According to the OECD ‘s (2020) report on the impact of COVID 19 on education “This crisis has exposed the many inadequacies and inequities in our education systems – from access to the broadband and computers needed for online education, and the supportive environments needed to focus on learning, up to the misalignment between resources and needs.”. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were no exception to the situation. Thousands of academics around the world were forced to turn their lectures and face-to-face classes to online courses for millions of students, within a few days’ notice. Both sides were not prepared for this, which was quite normal as according to CEDEFOP (2020) only 8% of EU population has attended an online class during 2019, thus it was doomed not to work, as it was expected to. The most common case is that each university chose an existing teleconference platform like Zoom, Webex, Skype for business, Microsoft teams etc., and offered the same lectures as online courses, which as anyone can understand did not have the expected outcomes. Both students and lecturers got tired, even bored, during classes, absenteeism was very high amongst students, technical difficulties occurred all time, socializing and cooperation -crucial aspects of student learning- were almost non-existent and of course, the quality of the class was much lower than the expected one. The Covid-19 crisis has shown that once we lose or even diminish social contact, it is very easy to fail in digital inclusion.On the other hand, this situation revealed all the positive aspects of eLearning, such as flexibility on schedule, lower cost, the possibility of lectures being recorded and giving people repetitive access, inclusiveness as everyone can participate without having to move from rural or secluded areas, especially when they do not have the chance to do so. The latter has been even more relevant and prominent due to the restrictions that have taken place in order to avoid spreading COVID 19. So the question is, how someone may rip the benefits of distance learning without having to suffer the consequences and struggle to “survive” day by day in the online classroom. The project iSurvive supports that the answer is to prepare academics to be able to develop online content that will actually achieve the expected learning outcomes by keeping students interested and involved. To achieve its purpose the iSurvive: Digital Roadmap for designing online interactive content, project aims to develop the competencies of HE lecturers academics in order to be prepared to transform their lectures and in class activities to online ones that keep their students motivated, and foster their own well-being as they won’t feel like teaching an empty screen. In order to accomplish the above, the iSurvice project foresees four Intellectual Outputs (IOs): 1-Comparative Study- that will identify the current needs and gaps for boosting the effectiveness of online HE learning2-Guide of Key Pedagogical Principles for effective Online Teaching and Learning- will be a combined guide introducing educators into a methodologically effective Online class 3-iSurvive compass for Interactive & Gamified online content Creation- is concerned with combining several parameters creating a tailor-made roadmap for the educator needs 4-An innovative MOOC-that provides a high education course of specialization in an area where skills needs are so rapidly developing.That will act as a complete system for training the primary target group of the project, HE lecturers and academics, in order to also benefit the secondary target group, HE students. The project envisages the below long term impact: 1) Improved competencies of Higher Education 2) Increased online course delivery in Europe 3) Improved quality of online learning (synchronous and asynchronous)4) Enhancement of the eLearning courses positive aspects5) Conversion of eLearning from necessity and “needs to be” into motivating and exciting6) Provision of access to high quality learning to all including people living in rural and secluded areasTo guarantee the scientific value of the project’s results, the partnership comprises Organisations that have both the experience and the know-how to successfully develop the project results as following: 1) Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland2) DIMITRA Education and Consulting, Greece3) Centre for Research and European Studies, Italy4) International Telematics’ University, Italy5) ITPIO, Bulgaria6) the University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria7) Folkuniversitetet, SwedenIts expertise assures that the impact of the project is high for educational institutions, educators, students including those that will participate in the project as well as those that will use the results after the completion of the project either as standalone results or as installation of the complete system.

