The molecular mechanisms underlying memory formation in vertebrates are not well understood, despite their paramount importance to neuroscience. CHARM-Vis aims at investigating changes in the chromatin landscape and transcriptional activity in a prototypical model system for memory formation: visual imprinting in domestic chicks. The expected outcome of the project is remarkable. The use of single-cell, next-generation sequencing technologies will allow to study the system of interest at an unprecedented level of resolution, potentially leading to relevant new discoveries. Novel bioinformatics software pipelines will be developed for analyzing the data, and made available as free, open source software. All the data generated in the project will be made public as well, in order to benefit future research. A highly interdisciplinary consortium of world leading institutions will be involved in the project, including experts in chick visual imprinting from Ilia State University, Georgia, bioinformatics specialists from Navarrabiomed, Spain, and biotechnology experts from Karolinska Institute, Sweden. The combined expertise and synergy of the international consortium, along with the long-lasting scientific experience of the applicant, will ensure the successful fulfillment of the proposal. All the involved parties will greatly benefit from participating into the project. The applicant will deepen his expertise in bioinformatics and neuroscience, reinforcing his position as independent researcher. A mutual exchange of knowledge will take place among the involved institutions, whose know-hows are highly complementary. The project will also have beneficial, long-lasting effects after its end. We expect novel scientific questions to spring from the results of the project, stimulating the applicant as well as other researchers in performing further research, expanding the current knowledge and consolidating their careers.

Objective: introduce new, transnational & inter-disciplinary aspects of EU integration studies complementing existing courses on EU in IR & political sciences at ISU;Deliverables: six BA & MA courses, outreach & dissemination through school civics & history modules, public lectures on European values;Target groups: university students, academic community, teachers, interested public;Teaching: from practical problems to interdisciplinary academic researchAt Ilia State University European Union Studies are offered at BA and MA level, in Georgian and in English. Upon the signature of the Association Agreement it is of upmost importance to increase the overall knowledge and capacities concerning the EU approximation process in Georgia among students and within the broader society. Build around the academic concept of “Europeanisation” the impact of EU-Georgia cooperation will be assessed in institutional, societal as well as discourse terms. Ideally, together with students and international colleagues he planned to elaborate criteria and indicators for an in-depth measurement of changes in society and the role the EU played directly or indirectly. Besides reviewing and updating the existing curriculum in EU Studies at Ilia University he planned to add courses or public lectures on the following topics:1) EU development cooperation within the EaP establishing a comparative tool to assess Georgia’s Europeanisation relying on diverse reporting schemes;2) Understanding the EU-Georgia Association Agreement as an entry point for the future of EU-Georgia relations esp. focussing on cooperation;3) Past & Present European values in the EU and South Caucasus discusses the interrelatedness of identity issues & its local, national or transnational environment, which can be offered for public debates as well (Europe House);4) Transnational policies of cultural diversity in the EU & in Georgia explains the intrinsic approaches of EU cultural policy & support for the ENP combining identity of place, cultural heritage, tourism & economic development;5) Managing diversity and securing minority rights in the EU & the South Caucasus as part of a sociology of inter-ethnic relations;6) History of European integration introducing the concrete origins of the process & motivations of its founding members & the issue of a “European” identity.These new courses and public lectures should intentionally introduce new aspects of EU integration studies complementing existing courses and research on EU in international relations and political sciences at Ilia University by an explicit transnational and interdisciplinary offer.a) The elaboration of a Georgian language study reader in EU Studies was another objective to transform the courses offered into a consistent programme.b) Special focus is on development of EU studies in the Georgian language in order to make the curriculum more accessible to broader audiences;c) Workshop to elaborate teaching materials on EU affairs for schools for 30-40 students and teachers;d) Public lectures on European values discusses the interrelatedness of identity issues & its local, national or transnational environment, which can be offered for public debates as well;e) International conference on actual topics of EU studies in Georgia & the Caucasus (in the framework of AESC in summer 2018);f) Strengthening AESC network through coordination work.The JM Chair at Ilia State University should become a prominent place to publicly present the increased importance of the subject to students and the broader society in Georgia. It should share the latest research in the field by conducting an annual conference on EU Studies, if possible with international participation.

