<< Background >>The project proposal is relevant and connected with priorities and needs/gaps identified in different documents at national and EU level. Within the EU, the issue of literacy is still high on the agenda for Member States. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) shows that 4 out of 10 adults and every third person who works in the EU lacks basic digital skills. The EC has set targets in the EU skills agenda and the digital education action plan to ensure that 70% of adults will have basic digital skills by 2025. These initiatives aim to reduce the level of 13-14 year olds who underperform in computing and digital literacy from 30% (2019) to 15% in 2030. For example, in Bulgaria the share of people with at least basic skills in the field of digital technologies amounts to about 29% of the Bulgarian population aged 16 to 74, while the EU average is 58%. Only 11% of people have above-basic skills, which is one third of the EU average (according to DESI 2020). In 2019, Italy dropped two places and now ranks last in the EU on the Human Capital dimension. Only 42% of people aged 16-74 years have at least basic digital skills (58% in the EU) and only 22% have above basic digital skills (33% in the EU). Finland ranks 1st out of the 28 EU countries in human capital. At least basic digital skills levels remain well above the EU average at 76%, despite the fact that Finland ranks 2nd on that indicator. Finland made significant progress in increasing the proportion of people with above basic digital skills jumping to 50% this year and gaining first position in the EU in this ranking. Also, according to the results of the Media Literacy Index for 2019 (published by the Open Society Institute - Bulgaria) the greatest weight is that of education, as reading literacy has the greatest weight, i.e. the priority is the development of critical thinking. According to the same report, there is a direct link between education and other factors/indicators (media freedom, trust, new forms of participation) that are key to preventing the spread of misinformation. The higher the media literacy index is, the greater the trust in public structures, the less likely it is to spread conspiracy theories and misinformation, and so on. It is believed that the level of education, the state of the media, the level of trust in society and the spread of new forms of participation illustrate the existence of media literacy.The EU's priority is the well-being of its citizens and their active participation in the public, social and cultural life of the union. As focal points, libraries in the Member States are actively working to improve the overall level of literacy and inclusion in lifelong learning through their activities and services. For example, the project Boosting Digital Skills and Competencies for Librarians in Europe aims to increase the competencies of librarians, and the project Get Your Facts Straight! Media Literacy for All main goal is to developed skills for recognizing fake news. In another project: Financial Literacy Through Public Libraries, the aim is to increase the level of financial literacy of older people through public libraries as centres for non-formal education and learning in their life. Libraries are part of our social and cultural life and are addressed around the world in a number of documents, both of the European Union and of international cultural and professional organizations (UNESCO and IFLA), as major vendors of information, identified as a ‘third’ place in the life of citizens, as a place to form and build new skills and knowledge and to improve existing ones. Libraries are also a major partner and centre for non-formal education. In their role of donors of quality and reliable information, libraries are a natural partner of the EC for the implementation of many of its strategic goals: participation in the processes of continuing education, upgrading competencies, etc., including the implementation of the SDG till 2030.<< Objectives >>The project includes for implementation 4 main project results . The first one is related to satisfying the need for dynamic and appropriate change corresponding to students' needs - they are looking for attractiveness and activity in education, and teachers and trainers must satisfy it by ensuring the quality of education. Therefore, the team will explore pedagogical models and frameworks, and in particular the STEM model, and will adapt it to combine the need to teach transliteracy with the attractiveness and practical knowledge and skills traditionally used in the sciences. As a final result of the activities on the first project output, an innovative conceptual model for teaching in higher education will be developed, which is also applicable in non-formal educational institutions, such as libraries. With the implementation of the second stage of the project, the team aims to provide in the hands of teachers and trainers a tool (didactic guide) for teaching transliteracy in an adapted curriculum with elements of STEM. These guidelines will be interactive and will greatly facilitate teachers and librarians in terms of teaching transliteracy in their own courses. As a result of the project output 3 a pilot/conceptual model for game-based learning (game design) in transliteracy will be developed. This project result will meet the criteria for a user-friendly game and the criteria for usability design, playability, etc. as well as the possibility to meet the quality criteria - to evaluate and analyse students’ achievements. The final stage of the project proposal is related to the development of an educational game in transliteracy to be used for the purposes of education in universities and training centres - e.g. libraries. The developed product is directly related to the formation and upgrading of broad range of literacies skills - digital, information, media, visual, data, etc. and is equipped with the necessary tools for adequate and reliable assessment of learning outcomes. In order to facilitate the use of the actual product in the project partner network and within the EU, the game will be translated and freely available through the project website and social profiles in 4 languages ​​- Bulgarian, Italian, Finnish and English. Free access will also be provided to the model on which the game is developed. The experience of the project team will be summarized in a guide designed to facilitate the use of the training model by a wider range of stakeholders, who will accordingly develop and expand it to new target groups.