<< Objectives >>The world is facing a great number of problems caused by human development activities. By focusing on Sustainable development education for VET students and teachers we aim to bring learning in VET schools that will empower young people to develop alternative values and transformative actions towards environmental awareness thus contributing to a more sustainable society. We will use space science as the perfect arena to tackle sustainability and will improve space careers awareness.<< Implementation >>a) develop educational activities in VET schools in the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Italy for 16+ year old students on ESD and space b) conduct teacher trainings for educators in VET schoolsc) Engage with schools to pilot and support implementation of activitiesd) new learning ecosystems in the partner countries ( VET schools, space industry companies, policy makers, teacher training institutes, museums, observatories)<< Results >>a) An educational framework on addressing ESD using space as a context for 16+ VET students.b) a toolkit of educational activities in ESD and space and space career pathsc) ecosystems in five countries advancing ESD education in VET schoolsOverall the project will contribute to VET students' 21st Century skills, make them agents of change in environmental and climate-change challenges, build on existing communities and encourage exchange of expertise and practice.

<< Background >>The idea of the project emerged from the exchange of experiences among Partners involved and following several discussions and analysis of European and national policies in supporting social inclusion of vulnerable students in hospitality schools, in particular students with ASD. Partners conducted a desk research, data analysis and organized workshops and zoom meetings among them in order to better understand the state of art and the concrete needs and challenges in the sector, in their respective countries and, more generally, in Europe.The key findings of the analyses conducted, led Partners to address the main issues highlighted by the European Commission: to promote inclusive education to assure the best quality of life for ASD individuals.The education, the right to independent living and work, are not only ideas, but concrete aims and it is necessary to shift the intervention approaches for auxiliary strategies. Access to inclusive and quality education remains limited for many persons with disabilities. According to EU Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, High numbers of young people with disabilities are early leavers from education and training (20.3%), as compared to 9.8% for pupils without disabilities in 2018.Developing inclusive and accessible education is a key prerequisite for participation in the society and to get employment and should be supported. Specific attention is required for health services, especially after the weaknesses and gaps shown by the COVID-19 crisis.There several barriers to providing better and appropriate support to meet the educational needs of students with autism. These include: funding, lack of knowledge and training, lack of specialist support staff and time, lack of appropriate resourcing and class sizes.ASD student often present unique challenges to schools, and teachers can often find it difficult to meet their needs effectively. For this reason, teachers need to have a better understanding of autism and how it may affect learning. They also need support putting appropriate strategies in place.Therefore, there is a twofold aspect that InTeaM4IEd project takes into consideration: a.the need of teachers to better understanding autism and how it may affect learning, helping them putting appropriate strategies in placeb.the need of ASD students in hospitality schools to acquire new competences spendable in the labour market, as they are required by the specific sector. Inclusion is about being proactive in identifying the barriers learners encounter in attempting to access opportunities for quality education, and subsequently removing those barriers.<< Objectives >>Inclusive education of people with SEN is often framed in terms of human rights or justice. Notwithstanding, the economic dimension for educating people with disabilities is also very relevant. Lack of appropriate education remains the key risk factor for poverty and exclusion of any person, whether they are disabled or not.For this reason, InTeaM4IEd project main goal is to support teachers and tutors in dealing with developmental challenges associated with ASD students of post-secondary (initial) VET in the hospitality sector, as well as to assist them in acquiring expendable skills both within the education system and externally in the hospitality industry. Partners will create a groundbreaking Flexible and Hybrid Educational Methodology and Tools (F.H.E.M.T.) for teachers to assist ASD students in gaining new sector-specific competencies. This approach would be tailored to the individual's learning requirements and characteristics. Additionally, it will promote the integration of ASD students both within and outside of the school system, resulting in the development of new professional figures in the hospitality sector, severely impacted by the pandemic in professional growth an evolution. Therefore, InTeaM4IEd project intends to achieve the following objectives, throughout its implementation lifetime and beyond: 1.Provide teachers and trainers with appropriate competences and effective resources and educational methodologies to apply with students