“The more interconnected we are, the more we are vulnerable to malicious cyber activity. To tackle this growing threat, we need to work together at every stage.” Security is an essential part of digital education. The COVID-19 era has escalated the demand for protection as more and more attacks lead to growing external costs related to hyper-connectivity. In order to provide high quality, inclusive digital education in the current COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, we need to ensure that all participants are using digital technology in a secure and responsible way. A transfer of a large body of knowledge, which is required to ensure comprehensive digital security through user behaviour change, is challenging in a traditional learning environment. This is exactly where our CYBER4SCHOOLS project proposal fills a gap. Through the proposed cyber game and the associated teaching and training materials, paths and kits for online courses on cybersecurity and game application it will: -create a motivational learning environment and is enjoyable in order to help secondary school pupils to achieve a tremendous amount of learning needed for them to play the game successfully and later to be responsible users of the digital space; - deliver teaching methodology that ensures high (>75%) retention of knowledge through engaged learning by doing; - help students internalize the negative consequences and externalities of their digital actions and reflect on their false sense of invincibility in the digital domain; - help pupils to develop new skills, i.e. problem solving and creative abilities; - empower and support teachers to use innovative learning tools while not overburdening the already resource constrained educators; -support teachers and pupils in discussing and exploring the wider cybersecurity considerations such as international cybersecurity laws and norms, impact of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, and ethical considerations, such as digital citizenship; - inspire teachers and pupils to become ambassadors of innovative learning by doing and using games in cybersecurity education via high engagement and the snowball model The diverse group of participants will include a minimum of 30 IT teachers trained in 3 European countries (Poland, Estonia, Germany) who will act as peer trainers / facilitators in the field of digital security for a minimum of 300 secondary school pupils. These pupils from at least 3 European countries will be trained via the CYBER4SCHOOLS Game. Furthermore, as a result of the wide dissemination and communication campaign, we will reach about 500 teachers across Europe and circa 10 000 secondary school pupils. The CYBER4SCHOOLS game methodology used is based on a synergy of simulated and simultaneously realistic and safe (risk-free) attack-defense game scenarios with a pedagogical approach of immediate intrinsic feedback, followed by both, broader and deeper reflective exercises. In our game format, pupils form red teams (attack) and blue teams (defense) under the guidance of their teachers (white team) and compete in a virtual environment in hacking and defending items of their everyday digital environment such as notebook cameras, social media accounts etc. CYBER4SCHOOLS project activities and results will span the development of Training Paths and Kits for teachers and students on cybersecurity and game application in schools, a Cyber Game web platform, which will be thoroughly tested against a set of criteria (engagement, UX, intended learning outcomes, inclusivity, i.e. gender inclusivity, gamified user types, etc.) to maximize its impact and will be accompanied by a Manual of Sustainability and Replicability to ensure long-term technical, economic and social viability of the CYBER4SCHOOLS results. The impact of CYBER4SCHOOLS will be multifaceted: - Empowered, trained and methodologically equipped teachers to help students learn digital security at a level that matches current and future cybersecurity threats and risks they will be facing; - Innovative teaching methods using gaming and real-life experiences ensure the development of new skills; - Teachers will be equipped with variable scenarios that can be tailored to target groups to have maximum educational benefit; - Increased awareness about cybersecurity threats and responsible behaviour, and wider implications on digital citizenship; - Transnational partnership and exchange of best practices, as cyber threats know no borders The future of education relies very much on digital security, which in turn is mostly driven by the human factor. Cybersecurity skills and awareness developed at a school age can have multiple positive spillovers, from positive transfers to friends and family, secure and responsible use in adulthood, to increased interest in the field of digital security itself, helping to close the skills gap in the EU.

The European Commission launched many initiatives in the last few years for the development of Accessible Tourism, in order to increase the awareness and availability of accessible destinations and products across Europe. Its latest products, the studies on Demand, Training and Supply, describe a situation where a lot of steps forward have been completed but which is still lacking in homogeneity, in a more widespread availability of accessible destinations and offers and in their managerial quality.In particular, the capacity of existing training offer to reach the final users, businesses and public bodies, still deserves a wider attention and efforts to make the EC investments profitable in terms of increased quality and managerial capacity by SMEs operating in the tourism sector.APP TOUR YOU aimed at qualifying human resources in the tourism sector by designing and developing multi-facet training tools on accessibility issues, addressed and tailored to tourism SMEs. Besides a basic knowledge of the tourism for all topic, these training tools aim at providing workers in the tourism sector with the skills needed to correctly describe the characteristics of usability of their premises and services by tourists with specific needs, through a full understanding of the Design for All concepts and the use of self-assessment tools. This expertise meets one of the major critical issues of people with disability when travelling: the availability of reliable, verified and update information on the usability of their destination offer from the point of view of all possible tourism activities to be performed there.These skills are particularly important for SMEs, which represent the group of tourism offer with major appeal for tourist with average spending capability. Thanks to training tools developed by the project, they will be able to be visible on the web, with a reliable description of their offer, reaching a target whom they are normally overlooking as they feel not experienced enough to be able to cater for them properly.To reach its objectives the project will develop the following main activities:- implementation of a blended training course to train 16 operators of tourism SMEs to become facilitators in the field of tourism for all and accessibility assessments. On the basis of a defined training path and with the support of a produced training kit, the 16 operators were trained online on the basic principles of tourism for all and face-to face on how to collect and provide information on the characteristics of usability of tourism facilities by people with specific needs.- design and production of a self-learning mobile and web application to help tourism operators to make a self-assessment of their facilities and to give back the gathered information. The App has been designed and developed through a bottom up approach, with the help of the tourism operators trained in the blended course.- design and definition of the training path and kit of a Massive Open Online Course for the qualification of hospitality workers in the field of accessibility, with a focus on the collection and release of information on the usability of tourism facilities by tourists with specific needs. Also the design of the MOOC training kit followed a bottom up approach, with the involvement of the tourism operators trained in the blended course.- testing of the Massive Open Online Course on tourism accessibility, services assessment and information which involved lot more than the expected 250 managers and staff of EU tourism SMEs (around 700) who have been assisted, during the course, by the tourism operators trained to become MOOC facilitators. The MOOC was supported by an open highly interactive platform hosted in the project’s website www.apptouryou.eu/mooc, where the trainees had the possibility to dialogue with their peers and with partners’ experts.- production of a Manual of sustainability and replicability of the MOOC to allow the transferability of the project training tools and experiences both to other EU countries and to other stakeholders in the different categories of the tourism service chain.- dissemination and exploitation of the MOOC and the main project results through conferences in the partner countries, newsletters, social media, etc.In order to broaden its impacts and extend its benefits over time, all materials produced and used by APP TOUR YOU are open and available in the project website as means to produce quality information on accessibility to be put in the European Directory of Accessible Tourism PANTOU (www.pantou.org). Moreover, after the end of the project, partners will continue to host the MOOC structure to be reused in a “connectivist form” (without trainers and webinars but sharing materials, comments, blogs and experience) by interested stakeholders: groups of self-gathered learners, international networks, local public institutions.

