<< Background >>Digitization is increasingly shaping the world of work. While computerisation has until recently been confined to routine tasks involving explicit rule-based activities, algorithms for digitalisation are now rapidly entering domains reliant upon smart data handling and can readily substitute for labour in a wide range of non-routine cognitive tasks. This will change the nature of work across industries and occupations. In the field of agriculture digitization, digital transformation is gaining momentum: already back in 2015, 30 percent of all value created with agricultural machinery worldwide came from software, electronics and sensors, surpassing the value created in the automotive industry three times over. According to a recent study (Saiz-Rubio, V., and Rovira-Más, F. - 2020), it is essential for farmers and for the environment that processes are adapted to a digital technology concept, because innovative processes can potentially lead to efficient and resource-friendly sustainable farming. Rapid developments in the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, robotics and Artificial Intelligence are accelerating the transition to smart farming and the promotion of big data and precision agriculture to improve agri-food sustainability. The expectation is that smart farming approaches will ultimately improve knowledge on enterprise and human resource level via efficient sharing and learning from data from multiple enterprises (Robertson, M., Moore, A., Henry, D., and Barry, S. – 2018 https://blog.csiro.au/digital-agriculture-whats-all-the-fuss-about/).However, although this “fourth agricultural revolution” brings the promise of multiple gains, it also brings technical, social, economic, ethical and practical questions, with significant implications for how commercial agriculture is structured, practiced and governed. It also becomes evident that employers and employees in the agricultural sector will put more emphasis on basic and transversal competences and on creative and social skills. Therefore, the overall objective of AgriSkills is to raise awareness about these developments, and how this will require continuous skill adaptations, especially on personal competences and soft skills. Our aim is to train people working in the agricultural labour market service and in VET about successfully implemented innovations in digital farming (e.g., smart farming and precision farming) and consequently focus on initiatives and methods for training, developing and self-improvement of personal skills, and for evaluating and assessing personal development and competences.<< Objectives >>The AgriSkills project aims to strengthen the sustainable development in rural areas at regional level in Europe contributing to turn the European rural area agriculture into a learning environment for entrepreneurial skills and innovation. The overall objective of the project is to showcase and communicate innovative engagements and approaches in the agriculture-specific production and services, putting a specific focus on the training and education needs of our target groups such as•Individuals with interest to develop business entities and live in the rural areas; •SMEs and micro companies in rural areas;•Regional agencies for rural areas development; and the •General public Entrepreneurship and innovation are a key competence that contributes to the regional development. In this context, our target groups benefit from a focus on eco-innovation solutions such as sustainable innovation methods and applications as well as from the shift of labour-oriented work forces to knowledge-oriented work forces. AgriSkills will involve partners from regions with different level of development of innovation policies and entrepreneurism. Moreover, AgriSkills will promote consolidation of existing cooperation between regional authorities of participating regions or to the development and establishment of new regional partnerships. These partnerships should act as a first step for organisations into cooperation at European level to•Support the inclusion of target groups with fewer opportunities;•Increasing quality in the work and practices of the organisations and institutions involved, opening up to new actors not naturally included within the agriculture sector;•Building capacity of organisations to work transnationally and even across sectors;•Addressing common needs and priorities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport.Thus, enabling transformation and change, leading to improvements at individual, organizational or sectoral level.<< Implementation >>In order to reach AgriSkills objectives, the project consortium will implement:AgriSkills Modular Training Course (IO1):The learning and training program is developed in a digitally supported scheme containing 5 interactive learning modules, which guide the learners through the whole process in an easy–to-understand-and-to manage way. Based on initial research about the needs of the project’s target groups, initial topics of the modules are defined. As an entrance to the topics’ definition within the training course, a research will be conducted to understand and verify the exact needs A testing phase will complement the development process. As a result, IO1 will be comprehensive, wide-ranged learning program based on the real needs of the learners. AgriSkills e-Learning Platform (IO2):It will be organized as an online and offline training enabler. It will be used as a virtual learning environment where our target groups as users will be able to find the training materials and to participate in learning activities. The learners can use assessment tools and communicate with trainers or other learners. Furthermore, the online platform will provide link(s) to the project’s website that will provide all background information related to the project progress, the project results, the partners and the funding agency. As a result, the e-platform will provide easy open access for all potential learners and will add value to the training course as networking and collaboration between the learners. AgriSkills Reference Catalogue (IO3):The result will be a well elaborated and published catalogue with collected good practices references for all stakeholders acting in the farming area. It will assist applying the required skills and competences for digital transformation of their activities. It will showcase development of innovative value-chains and connectivity with the other regions on national and international level, giving an overview about the current situation of the specific project environment in the partners’ countries. The references will be contributed by the project partners but also by VET providers and innovation support advisors. As a result, the Catalogue as well as its individual good practices will be widely disseminated and additionally will promote the training course of IO1 and the e-learning platform of IO2.