with ASD 2.Equip teachers with tools and methodologies useful to develop a personalized learner-centered training path aimed at enhancing the student's (particularly ASD students) quality of life both within the education/training path and outside of it, in the labor market3.Increase the professionalism and employability of students, especially those with ASD, in Europe's hospitality sector 4.Offer equal opportunities for people with ASD through training them in labour skills for the potential employment inclusion, looking at least for the welfare of people with ASD in the regular labour market5.Support ASD students in acquiring new skills and developing new sectoral competencies in line with the labour market requirements 6.Contribute to create an innovative and inclusive methodology for teachers in the hospitality schools, facilitated by the InTeaM4IEd application and the use of chatbots7.Create a network of schools, teachers, ASD students and their peers, families, who will use the application for educational purposes as well as interpersonal/communication ones.8.Encourage the participation of ADS students in VET programs9.A more inclusive learning environment<< Implementation >>METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH and KEY PROJECT RESULTS Project’ activities have been designed in a way to outline relevant and transferrable project results, toward the diffusion of benefits of innovative methodologies for teachers in hospitality schools addressed in particular to ASD students, in order to facilitate them in acquiring new skills and competence for the hospitality industry, thus increasing their participation in the labour market.Partners will follow a step-by-step methodology based on the PDCA Cycle:Since the very beginning of the project Partners will agree upon methodological strategies and approaches to collect and analyse evidences on emerging skills & competences in the hospitality sector that will address the lack of comprehensive learning outcomes in hospitality schools. The identification of 15 new skills & competences will be achieved through interviews with key stakeholders in Partners’ countries.The Consortium will design and launch the project official websiteThen, Partners will collect practices of existing teaching methods, learning approaches and challenges faced by ASD students. Based on these findings and on the competences previously identified, the Consortium will develop a learner-centered educational methodology and tools (F.H.E.M.T.) for teachers working with ASD students in the Hospitality schools, in order to improve and customized their VET offer. The next step will be the design of an educational application, which will integrate the F.H.E.M.T., and the related operational guidelines for teachers, students and families. The chatbot technology of the app, will facilitate the engagement and communication of students.Stakeholders will be involved in InTeaM4IEd since the beginning in all the activities, for quality results. Beneficiaries and sector experts (in Hospitality and Autism areas) will be interviewed for design the sector competency mapping, will participate in online focus groups to validate the F.H.E.M.T.; will validate also the App.The key project results will be translated in Partners’ languages for dissemination purpose and to avoid linguistic barriers. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIESThe following activities will be implemented during the project lifetime, to ensure that InTeaM4IEd will be effectively carried out and the expected results will be achieved:A1–A2 MANAGEMENT & QUALITY PLAN A3 - BILATERAL COLLABORATIONS AGREEMENTSA4 - VIRTUAL PARTNERS' MEETINGS A5 - OPERATIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE & FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT A6 - DISSEMINATION PLAN & MATERIALS A7 – EXPLOITATION, SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY & IPR AGREEMENT M1-4 PARTNERS' MEETINGSINDICATORSPlanning & Management- Development of a detailed work programme and task allocation done at the application stage - Effective communication strategy and ‘rules of communication’ - Assessment of tasks, deadlines and deliverables after each meeting by internal monitor and required actions will be taken accordinglyImplementation & project results- Project teams will be trained in each Partner country to deliver the allocated work-related results- Development of partnerships and engagement with Hospitality schools, teachers, VET Providers, ADS networks and associations, etc. in each partner country - Partner will work with the lead Partner to ensure that the project engages with, and complements the work of key stakeholders, influencers and networks at EU levelAssessment, evaluation & Q.A.