partnership. In addition to these partners there were associated partner organizations from Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Italy, Macedonia and Romania. Methodology: Plan,do,check,act (PDCA) was the methodology of the project for the control and continuous improvement. We created a project management office for monitoring of the project and each step has been planned, checked and implemented successfully. The results of the projects were: 1- Project web page where all the carried out activities and produced intellectual out puts have been shared with wider2- Europe wide baseline assessment, 3- Teacher training module, 4- Lesson plans and worksheets for teachers, 5- Guide for young people6- Guide for young people for media literacy and onlien propaganda videos7- Peace campaign videos7- Research conducted for young people and teachers8- E-Twinning project9- Teacher training course content for the teachers from other countriesTeachers from partner organizations have been equipped with the skills to discuss the extremism issues with their students. Young people had the chance to come together with other youngsters from different countriesFor majority of them it was for the first time in their lives to come together people from other countries. They got rid of their prejudices. They learnt extremism concept and how to protect them from online propaganda. Partner organizations improved their international cooperation skills. During the project new partnerships have been established. Partners from Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and Turkey have worked in 3 different youth project. Konya Il Mem prepared a training content to “Empower Teachers Against Extremism” It's been advertised via social media and School education gateway https://bit.ly/2lQzTAm

<< Background >>The Million of Erasmus Grants (MEGA) project’s ambition is to create and develop a digital tool that will simplify the management of Erasmus+ mobility grants at university level and secure the payment of these grants to the students concerned, both in terms of accuracy and calendar. It will take into consideration and respect the national and local contexts of the HEIs throughout the Erasmus grant process. Indeed, MEGA shall develop the best tool possible to facilitate the management of Erasmus grants. As such, the project has been divided between the partners in 4 milestones. Project Result 1 aims to draw a map of the situation by exploring through a survey the topic of grants management, which has been left untouched so far. It will help follow the grant procedure in different HEIs from various European countries, and collect relevant insights in order to fill the gap in the existing procedures. It will also collect the feedback of National Agencies. Project Result 2 will focus on building a digital solution developing a functional proof of concept (PoC) to reduce delays in the Erasmus grant payments process to the beneficiaries and allow any student to have access to the same simplified procedure whatever their home country and institution in Europe are. The purpose of Project Result 3 is to verify and investigate whether the PoC built within Project Result 2 answers the different issues raised by all the stakeholders within Projet Result 1 and study different scenarios of grant management. Finally, Projet Result 4 consists in making policy recommendations to the European institutions, based on the findings of the project. The potential success of the project MEGA will have a positive impact such as establishing performance indicators for the management of Erasmus grants but also considering new technological and organisational solutions for the challenges that lie ahead, and finally promoting innovation, efficiency and economies of scale in the management of Erasmus grants.<< Objectives >>Erasmus grant management is an inherently delicate topic. Up to now it has been up to each individual HEI to organise its own Erasmus grants payment system, which involves the risk of dissimilar treatment of students at European level but also other risks such as delays of payment that create undue difficulties for the beneficiaries. The increasing number of grants offered by the Erasmus+ programme confirms the value of providing a timely analysis of possible economies of scale in this area, some of which should benefit the participating student by reducing the average time or complexity of the payment procedure.Taking into account this context, MEGA project aims to:Carry out a research on how Erasmus programme grants are managed in different HEIs and European countries, eliciting quantitative data on average delays or other relevant indicators and highlighting the trigger points delaying the payments. Develop and test a PoC of a digital platform for grant management, which would work in synergy with other existing tools (EWP, OLA, Erasmus APP, European student card initiative) Publish policy recommendations on the findings of the project, to feed them into the mid-term review of the programme and to establish a dialogue with stakeholders regarding the deployment of a more performante Erasmus grant system.The MEGA project has the intention to help to promote equal opportunities for the beneficiaries by facilitating and securing the procedures that support students' mobility. The project will ensure that the payment of Erasmus grants is based on fairness and efficiency so that all students can get the full benefits of their Erasmus mobility. Going digital to address these issues will have a strong impact on future Erasmus mobility. Not only will it help students to benefit from a more efficient and secure payment procedure of their Erasmus grant, but it will also support the administration of HEIs throughout the process of distributing these grants.<< Implementation >>The MEGA project involves different types of activities necessary to its achievement.At first, the project partners will design and spread surveys to address to National Agencies, Universities and students to collect information about the problems in grant management (PR1)These results will be analyzed and translated in specific requirements for a digital prototype. The partners will then design, prototype and test a proof of concept of the new tool (PR2).Another survey, through working groups internal to the partners will be conducted to check whether the prototype allows a smoother grant management for all stakeholders (IROs and financial offices, beneficiaries). Alternative scenarios and use of the prototype will be studied at this stage through interviews and research work (PR3).Finally, the findings of the above mentioned results will be translated in policy recommendations to be addressed to the European Commission. Transnational meetings will give the project partners regular opportunities to meet and discuss the progress of the project, as well as to review the administrative and financial monitoring of the project. In between transnational meetings, each partner will continue to work on its assigned project result. The Université of Lorraine will coordinate the activities throughout the project to secure their coherent progress in line with the overall project.Transnational meetings will be held every 6 months. The project partners commit themselves to an environmentally-friendly approach by reducing the number of face-to-face transnational meetings of MEGA project, as up to 4 out of 6 project meetings will be held online.2 face-to-face transnational meetings will take place at the beginning and at the end of the project: the kick off meeting in January 2022 and the dissemination meeting in August 2024.A mid-term event will be organised at the end of PR1 to present the first results of the project, on the occasion of other events, such as EAIE.A website will be created, it will be regularly updated with information about the project.Each partner will do its own internal communication on the progress and evolution of the project.The EUF monthly and bi-monthly Newsletters will allow every partner to reach universities outside the consortium and members of the network.<< Results >>The MEGA project comes with the wish to develop an effective digital tool in order to easily manage Erasmus grants and eradicate delays in Erasmus grants payment. Not only will it help the HEI’ administration but also secure the payment of students who undertake mobility. Each task will allow partners to fill the gaps that are known throughout the process of grant management.The Project Results will include :PcA survey’s dissemination among European HEIs and students at the beginning of the project, to collect data on the difficulties that they face regarding the procedure of Erasmus grant payment.The development of a functional PoC of an automated Erasmus grant managementA testing of this PoC in the partner institutions and the necessary adjustments of the PoC following these feedbacks.The writing of policy recommendations to HEIs, National Erasmus+ Agency and European institutions.On a larger scale, the MEGA project intends to provide practical recommendations to policy makers with concrete and evidence-based indications on how to strengthen the cooperation and further improve the services and Erasmus+ mobility grants management. This could lead to the following expected results :The MEGA project’s results are expected to create strong synergies with other projects under the Erasmus Without Paper ecosystem and, as these are, be self-sustainable if the project funding runs out.The MEGA project could be integrated with the Erasmus+ Mobile App to inform every beneficiary about the situation of his/her grant, or even to get the GPS localisation of the beneficiary in order to launch or continue the payment of the grant.Furthermore, it would be possible to integrate the digital tool created by MEGA project within the European Student Card initiative closing the loop of the mobility management process digitalisation.Even more, Mega could integrate the EC Mobility Tool+ in managing the grant’s payment process in case the institutional fundings rely on a more centralised funding scheme, such as the EC or National Agencies.