<< Background >>The global pandemic caused by Covid-19 affected the whole world, including the sector of higher education, which, in a record time, had to find adequate solutions for the organization of the teaching process and exams so that it would avoid any negative impact on student achievements. While teachers and students received the necessary institutional technical support for the implementation and organisation of new teaching and e-learning solutions (e-platforms, tools and resources), systemic support for maintaining the mental health of students in these conditions was deficient. Even universities that have already had special services for counselling and support to students established at their units during the pandemic crisis did not have the developed procedures to support a larger number of students, then procedures for their connection and specific socialization, procedures for social digital networking, procedures for e-psychotherapy and e-counselling. Whereas technology has offered a variety of opportunities for students’ engagement in crisis time, it also exposed their vulnerability and avoidance to participate in e-classes due to safety or other personal issues. Due to the quick transition to online teaching, digital security culture, as a foundational part of getting to digital resilience was not completely acquired by students. At the same time, lack or inadequacy of their digital resilience interfered with a range of unpleasant feelings; the frustration of online instruction, fear of looking foolish in public (online), unwillingness to participate in online courses (especially if sessions are recorded) etc. Studies suggest that moderate use of digital technology tends to be beneficial for young people’s psycho-social wellbeing, while too much use can have a negative impact (UNICEF, 2017). Similarly, research suggests the digital space also introduces new risks, creating space for cyber-bullying. This project aims to address the problem of the growing need for psycho-social support in times of crisis by enhancing digital and psychological resilience through peer networking in the online environment in times of crises. Since contacting professional services for psychological counselling is physically more difficult in the time of crisis, there is a significant potential for establishing horizontal psycho-social support for students. This means that in times of crisis, it is necessary to establish a student-student relationship (peer or fellow impact) to reduce or eliminate tensions caused by the crisis. In this sense, the project envisages training programs for student mentors which will enable them to provide initial support for maintaining and improving the mental health of students, then student networking, and finally the establishment of institutional/university networks of horizontal and professional psychological support. Participants will be educated and trained in the basics of digital security and resilience and psychological wellbeing in the digital environment, with emphasis on specific challenges in times of crisis.This current COVID-19 situation will eventually pass, however it is inevitable that some other forms of social crisis will arrive in the years to come, so what better way to prepare for that uncertain future but to systemically develop support networks among peers using all the potentials of digital environments and educating about all the precautions in that environment, thus empowering the individual and collective general capacities for self-regulation and resilience in that process.<< Objectives >>Starting with the main idea to create more resilient student population in digital environment during the crises, the project will tend to achieve the followingSO1: Identification and analysis of the students’ psycho-social needs and difficulties in the distance education environment in times of crises;SO2: Development of the framework for supporting students in overcoming the identified difficulties in the distance education environment;SO3: Development of training programs for providing horizontal (peer) support to students related to mental health and digital resilience, in an informed and confidential manner. SO4: Piloting and development of the initial training of students who will further on provide mental health support and enhance students’ digital resilience; cascade training of students, organized in cycles over the 3-year span of the project and afterwards (workshops, seminars, training);SO5: Establishing students’ e-networks for the support; networking of university’s unites, centres and university’s community subgroups relevant for horizontal student’s mental health support; establishing continuous support of professional teams for psychological support where such a service is not so visible.SO6: Development of related e-sources for the network of students’ support and relevant toolkit (portals, guides etc.); using social media for peer psychological support and other channels.SO7: Raising awareness of the importance of digital resilience and psycho-social wellbeing of students in times of crisis.Long term, this project aims to create the path for students to become a population that is more resilient and less afraid to move around the digital spaces and environments, to communicate for freely, to learn to be safe but open at the same time, and to accept the new ways of digital behaviour as part of their every day life and work.