- Allocation of tasks among partners based on the principle of ‘Duality’, whereby Management (Coord. and Method. Coord.) and each PR has 1 Leader and 1 Supporter responsible for its delivery- Progress internal evaluation towards targets conducted in the occasion of project progress and final reports - External experts involved in evaluating the key PRs through peer review activityFeedback & exploitation- Dissemination activity (see promotion) at national and transnational level- Key recommendations for future work in the field<< Results >>The main outcome of the InTeaM4IEd Project is to provide an innovative and hybrid educational methodology, based on the learner-centred approach, and practical tools for teachers in hospitality schools who works with ASD students as precondition to enhance inclusive education and improve the training offer. Furthermore, an innovative app, that will make use of chatbots to facilitate the communication, will be created and will incorporate the F.H.E.M.T. The app will be supplemented by operational guidelines for teachers, students and their families. The project will achieve the following results: 1.Competency mapping for new emerging skills and competences and labour expectations within the Hospitality sector2.New practices to cater for the needs of vulnerable groups of students such as those with ASD Innovative approaches and methodologies for hospitality schools’ teachers to address ADS students3.Increased opportunity for professional development for teachers in hospitality schools4.Enhance ASD students’ sector specific competences in line with the labour market requirement5.Increase professionality and employability of students, in particular those with ASD creating new employability skills in the hospitality sector in Europe.6.Foster ASD students’ integration in VET programs7.Promoting education and training as a means of social inclusion and equal opportunities 8.Increase job competitiveness, with greater inclusion of ADS individuals in labour market9.Enhance networking among key stakeholders represented by both full and associated partners such as Hospitality schools/VET providers, enterprises and NGOs active in local communities in order to improve their communication and create a convergence of interests10.Involve and commit relevant stakeholders in the project activities, from designing to validation of products, and in their use and application11.Raise awareness of the value and importance of inclusive education at local, national and EU level12.Collect and disseminate good practices, experience and knowledge to be shared from Partner countries with more inclusive education to less ones in order to strengthen awareness and knowledge of innovative teaching methods in hospitality schools 13.Stimulate and disseminate project results at EU level to promote its future application in other geographical areas, as effective way to ensure its impact and continuity. This will be implemented through the development of the project website, social media channels, e-newsletter, logo, leaflets, multiplier events (with over 190 participants), 120 stakeholders contacted by Partners.In addition, Partners will develop the following documents:● PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN by IIS CROCCETTI ● QUALITY AND EVALUATION PLAN by CRES● DISSEMINATION PLAN by SPEL● EXPLOITATION & SUSTAINABILITY by IIS CROCETTI

<< Objectives >>At the most general level, the objectives of the project are to meet the needs of educators to support learners towards cultivating sustainable behaviours and values. At a more specific level, the objectives are to promote tinkering as a method in education in the field of sustainability. At a concrete level, the objectives are to train a group of educators, in formal and informal settings, to use tinkering to engage learners in projects dealing with issues of sustainability.<< Implementation >>The main activity in the project is the implementation of tinkering in various educational settings, in each participating country. The implementation stretches over 8 months and builds on previous activities which concern both knowledge gathering and training of participants. The implementation will be guided by the Tinkering Toolkit which helps focus the work on sustainability with a clear STEAM relevance.<< Results >>Outcomes take a tangible form as knowledge reports and a Tinkering Toolkit, and an intangible form as training of educators and implementation of tinkering. Concerning the former, results will be national reports mapping the field of potential use and methods and guidelines developed into a Tinkering Toolkit. Concerning the latter, results consist of training for the participants in the project, national training activities for educators and sustained implementation activities in each country.

<< Background >>The project targets youth workers and young people, especially NEETs, who need to be prepared to face the current needs of the youth sector after the COVID-19 pandemic, including a feeling of belonging to our society, more and improved digital skills, a higher level of creativity to adapt to the new reality and more awareness of the situation NEETs are experiencing. Over the last years, the rate of young Europeans who are neither employed nor studying is very high and, under this rather alarming situation, the European Union has been following several strategies to face youth unemployment and social exclusion over the last years. Even though young generations are blamed for their situation and their incapability to fit in the labour market, the truth is that the lack of opportunities, the lack of training offer and resources, or the lack of motivating paths for them are contributing to worsen the situation. Young people are strongly keen on new technologies, social media, and online activities. The current COVID19 pandemic has made more evident than ever that the youth do not depend on technologies only in a “leisure-time” perspective, but in many others. Many educators have pointed out that art is a great means for people to express themselves and to connect to others. Art goes beyond its entertaining capacity and widens people’s ability to communicate, to express and exteriorize their thoughts and to create bonds with their community. Thus, combining ART and digital technologies is an innovative path that needs to be explored further. The project