ACCELERATE has a simple but ambitious aim: to improve the teaching of art and design at higher education in a post-pandemic Europe through the development of innovative methodologies, tools, platforms, and resources for accessible immersive learning. It will do so by bringing together art and design lecturers, educational researchers, and learning technologists from the UK, Ireland, Poland, and Ukraine to reflect on the impact of COVID-19 and to explore new possibilities for pedagogy and digital innovation.In March and April 2020, 95% of European universities moved to online distance learning. The shift was as deliberate as it was profound—despite the enormous social upheaval, university teaching carried on—but impact was unevenly distributed, varying by country, university, and subject. Practice-based subjects such as art and design were particularly hard hit with a fifth of European students reporting that their university had not been able to move practical classes online (as opposed to less than 4% who reported that lectures had not been moved online). Nonetheless, as the experiences of art and design institutions and faculties across Europe testify, practice-based lecturers and students demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in adapting existing online platforms and tools to ensure a continuity of learning amidst tremendous uncertainty. These experiences in turn informed preparations for 2020/21, with practice-based subjects currently offering a 'blended' learning approach mixing in-person and virtual teaching or, once again, delivering their learning entirely online.ACCELERATE will draw on the spirit of practice-led creative innovation that art and design lecturers have been invoking since March. It will focus on the potential transformative role of immersive technologies (that is, augmented, virtual, and mixed realities, also known as extended reality (XR)) in the teaching of art and design while recognising that many learners face significant challenges in engaging effectively with XR technologies: disabilities; complex personal circumstances; low quality devices; poor and unreliable internet access. It proposes to create a new prototype platform (Intellectual Output 4) for accessible immersive teaching in art and design that aims to democratise XR technology rather than limit to those with the best equipment and the fastest connections. The collaborative development of this immersive ecosystem—open-source, scalable, sustainable—as a gateway for art and design lecturers and students with little or no previous experience of XR technologies will be informed by a considered evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on art and design teaching at the partner universities (Intellectual Output 1), the co-drafting of a methodological guide (Intellectual Output 2) and the co-designing of a standalone online training course aimed at lecturers (Intellectual Output 3); it will be populated by teaching materials including co-created case studies (Intellectual Output 5) that will draw on the shared expertise and perspectives of the project partners. By engaging with the layered complexities of XR accessibility and immersive learning, ACCELERATE has the capacity to be genuinely pioneering in its pedagogical and technological outcomes and to find new ways of engaging with art and design students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.All the intellectual outputs will be shared publicly. The immersive ecosystem and case studies will maintained well beyond the end of the project, allowing lecturers and students from other universities across Europe and beyond to experience the benefits of immersive learning as well XR developers to use, enhance, and extend the immersive ecosystem itself.

The project “3 layers of storytelling” was implemented by seven European universities in cooperation, from 2014 to 2017. It comprised the activities of three work packages, those of Cinematography, Puppetry and Applied Theatre, interlinked by their respective roles in storytelling.The higher education consortium made up of the University of Theatre and Film Arts/HU, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design, Technology/IE and Baltic Film and Media School of Tallinn University/EE enriched the range of European Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees by its “Viewfinder” cinematography joint master programme (the first semester of the first class started in in Dublin, in September 2017). www.viewfinder-ma.euThe concept, the curriculum and the consortium core documents for launching the “PuppeTry” joint master, a theatrical field not yet covered by an EMJM, were drawn up by the University of Theatre and Film Arts/HU, the Academy of Performing Arts/SK, the Puppetry Department of Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art/PL and the Academy of Performing Arts/CZ.Together with the above-mentioned Hungarian university, the University of Arts Târgu-Mureş /RO developed 4 joint university modules in the Applied Theatre field. They intend to fit them into their training portfolios first in the form of an international summer university, then as a joint master.Other activities implemented during the project period, playing an important role in creating the above joint training courses, included i.e. 16 test teachings in the framework of teacher/student mobility, work-shops, experience exchange, 9 international project meetings and the professional conference of January 2015 held with the contribution of the whole partnership, 17 international lecturers and 124 interested domestic parties, tackling the theoretical, empirical and pedagogical issues raised by the three fields concerned, as seen from the common perspective of storytelling. Proceedings, the freely available document comprising the conference presentations and published by the project leader Hungarian university is expected to initiate further scientific, professional and training contacts in the fields of puppetry, cinematography and applied theatre.The other two freely available intellectual outputs of the 3 layers project –I know that you don’t know that I know – the Intentional Stance in Filmmaking by János Vecsernyés/HU in the field of cinematography, and 3D HEROES – Some Dramaturgical Aspects of Adaptation in Contemporary Puppet Theatre by Dóra Gimesi/HU in that of puppetry – are meant to serve the same purpose.An extensive network of international associated partners has evolved around the joint training programmes developed under the project: the Viewfinder programme is supported by 28 international and national professional organisations, film companies, HEIs within and without Europe, CILECT, the International Association of Film and Television Schools and IMAGO, the European Federation of National Cinematographers Associations. Its students are hosted for short study periods by York University, Canada, Jerusalem-based Maaleh Film and the Media School and Victoria Colleges in Melbourne. The quality assurance committee of the programme is headed by a senior cinematography professor of London Film School.The implementation of the PuppeTry joint programme is supported by 26 international organisations, by puppet theatres and UNIMA, the International Marionette Institute. The professional quality of the 4 Applied Theatre joint modules was checked by a professor of London Holloway University. The outputs of the 3 layers project were presented to the wider professional public at the Kecskemét Meeting of Hungarian Puppet Theatres (puppetry work package), the Hungarian Film Week (cinematography work package) and the Hungarian National Theatre Festival (Applied Theatre work package).According to the 2011 EU Modernisation Agenda, “education, and in particular higher education, plays a crucial role in individual and societal advancement. Moreover, the international mobility of students, researchers and staff, as well as the growing internationalisation of higher education, have a strong impact on quality and affect the key areas. „replied to these statements and is in line with the aim of “Strengthening quality through mobility and cross-border co-operation”. The project outputs contributed to reaching the target “to double the proportion of students completing a study or training period abroad to 20% by 2020”.

