The project has delivered an innovative training system based on interactive tools, helping adults to acquire basic knowledge of computer programming and promote an active and conscious usage of IT tools in households. These training materials have covered a wide range from the basics of digitalization, computational thinking and using everyday examples to develop algorithms (targeted to non-digital users) to the actual development of code through the use programming languages and through the use of specific tools and games targeted to coding with children. The developed materials will help users improve their digital and transversal skills and their ability to support their children in the use of ICT. According to the “The Survey of Adult Skills” (EC-PIAAC) the function of adult education should be to support economic growth and competitiveness, assure inclusive and equitable development, provide socio-economic benefit, but also individual benefits, in terms of personal and professional development, empowerement, adaptability, employability and active participation in society.This is exactly what the present project has done, by promoting coding education among European adult learners and by working together with international activities such as code-week.org . The EDUCODE consortium has operated under the principle that coding education is not only about equipping the current and next generation to work as software engineers, it is about promoting computational thinking, i.e. a problem solving method that uses computer science techniques. It combines mathematics, logic and algorithms, and teaches a new way to think about the world. The direct target group is composed of adult people of any age and status, workers, parents, retired. However, the development of contents and tools has catered for the needs of specific sub-groups, such as women (trough the case studies provided) by ECWT, men and young adults. Representatives of the end-beneficiaries, about 200 per country, 1000 in total, have been involved in several stages of the project: during the initial in-depth analysis of adult learners attitude to coding, in the delivery and assessment of the training and in the framework of demonstration events. Moreover, the partners will organise local contests to stimulate participation and creativity.Indirect target groups are the stakeholders that can exploit the results in different contexts and have been reached mainly through dissemination and exploitation activities: Each partner has developed further contacts both within the time-frame and after the training and educational centres, schools, civil society organisaitons, public authorities and decision-makers. They can use the platform, contents and games to organise courses and events on coding education, to train teaching staff or to promote digital learning towards policy-makers. Thanks to dissemination activities, the knowledge of the project has reached more than 5.000 people and 2000 organisations.The main tangible result has been an interactive, multifunctional and multilingual platform for adult coding education.The user-friendly platform hosts contents targeted to the users. Moreover, the training path offers quizzes for assessment of the acquired knowledge and also practical exercises and gadgets to be used with children and teenagers, so as to favour intergenerational learning.The expected result was to promote digital learning and key competences of adult people in Europe, in line with the Agenda for Adult Learning, set up by the European Commission.As for intangible expected results in the medium and long term, the foreseen outcomes are the following:•Improvement of personal skills and motivation of adult learners through coding education•Favouring active participation and better understanding of the digital world we live in •Improved professional opportunities as basic coding skills is also needed for many jobs, plus it helps developing transversal skills such as problem solving that are needed in any job (including the basics of digital skills)•Favouring the promotion of non-formal and informal learning among adult people usually excluded from mainstream and traditional education pathways.• Improved intergenerational learning and safer usage of ICT by kids and adults. By using the practical tools to code and play on coding with their children, parents have the opportunity to teach their kids the basics of computer programming, be more prepared in supporting their children homework, play a more active role in assisting their kids when using technology devices. The project is implemented by a consortium of 7 partners from 5 European countries (SP, IT, GR, PL, NO), including foundations, schools, adult education providers, civil society organisations, software house and university.

Setting up a business is increasingly easy but keeping it going is much tougher: 50% of enterprises don’t survive the first 5 years and bankruptcies account for 15% of business closures. The recent financial crisis caused a peak in business failure in Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Bulgaria. Since recognising the need to enable honest, failed entrepreneurs to start over in business in the Small Business Act (2008), the EU Commission has been increasingly committed to second chance support, but initiatives at EU and national level have largely focused on the legislative, technical and financial framework. In addition, while first time entrepreneurs can access abundant start up support, experienced entrepreneurs are largely uncatered for. Research shows that they have different support and information needs, but VET providers continue to offer a uniform service, the content of which has remained largely unchanged for a decade or more. We believe that if small enterprises are to continue as a key driver of European growth and the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy are to be fulfilled, it is essential to retain and retrain existing entrepreneurs with the skills needed for future success, and to promote attitudinal change, motivating failed entrepreneurs to overcome the stigma of failure and providing new entrepreneurs with realistic expectations of their venture and the ability to act early when things go wrong. RESTART will achieve this in 4 regions in Ireland, Spain, Netherlands and Bulgaria by working with stakeholders, VET/enterprise education providers and second time entrepreneurs to produce: a) 4 Restart Regional Alliances and 4 Action Plans in which key 48 stakeholders come together to improve the quality and relevance of training for second time entrepreneurs at regional level, and encouraging further Alliances through a Restart Toolkit. c) A course curriculum, guiding VET practitioners on the topics and skills most needed by second time entrepreneurs in today’s economies. d) A blended learning course, “Restart: The Value of Starting Over” to be delivered to second time entrepreneurs in VET centres, but with many elements suitable for start up courses and enterprise and business undergraduate courses. The project will run for 24 months and a developed by a partnership of providers of enterprise education led by Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), one of Ireland’s leading higher education institutes whose CoLab, an innovation centre for business start up and growth, has played a pivotal role in changing attitudes towards innovation and entrepreneurship in north west Ireland. Because of its unique structure, Restart Entrepreneurship will make an immediate and proactive contribution to the creation of a new European approach to business failure, generating both attitudinal and behavioural change (top down and bottom up), while also making a significant improvement in the supply of training for this specific group, whose experience and potential has been under-recognised in the VET and business support community until now.Projected impacts include: - Improved quality and access to VET training for second time entrepreneurs, leading to an increase in the number of individuals who return to self-employment. They are more likely to operate more successful SMEs, create growth in turnover and employment, both increasing their own personal welfare and contributing to wider economic growth in the region.- attitudinal changes and improved risk management skills among young prestart entrepreneurs, preventing some aspects of entrepreneurial failure and equipping them to deal correctly with it, should it occur.- Partner organizations better equipped to fulfil their missions, based on significant increase in knowledge and social capital at European level, and opening ideas and doors to future projects to improve quality of service for this group.Finally, at European level, we believe the project will have a significant impact on the “Second Chance” agenda as enshrined in the Small Business Act and championed by EU level actors such as the EC Director General for Enterprise and Industry, enabling more work to be done on the “soft” and “educational” aspects of the agenda and providing a very practical case study of how to achieve cross-sectoral collaboration to update VET provision in fast moving landscapes using a step-by-step guide, which can be replicated in regions across Europe.