aims at boosting youth workers’ knowledge and competences, which in this new digital-art field will help them sympathize with the youth and, thus reinforce their motivation, self-esteem, and belief in themselves, becoming more capable of entering the labour market and/or taking an active role in the society. It will contribute to create DIVERSE and ICLUSIVE communities by improving the quality of youth work, both equipping youth workers with the competences and skills needed and empowering the youth. The project will pay special attention to the youth feeling of integration into society, prioritizing the DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL SKILLS THROUGH CREATIVITY AND ART, and raising awareness about the importance of SOCIAL INCLUSION among young NEETS. The project aims at boosting skills, competences and knowledge of youth workers of ICT tools, to create INCLUSIVE environments in their daily practice. This initiative will also contribute to the generation of more positive feelings and attitudes in European societies towards these NEETs, often victims of stereotypes that lead to social exclusion. Thus, priority will be given to the promotion of social inclusion and the construction of a Europe more aware of the situation of this sector.With the aim of improving youth work, the project will use digital technologies with a creative and artistic perspective to promote social inclusion, something that should be prioritized by any person, entity or institution active in the youth field. To do so, the project will develop a Training KIT that will focus on digital art which will target youth workers. This will be followed by the creation of an App targeting young people with an educational game, with a pedagogic microstructure based on a systemic scan and collection of NEETs needs, interests, and trends. The last product of the project will be the establishment of youth networks for visioning, modelling and planning of medium-term community actions in the field of Digital Art.<< Objectives >>The objectives that the project seeks to achieve are: •Raise awareness about the importance of resilience among the youth through their active participation in non-formal and informal cultural and artistic activities•Improve the quality of youth work by using new and innovative tools that support the creative potential of youth. •Reinforce youth workers’ skills and competences to boost social inclusion of the youth •Improve youth access to the labour market by enhancing their artistic and creative skills and competences via new tools and technologies•Promote active citizenship among young people through artistic and cultural non-formal and informal activities•Develop learning/training materials for youth workers including new techniques and strategies to merge digital tools and art•Raise awareness on social issues (especially related to NEETs) at an EU level by taking part in online networking activitiesIn the long term, the project aims at improving competencies of youth and social workers, trainers, tutors, mentors, young people, youth associations and organisations, public bodies and partner organisations to deal with the project specific topics (digital skills, creativity and art in non-formal and informal education settings, youth work in general, etc.) thanks to their increase in transversal skills (digital, artistic, professional,) and the ability to deal with social inclusion and diversity in their communities, through a better understanding of NEETs’ and youth workers’ necessities and their educational opportunities. Partners also expect that, at a local level, the objectives to be reached are:- more young people involved in life-long learning - better dialogue between local/regional actors in youth, artistic and educational sectors;-more youth workers aware of the situation of NEETs; -reinforce competences of youth workers and reinforced interactions and closer links between them and young people from their community. At a national level, the partnership aims to: -increase competences of relevant actors in the youth sector;-increase new and innovative training opportunities for the development of digital skills and artistic and creative competences of young people; -create more synergies in partner communities among all agents involved in the youth and educational sectors. At an EU level, the objective is to disseminate partners’ good practices and establish new contacts with youth organisations, departments, and informal groups of young people within the EU; promote the recognition of the potential benefits that dialogue and cooperation and international networking have towards the improvement of the youth sectors both for individuals and for organisations; and improve the interactions between the education and training and youth sectors, the project expects to promote existing EU and national programs concerning education and social inclusion in the labour market of NEETs.