Erasmus+ cooperation projects for innovation and the exchange of good practices

ACE webpage

The Cooperation Partnership project “Alliance for Community Engagement in European Higher Education” is implemented in the higher education sector.

The overall goal of the ACE project is to transform higher education systems by deepening and broadening the scope of their community engagement. The project also aims to enhance the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in supporting societies across Europe and ‘ace’ the capacity of their staff to address societal challenges effectively, fostering a more inclusive and interconnected higher education system.

The specific objectives include:

- increasing the awareness and knowledge of effective community engagement among at least 550 key actors thus transforming the perspective and approach towards socially responsible higher education,

- elevating the quality and impact of community engagement practices across multiple HEIs, reaching at least 5000 individuals leading to a significant change in community engagement conduct,

- improving the effectiveness of university-community collaborations, impacting over 300 HEI staff and numerous community members, fostering more productive and meaningful partnerships,

- enhancing the community engagement skills and competencies of at least 50 individuals in academia and 50 community sectors significantly improving their capacity to engage effectively with communities.

These objectives entail the development of four project results:

1. A future thinking European University Community Engagement Guide offering practical information and strategies to increase societal contribution of European HEIs. 

2. An Alliance of Community Engagement in Higher Education, a digital platform and Guide for Forming alliances to facilitate effective collaborations.

3. An easy-to-use ACE Toolkit including tools to develop and implement community engagement initiatives in higher education, as well as a collection of practices responding to the main challenges in this area. 

4. A 3-day ACE Empowerment Training Program interlinking all of WPs designed in this project to boost the capacity of the HEIs staff to bring about change in their community engagement efforts. 

ACE is implemented by Lodz University of Technology in partnership with ACEEU GmbH (Germany), University of Belgrade (Serbia), Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (Ireland), University of Tartu (Estonia), European e-Learning Institute (Denmark). As part of our university, the project is coordinated by the International Cooperation Centre under the leadership of dr inż. Dorota Piotrowska, university professor.

Implementation Period: 01.10.2024 - 30.09.2027

Project Reference: 2024-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000253263

EU Grant: 400.000,00 €

More information about the project can be found at https://acecommunity.eu/

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The Cooperation Partnership project “Joint University challenge-based Minor Program for future generation of innovative entrepreneurs” is implemented in the higher education sector.

The overall goal of the JUMP project is to support and enhance students' I&E and transversal skills by co-solving societal real-life challenges in international, cross-disciplinary teams and creating a space for dialogue with and among quadruple-helix actors.

The specific objectives include:

• co-creating a CBL Minor in responsible I&E: a distributed CBL Minor, composed of online micro-modules, blended CBL projects and CBL internship and thesis,
• developing a portfolio of distributed online micro-modules (providing students both micro-credentials and credit recognitions) equipping students with needed knowledge for effective participation in challenges projects, 
• piloting new types of CBL internships and thesis, exploring the interest of students and challenges providers to tackle more complex and longer tasks while collaborating with student teams, 
• reinforcing the Erasmus+ programme as a scheme that fosters structural cooperation between European HEIs and external stakeholders facilitated by blended learning approaches that train for 21st century skills. 

These objectives entail the development of the following project results:

1. The implementation of a flexible, co-created CBL Minor on responsible I&E: a flexible education path cocreated with regional stakeholders and leveraging from current digital transformation in education, including guidelines and toolkits.
2. Guidelines for the development of online micro-modules, challenge projects, CBL internships and thesis.
3. An European platform facilitating co-creation among quadruple-helix actors of societal challenges projects, internships and thesis.

JUMP is implemented by the consortium including University of Trento (Italy) as a coordinator and Lodz University of Technology (Poland), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (France), and Linköping University (Sweden). As part of our university, the project is coordinated by prof. Jacek Sawicki (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) and dr inż. Dorota Piotrowska, university professor (International Cooperation Centre).

https://www.eciu.eu/jointprojects/jump

Implementation Period: 01.09.2024 - 31.08.2027

Project Reference: 2024-1-IT02-KA220-HED-000256021

EU Grant: 400.000,00 €

 #edu4sdgs

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The Cooperation Partnership project „Building a Comprehensive Educational Ecosystem for Sustainable Development Goals” is implemented in the higher education sector.

The general objective of the project is to accelerate higher education contribution to the SDGs by cultivating social responsibility and shaping agents of change.

The specific objectives include:

* enhancing the standards of university planning, implementation and monitoring of sustainable development policies;

* crafting university approach to teach empathy as the pillar of effective SDGs implementation;

* developing the recognition, understanding and management of one’s own emotions to actively contribute to the implementation of the SDGs;

* crafting university approach to develop the SDGs micro-credential ecosystem;

* upskilling and reskilling target groups' knowledge, abilities, and competencies in the area of the SDGs;

* sharing information, resources, and best practices for a successful social and institutional contribution to the SDGs;

* enhancing the ability of participating organizations to collaborate internationally in order to fulfil the project's goals and guarantee excellent outcomes with a high degree of transferability.

