Nature-based solutions (NBS) are considered essential to solving the climate crisis. They have the potential to simultaneously address climate change, biodiversity loss and human wellbeing and development, by providing different ecosystem services. However, the typically small size of NBS projects, the difficulties to measure and monetize their co-benefits as well as the long time frame for investment returns and the risk profile, undermine their attractiveness for funding. In comparison to NBS alone, the combination of NBS and ecosystem-based approaches, physical measures and technological measures is able to provide measurable outcomes quicker, reducing the risk profile and facilitating faster implementation and long-time maintenance, broadening opportunities for ecosystem innovation and increasing investment attractiveness. Aiming for bankability-by-design, RISE-IN will assess a set of climate resilient solutions (CRS), including NBS and ecosystem- based approaches and physical measures, by mapping and quantifying their co-benefits and identifying innovative financing and investment opportunities accordingly. Co-creation and participatory processes with local stakeholders, including investors and businesses, will enable the screening of the most adequate solutions for each site, in terms of functionality and funding and within a framework of just resilience. The assessment will be complemented by 3 climate risk assessment models that will reduce uncertainty regarding risks associated with extreme events, water run-off and capital loss. RISE-IN will demonstrate this concept for flood management (most costly type of disaster in Europe) in Cesena (IT), Christchurch (NZ) and Póvoa de Varzim (PT). RISE-IN demonstrations will be further tailored for replication in Ghent (BE), Zhytomyr (UA), Kadikoy (TR) and in 3 additional sites of Demonstrator Cities (Demo Cities) to prove the impact of the concept to facilitate bankability and upscale implementation across EU and Internationally.

Our consortium consisting of partner institutions from Czechia, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Finland and Sweden have diverse experience with participation in Horizon Europe (HE), Synergic EU R&I funding, Smart Specialisation Clusters and other international R&I funding schemes, consider this call as the opportunity to strengthen institutions from Widening countries and upscale them on higher level through capacity, skills and competence building and networking actions. The key objective of the project “WIDE AcrossEU” is to move us, participants from Widening countries (the core group - 3 higher education institutions from the Czech Republic, North Macedonia and Ukraine), who are formerly a current single beneficiaries of regional funding programmes (ERDF, IPA, Interreg and similar investments for R&I infrastructure), to higher level and prepare us for wider and more successful participation in direct EU funding programmes. The specific objectives, which are: 1. To map the needs and requirements of target groups in Widening partners - State of Play, 2. To strengthen competitiveness of target groups in Widening countries by acquiring new transferable skills for R&I staff, 3. Access to networks and partnerships to secure more successful proposal and create a base for lead partner roles for Widening partners, 4. To better use R&I infrastructure funded under ERDF or similar investments, 5. To create strategies for R&I and Human Resources, 6. To improve access to excellent European R&I networks and communities, will be achieved through following work packages: WP1 Need of analysis for capacity and competence building, WP2 Acquisition of new transferable skills, WP3 Exploitation of R&I funding opportunities & networks, WP4 R&I valorisation, policy support and synergies, WP5 Dissemination, communication and exploitation, WP6 Management and coordination. The project will last 40 months.

"The Project ""Master Program in Eco-Mining Engineering and Innovative Natural Resourses Management (EMINReM)"" Wider Objective is to raise efficiency and ecological sustainability of mining works realization through the Partner-HEIs collaboration for training of new-generation-experts within environmental, economic and management attainments in the field of natural resources extraction and processing. It is aimed at development of the future experts` interdisciplinary openness, capability of understanding technological issues in a systematic and in-depth way, using the tools of modeling and evaluation of potential environmental risks, mitigating them in our fast developing world. MP in EMINReM will be created in response to the current challenges of sustainable development and market needs. The Project supports transfer of the most recent knowledge and good practices developed at the Programme countries (EUMS/APC) - DE, ES & TR, in the field of Sustainable Eco-Mining Engineering, to other countries not associated to the Erasmus+ Programme (NAPC) - UA, KZ and UZ, considering all challenges that are required by modern EU and national technological, economic and environmental standards and trends (e.g. European Green Deal, Industry 4.0, etc.).It is foreseen to develop the EU-based MP focused on the integration of the best EU practices and approaches in the field of EMINReM and introduce them in the NAPC HEIs; to develop Teaching Materials for EMINReM MP; to establish EMINReM LABs for students at 7 NAPC HEI; to launch Joint Virtual e-Learning Platform; to provide EMINReM students pilot and Experts' advanced trainings. Targets Groups: Potential HEI Entrants, Students, Teachers & Staff, Industry & NGO Representatives, State Authorities, Employers, Alumni."

