This is a higher education student and staff mobility project, please consult the website of the organisation to obtain additional details.

Accelerating the transition from animal-based to alternative dietary proteins – the dietary shift – is key to reducing the footprint of our food system in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), energy, water and land use, and other relevant environmental impacts, and for improving the health and well-being of people, animals and the planet. GIANT LEAPS delivers the strategic innovations, methodologies, and open-access datasets to speed up this dietary shift, in line with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and contributing to the Green Deal target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Achieving the dietary shift in practice is inherently complex due to the diverse set of actors involved and further hindered by major knowledge gaps, scattered across the various alternative protein sources and the domains of health (safety, allergenicity and digestibility), environment (GHGs and other environmental and climate impacts, biodiversity, circularity), and/or barriers to adoption (technological, sensory, and consumer acceptance). The GIANT LEAPS consortium consists of the key actors and spans all expertise to address relevant knowledge gaps and proactively engages to arrive at optimized future diets based on alternative proteins that are broadly accepted across stakeholder groups. In order to deliver required insights for short-, mid- and long-term decision making and impact, GIANT LEAPS protein sources have been selected for either targeted or full assessment based on their current level of specification. The innovations and improved methods combined with accessible and comprehensive information, generated for a wide collection of alternative proteins, will enable policymakers to prioritise changes in the food system towards the dietary shift based on desired impact, value chain actors to make strategic scientific, business and investment choices, and the general public to make more sustainable and healthy dietary choices.

Contemporary health professionals education is determined by the rapid knowledge growth in biomedical sciences, status of regulated professions and demand for experiential and interprofessional teaching and learning as foundation for collaborative practice in patient centered care. Educational reforms must address the community health needs. Health professions education and healthcare system in Serbia is struggling to keep up with global developments. In the recent WHO evaluation of the organization and provision of primary care in Serbia, low level of structured cooperation and team work has been reported. Status of regulated profession brings additional responsibility to higher education institutions and national regulatory bodies. EU Directive 2013/55 gives general requirement for clinical experience as integrated part of undergraduate studies. This request is partially addressed in the health sciences curricula at RS universities, with situation being the most critical in pharmacy where practical placement is organized mainly through pre-registration year following five-year didactic curriculum. To become compliant with the relevant EU practice, and implement advanced teaching and learning methods, explicit capacity building is need at the institutional and regulatory level. The key project outputs are: (i) modernization of experiential education (students professional practice placements) in Medicine, Dental medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing; (ii) introduction of interprofessional education, and (iii) teaching competencies development of academic staff and clinical supervisors. The focus is on improved competencies of health science graduates and teaching staff, with emphasis on transversal skills and leadership.Strengthen links between academia and health institutions promote curricular updates in line with societal needs and employers expectations. Partnership with EU institutions contribute to increased academic mobility and promote internationalization of EHEA.

Medical University-Sofia is a highly valued and recognized leader in its field of education in all 5 professional fields, as shown by the national ranking of universities in Bulgaria for the last 6 years. We are the leading Bulgarian University of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Health and Public Health, based on the qualifications and experience of academic staff, our participation in international cooperation activities, number of articles published in national and foreign journals, as well as in the teaching of programs developed in accordance with EU standards.The management and staff of the Erasmus + department, incl. the Rector’s office, Deans of the four faculties, Head of the Department for International Integration and Project Funding, all academic coordinators and experts from the Erasmus+ Office did everything possible to play a leading role in the activities of the institution under the Erasmus + program as well. The realized number of physical mobilities under the project has been completed to almost 75% by the end of the academic year 2019-2020 despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the program - out of a total of 32 mobilities, we physically realized 26, and 4 of them were reported as actually administrated and completed but not phisycally realized. Only two mobilities remained unrealized as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns around the world.The project includes 4 partner institutions from Japan, Morocco, South Africa and Jordan, with which MU-Sofia continued its cooperation outside the program, applying the basic principles to work as set out in the strategy for building partnerships in the field of innovation, research and actions in the direction of internationalization: https://mu-sofia.bg/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/STRATEGY-OF-INTERNATIONALIZATION-BG.pdfThe exchange program with Japan includes 6 student mobilities (3 outgoing and 3 incoming) and 6 teaching mobilities (3 outgoing and 3 incoming), of which 1 outgoing and 3 Incoming student mobilities have been reported as fully administered - all the necessary documentation has been collected, all the necessary procedures for selection of participants have been carried out by the Erasmus+ Commission at institutional level, thus the mobility is reported as successfully administered. This mobility program with Japan has helped to strengthen the long-standing cooperation between our two institutions, which has began 35 years ago. The main priorities of the joint work are research, innovation and sharing good practices in the field of surgery, biomedicine and cardiovascular diseases. The two universities have common goals for internationalization and improving the quality of education, in line with the priority areas of the EU Higher Education Modernization Program. Emphasis was placed on the development of new teaching methods through new forms of personalized learning, strategic implementation of free educational resources and virtual learning platforms. At the same time, the research work in the field of stem cells and cardiovascular surgery continued, the number of scientific publications, referenced and indexed in world secondary literature sources, increased.The mobility exchange with Morocco includes 4 teaching mobilities (2 incoming and 2 outgoing), with Jordan 8 teaching mobilities (4 incoming and 4 outgoing), as these mobilities were completed 100%, and the exchange had a positive impact on the relevant departments, which subsequently organized final courses and seminars, Erasmus + stories were published: https: / /stories.erasmus.mu-sofia.bg/. Particularly good results have been achieved in the field of the so-called Problem Based Learning and Project Based Learning, which are strongly used as a teaching method at the University of Jordan.The Mobility program with South Africa included 8 mobilities (3 incoming and 3 outgoing lecturers + 1 incoming and 1 outgoing PhD student) and contributed to the expansion of the activity in the field of Pharmacy and Pharmacognosy. The teachers upgraded their experience of teaching in a multicultural environment and exchanged good practices in the field of nanosciences and nanotechnologies, laboratory research and the development of interdisciplinary programs. Particular attention was paid to laboratory tests on the behavior of the African plant Kigelia africana, valuable for its healing properties. The teaching team returned from South Africa with a wealth of experience and information that was applied in subsequent laboratory tests of rare African plants for medicinal purposes.