<< Implementation >>At the beginning of the project as part of introductory activities, the initial research of the needs will be carried out in order to gather data on the state-of-the-art in the field of students’ digital and psychological resilience to digital surrounding. Based on the initial research and data processing and interpretation, the following training programmes for students and (teaching and non-teaching) staff will be prepared:•training programmes for students and teaching staff – Psychological resilience and wellbeing and support •training programmes for students and teaching staff – Digital resilience and networking•training programmes for students and teaching staff – Horizontal psychological support in digital network and ethical framework.Once developed, these training programs will be piloted at three participating universities in distance/remote mode, having in mind that situation with pandemics will very probably be one of the factors that will define this in the future period as well. All realized training programmes will be monitored and evaluated (satisfaction questionnaires) so that they can be improved and updated later on in the project based on the feedback. As part of the building capacities of students and staff to implement institutional vertical and horizontal support, the project partners will develop guides and protocols for psychological support and socio-emotional learning, digital resilience and networking, and horizontal student's psychological support in digital network and ethical framework (the Guide for DigiPsyResSNetwork). The Guide will be also the tool for development of (trans)national network for students’ horizontal psychological support in a digital environment and harmonization of digital psychological support and interventions at universities with EFPA recommendations (European Federation of Psychological Associations, January 2020) for digital psychological interventions.In order to establish the horizontal student support, a step-by-step from-trainees-to-trainers programmes will be held in order to train internal student organisation (organization as a part of the university of departments, faculties) and equip them with skills to support their fellow students. This will be particularly important because the university counselors’ teams for students’ psychological support in virtual (digital) environment will be developed within this project as well as (trans)national network / supportive virtual community.Apart from these key activities aimed at developing the framework for enhancing the student resilience to digital surrounding, the project plans to introduce several promotional/dissemination activities. As the long term initiative to keep the topic active for the future period, it is planned to establish transnational students’ online journal on horizontal psychological support (based on the networking students of psychology and others) that will deal with the existing problems, personal stories, motivational stories, available support, presentation and promotion of different events and initiatives in this area, etc. Additionally, three conferences/round tables will be organized at partner institutions in order to multiply the effects of this project and its results and to encourage the implementation and development of similar mechanisms at other universities and in other countries.<< Results >>The project activities are designed in such a way to address each of the specific objectives (SOs) through 9 project results (R):One of the first activities is development of the questionnaire (R1) to gather information and conduct the analysis of state-of-the-art including (a) identification of students’ difficulties in personal, educational and social relations in digital environment during pandemic, and (b) identification of students’ perception of the university support to their psychological resilience and wellbeing and digital resilience. These findings will be presented in the Report on needs analysis research (R2). At this stage, the objective SO1 will be achieved - identification and analysis of the students’ psycho-social needs and difficulties in the distance education environment in times of crises. The report will be the initial input for the development of the Guide for Digital and Psychological Resilience Support Networking (R3) where the partners will define instructions for HEIs on how to establish a network for peer support and enhancement of psychological resilience and digital resilience.Once the Guide is developed, the SO2 (Development of the framework for supporting students in overcoming the identified difficulties in the distance education environment) will be achieved. The next activity is to prepare and publish the Manual for the training program: Step by step from trainees to trainers (R5). The Manual will provide instructions on how to develop training programs for horizontal (peer) support to students related to mental health and digital resilience; it will define procedures, activities, training programs for peer support in two modalities using digital tools/media/ platforms in online environment and in real contact, etc. represented as SO3 - Development of training programs for providing horizontal (peer) support to students related to mental health and digital resilience, in an informed and confidential manner.The Manual will be the guideline for the realization of the pilot program/training for students and staff at participating universities (R6) as the initial training of students who will further provide mental health support and enhance students’ digital resilience (cascade training of students) and which will be organized in cycles to ensure that SO4 is achieved. To achieve SO5 (Establishing students’ e-networks for the support; networking of university’s units, and community subgroups relevant for horizontal student’s mental health support; establishing continuous support of professional teams for psychological support), the relevant e-courses for the networking will be developed including the portal as interconnecting supportive network, and an online magazine on peer support networking (R9). Also, within the project result R7, 6 trainings will be held (2 at each university) as Step by step from trainees to trainers (Training for peers’ support to improve psychological and digital resilience by networking). Additionally, the training sessions will also be organized for students where trainers will be students who completed the training 'Step by step from trainees to trainers'.One of the continuous activities is establishing a network and a team for the students’ peer supportive networking, which will be achieved through the design and development of the portal, establishment of university teams for support to students' networking and establishment of transnational students’ online magazine on digital and psychological resilience and supportive networking (R9). In this way the SO6 (Development of related e-sources for the network of students’ support and relevant toolkit (portals, guides etc.); using social media for peer psychological support and other channels) and SO7 (Raising awareness of the importance of digital resilience and psycho-social wellbeing of students in times of crisis) will be achieved.