The project considers the economical, psychological and social effects of ransomware. Ransomware is a particular type of malware, and a new crime of extortion committed online. Malicious software gets installed through a phishing email or a drive-by download on a website. When it runs, it performs an action such as the encryption of the user's files, and asks a ransom for this action to be undone. The victim is coerced into paying through psychological manipulations which sometimes masquerade as advice. Due to the subtle ways that the technological aspects of the crime blend with - and are exploited through - various human dimensions, it has profound economic, psychological and societal impacts upon its victims, which makes its eradication all the more complicated. Law Enforcement Agencies have estimated that losses to criminals using ransomware are many millions of pounds, but the true costs may never be known because victims have shown to be particularly reluctant to report. This project sets out to answer the following questions: Why is ransomware so effective as a crime and why are so many people falling victim to it? Who is carrying out ransomware attacks? How can police agencies be assisted? What interventions are required to mitigate the impacts of ransomware? In order to do so, the project gathers data from Law Enforcement Agencies (which have agreed to closely collaborate with the project), through surveys of the general public and SMEs, and through interviews with stakeholders. The data will be analysed using script analysis, behavioural analysis, and other profiling techniques, leading to narratives regarding the criminals, the victims, and the typical ransomware scenario. Economical and behavioural models of ransomware will then be constructed and used to improve ransomware mitigation and advice, as well as support for law enforcement.

<< Background >>The Digital Mythologies – Mythical Digitalities (DIMYMYDI) has two starting points – firstly, the Covid-19 situation forced all educational institutions to take a leap into the deep end of online teaching and secondly, the cultural, social and political environment is at present churning with mythological ideas and images, In the fields of Art, Design and Media, moving tuition over to the net was without complications – ordinary platforms and tools are not enough for planning, producing and above all exhibiting artistic and design work, not all teachers are very well versed in the use of more sophisticated tools in their teaching and the experience of learning and teaching over the net can feel impoverished. Mythology, on the other hand has been used and abused in the current cultural, social, and political discussion and its interpretations have been shallow, divisive, and often nationalistically motivated. However, mythologies reflect our shared experiences and ideas on a less complicated level and can also be used to build understanding and sense of wider communality.<< Objectives >>The main objectives of the project are:- to develop a toolkit to support online teaching of media and visual communication- to instruct teachers on how use new digital tools to enrich their own teaching- to introduce new digital tools to students for planning, implementing and exhibiting their own work- to improve the media literacy of students vis-à-vis mythology-related issues- to introduce students to use of mythology in their own artistic work - to compile a mythology compendium for anyone to use as source material for mythology related courses/workshops and unitsWe acknowledge that there is a wider interest in working with tools introduced in education, professional and entertainment activities, thus dissemination and distribution of project results is taken seriously. Therefore, we are also planning on exhibiting work done in different events and in collaboration with various media, museum and societal partners – online and hybrid exhibitions and events are seen by many people, and they are a good forum to introduce new technical and artistic tools and messages.<< Implementation >>The project carries out the following activities:1.Four different Project Results to be produced: Toolkit (PR01), Mythology compendium (PR02), Curated Exhibition Series (PR03) and Project Publication (multimedia) (PR04)2.Ten Learning, Teaching and Training Activities, 6 for students and 4 for teachers, where different tools are tested and taught, mythologies, its cultural meanings and uses are studied and intertwining the two, they produce design/art work to be used in dissemination and building impact, and feedback for the Product Results group on the success of their work and how to improve it. 3.Four Multiplier Events with parts directed to professional audiences and parts (exhibitions, events, printed matters, physical objects etc.) are targeting wider audiences4.Individual student LTTA work will be exhibited in either in connection of workshops or other relevant events organized by project partners or embers of their contact networks (e.g. museums, festivals, or urban events)Even if we have planned each activity to take place onsite, we are prepared to arrange them online in case the situation so warrants. During the last year we have realized that working and teaching online opens unforeseen possibilities for collaboration – with activities planned to take place online, we can involve more people than otherwise is possible and bring in also experts, who would otherwise be unavailable.<< Results >>The outputs (results) of the project are:-Toolkit to support drafting, realizing, sharing and exhibiting rich visual content online and in hybrid formats. In addition to information on software and its availability, the kit will contain tutorials, examples of work done during the pilot workshops, user experiences and evaluations. The kit will also contain suggestions on software that make collaboration and communication easier at different stages of the design and display process.