"We are pleased to report that all the objectives set in the Project Application has been fulfilled. All the planned mobilities - 12 in total have been realized as they have been planned on reciprocal base - 3 Incoming Students and 3 Incoming Teaching Staff versus 3 Outgoing Students & 3 Outgoing Teaching Staff. This is due to the high quality of the staff working on the project mobility administration as well as to the on time fruitful communication with the supportive staff of the Human Resource Development Center - National Erasmus Agency. The Mobility Policies of Medical University - Sofia, as well as the Internal Rules for the Administration of Mobility under ERASMUS + - http://www.mu-sofia.bg/mezhdunarodna-dejnost/programa-erazum/ have been developed in accordance with the European Union's flagship initiatives: Youth on the Move ""; Education and training program by 2020; The renewed program for the modernization of European higher education systems; the specific national and institutional needs and challenges listed in the National Strategy for Higher Education; the institutional strategy for internationalization, including the Erasmus Policy of the Medical University - Sofia.As stated in the main institutional documents listed above, the quality of training is a top priority of the Medical University - Sofia. For this reason, the Faculty of Medicine, has been developed and adopted. Catalog of Educational Goals and Learning Outcomes - This Toolbox of the Bologna process facilitates the recognition of student education for the purpose of obtaining a degree, as well as the periods of study at the Erasmus students' receiving universities: Procedure for Recognition of Erasmus Student Mobility at Medical University - Sofia - 2016-2021 – http://www.mu-sofia.bg/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ERASMUSPLUS_-2016-2021_ACCREDITATION-PROCEDURE-UPDATED.pdfThe results and impact we would like to highlight and share as good practices are:1. Development of internal rules for the administration of the project, signed by both universities - http://www.mu-sofia.bg/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/INTERNAL-RULES_Creditna-mobilnsot-JAPAN-2016_2021.pdf.2. Developing and conducting training for Incoming and Outgoing lecturers on a training course: ""The Sophisticated Medical Teacher in Multicultural Environment"", which took place in Sofia, when Erasmus Mobility Lecturers arrived at the University of Hiroshima, we had already selected the Outgoing lecturers and we gathered together and conducted their training, which ended with the issue of Certificates, signed by the Rector of the Medical University - Sofia to all participants.3. Inclusion of Incoming Students from the University of Hiroshima at the International Erasmus Week,organized for the 30th anniversary of ERASMUS +. We have proved in practice the synergy effect of the two types of mobility.4.University support for the project activity by concluding a contract with one of the BAS laboratories for conducting scientific research within the training process of the Incoming Japanese students on the following topics: Laboratory assessment microflora of homemade yogurt with special attention to Lactobacillus bulgaricus.5. Participation of a lecturer - Head of the International Department of Incoming Students Selection at the Hiroshima Partner University, Japan.6. Application of the ERASMUS BUDDY system, which is well known by ERASMUS mobility programs with program countries., responsible for the socialization of ERASMUS students in both universities. 7. Development of online brochure with the successful Erasmus stories of all mobility participants - 12 including Teachers and Students - http://www.mu-sofia.bg/mezhdunarodna-dejnost/programa-erazum/.8. A scientific publication as a result of the mobility published in scientific magazine ""Infodent"", issue no. 3. by Dr. N. Apostolov, Outgoing Erasmus TS, issue. 3, 20179. Interview with Dr. Nikolay Apostolov, on the topic: Visiting Hiroshima on Erasmus + program, published in the Journal of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, 2, p. 7, 201710. Publication of project activity information in a brochure dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Erasmus in English - http://www.mu-sofia.bg/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/30-Years-of-Erasmus-in-Europe-and-18-Years-in-Medical-University-Sofia.pdf.11. An incoming Japanese student has made her own blog in which she writes about her studies at the Medical University, her friends from Bulgaria, about the Bulgarian culture, which is read by students and lecturers.12. Outgoing Bulgarian student from the Medical Faculty - made a scientific presentation as a result of her study at the University of Hiroshima at the International Students Scientific Congress held annually in Sofia, organized by the Association of Medical Students in Bulgaria.Al the listed activities will be applied in the next mobility projects implementation."