Advances in ICTs are opening up new opportunities that impact teaching & learning (T&L) methods in Higher Education (HE). An increasing reliance on “blended models” combining elements of face to face & online modalities in different proportions is emerging, which subsequently have transformed the roles of teachers, students & universities. Despite this wave of innovation over the last decade, many universities around the world are not yet ready for this change and fully prepared for e-learning. For instance, traditional HE’s model in Latin America is still predominant: face to face learning represents 65% of its HE offer.InnovaT aims to modernise HE, enhancing innovation in T&L experiences by promoting the integration of new pedagogies and technologies in LA HEIs; equipping teachers and students with relevant skills for the digital transformation of HE and society worldwide.Expected results & Impact envisaged:• Enhanced teaching capacities in innovative T&L pedagogies and digital skills by delivering training in blended model, combining face to face teacher training with MOOCs and E-learning;• Modernised technical infrastructure of LA HEIs by creating, equipping and putting in operation the InnovaT offices (Innovative Teaching offices): to offer state of art tools to develop digital learning content as well as counseling services on the topic of innovative T• Increased HE-Enterprise cooperation and students learning experience by developing Pilot Classes with real projects with entrepreneurs, preparing the students for innovative thinking in “real life” contexts;• Greater awareness and reach of high-quality training material & publications by providing access to Open Educational Resources and E-Learning to regional and international academic community;• Extended networks between Europe and Latin America, and among Latin American neighbor countries in the topic of teaching & learning innovation by organizing an open International E-Conference.

Population growth, increased prosperity and rapid urbanization are bringing global demand for natural resources to a point increasingly beyond the Earth’s carrying capacity. Together with climate change, those pressures are causing significant environmental degradation in many parts of the planet. Latin America is particularly vulnerable. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute urgent calls and drivers for higher education to be part of future generations of engaged citizens aware of their role in creating fair and healthy societies.The Change the Climate project addresses three main needs: environmental management at all levels of higher education activities, integration of environmental management with sustainability strategies and institutional quality management, and customized strategies for sustainability in education. The project’s main goal is to increase Latin-American University’s contribution to Sustainable Development, through the implementation of environmental systematic practices and quality processes in alignment with the UN SDGs, improving the management and operations of higher education institutions. The project will deliver tools and guides for environmental impact analysis and SDGs mapping in campus operations and educational activities. An environmental management system will be implemented in each partner university decreasing their environmental impact; sustainability awareness will be assessed thoughout the academic communities; strategies for sustainability in higher education will be developed for curricula improvement; and a common open online course on sustainability will be created in English, Spanish and Portuguese.The project’s impact will reach stakeholders beyond the project partnership at local, regional and national levels contributing to behavioural change for sustainable futures.

Young universities share particular challenges when it comes to research capacities: poor resource bases compared to that of traditional universities, they operate outside important research networks and national policy and funding mechanisms are usually unfavourable and tend to reinforce institutional imbalance. However, young institutions usually play an important role in their own local contexts and have the advantage of more dynamic and flexible structures, which favours the relationship with external actors, particularly those located in the same region.I2LATAM will focus on the development of R&I capacities in young Latin American HEIs, through the generation of knowledge-sharing spaces to stimulate the relationship with key regional socio-economic actors. The quality, size of the consortium and the participation of four of the largest countries in Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Argentina) give this project a unique reach and impact portential.The project will result in the development of tools and methodologies to systematically map and match institutional capacities with regional opportunities, as well as in the creation/reinforcing of knowledge-sharing spaces, using succesful European models as example. Additionally, I2LATAM will develop R+D+I capacities in young researchers and R&I managers by launching an open access training package focused on key skills to promote regional and international collaboration. The ultimate goal of I2LATAM is to strengthen capacities for strategic management of research and innovation in Latin American young Universities by taking advantage of the potential local/regional impact, while fostering collaboration between Latin American and European HEIs for the development of innovative research initiatives and projects. In the long term, it is expected that the exchange of knowledge, experience and good management practices will contribute to the region's insertion in the global dynamics of research and innovation.

The CITYLAB project aims to enhance the quality of HEI’s in Latin America through problem based-learning. A problem-based learning is a proven innovative approach for introducing real-world problems in the education program with huge possibilities to transform the quality of learning and teaching. It is a kind of active, integrated and constructive learning method that works from a student centred approach and emphasizes on learning to learn and learning by doing, and breaks with traditional teaching methods such as ex-cathedra lectures. In order to introduce and spread PBL, it is required to work on specific problems through multidisciplinary approaches. We choose to work on typical urban problems, such as urban planning, conservation, energy and climate change, poverty and crime, employment, …which are in general complex, and wicked problems that can only be properly addressed through multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary working methods. Moreover, the selection of urban problems, and the transdisciplinary approach which works directly with urban actors, provides the opportunity to structurally strengthen the relation between universities and cities and to make education more socially relevant. The project departs from existing niches of problem based learning methods in curricula of Architecture, urban planning and urban engineering in 12 Latin American universities, and gradually involves other faculty members such as sociology, economics, environmental engineering, law, criminology, administration and political sciences, ….through the development of CITYLABS. The CITYLABS are accredited modules that will be integrated in existing curricula and which work directly in partnership with selected cities on urban problems. Teachers from different faculties will be involved and trained to implement PBL methods in their CITYLAB module. The Global Network of Cities, Local and Regional Governments will act as a linking partner between universities and cities.