<< Background >>The partner institutions within this application are committed to contributing to the transformation of healthcare education through the use ofdigital teaching and assessment. We are also committed to fostering collaboration between VET and HEA institutions and to enhance the transfer of skills between education institutions and healthcare workplaces - to enhance digital competencies and healthcare professionals' fundamental skills development. Innovative approaches such as digital assessments are expected to drive the modernisation of education systems in a rapidly increasingly digital world (Kapsalis et al. 2019). McDonald et al. (2018) revealed five major topics for digital learning to enhance skills and knowledge of students, hereof three are: (i) facilitation of self- evaluation of students, (ii) use of mobile technology and (iii) training and preparation. They concluded that although digital formats cannot exceed face-to-face formats, a combination of digital and traditional methods creates a superior learning style (p. 167-173). Currently, half of the European education systems are reforming their curricula related to digital competence, either to introduce digital competence into the curriculum, to update existing content or tostrengthen specific areas of digital competence (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice 2019, p. 10). The same shouldbe done in healthcare education and this will be the main emphasis of the project AHEAD. As healthcare educationincludes both theory and practice competences, assessments in are carried out on theoretical knowledge and on practicalskills. Related to DigCompEdu, the use of digital technologies for assessments can provide additional data on learnerbehaviour, support decision making and support teachers to assess and adapt their teaching strategies (Redecker 2017,p. 21). Collaborative learning in digital environments is seen to enhance interaction skills, knowledge, competence andproblem-solving abilities of healthcare students and should be systematically used in education (Männistö et al. 2019).Digital assessments can be used in different ways, e.g. for monitoring of learner`s progress, facilitating feedback tolearners and supporting teachers to evaluate their teaching strategies. The proposed project AHEAD has its primaryfocus on health care education, an area where it is crucial to keep assessment going and to shift from face-to-face toonline assessment in order to ensure that health care students can continue to practice from the highest levels ofcompetency during and beyond the Covid-19 crisis. The project will foster the integration of innovative digital technologiessuch as digital peer assessment and open source digital badges, video-based assessment using Artificial Intelligence,which we believe are essential tools in a modern health education system. We are driven by the idea of ' 'assessment forlearning AFL' (as opposed to 'assessment of learning') in that we believe in engaging teachers and learners in thedevelopment of digital assessment tools. Within this project this will be achieved throughout but particularly in IO1, 2, 4and 5. The project is designed to involve participants in co-creation workshops and give participants real-timeconstructive feedback so that they can independently learn the correct techniques for essential healthcare skills. Thegaps, hopes and concerns related to digital competencies identified as part of the project will be addressed throughoutbut particularly in IO3, 4 and 5.<< Objectives >>The project AHEAD aims at enhancing digital assessment in the field of healthcare education across four Europeancountries (Ireland, Germany, Georgia and Poland). The project is mainly related to area 3 and 4 of the Framework forDigital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu): (i) teaching and learning and (ii) assessment. Mainly two sub-elementsof assessment (Redecker 2017, p. 16) will be focused on: (i) assessment strategies and (ii) feedback and planning. Theproject is set to address three target groups: school-based teachers / educators, practice-based teachers and learners inhealth care education in order:(i) To engage participants and encourage them to become involved in the transformation towards digital healthcare assessment (ii) To foster digital assessment that is inline with ongoing higher and VET education and EU Digital Education agendas(iii) To address knowledge and skills gaps, hopes and concerns of teachers and learners, and develop their capabilities in the area of digital assessment (iv) To develop video-based self-assessment and peer assessment by means of innovative technologies (AI) and software (Unicam)(v) To reward learning by means of open source digital badges / micro-credentialing. To develop knowledge and understanding about teacher gaps is important for development of targeted measures and assessment tools to foster their competencies in the development, implementation and use of digital assessment tools into their teaching and learning activities. An automated video-based assessment will provide learners with an open-source digital based to certify their achievement of learning. It will produce a technology that will be applicable to all partner institutions and it will include the assessment of key clinical skills. Healthcare students can self-assess, develop competency and have their skill certified in a robust and secure manner (All Aboard 2020). The otherobjective of the proposed AHEAD project is that we are building on new and that we are fostering existing partnerships, forming a 'Cooperation Partnership'. To this point, we are expanding partnerships across universities and across European countries.