The analysis carried out in cooperation with Local Universities (LUs), city and national authorities, stakeholders, during ah-hoc meetings, highlighted the need to improve transport services in Georgia (GE) and Ukraine (UA), benefiting of the new opportunities offered by telematics which boost innovations in smart passenger and goods mobility. The increasing pressure on achieving societal goals within the transport sector (e.g., reducing traffic emission, improving traffic safety, reducing congestion) is one of the main drivers for its smart development.There are still many challenges for implementing smart mobility, and to what extent this potential will be materialized depends on its design and management by public authorities as well as by the competence of experts.Besides, a lack of experience on planning, management and control of these services emerged in GE and UA, also due to inadequate academic paths for supporting exploitation and dissemination of smart transport culture, including the limits of their research and their limited international relationships.Then, SmaLog was designed to overcome such identified lacks. SmaLog reformed and conformed the academic paths for supporting exploitation and dissemination of smart transport culture, including the overcoming of the limits of current scientific research and limited international relationships in involved PCs. LUs were the key-actors to start and consolidate this process.In SmaLog Consortium, 11 research institutions, 4 from EU, 5 from UA and 2 from GE have been collaborating to:•develop and test/implement/delivering Masters (120/90 ECTS) in smart transport and logistics for cities (SmaLog) in GE and UA;•support the implementation of laboratories dedicated to SmaLog;•disseminate through the newsletters, events, workshops, seminars, the importance of high educational programmes, and to promote research in urban transport and logistics exploiting the opportunities offered by new technologies;•set up national coordinated networks of HEIs, public bodies, private companies and NGOs involving them in the wider European research network on smart urban transport and logistics.Therefore, starting from this consideration, SmaLog strengthened the role of research in managing smart transport and logistics in cities on an evidence-base in UA and GE, and thus transferred to UA and GE the most recent knowledge and good practices developed in Europe as well as worldwide in the field of smart mobility.These aims were achieved thanks to a mix of activities such as: education, training, workshops, conferences and public events, web-based and physical dissemination and exploitation activities. The main outputs were:•SmaLog masters formally approved and delivered;•new and updated courses;•two first completed cycles of master students in SmaLog (first graduates);•distance learning advance courses for staff in SmaLog;•guidelines for developing PhD in PC HEIs in SmaLog;•teaching and training materials developed for supporting lectures’ delivering and students’ study;•staff training and students’ studying at ProgC HEIs;•guidelines for IQAS, and its implementations in PC HEIs;•internationalization of teaching/training on smart transport and logistics for cities;•internationalization of research on smart transport and logistics for cities;•urban smart transport and logistics networks in GE and UA;•active involvement of PC HEIs members in international smart transport and logistics for cities research;•implementation of local laboratories on urban smart transport and logistics;•dissemination and strengthening of culture of smart transport and logistics;•agreements of cultural and scientific collaboration between each PC and ProgC HEIs.

The project is call to build capacity of development of innovation digital technologies in economics instead of outdate ones to be in line with Global market challenges by development the Virtual Project Learning Platform inc. Project Inclusive Education component for education of high skilled specialists in line with labour market, EU best practices and Bologna process in Ukraine (UA) and Tajikistan (TJK).Specific objectives:1. Fill the demand of Labor market (LM) in UA, TJK specialists in digital economics by Implementation of modern trends in the digital sphere of UA and TJK HEIs in accordance with EU best practices by joint PCs and EU HEIs creation of 13 innovation curricular for MA in economics inc.PIE component till Nov 2022 according to the Bolonia requirements and EU strategy of Digital Single Market. I2.To create inclusuve educational enviroment acording Education 4.0. in the field of DE-implementation of methodological and technological activities for the creation of interactive and multimedia content and the corresponding digital platform for development of multimedia content for inclusive education. 3. Launch innovative partnership model for Stakeholders networking - Creating of basic digital services for use by citizens in the field of education, for launching partnership models of representatives of the digital industry, business and universities in UA and TJK.New study program focuses on the business opportunities and organizational consequences offered by a wide range of digital technologies, including cloud computing, ‘big data’ analytics. Student will learn to function as a bridge between ‘digital technology’ and ‘business’. Combining theory with practice, the programme provides a strong basis on economic, information technology, computer programming.