ySKILLS starts from the observation that digitisation is changing society and requires a new set of digital skills, which many children and adolescents currently do not master. This can negatively affect their educational, informational and social inclusion and wellbeing. Longitudinal and robust academic research on children’s and adolescents’ digital uses, the use context and its impact is lacking on national and European levels. ySKILLS examines risks and opportunities related to children’s and adolescents’ (aged 12 to 17) ICT uses and their digital skills to understand how to purposefully use ICTs towards greater cognitive, physical, psychological and social wellbeing. We offer a critical perspective on the notion of skills itself: by extending traditional conceptions of skills, by recognising children’s critical views on their skills as young citizens with agency, voice and rights. ySKILLS will predict which children are more at risk of having low levels of wellbeing because of their ICT use, and to understand how digital skills can function as building resilience against negative impacts. This results in a comprehensive, evidence-based explanatory and foresight model predicting the complex impacts of ICT use on children’s and adolescents’ wellbeing in Europe, and the role of digital skills that can enhance their wellbeing. ySKILLS will conduct a longitudinal three-wave survey in six countries, selected based on their ranking as low, medium and high on the 2018 Digital Economy and Society Index. Adding to this survey, cognitive wellbeing will be investigated with fMRI in two countries. ICT use patterns will be analysed among at-risk groups in in-depth studies in six complementary countries. Through an effective dissemination strategy and practice and policy recommendations, framed in terms of children’s rights, the interdisciplinary ySKILLS consortium will strengthen the necessary interaction among the relevant stakeholders and practitioners involved.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen Indo-Pacific studies. As the broad region of Indo-Pacific is getting more and more attention both from policy-makers and scholars, there is a growing demand for better understanding of the region which is provided by the growing research area of Indo-Pacific studies. For the purpose of the project Indo-Pacific studies are defined as a multidisciplinary research area focusing on the political, economic and social developments in the Indo-Pacific region. The concept of Indo-Pacific is derived originally from geography and comprises the areas of two oceans: Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean with exclusion of the coast of Americas and polar regions. Indo-Pacific spans from India and Pakistan, east through Southeast Asian states to China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. There is a world-wide need to build and strengthen Indo-Pacific studies. This demand for deepening of the understanding of the region can be justified as follows. Firstly, it is the region inhabited by over 1/3 of the humankind. Secondly, the countries of the region are developing very rapidly and their impact on global affairs is increasing. From the EU perspective the region is especially important for EU because it represents the biggest export market for the European products. 5 EU HEIs and 2 HEIs from India and Japan will collaborate for 31 months, involving 22 scholars to obtain the following OUTPUTS: -1 curriculum report with recommendations (O1)-22 podcasts recorded to popularize science (O3)-1 Digital, Open Access handbook (O2) with 22 chapters including: glossary, learning outcomes, smart index, exercises, cases, assignments, future reading list, follow-up questions + 1 annex with guidelines for teacher and a guide for self-study (O4)-7 partners will update their curricula and teaching techniques for IPS at MA level-21 educators trained in teaching IPS, will do field trainings in the EU (C7), India (C5) or Japan (C6)-240 students will test handbook chapters in India and Japan (C5 and C6)-90 students will test chapters in the EU (C7)-4 dissemination events OUTCOMES-changing study programs in the EU to establish and support IPS-improving didactic potential of teachers of Indo-Pacific Studies by providing them with innovative didactic tools, competences and recommendations-increasing the number of students specialized in IPS (through teaching) – 350 MA /yearly-increasing the number of scholars specialized in IPS (also through self-study) – 100/yearly-increasing awareness among the general public about the importance of the Indo-Pacific Region – 150 during, 4000 after project has ended.Specific for EU partners:-enhanced networking opportunities for partner institutions and staff-gather teaching materials from the region (C5 C6)All these outcomes are self-reinforcing like a virtuous circle: IPS programs will be active (and relevant) for years to come considering the rise of the Indo-Pacific region regarding global capital flows, trade, services, political influence, development, migration, regional security challenges and global challenges like multipolar great power rivalry (beyond the US-China rivalry), ecology and climate change. These factors in turn will create a growing need (pull