The composite manufacturing industry is characterised by high added value and complexity of manual work processes. The future of the composite market is expected to be highly competitive, and companies with innovative capabilities and skilled labour force can thrive and gain market share. The key aim of the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership Project “Skilled Hand for High Tech Production” – CompoHUB project was to use the current potentials offered by the labour market (e.g. unemployed joiners, wood cabinet makers, textile workers etc.) as a baseline and furthermore involve additional education and training activities to re-qualify the labour force to be able to work effectively in the high-tech area of composite manufacturing.CompoHUB project has achieved 5 key objectives: 1) Identification and analysis of industry requirements and missing skills gaps in the area of composite manufacturing.2) Structuring the relevant working areas, key tasks and knowledge/skills and development of the occupational standard/national occupational qualification “composite laminator”.3) Development of the training programme in the field of composite manufacturing responsive to industry and labour market needs.4) Integration of the learning material into an on-line open-source learning platform in 3 different European languages (accessible at www.compohub.eu).5) Integration of the developed training programme into institution based Vocational Education and Training in Slovenia and Estonia.To successfully realise the objectives, CompoHUB project connected 6 different European partners, i.e.: 1) organizations that carry out research and development on composites and/or manufacture composite materials (company CompoTech, Czech Republic), 2) organizations that use the composite materials to manufacture composite parts for different industries (companies Aereform, Slovenia and MAC Motoplatika, Croatia) and 3) training organizations and VET providers (Zasavska ljudska univerza, Slovenia and Kuressaare Ametikool, Estonia). In addition, the Institute for Innovation and Development of University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) represented the overall project manager to connect and enhance cooperation between the three groups and also acting as liaison facilitating the codification of tacit knowledge and bridging the gap between vocational education and higher education. The Compo-HUB project produced a special impact on VET trainers and in-company trainers since it contributed towards the development of their training and subject-specific skills in the field of composite manufacturing, involving strong work-based teaching/learning component. It furthermore equipped the target training group with the new knowledge and skills in the respective field, which are required by the labour market. The developed on-line learning platform provides the access to the most recent and up-to-date knowledge and developments that can be effectively customized to specific requirements of individual customer (companies, VET institutions, higher education). The new developed training programme in the field of composite manufacturing presents an important competitive advantage for VET providers, as up to date, no similar training programme was offered neither in Slovenia nor Estonia.The long-term sustainability of project results is based on 4 main exploitation mechanisms: 1. The developed results, namely the training programme and platform are further used by the consortium partners as supplement to their existing education and training activities and in-company specific trainings;2. Commercial exploitation and customization of training programme to specific needs of customer (composite manufacturing industry and VET providers);3. Mainstreaming and accreditation of the occupational standard and catalogue “the composite laminator”. This assures that skills and qualification are more easily recognized, within and across national borders, as well as in the labour market;4. The Composite HUB as the source of new research, development and training initiatives connecting different composite industry segments and education & training organizations, namely VET and higher education. The driving principle is the exchange of technology and good practices, also contributing to the development of innovative practices in the field of education and training.

The enhancement of Gross National Happiness (GNH) has been the most significant national priority for Bhutan since the 1980s, and it has evolved into the guiding purpose of Bhutan’s development. To increase GNH and support sustainable development, knowledge is needed to deepen the understanding of real life at each societal level. Qualitative research data have been recognized as critically important to contribute to evidence-based policies which address social and developmental challenges. There is however a disjuncture between the desire for qualitative research data and the absence of knowledge, skills and technical infrastructure to teach qualitative research methods.The HAPPY Project aims to include innovative Qualitative Research teaching approaches in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities at 4 Colleges in Bhutan. We thus aim to modernize and renew existing curricula by developing innovative modules for existing courses and enhance the competencies of academics in qualitative research methods (QRM). The HAPPY Project uses a people centered approach to co-create innovative teaching methodologies and accentuates “learning by doing”. The implementation of the renewed curricula will contribute to the development of students’ transversal skills which will increase their employability. To accomplish all of the above and increase its societal impact, the HAPPY Project aims to sensitize stakeholders both in HEIs and society regarding the value and the potential of using QR data. This will strengthen the existing relationships between HEIs and societal stakeholders, including Civil Society, government, local communities, industry and enterprises. This in turn will create a space to explore further QR collaboration in the future. By disseminating project milestones to societal stakeholders, the project will initiate the use of QR data in domains beyond HEI. The HAPPY project has the potential to enhance well-being, and thus GNH.

Recent global movements indicate a rapidly growing awareness and eagerness of the European youth to actively engage with securing a sustainable future for all. Even though the need for a holistic, interdisciplinary and cross-sector approach to sustainability has been increasingly recognised on research and policy levels, the trickle-down to higher education has been slow. Active8-Planet builds a knowledge alliance jointly developing, implementing and assessing the impact of a new Active8-Planet learning model based on 4 principles of planet-centred development: (1) Interdisciplinary & Intergenerational Co-creation, (2) People-centred Design, (3) University-Business Collaboration, (4) Environmental Ambition and Action. In “7+1 Team Projects”, students, teachers/researchers, and company professionals will be applying and refining the collaborative approach to co-create practice-based interventions in the areas of sustainable mobility, circularity in built environment, and health & wellbeing. Bridging between sectors, disciplines and generations, the project will provide a platform for transforming the isolated and discipline-specific knowledge into collaborative climate and sustainability actions. As a result of learning activities, the project will raise the first cohorts of dedicated, risk-taking young individuals (the “Planeteers”) becoming ambassadors of the Active8-Planet principles and active co-creators of their sustainable future. By adopting a robust and elaborate dissemination and exploitation strategy, the impact of the project’s activities, results and partnership will be sustained beyond its lifetime, in particular by: institutionalising the learning model in existing courses using ECTS system; developing an agenda to cultivate new 7+1 Team Projects; and transferring the collaborative approach into research, development, and innovation projects.