-Mythology Compendium consists of collection of mythological materials relevant to the topics of the workshops (Play, Spirituality, Identity, Materiality Body, Nature) covering Nordic, Celtic, Belgian, Finnish, Polish and Lithuanian mythologies. Even if the materials are specific, they also form a compilation, which tackles several issues culturally, socially, or politically important in the current European discourse.-Series of Curated Exhibitions in hybrid formats to show what new technologies can achieve in creating artwork. However, to have the most impact with the work, there is a need for choosing collaborators, perspectives, works and venues, create texts and other additional materials to make the most of the results.-Project Publication (multimedia) is compact collection of best of the project with interesting case studies, examples of work and texts on pedagogical inventions and technical best practice - in this case in a multimedia format. It also preserves the ephemeral works and serves as inspiration to people interested in producing art and design themselves.The outcomes of the project are:-international body of research/development and outputs that encourage discussion and dialogue between transnational cultural, educational, political, and industrial stakeholders on questions of national and European identity. -Introduction of new ways of supporting media-based online study and work to HEIs in art, design, and media education, teachers (and students) of those institutions, and those interested in producing enriched media content for their own purposes.-Giving ne knowledge and insights on a wide variety of topics dealing with mythology and building bridges with the past and the present culture by showcasing the relevance of improved awareness on media literacy and how to interpret connotational level of communication industry.-increasing understanding of art/design work produced by digital means (and supported by physical artefacts such as zines and objects) among the professional and general audiences through conferences, exhibitions and events.

Disablist bullying is a complex and layered issue that crosses from child to adult level, often because ID/SEN individuals have not been sufficiently prepared to cope with such issues as marginalisation, exclusion and bullying behaviours. Disablist bullying research and the widespread adoption of practical approaches is scarce. What research exists, tends to come from the medical rather than social model of disability, and fails to think about the negative representations of disability as ‘difference’ and the possible role of school practices in facilitating conditions within which bullying disabled children is more likely to occur. Within this project then, the partners operating at higher education level, aim to combine research, best practice and cross-disciplinary (educational, psychological, sociological) modern pedagogical approaches (eLearning, partner learning, and peer learning) with widely used technological means (Internet, apps, multi-media,) in order to provide comprehensive cross-national insight into research, policy and practice in regards to disablist bullying that will form the basis of a report with policy recommendations but also, and most pertinently, create an online repository sharing research, best practice and host partner developed training course materials, including multi-media material, that will form a cross-partner trialled and evaluated course for the prevention and intervention of disablist bullying aimed at and piloted cross-nationally with 100 participants across both those with SEN, and student teachers/teachers/and professional trainers, who will work and learn together. In creating this course, and supplying online the materials (written & multimedia) required to implement it elsewhere, alongside access to the partner networks/expertise in an on going basis, this project will provide timely, innovative and continuing support to both learners with disabilities/special needs and those who seek to educate/work with them in order to tackle bullying issues, improve socialisation, reduce marginalisation and ease both their lives in school and their migration into adulthood and the working world, to allow them to enjoy fully rounded lives and contribute more widely to society. It will also provide support to and educate, educators and trainers in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in learning through educational institutions and wider society, via more in-depth understanding and work with SEN individuals, and the provision of training/educational materials. At the local level the impact of this project will be felt most directly in schools and workplaces and in changing/enhancing the personal/professional lives of those that undertake the coursework/training. At a regional and national level the advertising, recruitment and dissemination process for the project will alert, educate and involve schools, workplaces and stakeholder institutions (e.g. SEN advocacy groups, Teacher Unions, Work Unions, Parent Organisations) to the work being done, encouraging them to utilise their networks in turn to further advertise the project and educate its members as to the outcomes. In addition, the report with associated policy recommendations will be disseminated to all stakeholders including regional and national governmental authorities. This will ensure a promotion and dissemination of the project and project results across decision makers at different levels.