<< Implementation >>The project activities cover the development of 4 main project results: a conceptual model based on an adapted STEM model for game-based transliteracy training for students and adults and a teaching curriculum; a didactic interactive learning tool (online guide); designing a game scenario and tools for learning analytics; essentially developing a learning product (game) for teaching transliteracy, available in 4 languages.Five transnational meetings are planned, directly linked to the implementation of the individual project stages (results 1-4) and are key for their implementation. The competencies of each partner in the project fields and the coordination of the implementation of the individual project stages with each of them is an important and sensitive moment in the working process. In order to produce the highest quality products to be tested during the training sessions, it is necessary for the whole team to comply with the recommendations given by the more competent partner in the individual activities. Therefore, the time and place of the meetings are in accordance with the planned project tasks and the planned training sessions, as the host organizations of the meetings are leading for the respective project result (1-4) or for the training activity.Directly corresponding to the results and the transnational meetings are the training sessions provided by the project for the target groups - students, librarians, teachers. The training sessions will not only upgrade the competencies of the participants in terms of teaching broad range of literacies, the application of innovative practices in training and the development of game-based training, but will also be actively used for quality assessment of the project team at different levels. The constant feedback with the target groups of the project planned to be realized through the training sessions themselves and the qualitative and quantitative surveys of the attitudes - a turning point for the implementation of the planned activities and an indicator for their quality.Dissemination events cover the promotion of the project through parallel seminars/workshops and a closing conference. In addition, the project envisages participation in scientific conferences, where the results of the activities are tested and thus given wide awareness among the scientific community. The EC EPALE and Erasmus + project results platforms will also be used as a tool for sharing good practices. A project website and accounts on the social networks will be created, which will be connected to each other and will facilitate communication with different generations of users. The site will also serve as a tool for sharing the results of project activities, which will be freely available to the public and all interested parties.<< Results >>With the implementation of the project, the partner team believes that will contribute significantly to the integration of new educational approaches in higher education. This will positively impact a number of challenges facing EU Member States, as innovation in education requires a higher level of knowledge and skills possessed by learners. The main project results and activities will significantly support the teaching of literacy, helping at national and European level to increase the digital competences of society, improve the image of higher education institutions and the quality of teaching, the inclusion of more people in different forms of continuing education. All this is among the priorities of the EU for the formation of a competently developed democratic society.. The project implementation will also increase the capacity of the partner consortium, as this will fill significant gaps in terms of pedagogical practices used in universities and/or in terms of teaching literacy in an innovative way. Currently literacy teaching is rather related to the media and information literacy training, and not to the concept of interrelated elements - media, information, visual, digital and other literacies. The partnership provides an opportunity for exchange of good practices in teaching and learning applied in the individual organizations. The project implementation will help expand the partners’ contacts and create preconditions for future research dedicated to other important priorities for the EU. The developed product is expected to have a positive impact on the students’ competencies from partner universities, especially in terms of transliteracy, increasingly important in all spheres of life. In addition, the developed product will be used not only by partner universities, but also by libraries and information centres - non-formal training centres for lifelong learning. In general, the implementation of TLIT4U project is expected to significantly increase the motivation of all target groups - students, librarians, teachers to use innovative approaches in the educational process aimed at improving skills related to different literacies. The impact of the project is related to the long-term positive changes that each EU Member State strives for individually and as a whole, at European level. These long-term positive developments are defined in the EU priorities through various strategic documents, as well as in particular in the priorities for the implementation of the Erasmus + program through the definition of horizontal and sectoral priorities. For the project these are the goals defined in the Digital Competence Framework, Lifelong Learning Program, Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the priorities selected as relevant to the project topic etc. As a more general result of the project implementation is the assistance for the implementation of the SDGs and in particular 4, 5, 8 which will ensure the development of an equal, knowledgeable and capable society.

