The DIGITbrain project is deeply rooted in the innovation ecosystem of the I4MS project CloudiFacturing and the industrial platforms FIWARE and IDS, and it will build on these results, by means of extending the CloudiFacturing solution with an augmented digital-twin concept called “Digital Product Brain” (DPB) and a smart business model called “Manufacturing as a Service” (MaaS). By having access to on-demand data, models, algorithms, and resources for industrial products (i.e. mechatronic systems supporting the production of other products), the DBP will enable their customisation and adaptation according to individual conditions. The availability of industrial-product capacity will facilitate the implementation of MaaS, which will allow manufacturing SMEs to access advanced manufacturing facilities within their regions or to distribute their orders across different ones. The DIGITbrain project will address four principles that will foster the uptake of advanced digital and manufacturing technologies. A) Technology: leverage edge-, cloud- and HPC-based modelling, simulation, optimisation, analytics, and machine learning tools and augment the concept of digital twin with a memorizing capacity that records the provenance of the industrial product over its full lifecycle. B) Feasibility: support more than 20 highly innovative cross-border experiments, bringing together technology providers and manufacturing end users, and facilitating cost-effective distributed and localised production, based on on-demand manufacturing machine capacity. C) Sustainability: coach and empower DIHs to implement the smart business model MaaS and contribute to their long-term sustainability, by increasing their portfolio with services tailored to the industrial needs of their regions. D) Network of DIHs: engage DIHs across Europe that implement MaaS, enable manufacturing SMEs to co-create and experiment with digital innovations before investing, and attract national and regional funding.

The reason for the project is the multiple challenges faced by Russian and Kazakhstan university staff teaching vocational education. These include a lack of competencies and skills in TUNING Educational system and modern pedagogical teaching practices, the need to acquire key principles in vocational language teaching as well as the need to be an “integrated teacher” capable of combining both theoretical education and practical training, understanding quality assurance processes and mechanisms in vocational education, to secure opportunities to develop and retain practical skills of existing university vocational teacher staff. The main result after a Kick Off meeting with needs analysis, planning and QA training will be an initial EU training (after preparation) in English for Specific Purposes (terminology, soft skills, key writing) and general vocational pedagogical training with ECTS/ Tuning modular system inputs. Programme Countries then create a 10 module Pedagogical ECTS/ Tuning modular system which will be developed, piloted and integrated into existing university pedagogical vocational teacher training in each university. National Awareness Days explaining the objectives and status of the project will take place twice in each PC and promote dissemination and sustainability. Action Group will develop a ALLVET Strategic Plan ensuring post-project dissemination and sustainability. All modules will be downloadable on an online platform designed as not only a hub for academic activity but additionally for administration. We envisage very strong impacts as the Programme Country universities were selected for their interest in this project and based on EU partner experience a project like this will initiate key change.

The Trans2Work project is designed as complementary with “Equal Access for All -Strengtheningthe Social Dimension for a Stronger European Higher Education Area” (EquiED)(http://www.equied.ni.ac.rs/en/) in SR and “Support and Inclusion of SwDs at Higher Education inMontenegro” (SINC@HE) (http://sinche.uom.gr/) in ME and “Equal Opportunities for StudentsWith Special Needs in Higher Education” (EQOPP) (http://www.eqopp.ba/) in BiH. The aforementioned projects have been designed to improve the equal access, inclusion and support of prospective and current students with disability (SwD) at HEIs in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Taken into consideration the specific objectives of these 3 projects, the proposed project is a follow up and complementary based on the assumption that SwD often experience limited access to and success within postsecondary and higher education programs which subsequently limits their employment. Thus, Trans2Work links the outcomes from the aforementioned projects and makes the next step by preparing SwD to meet the needs of the labor market after their graduation. This project proposal completely addresses regional priorities for JP in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, concretely the priority “Developing the Higher Education sector within society at large, University-enterprise cooperation, entrepreneurship and employability of graduates”. All three partner countries (PC) have done a lot for persons with disability (PwD) on the legislative level. I.e. ratified UN Convention on the Rights of PwD and adopted laws such as the Law on Prevention of Discrimination Against PwD both providing framework for right to education and employment/work for PwD. Almost all universities at partner countries have career centers and for those that have not the already established centers for students with disability from aforementioned projects have been included within the Trans2Work project.The associations of individuals with disability and the employment agencies in three partnercountries are actively involved in supporting PwD to find an appropriate job and some, i.e. inSerbia, developed programs for employment of PwD and specialized services both for PwD andfor employers.Although there is a good background and some common good developed strategies there are a lotof differences that are making the mobility among partner countries not easy and in a lot of casesthe implementation of those policies are still inefficient and not practically linked. A review onreports and literature focusing on the transition from HE to work life in the 3 partner countries has showed a lack of research data and information. Generally employers are skeptical about thepossibility of hiring PwD since their concern relates to the ability of PwD to carry out theiremployment responsibilities. Important factor for positive change in the attitude of employers is the level of education of PwD. Furthermore gathering statistical information to build up a clear picture of the situation of PwD within the labor market is particularly difficult. This is due in part to the fact that partner countries do not carry out regular or consistent surveys on the employment situation of PwD at the HE level. Comparison of the situation at EU level is further complicated by the fact that each partner country has its own system for defining the population with disability. Aim of the project is to improve the quality and relevance of school to work transition of HE SwD in RS and ME and BiH. Main objectives are to (a) upgrade and prepare HEIs services to support SwD to their transition from HE to Work following the EU policies, (b) link HE to “disability friendly” work environments, (c) assimilate transition opportunities and skills with EU practices and policies and (d) to prepare employers on understanding the needs of employees with disabilities in order to offer new jobs.

Dynamics of the labour market force both employees and unemployed to adopt their qualifications to employers’ new needs. Part-time studies (PT) aim to provide, to mostly adult employed students, appropriate modes of study. Short cycle higher education programs (SCHE) provide mostly professional studies, lasting up to two years, aiming to prepare students for specific jobs. They are suitable to students that cannot get bachelor degrees and want to get qualifications for employment. This project aims to propose, currently missing, the legislation framework for both PT & SCHE studies in Serbia (EQF Level 5). Two project partners, authorized for HE legislation (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Development, and National Council of Higher Education) will be actively involved in this project. As PT & SCHE adult students have different starting knowledge and skill levels, the project aims to adopt a specific personalized e-learning system, allowing each student to configure his online lessons, selecting only needed knowledge units (learning objects). Each online lesson will have a specified learning and assessment process, managed for each student separately. These innovations will optimize learning paths of students according to their current knowledge, learning styles and specified learning outcomes.The proposed concepts, legislation and pedagogical and technological approaches for PT & SCHE studies will be tested and analyzed using pilot implementations of five PT & SCHE programs, realized in both face-to-face and online modes of learning. After first year of the pilot implementations, a detail analysis of its effects will be elaborated and reported, and implementation guidelines will be offered to HEIs interested to design new PT & SCHE studies. Expected impacts: wider access to HE, increase of enrolled students, increase of employment, lower staff costs (no overqualified employees), qualifications of employees are more in line with needs of new job