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 main objective of the PONCHO project is to encourage the process of internationalization of Latin American Universities partners in the project, with special focus on the Universities of peripheral areas of the region, whose geographical position or the volume of students have been unable to develop their internationalization in the same way as capital universities or major universities in the region. The PONCHO consortium is then composed mainly with universities having no experience in project of capacity building (former Alfa) and only 4 Latin American institutions have experience: Asuncion, Goias, San Simon and Nacional del Sur. Hence the exchange of good practices from the more experienced partners to the not so experienced partners is highly valued in order to increase, not only EU-Third country cooperation, but also Third country-Third country cooperation.To develop its objectives, PONCHO will work at three levels: at technical level: through the training of the IROs staff; at academic and students level: through the organization of Info days and Students Camp where academics and students will receive training and awareness session to approach them to internationalization, intercultural and integration using non-formal training tools; and finally at institutional level: through an online platform and the organisation of International Fair where the institution will be able to develop on one side their support process for a good internationalization and on the other side, through international marketing and network, to increase their international presence. The focus of active participation and collaborative decision making of the project will be implemented in the preparation, management, dissemination and optimization and quality control and through the PONCHO platform the consortium will not only be able to work together but also to develop new collaborations with other universities of the region.

The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and specifically Internet of Things (IoT) in Argentina and Uruguay is growing at a relatively slow pace and we found the main reasons being: the lack of cooperation, the scarceness of human resources in the area of interest, and the heterogeneous thus ineffective educational methodology and offer in a state of the art topic. The aim of the project NEON is therefore to modernize the higher education system, to improve and diversify the training of human resources, both in the academic field (students, professors,) and in the industrial sphere (technical staff) and to motivate a broader spectrum of people towards IoT, which nowadays is one of the most innovative and most impactful technology in the ICT field, as it can influence and improve several aspects and processes of our lives. The main goal of the institutions that take part in the project will be the creation of a Network of Competence in IoT. This network of competence will serve as a hub and common knowledge base for both academia and industry in order to foster an improved technological advancement through exchange of knowledge and needs. Specifically, the network of competence will connect universities in Argentina and Uruguay with local industry (and with EU universities) in order to address their needs, offer teaching and training opportunities to both teachers, staff and students, improve the infrastructure through the creation of joint university-academia laboratories and offer internships. All these activities will be related to modernizing the curricula by including the IoT topic, developing new hands-on based education, acquiring digital skills and learning methods to strengthen the relation between HEIs and the wider economic and social environment fostering capacity building, innovation, creativity and employability so that to contribute to local economy growth.

CAMINOS deepened the Latin American Higher Education Space by improving the capacity of universities, associations and networks to enhance, promote and manage regional Latin American student and staff mobility. Specifically, the project developed a common mobility management model (defined by a Handbook) to this effect, premised upon and linking existing Latin American bi/multi-lateral mobility programmes and providing guidance on managing mobility. The project had three essential phases:1)A research phase for mapping a) existing Latin American mobility schemes and their management practices and rules, b) the actors and universities that participate in them and manage them2)A development phase for generating a Handbook that provided concrete advice to universities and networks/associations on how to enhance and promote mobility in the region. Focus groups on topics such as mobility management, credit transfer, recognition, institutional partnerships and joint degrees were organised to help draft the Handbook. In addition, study visits of Latin American partners to European universities were organised, to look at institutional case studies on these topics. 3)A pilot phase, whereby the Handbook was applied by both the partner associations/networks and the partner universities. Each partner implemented a pilot project that corresponded to at least one aspect of a mobility management ‘process’ listed in the Handbook. This included building a website for promoting mobility in the region, installing a new database for mobility, organizing international internships and summer schools in the LA region, etc. Coaching was provided by European partners to support the pilots. The project responded to the fact that LA regional mobility is a growing priority as it fosters academic cooperation and regional harmonisation. CAMINOS also reflected the interest to better promote ‘structured’ mobility and staff mobility. The project involved universities from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador, as well as university associations from these countries. Additional actors and related E+ projects were involved in project activities to ensure wider ownership and synergies. A final project conference was positioned as a larger event for generating ‘clustering’ and synergies between beneficiaries of E+ projects in LA, dealing with themes related to internationalisation, mobility, recognition and joint programmes. The project has a direct impact in the LA partner universities in terms of their ability to manage mobility and generate awareness for the importance of regional mobility. In addition, the associations in the project were able to launch and and conduct a first assessment of a regional programme for mobility – ‘PILA’ – which allows for mutual exchange between Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, and should be expanded to other countries in the near future.

Successful previous LA and EU HE cooperation revealed differences between HESystems, academic recognition principles and practices. A long path is still ahead in terms of streamlined mobility recognition with fair credit transfer and grade conversion. Most LA countries have no credit system nationally applying to HEIs and the majority has regulations to frame mobility abroad, but handles recognition on individual basis and equivalence without grading is very common, negatively impacting students. RecMat joins partners from AR, BR and EU with the core aim of contributing to promote mobility between EU and LA, by reducing barriers related to academic recognition and building LA HEIs capacity to implement a fairer recognition process. Partners will work at two levels, linking the policy and practical dimensions behind academic recognition. Unlike previous initiatives, RecMat targets not only International Officers, but teachers who are the main decision makers in LA HEIs in what recognition is concerned, who are distant from Bologna rationale and usually show high resistance to recognition. This will be achieved by involving teachers in blended-training and in piloting concrete case studies, to evidence practical successful processes. Through a peer-to-peer approach, RecMat will raise teachers’ awareness about the importance of ensuring full recognition and stimulating fair grade conversion. RecMat activities will capacitate HEIs to formally frame recognition and build a linkage with IT teams by providing training to IT staff and enabling LA HEIs to outline concrete technical solutions to ease recognition. Through the organisation of public (inter-)national events and policy forums, RecMat will bring the topic to wide discussion, encouraging a high number of HEIs to adopt similar processes and sharing with them the project's innovative outcomes (MOOC, Digital Compendium and Conclusions Paper) towards the improvement and transparency of academic recognition processes.