The MERID project (Middle East Research and Innovation Dialogue) proposes a comprehensive action to intensify and encourage research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region, directly involving partners from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, directly involving partners from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. The project intends to build upon the experience carried out in countries of the region that have already participated in the previous framework programmes, and therefore are at a relatively advanced stage of research cooperation with Europe, like Egypt and Jordan. Attention is paid to calibrating in the most appropriate way the intervention logic of the project, adapting actions to the specific needs of the target countries and their research constituencies. The needs of Iran and Iraq will for sure prove different from those of countries where cooperation with the EU has a proven track record behind. The project is the first attempt to systematise support to the policy dialogue and involvement of research communities of Iran and Iraq in the H2020 programme, as well as an initiative that seeks to give continuity to collaboration frameworks already established between the EU and Middle East countries. The project has high potential to deliver long-lasting impact and structuring effects on cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region. It focuses on enhancing direct cooperation among researchers and on laying or consolidating preconditions, in the region, fostering joint research projects and initiatives with the EU, establishing optimal framework conditions for international cooperation and increasing coordination between policies and programmes. These objectives will be achieved through series of different on-line and in-person activities, among which are meetings of researchers, brokerage events, info-days, training and coaching, webinars and other tools, relevant for this project proposals.

The 4PRIMA Coordination and Support Action will create the bases and will develop a set of activities aimed at supporting the establishment of a long-term, well-structured and integrated partnership for research and innovation (R&I) on food systems and water resources, among countries from both sides of the Mediterranean Sea (“PRIMA Initiative”). In order to enable a sustainable development in this area, 4PRIMA will facilitate the establishment of favourable and stable conditions for a reinforced international cooperation on food systems and water research, based on a better coordination, collective ownership of R&I programmes and, consequently, clear and tangible mutual benefits. 4PRIMA will develop a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and an associated implementation plan, as a result of an extensive participatory process that will target a critical mass of key players at international level and all relevant stakeholders of the food and water sectors. To achieve this main objective, 4PRIMA will take advantage of a wide portfolio of results and relationship generated in previous and on-going EU projects, as well as it will seek cooperation between EU and Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs), in coherence with the activities of the Strategic Forum for International Cooperation. Given the strategic relevance of an appropriate development and uptake of the SRIA to establish a long lasting partnership in the region, 4PRIMA science diplomacy actions will be essential to ensure the support to R&I policy dialogue addressing sensitive challenges between EU and MPCs. Moreover, in order to maximise its expected impact, 4PRIMA project will explore avenues for awareness raising and development of strategic alliances with key stakeholders, including EU, AC and MPCs countries that did not take part to the PRIMA joint programming process, with the goal to enlarge the participation to the “PRIMA Initiative”.

"The overall wider objective, to which the project will contribute, is to continue the reform of the system of higher education in the area of applied Physical sciences (Environmental science) in Egypt to comply with the Bologna Declaration and according to the demands of the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020), aimed at improving of the quality and efficiency of educational process.The aim of the project is to ensure the design and implementation of an interdisciplinary Master degree study programme ""Smart Environment and Climate Change Management"" through conduction of joint interdisciplinary research, devoted to the synergy between theory and practice in sustainable development, in order to support Egypt with the integration of emerging technologies in environment management in a competence-based education system, hence advancing higher education according to the Bologna Process and European standards for quality of education.The objectives and foreseen outcomes of the proposed project: - to design Master degree study programme curriculum integrated with the European education and research systems, in order to establish international standards of academic knowledge;- to involve researchers and practitioners into communication and to establish their joint participation in the educational process and research;- to train the academic staff of EG universities to be able to use a Master degree ""Smart Environment and Climate Change Management"";- to establish mechanisms and evaluation criteria that give a full analysis of the education process and content of courses as well as help to identify their strengths and weaknesses;- to implement innovative learning methods and a new collaboration platform for learning and academic environment to support the educational process;- to demonstrate the benefits of education based on the principles of Bologna process and European standards of quality in education."