Information Literacy: a Game-Based Learning Approach for Avoiding Fake Content (NAVIGATE) is a project that aims to identify and create the conditions for a more effective approach to IL by the HE students in the humanities. Play is the dimension identified by the NAVIGATE project implemented by the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies (Bulgaria) together with partners from Italy (University of Parma and Fondazione Politecnico di Milano) and Sweden (University of Gavle) in order to bring students closer to IL and to support the work of librarians and teachers. The goal of the NAVIGATE project was to help in developing critical information skills by going beyond the mere information contained in textual and bibliographic sources (from Information Literacy to Transliteracy). From a survey on the students' IL skills done in the first stage of the project, it emerged that students have little ability to evaluate the information they retrieve online and therefore do not know the preliminary stages of identification of specialized resources or even the important information management phase. A framework for the skills needed to avoid fake academic content was therefore developed as an interactive web tool consisting of five main pillars. The Competency Tree (https://www.navigateproject.eu/o1/competency-tree-as-a-wheel/) lists the skills that students must demonstrate at each of the stages of the research cycle. The aim is to guide students and their instructors to identify the skills gap. More information about the framework developed within the NAVIGATE project is available here: (https://www.justframeworks.com/#!/frameworks/32bc074c-9f64-e811-80c3-000d3ab2aaea). The Competency tree framework can be used both as a basis for game development as well as for direct teaching of information and digital skills to university students. It also served as the basis for developing a game-based model for IL training in the framework of the project. The model includes a plan for advanced modules with specific game-based activities to be applied by the academic libraries or integrated into the curriculum. Another important application of the NAVIGATE Competency framework was the selection and classification of the most relevant IL games in the interactive tool NaviGAMESearcher (https://www.navigateproject.eu/navigamesearch-tool/) to be used by librarians, teachers and students. The categorization of each game was done through the Competency tree and the following selection of technical specifications to be ranked from 1 to 10 points: playability, lastability, engagement level, user interface, and engagement level. As a next step two very different IL games in terms of objectives and architecture were developed by the project team. The games have versions in English, Bulgarian, Italian and Swedish and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback to the player. They were designed and developed in constant contact with students teachers and librarians in order to have direct feedback from those who would later become their main recipients. The timing in both games allows an easier use for trainers from an organizational point of view. The first game: Information Trap Manager (https://www.navigateproject.eu/itm/) is an adventure and strategy game simulating a university campus. It provides middle and advanced IL competences for undergraduate students. Each building of the campus represents a specific IL skill; then there are other environments (students' dormitory, students' cafe, students' club, library, examination centre, classrooms, knowledge centre) that help make the game more varied. The second game: the Navigator (https://www.navigateproject.eu/navigator/) is a storytelling based mini-game simulating the social texting apps. It starts with a breaking news followed by a chat-based dialogue with an AI-based robot assistant. The game aims to raise the awareness of HE students in humanities about the risks related to the quality of information sources. The CRAAP test model (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) was embedded in the Navigator game. In order to support the future users of the developed methodology for game-based learning approach to IL a multimedia training resource for the NAVIGATE games and outputs was created: NAVIGATE in 7 minutes (https://www.navigateproject.eu/summary/#/). The NAVIGATE project successfully met its main goal: to provide innovative learning solution by applying a common game-based approach to IL training at Bachelor’s level in Bulgaria, Italy and Sweden and developing a student-centered strategy for blended learning in IL of humanities students based on this approach. Except for the undergraduate students, the NAVIGATE games, tools and resources were made accessible to a wider target groups (teachers and librarians) and an interest to them was demonstrated not only by users from Bulgaria, Italy and Sweden but also from other European countries and the USA.