factor) that will ensure a stable increase of new specialists on the region, which in turn will reinforce the human capital at HEIs (in the EU and beyond) to study the region, and engage with it professionally, legitimizing its pivotal role in global affairs. This same growing need will attract future funding by policy-makers for HEIs that have successfully adopted IPS. This will be a push factor for those Asia studies that have not conformed to ISP yet and do not focus on the interlinkages of Asia’s ever increasingly connected subregions.Since all outputs are tangible, and available through OPEN ACCESS on various online platforms or e-resource databases (O2). These platforms will receive funding for their upkeep by the coordinator - and the handbook availability in online databases will be guaranteed (by legal contract) by collaborating with a renowned publisher.The MONEY-VALUE of the handbook, which will of course be free in its digital version, will without doubt outcompete many of its future competitors for years to come, especially since at the moment NO handbook on this topic is available. EISIPS scholarly expertise that will be put into its development, cannot be outdone by single institutions, and will not easily be outdone by consortia either without similar funding opportunities

Urgently needed innovation in twin transitions will bring about transformations that significantly impact people's everyday lives. These transitions must be science-based and sensitive to actual societal needs to ensure they realize their full socio-environmental benefits. Implementing an approach that is focused on collaborative knowledge valorisation (CKV) and supports collaboration across the quadruple helix (QH) has a powerful potential of moving such innovations beyond the current state of affairs and achieving much more sustainable and better rooted impact. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as a promising field where participatory planning and co-design have been experimented with recently, resulting in innovative best practices. These approaches have provided essential experience in uniting local residents, businesses, academia, and decision-makers to enhance green and blue infrastructures in a participatory and inclusive manner. A lack of knowledge, resources, and skills often hinders the maintenance of NBS, affecting ecosystem integrity and the provision of ecosystem services essential for climate change adaptation and mitigation. GreenEsteem builds on and advances best practices in the field of NBS through piloting the co-evaluation and co-design of sustainable NBS in two living labs (Konin & Sofia). Based on pilot outcomes and with strong support of expert groups and national expert roundtables, a comprehensive training program for CKV are established to tackle barriers and skill gaps among QH stakeholders. Strategic roadmaps and events launch and intensify cross-fertilization networks engaged in the green transition. Supported by an online platform featuring best practice toolkits, online training modules, a digital handbook, and policy recommendations, GreenEsteem is designed to reach practitioners, citizens and researchers alike, ensuring the replication of best practices of collaborative knowledge valorisation across Europe.

Researchers’ Night in Poznan is back! UNIGHTED is “United Europe – United Science – United Culture – United Night”! The project is a unique undertaking of science united, an opportunity to see in action scientists from different fields working together. Discover the interdisciplinary character of science, check out how various areas of science complement each other to make our life better. Take part in an innovative interdisciplinary event “Where sciences converge” and observe how scientists in various areas of science collaborate for the common good. Have a glance into research laboratories and see up close the nature of researchers’ work; observe how robots help in telemedicine, enter FutureSmartSpace and see how new technologies influence interpersonal relationships; carry out experiments in a biotechnology laboratory; uncover the mysteries of meteorites, join in dance and sports. Find out that people of science are ordinary people and their work is simply fascinating. In the context of “United Europe – United Science – United Culture” learn how common European heritage has been influencing a variety of sciences, and how researchers have been working for the common good of entire Europe. And all that thanks to science presented in a fun and straightforward way (edutainment). The UNIGHTED project contains a continuation of projects from previous 11 editions as well as many new ideas. Year after year more participants are attracted to Researchers’ Night as new generations grow up, interested in science and people of science. Every year new venues are opened and programmes are enlarged in order to accept all those interested. This year’s project aims to build on the previous ones and to shed light on novel aspects of science: its interdisciplinary character, common research work for Europe and Europeans. Researchers’ Night both in 2018 and 2019 shall be a great celebration of science, a family fun as well as an alternative to traditional Friday night activities.