SMEthod is a research project aimed at delivering an improved methodology of identifying SME’s pathways to innovation and of segmenting innovating SMEs in order to determine optimal targeting and timing of support measures allocated by innovation agencies and other institutions. A complementary goal is to create a decision support tool (DST) ) which will be devolved in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders who implement innovation policies and by compiling the complex SME innovativeness determinants will offer them a flexible evaluation tool. Broad dissemination activities are also planned to reach innovation stakeholders, innovation and regional development agencies, ministries, etc. The SMEthod methodology will consider important factors that are likely to influence companies and the societal impact they create. In particular, enterprise lifecycle, industrial sectors, regional characteristics, and innovation cycles will be scrutinized. New segmenting criteria for innovation support policies will be prepared and specific variables will be determined and weighted in order to assure usability of the methodology. The holistic character of the project will be assured by proposing a more efficient allocation of appropriate pro-innovation measures. Most common and relevant methodologies of segmenting SMEs for the purpose of innovation support will be evaluated as well. Furthermore, efficiency of selected methods and techniques will be assessed. Conclusions from the research will be merged to deliver a final product of the project – a holistic methodology and the DST based on it. The project’s impact will be a better understanding of innovation dynamics and potentials in SMEs and of their efficient segmentation. New knowledge will be created on the effectiveness of innovation policies and most popular measures. Better targeting different instruments toward most promising SMEs will be possible thanks to evaluative analyses and new segmenting criteria.

The European Construction sector faces unprecedented challenges to achieve ambitious energy efficiency objectives, that can be met only if successful training initiatives and supporting policy instruments are put in place, acting as a springboard to stimulate the demand for energy efficiency skills. The INSTRUCT project aims to act at a market level by providing an operational framework and set of services serving a new generation of skilled and certified workers and fitters and paving the way to legislative changes that overall will stimulate the demand for energy skills across lifecycle and supply chains. Key outputs include: (a) quantitative and qualitative evidences that corroborate and reinforce the correlation between (i) skills and education and (ii) energy performance and quality; (b) a set of tools and instruments facilitating the mutual recognition of energy skills and qualifications in the construction sector; (c) real-world demonstrations (in 5 geographical European areas) of the usefulness and ease of use of the deployed instruments for recognition of energy skills and qualifications; (d) dissemination and awareness raising actions in consortium members countries, scaled up to the wider Europe; (e) new legislative frameworks enabling reliance on skilled workers in public / private procurement. The Consortium draws on (a) the engagement of internationally leading industry best practice and vocational training, (b) the educational excellence of leading institutions in Europe, (c) the robust experience of accrediting bodies in the construction domain. It provides a Europe-wide coverage with 7 participating countries, scaled up to 5 clusters, representing a multi-expertise ensemble of stakeholders and energy value chains deploying the INSTRUCT methodology and supporting tools in country-based pilots. It is supported by a network of stakeholders, involving the Build Up Skills chapters across Europe, and a Europe wide community of interest of 200+ members.

The lack of proper coordination of aspects related to regulation, financing and management of energy efficiency measures within urban regeneration initiatives, as well as the frequent misalignment of public stakeholders at different levels, are hindering the potential benefits of addressing these processes from an integrated perspective. FosterREG aims at enhancing public capacity at local, regional and national levels to plan, finance and manage integrated urban regeneration for sustainable energy uptake, through capacity building, promotion and articulation of effective multilevel coordination, and national as well as European network strengthening. These objectives will be achieved through public stakeholders’ engagement in joint analysis and knowledge development activities, as well as creation and dissemination of targeted training materials and activities across Europe. FosterREG relates to the Work Programme objectives by: 1) Focusing on the integration of energy efficiency measures within urban regeneration plans, with especial emphasis on building retrofitting while promoting synergies with other sectors such as transport and land-use planning. 2) Enhancing multilevel coordination (European, national, regional and local) of public authorities in the reduction of EU energy consumption. 3) Building capacity for civil servants at national, regional and local level in relation with policy design, planning, financing and management of energy efficiency measures within urban regeneration plans. 4) Fostering the implementation of the Energy Effciency Directive, in particular Articles 4 and 7.