"Project ""Innovations for Big Data in a Real World"" ( iBIGworld ) aims to join together HEIs, business in order to address the competences and compatible job profile. This collaboration will provide innovative solutions to develop BigData experts. Learning framework is based on IEEE guidelines for big data in Machine Learning”. In this context, this project aims:a) to bridge the current digital skills gap in southern Europe following the European Commission's 'e-Skills for jobs' campaign. b) to build an ecosystem of key partners for creating an access port in underrepresented talent pools.c) to identify the underrepresented skills, the rationale behind the phenomenon of talented people who lack the traditional credentials to land a good job and the Big Data with the most pressing needs.d) to promote business opportunities, through a Smart BigData Job Hub, between Universities and business, including new Big Data -based internship programs, PhD student supervision between HEIs and business.e) to envisage a range of new initiatives to ensure that these skills are adequately promoted in the curriculum, in teacher development, in assessment practices and in learning content. ICT, BigData and AI trends, new educational tools and learning resources to be collected, processed and disseminated through the Smart BigDataJob Hub towards the modernization of curricula and to further.The iBIGworld project brings together four partners from four European countries: Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia. To fulfill the aforementioned objectives, the iBIGworld project includes three teaching/training activities focused on:1. HEI trainers2. Undergraduate and postgraduate students 3. Business managersFurthermore, the project involves the organisation of four multiplier events, for the dissemination of the four project intellectual outputs (""DataBased with good practices BigData case"", ""Setup the Big Data Requirements"", ""BigData framework for training in HE"", ""Piloting"").The project results have a notable impact on all stakeholders, which is summarised as follows:- On HEIs: Mitigation of the ICT ""skill-crisis"" by supporting the design of evidence-based reforms of curricula.- On students and graduates: Preparation of high BigData-skilled, empowered, motivated and self-confident future professionals.- On business : Sharing of knowledge and cooperation with the participating HEIs, since academic degrees (Bachelor's and Master's) will be promoted in the eyes of industry and market recruiters, while applied research will be conducted in their premises.- On society: Linking HEIs and business world is a pre-requisite, iBIGWorld aspires to offer better job opportunities for graduates and minimize the risk of unemployment, lower wages and poorer long-term prospects.In order to ensure sustainability, all project outcomes are publicly available, while the participating organisations are signing agreements on post-project output sustainability."

"<< Objectives >>Project ""FAAI"" aims to join together HEIs and businesses. In this context, this project aims: a) bridge the current digital skills gap in part of European Countries ;b) build an ecosystem of key partners ; d) promote business opportunities, through an AI Job Hub, between Universities and businesses;е) support the creation of internship programs, PhD students and etc.<< Implementation >>The FAAI project includes activities focused on: 1. HEI trainers 2. Undergraduate and postgraduate students 3. Business managers Furthermore, the project involves the organization of multiplier events, for the dissemination the result of the project work packages.Public authorities, NGOs, regional bodies, and professional organizations can utilize the project outputs to mitigate unemployment issues and boost AI related skills in an effort to increase the competitiveness of local businesses.<< Results >>Teachers and students to get acquainted with the capabilities of AI systems for solving problems in management, industry, engineering, administration and education;Promoting among business and young people the enormous opportunities provided by artificial intelligence to build the ecosphere of modern society."

<< Background >>Cyber security is a cross-border phenomenon and requires an international approach. The worldwide spread of COVID-19 makes this approach even more relevant. During pandemic, over 80% of students worldwide did not attend universities/schools for indefinite period of time. None of the groups participating in the education (teachers, students, university authorities) were fully prepared. The imposed social isolation led to extremely intensive use of Internet and revolutionary digitisation of human life, in all of its aspects. In these conditions, cyber risks are increasing for all countries in the world at all levels of daily routine. That is why, it is very important to explore the new dimensions of cybersecurity, to improve the knowledge of (constantly evolving) risks, implement relevant legislation and improve the resilience of critical information infrastructure and networks.NEEDS OF PARTNERSHIP AND TARGET GROUPSThe needs of the target groups defined in the Project Description Section , was done on the basis of a preliminary study on the needs of the TARGETED AUDIENCES and on the SWOT analysis of each partner institution. Among most often mentioned gaps, the partners report: - Growing connection of information systems with critical infrastructure (security of the digital networks that we train); -Serious difficulties for teachers of humanities to use the electronic infrastructure effectively and deal with failures arising in the process of online work ( TR, BG, IT, PL, CH);- Lack of knowledge and skills to implement relevant security procedures (PL, TR, BG); -Lack of shared standard, instructions and coordination (All); -Increased demand for e-learning flexibility, mobility and empowerment; - Communication among students and professors over new platforms (All); - Use of sensitive data and violations from platforms (All); - Copyright and ownership of institution material (All);- Law limitations in some countries, universities can choose their platforms but some online platforms also contain additional services which aren’t linked to education, IT).