<< Implementation >>1) PROJECT MONITORING ACTIVITIES:- 3 transnational meetings with 10 participants each;- Online meetings every 2 months; - Regular quality monitoring activities as described in the Quality Control plan (monitoring questionnaires, meeting of the Quality Assurance Committee…);- Elaboration of Quality Reports every 6 months. (2) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO RESULTS/PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: 1st Project result: Development of an online Training KIT for youth workers on Digital Art, structured in 7 main activities: A1. Mapping of digital and creative competences and capacities of youth workers in partner countries and at European level A2. Development of the methodology and training framework of the online KITA3. Preparation of the content of the online training kit for youth workersA4. Design of a set of Open Badges for the validation of youth workers' competences in a non-formal and informal contextA5. Organisation of an internal evaluation phase of the material A6. Organisation of a pilot test of the KIT with at least 10 youth workers in each country A7. Creation of an e-learning platform to integrate all the products developed.2nd Project result: Design and programming of an App, an educational game for Young Digital Artists, with a pedagogic macrostructure based on a systemic scan and collection of NEETs needs, interests, and trends, structured in 5 main activities: A1. Systemic scan and collection of NEETs needs, interests, and trends.A2. Definition and creation of the microstructure of the App: learning objectives, learning content and general pedagogic frameworkA3. Design and development of the macrostructure of the online gameA4. Organisation of pilot testing of the game at local levelA5. Fine-tuning and implementation of improvements and elaboration of a manual for youth workers 3rd Project results: Establishement of youth networks for visioning, modelling and planning of mèdium-term community actions in the field of Digital Art, structured in 5 main activities: A1. Organisation of working groups of experts: visioning and modelling A2. Establishment of networks: planning of medium-term community actions A3. Implementation of local actions A4. Creation of international networks: cooperation for replication of the local actions A5. Elaboration of a Youth Local Actions collection(3) DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: - Regular dissemination activities as described in the Dissemination Plan. - 4 multiplier events with at least 20 local participants in each, 80 in total. (4) EXPLOITATION & SUSTAINABILITY ATCIVITIES 1. Elaboration of exploitation and sustainability plans2. Exploitation of extended stakeholders and target contact databases that each partner brings into the consortium;3. Use of relevant media channels (local media vs. more marketing oriented communication);4. Working towards the sustainability of the project's products through the open and accessible format of the open education platform.5. Use of partners and stakeholders’ web sites.6. Incorporation of developed materials and courses in the regular activities of partners and associated partners, especially those who have participated in any stage of the project.7. Multiplication of project results through both youth workers and young people: conferences, presentations, face-to-face meetings, informal meetings at local/community level. 8. Organisation of informative events and meeting with responsible representatives for decision-making in local, regional, national or European educational institutions9. Maintaining the project consortium. Some of the partners have already worked together on previous projects and are committed to cooperate in the future.<< Results >>EXPECTED RESULTS: During the project and once completed, partners are expected to: •Carry out a mapping of youth workers’ skills and competences in each partner country and at European level•Establish the methodology and the training framework of the online training KIT on Digital Art•Prepare the online training KIT for youth workers•Design a set of Open Badges for the competencies’ validation of youth workers in a non-formal and informal context•Design and carry out an internal evaluation phase of the materials•Conduct a pilot test of the KIT with at least 10 youth workers in each country - minimum 50 in total•Define the training content and pedagogical structure of the online training game for Youth Digital Artists•Design and develop the macro structure of the online training game•Conduct at least 3 training sessions with 15 young people at the local level using the online training game - minimum 75 young people in total•Establish youth networks at EU level to cooperate in the organisation of community actions •Create an online learning platform that includes all materials and products developed•Organize 3 transnational meetings: (1) in Latvia in November 2021, (2) in Rome (Italy) in December 2022, and (3) in Skopje (Rep. North Macedonia) in December 2023. •Organize 4 multipliers events, with a minimum of 20 participants in each, after completion of the three IOs in Reus (Spain), Rome (Italy), and Réunion (France), in Skopje (Rep. North Macedonia) in November 2023. LONG TERM RESULTS: -More youth workers will be better prepared to work with NEETs-Increase and improvement of the training offer for youth workers in EU countries-More awareness about the need to have social commitment with the youth and reduce the obstacles they have to be an active part of the society-Improved skills of youth workers to foster creativity and artistic expression of the youth -More general knowledge by the whole society about digital art and its potential as a tool for social and labour inclusion-Improved digital skills of youth workers and young people, specially linked to art and creative expression -More networks established between partner countries communities including youth workers, young people and relevant actors in the youth sector -Improve the commitment of local communities to the social inclusion of NEETs by the implementation of local actions that foster mutual understanding and increase the provision of spaces to support them.