(For a detailed description, please refer to the Output section)<< Results >>Further outcomes of the project include: a)The project website linking to the e-learning platform, searchable after various parameters, that describe and give access to innovative initiatives, tools and methods and other materials that have been identified and collected in the course of the project, concerning the development and self- improvement of personal skills and competences and their evaluation and assessment. b)Newsletters will inform interested parties and all stakeholders about the project, its milestones, and current activities. They will be published in electronic versions, as well as in paper form that will be used for the various dissemination activities. The newsletters will be produced in the languages of the partnership. c)Flyers. The project will produce flyers in each language of the partnership. They will be distributed at meetings with stakeholders and VET organisations and will mainly serve as entry point to obtain further information within the project’s blog.d)An online Interactive AgriSkills Forum will be implemented in a Social Media channel, for exchange of experience and good practice that will promote networking and exchange activities not only among the partnership and VET organisations in their countries, but also on a European level. With new translation services, it will become possible to break down language barriers between users from different countries, and to foster exchange and assist initiatives that contribute to the European society as a whole.Intangible results will be personal and professional enrichment not only for the direct stakeholders in agriculture but also for vocational VET educators and counsellors and agricultural labour market service experts, who will participate to the project events. This will lead to:•Sharing experience; •Establishing closer co-operation between rural areas in European regions;•Learning from each other in the area of horizontal and vertical integration of technologies in agriculture and their impact on human resources and work forces; •Development of opportunities for regional stakeholders (companies, research institutes, universities) within and between the regional agencies, with a special focus in fostering the business of local SME and micro-companies;•Good practice guideline for agriculture stakeholders for business development and its specifics in rural areas;•Guideline for regional authorities and regional rural development agencies in supporting VET measures in digitalising agriculture in the region that can be implemented into the regional strategies and plans;•Increased awareness of the role of agriculture in promoting social inclusion, equal opportunities and a healthy lifestyle; and•Good practices, methods techniques and processes identified in the innovation support policy.Digital Agriculture can provide its stakeholders with vast advantages over their competitors. Whether an organisation is further along in its digitisation journey or still in its nascent beginnings, there is a real need to help decision makers making the digital transformation learnable, actionable and scalable. With AgriSkills we want to cut through the clutter and provide a pragmatic roadmap to learning and training execution.

Older adults typically prefer living at their homes as long as possible. However, they often need to be institutionalized due to the age related problems. Homecare can benefit today from a range of existing technologies including smartphones, sensors, etc., however, their effectiveness is limited by the sense of fear and uncomfortableness that many older adults feel. Most current technologies, in fact, are often not designed for older adults, least of all for users with memory impairments. The derivative limitations become a major barrier, severely limiting use of technological assistance in a home environment. CAPTAIN proposes a “transparent” technology designed to turn the home of the older adult into a ubiquitous assistant specifically designed to compensate for their physical and memory impairments during their daily living. To do so, it leverages on a few state of the art technologies, as follows: “Projected augmented reality” to project, through use of micro-projectors, contextualised (directly on walls, floor, tables, etc.) information and instructions on top of the real environment. Real-time 3D sensing technologies to comprehend the “indoor space” (nature and position of objects and actions of the persons) and to allow transforming it into a ubiquitous tangible interface. 3D sensing, together with speech analysis, will allow device-free comprehension of the environment and of the behaviour of the adults (including its changes). Non-invasive physiological and emotional data analysis from facial micro-expressions and human body pose thanks to scalable, robust, and accurate deep learning and artificial intelligence. The coach will leverage on a motivational engine to promote correct nutrition, physical activity, cognitive and physical training, risk avoidance, and social participation. To achieve this CAPTAIN will foster a truly user-centered co-design philosophy -based on constant involvement of older adult in the design, development, and testing stages.

Unlike most European countries, Romania does not have yet a general cadastre. Such a deficiency represents a critical element for the economy of the country, since it makes legal contracts, such as land purchasing, very difficult to be implemented. Starting from such a complex scenario, CENTRIC aims –in the long term- at the creation in Romania of the new Centre of Excellence on territorial management and cadastre. The future Centre will focus on related domains of great relevance, such as: 3D/4D geospatial data, linked geospatial data, land classification, remotely sensed data, etc. In particular, the goal of phase 1 of the project (the 12 months CSA) is to prepare a very detailed business plan leading, during phase 2, to the establishment of the Centre including: a long-term vision and the mission of the Centre, a detailed SWOT analysis of the domain of territorial management and cadastre in Romania, a long-term scientific and innovation strategy, a market analysis, the Business Concept of the Centre, the analysis of possible cooperation, strategic alliances and long-term partnerships, the operational and financial plan of the Centre, to define a strategic growth roadmap. Furthermore the project will also aim at the creation of a suitable ecosystem at the national Romanian and EU level, through a number of capacity building and dissemination activities. The whole project has been based on the creation of long-lasting (beyond the 5-years duration of the overall “Teaming” project) joint venture between partners from both advanced and low performing countries, including institutional cooperation among the Romanian Cadastre agency and the counterpart in Trentino Italy considered as a best practice at the EU level. The project is aligned with the Romanian Smart Specialisation Strategy and it has received a clear commitment from the Romanian Government to provide financial resources for infrastructural and equipment costs for phase 2.