<< Implementation >>AHEAD will combine general aspects of digital assessment with an essential healthcare topic. Five Intellectual Outputs(IO’s) will be produced: 1. Co-creation workshops: in this IO we are involving participants from each partner institution inco-creation workshops (48 participants) to develop insights into teachers' and learners' digital competency needs. Co-creationworkshops will be substantiated with online surveys. An evaluation concept will be designed based on co-creationfeedback and involvement of stakeholders. The data gathered will form the basis for the remaining IOs,particularly IO2. 2. A competency framework for teachers and learners: in health care education in the field of digitalassessment will be developed, related to DigCompEdu (Redecker 2017) and to DigCom 2.1 (Carretero et al. 2017). Thecompetency framework will describe teachers` and learners` knowledge, skills and competencies for assessments ondifferent levels. 3. Micro-learning units: This IO will involve the development, piloting, and evaluation with teachers andlearners of micro-learning units at all project participating organisations. The aim of this IO is to improve competencies ofteachers and learners in the use of digital assessments and in the integration of these assessments in their own teachingand learning practice. 4. Digital peer assessment toolkit: In this output, project partners will develop a digital rubric andpeer assessment where groups of students can provide peer feedback on one video-recorded skill (12-16 participants).Students will be empowered to become involved in assessment and to impact on the grade awarded to learners for ahealthcare related skill. 5. A video-based assessment using Artificial Intelligence and including an open source digitalbadge as evidence of achievement will be developed and tested within this project. Tools will be tested on at least 25participants. Overall project activities include transnational meetings, open source online resources, publications in peer-reviewedhealthcare journals and dissemination at local, national and international teaching and learning and research conferences.<< Results >>To address general aspects of digital assessment, three overall results are expected during the project apart from theIntellectual Outputs described in the section above. These include: (i) Research-based tools on the use of digitalassessment in health care education across four European countries, and findings on gaps, challenges and hurdles, (ii) aframework for knowledge, skills and competencies in digital assessments of teachers and learners in theory and practiceand (iii) digital micro-learning units to improve knowledge, skills and competency of teachers and learners to deal withdigital learning and assessment formats. To address specific aspects of digital assessment, two concrete innovativeexamples of digital assessment will be produced in the project: (i) video-based assessment using AI including digitalbadge and (ii) a digital toolkit for peer-assessment and feedback. The desired impacts at local level are enhanced digitalskills and the availability of digital assessment tools for education- and practice-based teachers and learners. Theenhanced digital skills and assessment tools will be available well beyond the current Covid-19 pandemic. All IntellectualOutputs produced within this project are transferable to other education programmes and to various (healthcare) skills.The European cooperation within the project offers special opportunities to drive innovation in healthcare educationthrough exchange of ideas between the project countries, development of a shared competency framework for digitalassessment, development of transnational learning units and creating innovative formats and tools to be used in differenteducational contexts throughout Europe. The flexibility of the methods and tools developed in this project will also beattractive to health care professionals and various students internationally. The AHEAD project will produce outputs andonline resources which are open source. The completed project outputs will be transferable to other organisations outsideof the participating partner organisations. A summary of the project will be available on the Erasmus results system. Theinnovative pedagogical and digital learning and assessment approaches utilised in this project will stimulate discussionamong stakeholders and might encourage more organisations to develop and implement flexible digital assessmentmethods.