<< Objectives >>Cyber IN Practice AIMS at enhancing the existing expertise starting from (but not limited to) consortium countries by supporting the development of professional groups committed to improving cybersecurity-related aspects and their management in non IT areas of the HE system. The partnership wants to achieve following by implementing this project:The Cyber IN Practice Project will help to reduce regional disparities about cybersecurity skills and competencies in partner countries. The Cyber IN Practice Project will support the identification of cyber threats and security gaps in HE in partner countries. The Cyber IN Practice Project will help the main target groups to become aware of cyber risks by putting the requirements of cyber security in Higher Education IInstitutions (HEIs) in the EU.The Cyber IN Practice Project will promote transitions in putting cybersecurity by providing innovative learning nuggets and disseminating the main deliverables of the project. The Cyber IN Practice Project will strengthen networking to solve common problems about putting cybersecurity in partner countries by generating and sharing knowledge among partners. The Cyber IN Practice Project will pilot and test learning nuggets integration in non IT oriented courses in HEIs. The Cyber IN Practice Project will provide the development of a realistic expectation by getting to know the cyber risks and prevention from cyber risks to the partners and their local and regional networks. The Cyber IN Practice Project will be a facilitator instrument in the creation of synergies that allows carrying out the common goals and objectives that will be potentially greater than those which can be reached by partners who work alone.<< Implementation >>ACTIVITIES RELATED WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION: - Project Technical Management- Financial Management- Quality Assurance, Evaluation, Impact Assessment- Mid-term and Final Monitoring Reports- Process Evaluation Report and Quality reports;- Dissemination strategy and report;- Dissemination material (newsletters, leaflets, articles)- In-presence transnational meetings with representatives of the partner organizations.E1-E4: MULTIPLIER EVENTS in Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria and PolandACTIVITIES RELATED WITH RESULTS:R1 - Identification cyber threats and security gaps for non IT oriented HE coursesR1/A1 - The Desktop Analysis R1/A2 - Conducting of Focus Group AnalysisR1/A3 - Collecting use cases in cyber threats and risk managementR1/A4 - Cyber threats and security gaps for non IT oriented HE courses Report R2 - Development of Guide with learning nuggetsR2/A1 - The State-of-the-art reportR2/A2 - Sharing platform will be selected and configured for the specific purposes of Cyber IN Practice;R2/A3 - Interactive materials will be developed for the purposes of the Pilot training foreseen (R3);R2/A4 - The nuggets of knowledge on cybersecurity and risk management will be structured in thematic modules.R3 - Integration of nuggets in non IT oriented HE coursesR3/A1 - Guidelines for Implementation of the learning nuggets will be developed for supporting the work of university staff for HEIs non IT students.R3/A2 -Development Training and Testing Methodology R3/A3 -Conducting Pilot Testing in Partner Countries R3/A4 - Final Report<< Results >>RESULTS:R1 - Identification cyber threats and security gaps for non IT oriented HE courses - The Desktop analysis will be devoted to define cyber threats and security gaps in online training observing the existing data for countries partners in the project consortium and for their neighbour countries;- Report with key conclusions and recommendations of the national focus groups will summarise the findings of their work. These groups will be structured around disciplines from humanities, natural and applied sciences. The aim to receive deeper and narrower information of the exact skills and competencies as well as common challenges and most importantly - unknown needs of the specialists and trainers as target groups.- Use case Collection (collecting good and bad practices in cyber threats and risk management);- Identification of gaps and threats and selection of a set, based on the specific needs.R2 - Development of Guide with learning nuggets- The State-of-the-art report will search to identify practices of using learning nuggets in higher education which will be the Nuggets Manual will define the micro learning (nuggets) structure and first draft of the training/learning strategy;- Sharing platform will be selected and configured for the specific purposes of Cyber IN Practice;- Interactive materials will be developed for the purposes of the Pilot training foreseen;- The nuggets of knowledge on cybersecurity and risk management will be structured in thematic modules;R3 - Integration of nuggets in non IT oriented HE courses- Guidelines for Implementation of the learning nuggets will be developed for supporting the work of university staff.- The Pilot testing will be carried in each partner country for testing the Cyber IN Practice approach for incorporation of IT knowledge into the learning content of non IT disciplines.- The Training Methodology for integration of the nuggets into non IT disciplines will support trainers and educators in making use of the Cyber IN Practice outputs and in implementing future training courses or atoms of cybersecurity knowledge into their courses based on the materials created.All outputs will be available in English and partly translated on BG, IT, PL and TR languages.RESULTS of the Management and Implementation: - Project Technical Management- Financial Management- Quality Assurance, Evaluation, Impact Assessment- Mid-term and Final Monitoring Reports- Process Evaluation Report and Quality reports;- Dissemination strategy and report;- Dissemination material (newsletters, leaflets, articles)- In-presence transnational meetings with representatives of the partner organizations.RESULTS of the dissemination activities- Dissemination plan- Project website- Project pages in social media - Project newsletters- Project Brochure & other dissemination material- Workshop on cyber security (In Turkey - Marmara University)- National multiplier events