<< Background >>Digitalisation in the business as well as the education world are continously evolving and higher education institutions are struggling to adapt to these changes. Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis imposed a rapid changeover to digital teaching, which confronted educational institutions with unexpected challenges, not only at a technological level but also at pedagogical and didactics level. Educators are individually facing challenges, which should be tackled on an organisational level. Educators are willing to adapt and enhance their physical courses with online learning to form blended learning arrangements but lack the expertise, the technological skills and already available and accessible content to start their efforts with. Online collaborative learning is one very promising path to engage in blended learning, as it is a core element to teach as well as assess Twenty-First Century Skills, formulated by the OECD and its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This situation involves numerous obstacles for higher education educators. The educators, who gained expertise during intensive research in the field of online and blended learning are having difficulties conveying their expertise to other interested parties. There is a lack of international cross-institutional initiative to implement online and blended learning in a systematic and widely accessible manner. by developing OER online course modules for online collaborative learning and teaching, structured along the DigCompEdu framework. These courses will give educators the expertise to engage in blended learning activities at their institutions. Furthermore, the online course modules aim to generate OER content with the participants. This ensures that educators do not only gain expertise in the courses but also have the possibility to apply their gain knowledge and develop OER content themselves. This OER content is published with the online course modules and represents a self-sustaining OER pool for online collaborative learning and teaching methods.<< Objectives >>The main objective of OER-CODEX is to develop OER course modules, conveying digital teaching and learning methods of online collaborative learning in a blended learning context for educators in higher education (HE), aiming to increase the capacity and readiness of HE institutions to manage an effective shift towards digital education. This means the digital teaching and learning methods are not seen as a standalone implementation but a modern and much needed addition to the physical learning scenarios. Furthermore, the digital teaching and learning methods are seen in the context of online collaborative learning, as this type of learning is an effective as well as specific learning content independent method to convey Twenty-First Century Skills, as formulated by the OECD and is therefore applicable in all kinds of learning scenarios where collaborative problem solving is imaginable. These course modules aim to convey digital pedagogy competencies and expertise in the use of digital tools for educators, including accessible and assistive technologies and the creation and innovative use of digital education content. In detail, the course modules are structured along the areas of the DigCompEdu framework and therefore support the strategic effort to develop digital education competencies in HE institutions. These course modules shall stimulate innovative learning and teaching practices by giving educators OER course modules in which they gain expertise and experience in implementing online collaborative learning but also generate OER content suitable of online collaborative learning with which they can start from and adapt for their courses. Furthermore, a methodology will be developed, which describes how to design OER course modules so that OER content can be generated within these courses, thereby building self-sustaining OER resource pool as more experienced educators can add their course modules to this OER collection.<< Implementation >>The project consortium will first collaboratively develop a methodology for developing OER online course modules with the integrated element of OER content generation with the participants. This methodology will be presented and communicated in a first multiplier event. The primary target group for this event will be educators already experienced in digital education from associated partners, willing to convey their expertise to other educators. This methodology will give these educators guidance on how to develop their own OER online course modules, which adds to the envisioned OER pool for online and blended learning methods and techniques. The piloting of the developed course modules will give this project the possibility to reach a broader audience and will generate a first set of OER content, as proposed in the methodology. Furthermore, the piloting is an important part for quality assurance of the developed online course modules. Lastly, the online course modules as well as the OER content will be published on an OER platform, for all interested educators to access, adapt and extend.<< Results >>The project will have three main project result types. First, the methodology to develop OER online course modules. Second, 4 cluster of OER online course modules conveying competencies in online collaborative learning, structured along the DigCompEdu framework and lastly a ready-to-use OER collection of online course modules and its respective OER content.

The Moroccan Higher Education (HE) sector is facing significant change as it moves to enhance accessibility and quality for students, and impact for its economy and society. The reform and restructuring of the HE system in Morocco needed to deliver on these objectives is being slowed by a lack of leadership capacity. Universities in Morocco need to build the capacity of their leaders for governance, strategic planning and management in order to deliver these reforms.The project addresses the need for development for university leaders in Morocco through the creation and implementation of a National Centre for Leadership Development (NLDC) and an associated certificated national leadership development programme (NLDP). When creating the NLDC and its NLDP, it will create the constitution and operating procedures for the centre; structures and materials to support the programme; and identify and equip dedicated facilities where the development activities will take place. Learning will take place through networking meetings, lectures from visiting speakers, action learning sets, and promote immediate improvements through national change projects. The project will develop and execute staff training workshops for Moroccan university staff responsible for establishing the new centre and implementing the programme.During the life of the project, 132 Moroccan HE leaders and managers will engage with the NLDC and benefit from the NLDP with a demonstrable impact on their capacity to operate the governance, strategic plans and management of HEIs. In the year following the project, it is expected that additional leaders will benefit from taking the NLDP and that at least 10 additional Moroccan HEIs will have adopted it for leadership development. All HEIs in Morocco will engage with the NLDC for leadership development through activities including a leadership conference. Together these actions will enhance the capacity for reform nationally.