The IM in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (CEERES) is a two-year master degree, delivered by the University of Glasgow (UoG), the University of Tartu (LU), and six universities located in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union: Jagiellonian University (UJ) in Krakow (Poland), Corvinus University (CUB) in Budapest (Hungary), the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA) in Kyiv (Ukraine), Lobachevsky State University (UNN) in Nizhni Novgorod (Russia), KIMEP University (KIMEP) in Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Ilya State University (ISU) in Tbilisi (Georgia). Students graduate with a multiple degree, awarded from UoG, UT and one of the six regional universities. There will be an opportunity to undertake a credit bearing work placement with a relevant organisation in Semester Three, to present students with practical experiences to complement their academic studies. Disciplines employed throughout the CEERES curriculum include Politics, IR, History, Sociology, Economics, and Geography: this is a truly multidisciplinary programme. CEERES is articulated around a rational journey of specialisation, in which the acquisition of familiarity with a regional language plays a particularly central role. The first semester at UT introduces issues, processes and methods that are pertinent to the programme. Through an introductory course taught collectively by staff members from the 8 universities, students are tasked to prepare a dissertation proposal that determines the supervisory team for the rest of the degree and the Year Two mobility. In the second semester, students move to UoG where they continue their language training and are introduced to further specialisation in one of three regional areas: Central and East European Studies, Russian Studies, and Eurasian Studies. The supervision process starts in earnest during Semester Two, while a non-credit bearing Summer School reinforces the curriculum’s commitment to methodological training. The programme’s Year Two is spent in the region that sits at the core of the CEERES curriculum. Through further coursework, placements, and dissertation research at UJ/CUB/NaUKMA/UNN/KIMEP/ISU, students increase their linguistic proficiency and enhance their research skills, while acquiring invaluable experiences of life, study, and work in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Eurasia. The programme’s fourth semester allows the student to write a dissertation at one of the six regional universities, concentrating on a chosen topic of their interest and supervised by a team of academics from the three awarding institutions. CEERES students do not need prior knowledge of regional developments, history, or languages. CEERES is relevant to people of all nationalities, especially to those students willing to deepen their understanding of regional processes, societies, and languages and employ such acquired knowledge in the public and private sectors, as well as in further education.

The LEAP aims to explore how the EU integration is taught, learned, experienced and contested at the periphery of the EU. The more the EU integration unfolds, the more divergent paths for EU members as well as candidate and neighboring countries become apparent, described as a fracture along North-South, East-West or centre-periphery lines. In this respect, the project develops a multi-dimensional, integrative, inter-regional and inclusive approach to scrutinise the educational aspect of the EU integration (how the EU is taught and learned) as well as to assess performative aspect of the EU integration to find out how it penetrates to the everyday lives of the young citizens (how the EU is experienced) and to explore the political aspect of the EU integration to find out the reasons triggering Euroscepticism (how the EU is contested) in Turkey, Romenia, Kosovo, Georgia and Ukraine. For this aim, it is necessary to combine comparatively the experiences of academics, students, young citizens, civil society and political actors. This endeavour involving a Kick-Off Conference, 3 workshops, 3 network summits, a Closure Conference, a teaching mobility stage that allows the Network members to teach at various universities of the Network and an intense research process which will conduct focus group interviews and structured interviews will be translated into a project website, 3 Special Issues (that will bring together the results of the workshops,), 2 edited books (bringing together the focus group interviews, structured interviews and simulation diaries), 2 films and a database. In order to avoid being blind spotted to the alternative narratives on the challenges of the EU integration, it is obligatory to develop an integrated approach to addressing to how multifarious actors in the periphery assess these challenges, which the LEAP aims to find out .The aim of this integrated approach is to create a multiplier effect for the study of the EU in other geographies.