Striving to reform Belarus high education system according to the Bologna process, the Ministry of Education of Belarus set the target for HEIs to reform curricula from the existing system “5 plus 1” to the system “4 plus 2”, which should comply with the Bologna system principles. However, decreasing a training period from 5 to 4 years for physics specialists causes a certain risk providing an impact on the labor market, because it is a challenge for research institution and enterprises due to supply of specialists with a qualification different from that of the previous graduates. The project will upgrade master-level education in the field of physics (functional nanomaterials and photonics, applied physics, etc.) in four universities of Belarus according to Bologna practices in physical science, to enhance the quality and relevance of education by modernizing study programs, focusing on the use of ICT, and through networking activities to the labour market needs. The main results:• Developed, tested and formally approved curricula for master-level in physical sciences in accordance to labour market needs basing on Bologna practices• Developed didactic materials (e-Books, guides for laboratory works, lecture synopsis, etc.) for upgrading master-level education in the field of physical sciences • Readiness for transition from existing “5 plus 1” to a new training system “4 plus 2” (4 years for bachelors and 2 years for master students study)Learning and teaching methodologies, including learning outcomes and ICT based practices (flexible learning, blended courses, virtual and real mobility, practical placement, etc.) will be developed and validated during the project. Labour market needs will be taken into account. Modernized master-students study programs with 2-years training cycle will be tested during two years: one year during the project, the second year after the project will be finished. The curricula will be in English, Russian and Belorusian.

The productivity of vegetation will inevitably change in response to environmental change. One of the landscapes likely to be most affected by small shifts in the climate is floodplains, because their hydrology responds to changes across the whole catchment. In turn, their hydrology drives their ecology, which is dominated by flood events, such that their ability to provide important ecosystem services including agricultural products, water-quality improvement and biodiversity conservation may alter substantially in response to a small shift in the catchment's water balance. Because many facors are involved in determining the productivity of the system, it is very difficult to predict or model their response to change without long runs of data to describe how they have responded to changes in the past. Such datasets are very rare. Many studies only last a few years and are unable to capture the impact of the full flood cycle. Floodplain ecosystem can be perturbed by a flood event over a pereiod of ten or tenty years. A number of datasets, some running for more than 40 years have come to light in the former Soviet Union. Their existence is barely known outside the Russian-speaking world and the data are currently not being used by climate modellers working around the globe. This project aims to build relationships with the researchers who hold these long term datasets and thence to make the data available to research groups around the world who would find them useful. To do this, the plan is to visit the researchers in Russia and Belarus to gain a precise understanding of what data they hold and how they were collected. In order to standardise the data so that they can be compared across regions, some new data will be collected in the summer of 2015 following a fixed protocol, which will allow for any discrepancies between the older methods to be accounted for. Once the data are organised and comparable, we will design a format for them to be accessed by the wider community and then stage a workshop to which leading researchers from across the UK, Europe and Russia will be invited to discuss the potential of these new data. The datasets will be summarised and presented at the workshop to drive the discussions forward.

Belarus is in the process of building nuclear power generation with two reactors envisaged: construction of the first will be completed this year, construction of the second will finish in 2020. Higher Education in nuclear safety and radiation protection will be of utmost importance, hence appropriate curricula need to be developed and set in place. Aim of this project is the development of curricula at the Master level, in line with Bologna principles, to be accredited by the Ministry of education and adopted throughout the Country. To this aim, a number of Belarusian University, covering practically all the regions of the Country, have been involved in the project, and will serve both as developers and as “testing facilities” for the new curricula. The EU Universities involved all have a long-lasting and deep experience in the field, and have developed in the past their own curricula in the field. The expected results will be innovative two-year study program, including a special attention to practical training effected with a two prong approach: new, up to date didactic laboratories to be set up in all the Belarusian partner HEIs; traineeships in institutions and companies active in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. Special attention shall be focused on “training the trainers”, i.e., professional instruction and internship for the teachers-to-be. Ideally, a first generation of teachers will be formed during the three years of the project, and this first group of fully trained teachers will continue the work raising the new generations of instructors. The end result will be a Country-wide education framework in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The impact on the Country is quite clear: the capability of handling the new nuclear industry safely and effective; the wider impact for Europe will be that a newcomer in the nuclear industry can be trusted to be capable to manage its nuclear potential.

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are electronic systems, components and software that are interacting with physical systems and their environment providing capabilities to sense, monitor, analyze and control devices, components and processes in various fields of application. The CPS are able to deliver cross-domain solutions with reduced time-to-market, yielding significant economic results and growth in sectors critical to Europe's economy and competitiveness and drive innovation to cope with the ‘new digital transformation’ of Europe.The project will introduce a novel curricular in practical-oriented modelling and simulation CPS for innovative physical, mathematical and engineering topics for High-Tech industries based on analysis of labour market needs, in close cooperation with the professional associations, High-Tech companies and research institutions of Belarus and Ukraine. The main results:- Developed, tested and formally approved curricula for BCs and MCs in accordance to labour market needs based on Bologna practices- Developed didactic materials (e-Books, guides for laboratory works, lecture synopsis, etc.) - Modern infrastructure with innovative ICT based teaching and learning environment for improvement qualifications and skills in the area of modelling and simulation of CPS (e-library and Shared Modelling and Simulation Platform)- Learning and teaching methodologies and pedagogical approaches for use of ICT: flexible learning, blended courses, virtual and real mobility, acquisition of innovative tools - Highly qualified teaching staff, familiar with modern needs, educational technologies and targeting needs.-University - enterprise network that works beyond the projectThe long-term impact of CybPhys implies as: - Increased employability of the graduates. - The companies and research institutions in the field of CPS of Belarus and Ukraine become more competitive internationally.The curricula will be in English, Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian.

Today the impact of enterprise-university collaboration on the national and global economies as well as social welfare cannot be overestimated, as the quality of people's life and the society depends on job satisfaction and payment level which are rooted in the competences acquired by the student at university. Despite significant efforts by academic, business and governmental bodies in Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan to broaden the engagement in university-business cooperation, there is a lack of awareness of how HEIs and business can cooperate and how their activities interrelate. EU Universities and business, on the contrary, have accumulated relevant experience and efficient modes of cooperation that needs to be disseminated to education areas in the consortium members to facilitate the Bologna process achievements, link business and academia. The outcomes of UniLab project can be divided into specific and general. The specific outcomes for the Partner countries are: (1) increased university-business cooperation skills and experience of academics and business people, governments, HEIs and business (2) increased recognition of the importance of the university-business cooperation with governments, HEIs and business (3) improved skills and future job prospects of students (4) modernization of HEI curricula in compliance with the interests and demands of the labor market (5) created jobs, stimulating social and economic growth of RU, AZ, BY, increasing living standards of the society as a whole.The general outcomes for the Partner countries as well as EU education area are: (1) making HEI more attractive for potential talented students and researchers, 2) improving innovation and competitiveness for business (2) creating effective models for better aligning curricula and the skills of graduates with the labour market, improving employment pathways for students, and recruitment for employers as well as lifelong learning programmes for business.