MEANING will be implemented in Central America, and specifically in El Salvador and Guatemala as a Joint Action under category A-Curriculum development in the field of Engineering.The main project objective is to enhance the modernisation of the Higher Education sector and to increase student's employability in the field of Industrial Engineering in El Salvador and Guatemala This will be achieved by means of developing/implementing an innovative and high quality (in compliance with national/EU standards) Master Programme in Industrial Engineering, with three relevant specializations (Robotics, Telecommunications & Computer Sciences), for Salvadoran and Guatemalan students, but also beyond.The project has been defined with a logical sequence of complementary and interlinked activities (preparation, development, sustainability, quality, dissemination & exploitation) in order to face the challenges identified by the consortium in the proposal drafting step and with the aim of satisfying their real needs. Basically there is a considerable number of students at PCs enrolled in Engineering related studies; however their competences are limited, due to the fact that the current study programme offer (where theMaster level is almost inexistent) is not fully aligned with the real needs of the labour market, especially in the area of Industrial Engineering, a growing economic sector of high importance for partner countries.

Latin American Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are currently facing major challenges: (1) the number of students enrolled is growing exponentially, while the number of teachers is growing at a much slower rate; (2) teaching is no longer confined to the traditional classroom, and must live together with virtual programmes and blended models; (3) teachers need constant training to be up-to-date; and (4) there is a significant gap between the needs of the industry, and the training students receive in HEIs, which contrasts with rising unemployment rates in the Region. Therefore, it is time to rethink the way forward for HEIs in the Region, based on innovation in teaching-learning processes. The PROF-XXI project aims to build capacities for the development of Teaching and Learning Centres (TLCs) in the HEIs of the Region, taking into account the current educational context. To this end, (1) guidelines and models of TLCs will be developed around three axes: pedagogical, technological and strategic management; (2) 4 pilot TLCs will be installed in the 4 partner HEIs in Latin America, following these guidelines and models; (3) training will be provided to the professionals of the TLCs installed, being these TLCs the basis for the creation and development of Teaching Training Plans in the 4 Latin American HEIs.; (4) the Cooperation Network created in the project will serve to extend the creation of TLCs to other HEIs in the Region. In the short term, this project will improve the quality of education in Latin America, both in partner HEIs and in those which join the Network. This effect will be transferred to the whole of Latin American society through the quality training received by the professionals who graduate from these HEIs, and also through the possibility of replicating the capabilities created from the open materials generated in the project.

The Free Network project is a Joint Action to be implemented in Central America. Its general objective is improving business opportunities for research-based entrepreneurs, promoting spin-off services in Higher Education Institutions and strengthening the innovation ecosystem in Central America. The FREE Consortium identified a lack of institutional regulations supporting the creation and development of spin-off, and the absence in most of the Central America universities of specific units with qualified and skilled staff. As consequence there is a very limited capacity to exploit the research results coming from academic/research staff and students. In this context FREE proposes facilitating the creation and development of spin-off companies. The project specific objective is the creation and modernisation of spin-off support services within 12 CA Higher Education Institutions through institutional and capacity building and the use of a regional network and platform.The FREE Network activities, implemented by 12 CA HEIS and 3 EU HEIs, will include: - in-depth needs analysis on research-based entrepreneurship in PC will provide a good insight of the situation of the CA HEIs in terms of spin-off regulations and units supporting research-based entrepreneurs;- capacity building for Innovation Support Offices (ISO) staff;- creation/adaptation of ISOs with appropriate institutional legislation, qualified HR and relevant infrastructure for providing spin-off support services;- creation of a regional platform for transferring good practices and exploiting synergies at regional level; - an ambitious disseminating and exploitation strategy of the project outputs;