The effects of the climate change will have devastating effects on the vulnerable coastal built environment as it has the ability of inundating the existing built environment due to direct threats to properties, infrastructures, coastal industries, coastal and marine ecosystems. Furthermore, coastal areas are known to highly populated due to urban centres being located near the coastal belts further increases the predicament. In light of this there is a vital necessity to develop tangible climate adaptation measures in the coastal built environments. However, there is a significant knowledge gap in relation to effective responses and adaptation measures to climate change impacts within the built environment as a whole as well as the construction and property industries. In addressing this it is essential to upgrade the knowledge and skills of the built environment professionals as they will be lead roles in this climate change adaptation process. In light of this the project aims to develop trans-disciplinary and innovative research-based learning in the built environment to tackle climate change in coastal regions and the following objectives have been set out. • To identify climate change impact on the built environment in coastal regions• To develop a coherent framework for integrating the requirements of the Paris Agreement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) in the context of the impact of climate change on the built environment in coastal regions• To recognise the opportunities for climate adaptation in the coastal built environment in line with the coherent framework• To understand skills gaps in climate adaptation in the built environment to tackle climate change in coastal regions • To develop a trans-disciplinary and innovative research-based learning to improve competencies in climate change adaptation in the built environment in coastal regions In terms of outputs, BEACON will first conduct a review of the climate change impact on the coastal built environment (O1). Based on the themes identified as part of O1, it will then draft the synthesis report on opportunities and constraints for integrating the requirements of the Paris Agreement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) in the context of built environment in coastal regions (O2). Opportunities and constraints identified as part of O2 will provide the basis for the development of a comprehensive framework for climate change adaptation in design, construction and retrofitting aligning with SDGs and SFDRR (O3). This framework will be beneficial for built environment professionals, clients, and policy makers in applying integrated and coherent adaptation measures during different phases of construction and retrofitting cycles. Furthermore, a guidance notes with case studies and good practices on implementing local adaptation strategies in the built environment in coastal regions will be developed (O5). BEACON will also identify the role of the built environment stakeholders in climate change adaptation in the built environment (O4) and associated skill gaps and mismatches will be evaluated (O6). Built environment professionals have to be well informed and capable enough to tackle climate change in coastal regions. Thus, it is important to identify the knowledge, skills and competencies to tackle climate change in coastal regions. The project intends to develop a trans-disciplinary and innovative research-based learning platform in the built environment to tackle climate change in coastal regions and the proposed competency framework (O7) will provide basis for the development of curricular of the proposed learning platform (O8). All these outputs will be developed through a rigorous scientific process and will directly contribute to the scientific theory of the domain. Based on these outputs, it is intended to produce a number of conference and journal papers and a journal special issue which will further enhance the knowledge-base. The output discussed above will not only benefit theory but due to the importance of the subject matter within Europe and beyond, it will provide an important contribution to the practice in tackling climate change in the built environment in coastal regions. It will further support in enhancing the knowledge-base of built environment professionals through a development of a trans-disciplinary and innovative research-based learning in the built environment.These outputs will inform policy and will provide direct input towards national and local governments, international organisations, non-profit organisations and built environment professional bodies to understand the issues related to climate change adaptation in the built environment in coastal regions.

Sri Lanka faces many transportation challenges. Constraints such as timely access to modern technology and the lack of appropriately trained personnel have contributed to increasing social, economic and environmental concerns around road safety, pollution and transport inefficiencies. We will address these issues through enrichment of the university curricula. Specifically, the integration of LBS into ITS. LBS deliver information based on the location of objects. Smart transportation is therefore an ideal LBS application since it is based on locating people (e.g. using smartphones) and objects (e.g. cars, trains, etc.). As LBS evolve rapidly, there is an increasing need to train the next generation of skilled professionals who can leverage these new capabilities. This is important for Sri Lanka, where population growth and resource constraints demand the urgent use of emerging technologies to secure the safety and sustainability of their society. This level of education is in its infancy and cannot rapidly deliver the knowledge inputs required to change transport management decision-making. The consortium of 3 EU and 4 Sri Lankan Universities will build a fully immersive and integrated teaching and learning experience. The outcome will be a digital learning environment supporting synthetic and real-world learning experiences encouraging self-paced learning modules for both teacher and students. It will contain digital resource kits for interaction with modern equipment, continuous assessment and two-way feedback. Webinars and virtual experiences will underpin real-world Problem-based Learning (PBL) scenarios. A key novelty will be inclusion of industry representatives and external experts in the advisory groups. These will support our dissemination and quality control initiatives, the relevance of the PBL and student learning outcomes. Mentorship and a focus on cultural awareness, gender equity and social parity will govern our principles for curricula enrichment.

Energy services are essential for the development of any society. Sri Lanka has an energy growth of 6-8% every year, starting at a more than 60% fossil-fuel dependency. To fulfill its commitment towards the Intergovermental Panel och Climate Change to decarbonize the country it needs to rapidly transform the sector towards renewable energy sources of a varity of kind, using the abundant in-country energy resources.One of the essential steps in this process is to develop a high-level, efficient higher education, with a perspective of increased collaboration between academia and industry. This education must reach out to the different parts of the country. The Sri Lanka universities have also a need to modernize the higher education in so that students will be more prone to create new companies in the renewable sector, with a societal perspective. The education should thus become more student-centered, allowing for the students to explore new avenues through global learning options.The EUSL-ENERGY project takes these perspectives into account and creates a high-level, so far not yet existing joint MSc program in the energy sector between four universities. The project take a full circular economy, as well as ecological, perspective with raw materials and considerations of how the waste from this, and other, sector(s) can be re-utilized towards a more energy-efficient society in a financial sustainable way. The EUSL-ENERGY Master program uses the latest pedagogical developments towards “flipped classrooms”, case- and challenge-based digital education, shareable learning units and MOOCs. All the education is performed within the framework of the EIT-label perspective innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as ensuring that the graduates possess the “21st century soft skills” that employers ask for. The program is as such at the forefront of contemporary educational methodology, and introduces a new educational dimension in the energy sector in Sri Lanka.

This project seeks to make an important contribution to the waste management education in Sri Lanka. This is an area that requires urgent attention and where new courses at bachelor and master level are needed. By developing new interdisciplinary programmes and redesigning existing programmes, the Sri Lankan HEIs will offer up-to-date, student-centred programmes with increased focus on employability. In total,2 new programmes will be developed a the master’s level. In addition 3 programmes will be redesigned, at bachelor's level.In order to achieve the biggest impact possible action will be taken on several fronts: by establishing and revamping courses, training workshops for teachers, digital learning, close attention to increased recruitment of female students, cooperation with industry, inclusion of local municipalities as associated partners and intensive dissemination and exploitation activities. These combined activities will build the capacity at the HEIs in waste management, providing advisory services to municipalities and companies, raise the international profile of the institutions and develop the capacity of staff involved in the project for conducting high-quality teaching and research.Future graduates will be equipped to tackle the waste management challenges Sri Lanka faces and to improve living conditions for the average citizen and create new jobs.This is in line with institutional and national needs, European priorities and UN Development Goals.The project team has been assembled based on their expertise and interest for these topics. Experts from the field of Business Management and Engineering have been brought together in order to achieve a more comprehensive approach to the issue of waste management.

The proposed project aims at development of joint curricular modules on 'Building Resilience in Tropical Agro-Ecosystems - (BRITAE) in Sri Lankan universities in order to increase their capacity to continually modernize, enhance the quality and relevance of education of students to the global market needs and to ensure international cooperation in line with the above needs.