<< Background >>Education today needs to prepare students for changing tasks and roles in an increasingly digital and dynamic society. Teacher educators need to be able to teach future teachers how to prepare their students to actively participate in such a society. The teacher educators' impact on the digitalisation of teacher education is indisputable (Carpenter et al. 2019). Likewise, the need to support and train teacher educators in using digital tools is widely acknowledged (OECD 2018). Yet, systematic learning opportunities and overall digitalisation strategies for teacher educators are still rare or non-existent (European Commission 2019). Many authors, along with the European Commission, have identified the general need to strengthen the teacher educator community in Europe to better address the educational issues arising in their complex working contexts (e.g. European Commission 2013; InFo-TED 2019). Based on the precedent needs analysis, the following needs were identified by the consortium and will be addressed by the digiTED@EU Project:*to train and support teacher educators more hands-on in their digital professional development;*to ensure that teacher educators develop the required digitally creative mind-set and become agents of their own professional learning, as well as democratic digital citizenship;*to connect and coordinate professional learning across borders and disciplines, inside and outside institutions;*to pool European resources and create spaces for exchange of good practices and reflective dialogue;*to evaluate and recognise European qualifications for teacher educators;*to develop overall digitalisation strategies and action plans on a European, national and institutional level.We believe that educators are trailblazers of a successful digital transformation. In the absence of formal structures for the qualification and development of teacher educators across Europe in regard to enhancing their digital capabilities, we believe it is crucial to come together with other teacher educators in order to learn and share our experiences. We apply for this project to learn from each other and to jointly promote and facilitate the digitalisation among teacher educators in Europe (and beyond).<< Objectives >>It is the overall aim of the digiTED@EU Project to promote and facilitate digitalisation among teacher educators in Europe (and beyond). By implementing this project, we want to achieve the following objectives:1) Develop a hybrid programme for professional development that:*enhances the digital skills, competences and creativity of teacher educators;*promotes the readiness of teacher educators to teach online and to design and organise digital courses;*provides resources for tech-based assessment and feedback for teacher educators.2) Empower teacher educators to become more involved, creative and active in their own learning and development.3) Stimulate transnational and interdisciplinary collaboration on all levels in regard to digital teaching practices of teacher educators.4) Promote the creation of a European Digital Education Hub.5) Provide concrete recommendations for policy-makers to generate practice-oriented digitalisation strategies on a European, national, and also institutional level.6) Help teacher education to become more professional and reputable.In a nutshell, by implementing the digiTED@EU Project we will follow up and innovatively connect, exploit and rethink what has been developed thus far in regard to promoting digitalisation among teacher educators on different levels. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular has provided new opportunities to teach, learn and research. Now is the time to become active and advance from the crisis together as a whole Europe in the context of the digital era.<< Implementation >>In the digiTED@EU Project we primarily focus on teacher educators as participants. The European Commission (2013) describes them as follows: ‘Teacher educators guide teaching staff at all stages in their careers, model good practice, and undertake the key research that develops our understanding of teaching and learning’. The participants of the digiTED@EU Project will be teacher educators who come from different professional backgrounds as well as disciplines and are working in teacher education programmes for primary and secondary teaching at one of the partner universities (including the associated partners). The participants will profit from their participation in several ways:*professional learning opportunities;*becoming part of a professional community;*possible publication opportunities;* winning a prize if they win a Hackathon.In total, there will be three cohorts of teacher educators. One cohort will include 34 teacher educators, including four from each associated partner. Thus, there will be 102 teacher educators in total taking part in this project. We further intend to integrate a mixed group of at least 24 persons that includes student teachers, in-service teachers, head teachers and external stakeholders to take part in the committee that evaluates the results of the programme (Project Result 1).The participants of each cohort will be involved in the following activities (for further info see Project Result 1):A1: Preparatory Kick-off Meeting (virtual);A2: 2-3 Preparatory Tasks (virtual);A3: digiTED@EU Innovation Week (hybrid - some join physically, some virtually);A4: digiTED@EU Innovation Conference (optional, hybrid).<< Results >>With the digiTED@EU Project we expect to lay crucial and sustainable foundations that help bring about extensive changes in regard to digitalisation of teacher educators in the future. The overarching Project Results are summarised as:(1) A Hybrid Programme for the Digital Professional Development of Teacher Educators;(2) The Design, Creation and Implementation of a Virtual Teacher Educator Makerspace;(3) An Online Catalogue of Criteria to Evaluate Digital Teaching Practices of Teacher Educators;(4) 5 Multimodal and Transnational Case Studies;(5) A European Digitalisation Strategy for Teacher Educators;(6) A Post-COVID-19-Vlog for Ideas and Solutions to Innovate Teacher Education.Other outcomes in regard to experiences and processes are:(1) To support and encourage teacher educators to engage in lifelong learning, processes of change and innovation;(2) To build capacity among teacher educators to become more competent and engaged in integrating the use of digital tools in their teaching practices;(3) To outline and test hybrid formats (a mix of virtual and physical activities) for the professional development of teacher educators.(4) To establish a wide transnational network of teacher educators that strives to promote the digitalisation of teacher education through virtual and physical exchange;(5) To promote a culture of digital creativity among teacher educators;(6) To enhance the European Dimension and internationalisation of teacher education programmes by connecting political priorities and educational initiatives;(7) To explore and exploit innovative perspectives from external stakeholders on rethinking teacher education in a digital era.