Digitization is increasingly shaping the world of work. While computerisation has until recently been confined to routine tasks involving explicit rule-based activities, algorithms for big data are now rapidly entering domains reliant upon pattern recognition and can readily substitute for labour in a wide range of non-routine cognitive tasks. Advanced robots are gaining enhanced senses and dexterity, allowing them to perform a broader scope of manual tasks. This will change the nature of work across industries and occupations.A recent study (The Future Of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs To Computerisation, Oxford 2013) estimated the probability of computerisation for 700 occupations, and examined the impacts of future computerisation on the labour market. According to their estimate, 47 percent of total employment is in the high risk category, and many occupations are potentially automatable over the next decade or two.This means that most workers in transportation, logistics and in production are likely to be substituted by computers, as industrial robots are taking on the routine tasks of most operations.But also, many office support professions are endangered. Here, algorithms for big data are already rapidly entering domains that deal with storing or accessing information, making it probable that office and administrative support occupations will be subject to computerisation.More surprising is that also a substantial share of employment in services and sales will become the victim of computerisation in the near future. These findings are largely in line with recent documented technological developments including interactive tasks. and will concern, for example, cashiers, counter and rental clerks, or telemarketers. By taking this development into consideration, it becomes evident that employers will put more emphasis on basic and transversal competences and on creative and social skillsTherefore, the overall objective of our project is to raise awareness about these developments, and how this will require continuous skill adaptations, especially on personal competences and soft skills. Our aim is to inform people working in the labour market service and in vocational orientation and education about successful initiatives and methods for training, developing and self- improvement of personal skills, and for evaluating and assessing personal development and competences. In order to reach this objective, the specific objectives are1)To implement an e-platform with an interactive database, searchable after various parameters, that describes and gives access to initiatives, tools and methods and other materials that have been identified and collected in the course of the project, concerning the development and self- improvement of personal skills and competences and their evaluation and assessment. 2)To elaborate a Catalogue “Skills and Competences for Work in Industry 4.0” which will give an overview about the current situation of the specific project environment in the partners’ countries. It will be enriched with the outcomes of the transnational meetings of the four meetings in each partner country where experts from the respective national and local labour market and vocational counselling organisations will discuss these issues with the representatives of our strategic partnership. 3)To organise an online interactive Forum for exchange of experience and good practice that will promote networking and exchange activities not only among the partnership and VET organisations in their countries, but also on a European level. With new translation services, it will become possible to break down language barriers between users from different countries, and to foster exchange and assist initiatives that contribute to the European society as a whole.The target group of our project are VET and adult education trainers and labour market policy organisations that will make use of the identified and selected materials to design and offer respective measures for adults who need to adapt their skills and personal competences to the needs of the 21st century labour market.

One of the four common EU objectives of the Education and training 2020 (ET 2020) framework to address challenges in education and training systems by 2020 is to enhance creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training.In the past years, more than one million refugees have come to Europe, and the influx will continue also in the years to come. Apart from political questions concerning their distribution, the most urgent aspects are their integration into our society and their employment. A refugee entrepreneur, like any entrepreneur, brings many potential benefits to the host community. First of all, an entrepreneur creates at least one job for her-/himself. In addition they can employ other refugees and/or host country nationals. The kind of businesses opened by refugees often reflect innovative solutions to local problems and are therefore more effective at addressing the needs of specific target groups than large, donor-driven programmes. Having a (social) enterprise can also help to create normality in a difficult surrounding. Providing familiar food or wedding dresses not only brings employment, but also ways to unite communities, preserve traditions and a sense of normality. Overall, it can be said that entrepreneurship improves the psychological well-being of individuals and the overall atmosphere.Becoming an entrepreneur is always a challenge and often not the most obvious choice for a refugee. He/she needs, above all, information provision, networking (with both other refugees/migrants and members of the host community), mentoring, training, and finally also investment and funding. All of these are equally relevant in the refugee context.Therefore, the overall objective of our strategic partnership is to provide an overview about projects, initiatives and methods which train, support and facilitate entrepreneurship for immigrants, and in particular for women.In order to reach this objective, the specific objectives are1)To implement an e-platform with an interactive database, searchable after various parameters, that describes and gives access to initiatives, tools and methods and other materials that have been identified and collected in the course of the project, concerning market conditions, policies, administrational settings, entrepreneurship skills and support programmes for immigrant entrepreneurs, in particular women, as well as how to train skills and knowledge to generate creative ideas especially in IT based business. . The database will have explanations in the languages of the partnership.2)To elaborate a Catalogue “Supports for Refugee Entrepreneurs” which will give an overview about the current situation of the specific project environment in the partners’ countries. It will be enriched with the outcomes of the transnational meetings of the four meetings in each partner country where experts from the respective national and local vocational counselling organisations will discuss these issues with the representatives of our strategic partnership. 3)To organise an online interactive Forum for exchange of experience and good practice that will promote networking and exchange activities not only among the partnership and VET organisations in their countries, but also on a European level. With new translation services, it will become possible to break down language barriers between users from different countries, and to foster exchange and assist initiatives that contribute to the European society as a whole.The target group of our project are VET and adult education trainers and organisations that will make use of the identified and selected materials to design and offer respective measures for refugees who want to become entrepreneurs.