STOREM project aims at curriculum development of 5 Caribbean HEIs of LA and ACP regions under the subject Environmental Science - a thematic priority of both regions involved. Private and public actors of geographical regions express needs for skills useful to a proper management of the natural environment, in face of climate change threats, and other risks that affect the coastline. The action is aimed at implementing of 3 new graduate (master) curricula in the field of sustainable tourism and resource management in 2 Colombian and 1 Costa Rican HEIs, while integrating existing graduate pathways of 2 other HEIs. The proposed capacity building action integrates the EU HEIs multidisciplinary learning and research expertise on sustainability issues with the experience of the most important HEI in the Caribbean part of the ACP region (University of West Indies, UWI) in training graduates in various aspect of natural resources management. The project aims also at developing an interaction model between HEIs, private and public actors in the region through the activities of the foreseen Observatories on Sustainable Tourism at PCs’ universities, useful for supporting the courses and raising awareness in the tourism business communities. The project addresses also the cross cutting priority on refugees integration in HEIs: 2 out of 5 HEIs in our network include in their student population a relevant component of internal displaced population (IDPs) , people with a lower level of formal education. Activities within the project will concentrate on facilitating the university enrollment of IDP students in the long-term. Developing new skills in sustainability issues will eventually advance the social and economic development of both LA and ACP areas and equip academics, tourism professionals and administrations. These will lead to an empowered market aware of the need to designate funds and resources for guaranteeing the continuation of the academic offer in place.

The changes in educational paradigms and development of ICT are promoting the modernization of universities and the establishment of open and flexible study programs, freeing academic boundaries.Quality, accessibility and innovation are concepts that are driving the changes of virtual higher education. ACAI-LA Universities Network undertake the challenge of modernizing and internationalizing higher education, and contributing to development and social cohesion in Latin America, with an academic offer in pursuit of excellence, equitable and innovative.This academic offer will be available in the ACAI-LA Virtual Campus with accessible:- Life long learning program, MOOC.- Master for training of trainers, MOOC, certified by the consortium universities.This university campus will integrate online services for: support to students, support to graduates and job placement, and guidance to teachers in methodologies and innovative educational techniques.The curricula will:- Be open and flexible.- Form its students with ICT skills required by the labour market.- Include educational materials and laboratories, accessible to social groups with learning difficulties because of economic, ethnicity, gender or disabilities reasons.- Be available in: English, Spanish, Mayan and / or African descent languages.A sustainable business model will be supported for capacity building in:- Young graduates.- Teachers, who create innovative educational, quality and accessible resources.This scientific and educational cooperation network shows the diversity in Latin America. The ACAI-LA Network consists of three European universities and eight Latin American, four of which are located in less developed countries of Central America and the others are from South America. This condition will improve the impact, dissemination and exploitation of project results, publications and open educational materials.

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are the backbone of the economy and society in many coastal countries, providing income and food security to millions of people. SSF remain however poorly known due to their diversity and complex social-spatial structures. Although often simply considered as a resource use problem, the sustainability of SSF extends well beyond Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 and relates to community livelihoods, markets, political economy, among other factors, which has a determinant role on SSF viability. This project will create/strengthen national-level SSF communities of practice in six countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico & Nigeria) and help summarize existing knowledge related to the interactions between SSF and SDGs in those countries. We will first develop a rapid appraisal framework, based on key indicators and descriptions of interactions, that will help characterize the interactions between SSF and SDGs. In a second time, we will use this approach in each of the six countries by engaging with diverse stakeholders, helping create a community of practices at the interface between SSF and SDGs. This will help assess evidence-informed synergies and trade-offs between SDGs. Finally, we will analyze the data collected, comparing and contrasting the findings of each country and identifying data, knowledge, and policy gaps. Findings will then be shared with stakeholders from those countries in order to help them identify potential pathways for sustainability in their own national context as well as international organizations in order to help inform policies. Beyond scientific findings, this work will support transformative changes in SSF from the local to the international levels in order to better contribute to SDGs.

Young universities share particular challenges when it comes to research capacities: poor resource bases compared to that of traditional universities, they operate outside important research networks and national policy and funding mechanisms are usually unfavourable and tend to reinforce institutional imbalance. However, young institutions usually play an important role in their own local contexts and have the advantage of more dynamic and flexible structures, which favours the relationship with external actors, particularly those located in the same region.I2LATAM will focus on the development of R&I capacities in young Latin American HEIs, through the generation of knowledge-sharing spaces to stimulate the relationship with key regional socio-economic actors. The quality, size of the consortium and the participation of four of the largest countries in Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Argentina) give this project a unique reach and impact portential.The project will result in the development of tools and methodologies to systematically map and match institutional capacities with regional opportunities, as well as in the creation/reinforcing of knowledge-sharing spaces, using succesful European models as example. Additionally, I2LATAM will develop R+D+I capacities in young researchers and R&I managers by launching an open access training package focused on key skills to promote regional and international collaboration. The ultimate goal of I2LATAM is to strengthen capacities for strategic management of research and innovation in Latin American young Universities by taking advantage of the potential local/regional impact, while fostering collaboration between Latin American and European HEIs for the development of innovative research initiatives and projects. In the long term, it is expected that the exchange of knowledge, experience and good management practices will contribute to the region's insertion in the global dynamics of research and innovation.

The European Latin American Network in Support of Social Entrepreneurs (ELANET) has the ambition to become a leading platform in support of social entrepreneurs (SEs). This project will lead partner universities to implement an IT-based platform that consolidates already existing tools, resources, and coaching material for SEs. Our consortium involves 17 project partners (among which 4 European Universities and 12 Latin American Universities) and 35 associated partners. Through ELANET they will: - Develop and implement an international platform in support of SEs (in English) with 7 modules with seven modules: 1. SE cases to inspire, 2. SEs in need of support, 3. Support Partners, 4. Volunteers, 5. Tools for mentors, 6. Tools for SEs, and 7. Library with relevant articles and books.;- Exchange best practices for the support of SEs;- Make an inventory of available materials and tools;- Intensify the (inter)national collaboration among SEs, and between SEs, HEIs and network partners to attract resources (funding, coaching, volunteers);- Stimulate the internationalization of SEs, and their solutions to social challenges. The consortium undertakes this project because of all partner HEIs commitment to support SEs from their local communities. We refer here to the third and fourth mission of universities, with their active contribution to society, in addition to teaching and research. In the context of this project, most HEIs lack of a consolidated network of partners and programs of extracurricular activities to support SEs due to their complex coordination. Five years after the project (by 2028), ELANET’s goal is to be adopted by at least 100 universities from 20 countries, engaging 3.000 professors and 20.000 students in support of 5.000 social entrepreneurs. It is our ambition, supported by the crowdsourcing and transdisciplinary methodology of the project, to sustain ELANET over time and reach far beyond those numbers in support of social entrepreneurs.