Textile-based electrodes are about to be competitive alternatives to traditional electrodes for ECG and EMG. Electrodes integrated into textiles are easier to use which facilitates home-based monitoring, treatment and rehabilitation measures. One potential key application is Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) treatment using Phantom Motor Execution (PME), where EMG signal from the remaining muscles of the amputated limb is used to control a Virtual Reality (VR) representation of the lost limb. However, textile electrodes still need to be improved regarding electrode contact and adhesion to the skin. This calls for new sensing materials that may not have textile properties and thus need to be integrated into the textile in new ways. So, the aim of this project is to a) try new sensing materials that will improve the electrode contact and adhesion to the skin, and b) find ways to solve the interfacial linkage between the sensing material and the textile substrate. The project will focus on novel materials and textile construction development to overcome these issues. The main project deliverable is generic textile matrixes of electrodes that can be competitive alternatives to traditional electrodes. This should contribute to making e.g. PLP treatment generally available and easy to use as improved electrode signal quality would lead to better treatment effect, durability and sustainability. The concept of controlling the lost limb (central to the PLP treatment based on PME) is directly transferable to myoelectric controlled prostheses. Thus, we also aim to test what the new type of electrode matrixes could contribute to this “twin” application. The applicant's expert knowledge in sensing materials can together with smart textile experts (University of Borås), biomechatronic and pain researchers, and clinical connections (Chalmers Industriteknik) and users with limb differences make a breakthrough that addresses issues of high technical and social relevance.

FBD_BModel aims at creating a digital technology platform for delivering small series innovative functional garment products through a European Union-based local textile supply chain, meeting consumers’ personalized requirements in terms of fashion and functional performances. This new supply chain will permit to get through the information channel from fabric materials to consumers via various processes, in order to dynamically organize design and production in the big data environment. This technology platform will integrate two interconnected knowledge-based sub-systems (an Interactive Design System (IDS) and a Supply Chain and Production Management System (SCPMS)). The platform will provide a range of data-based services (product and design recommendation, supplier selection, dynamic tasks planning, production simulation, …) dedicated to consumers and concerned professionals (producers, designers, retailers, …) of the supply chain. An extended virtual space will be created for visually displaying and evaluating fashion and functional performances (thermal comfort, skin touch comfort and skin pressure comfort in relation to body movements) of designed products in order to integrate consumers’ lifestyle into the product design process. This platform will enable the direct connection of the professional networks of producers, designers and retailers and optimize all activities of the supply chain. Based on this platform, a novel B2B2C business model will be built by establishing the economic viability and overall exploitation strategy, developing a detailed business plan, along with a full exploitation strategy and associated risk analysis, and performing a series of extensive pilot operations and market replication actions. This business model will be helpful for creating customized textile production in Europe, promoting material innovations of European SMEs with connected professional networks, and preserving and updating professional knowledge in Europe.

Advanced textile materials are a thriving sub-sector in the textile and clothing ecosystem based on high added value and differentiation as unique selling proposition. Innovation in this field is key in the resilience building of the EU textile sector and its competitiveness, particularly in VUCA environments such as COVID-19 pandemic.Two major trends to increase the innovation ecosystem in the advanced textile sector are the update of digitalization and green innovations to address climate change and improve the sustainability of the sector. However, there is a lack of knowledge by textile SMEs in digital tools beyond traditional CRM and ERP. In addition, while sustainability is raising in the textile sector, many companies are still far from exploiting tools and principles such as eco-design.Therefore, a holistic approach fostering the digital and green transition is needed to boost innovation in the sector through knowledge transfer and co-creation between academia and the industrial sector. Clusters will bring together the triple helix of innovation along with industry.The ADDTEX project main objective is to facilitate the flow and co-creation of knowledge between higher education (HEI) and vocational education and training (VET), research, public sector and business sector within the advanced textile materials sector to foster new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning. In parallel, the project aims to stimulate a sense of initiative and entrepreneurial attitudes, mindsets and skills in learners, educational staff and other workers, in line with the Green Deal and Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. ADDTEX will also improve the quality and relevance of skills developed and certified through education and training systems. The project will also reinforce the clusters in each region, supporting education and training of advanced textile materials companies through linkages with HEIs and VETs.