#edu4sdgs is implemented by Lodz University of Technology in partnership with Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), Welfare and Development Association (Spain), ACEEU (Germany), Riga Technical University (Latvia) and Team Coaching (Poland). As part of our university, the project is coordinated by the International Cooperation Centre under the leadership of dr inż. Dorota Piotrowska, university professor.

The project consists of four main pillars – work packages – which include the main substantive activities:

1. SDGs University Knowledge Hub – an online learning space with educational pathways to guide users towards the development of their knowledge and skills.

2. Emotional Intelligence for the SDGs – development of a board game to support understanding of the SDGs through the advancement of emotional intelligence (Emotional Quotient / EQ). The project will also include trainings and a summer school for the target groups.

3. Micro-credentials for the SDGs – development of a system of validation of competences in the area of the SDGs and EQ.

4. Dissemination of university contribution to the SDGs – wide popularisation of the solutions developed in the project.

The project is aimed at students, academic and administrative staff, HEIs’ decision-makers and lifelong learners from outside the university who want to upgrade their skills for SDGs and develop EQ to expand professional experience and meet the demands of the labor market.

#du4sdgs is a 3-year project implemented from 01/10/2023 to 30/09/2026.

The project budget is 400,000 EUR.

Project number: 2023-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000165127

More information about the project can be found at https://www.edu4sdgs.eu/ 

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The Cooperation Partnership project „Implementation of effective practices for the development of students' emotional intelligence with particular emphasis on anti-discrimination activities at European universities” is implemented in the higher education sector.

The general objective of the project is to improve students’ emotional intelligence - Emotional Quotient - to tackle discrimination and ensure equal opportunities at European universities.

The specific objectives include:

* increasing institutional capacities of European universities in shaping students’ EQ and supporting anti-discrimination activities;

* supporting participants in the pursuit of personal development and recognition of EQ;

* disseminating awareness, tools and good practices;

* developing capacities of participating entities to work transnationally.

EQUNI is implemented by Lodz University of Technology in partnership with University of Algarve (Portugal), University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and coaching companies from France (SumFuo) and Poland (Team Coaching Rafał Nykiel). As part of our university, the project is coordinated by the International Cooperation Centre under the leadership of dr inż. Dorota Piotrowska, university professor.

The project consists of three main pillars - work packages - which include the main substantive activities:

1. Development of tools to shape EQ and support anti-discrimination activities at universities.

2. Development of a badges system for teachers and students in the field of EQ and anti-discrimination activities.

3. Good practices in the implementation of elements of EQ and anti-discrimination activities at universities.

The partners will jointly develop the EQUNI game along with a mobile application, an application procedure and an online tool for granting micro-credentials, as well as a guide for universities in implementing good practices.

The project is aimed at students, academic teachers, trainers, mentors, psychologists and advisers, as well as university authorities and managers responsible for implementing equality and anti-discrimination policies.

The project will include a series of trainings, workshops and summer schools for target groups.

EQUNI is a 3-year project implemented from 31/12/2022 to 30/12/2025.

The project budget is 400,000 EUR.

Project number: 2022-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000089417

More information about the project can be found at  https://equni.eu

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The European Consortium of Innovative Universities

Consortium founded in 1997, is a network of universities with an international reputation for their expertise in innovative education, research, knowledge exchange and management in higher education.

The fourteen members of the consortium share a strong commitment to entrepreneurship, innovative teaching and learning, and high-quality research. Working together and learning from each other, ECIU universities strive to achieve scientific and educational excellence that will have a real impact on business and society.
In response to the challenges facing European higher education, the consortium has decided to propose an innovative model for higher education on a European scale under the European University Initiative.
In 2019. ECIU University has been selected as one of the first European university networks under the Erasmus + program to become a full-fledged European university with a hybrid campus.
At the end of 2021, Lodz University of Technology joined the elite ECIU network as the only university in Poland.
The consortium is actively seeking funding from European Union programs including Erasmus+. As of November 1, 2022, a new ECIUn+ project co-financed by the EU has started, which will further develop the consortium and strengthen cooperation between its members. 
More information can be found on the TUL at the ECIU website and on the ECIU website.

The Partnership for Digital Education Readiness project „A model for Interactive (A)Synchronous Learning in Online STEM Education” is implemented in the higher education sector.

The project was a response to the challenges faced by universities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Its main goal was to increase the level of student-teacher interaction for more efficient and effective communication during teaching and learning in a remote formula, away from the traditional classroom.

E-Close was implemented by Lodz University of Technology in partnership with University of Alcalá (Spain), University of Aveiro (Portugal) and Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes (Germany). As part of our university, the project was coordinated by the International Cooperation Centre under the leadership of dr inż. Dorota Piotrowska, university professor.

The partners jointly developed, implemented and disseminated innovative and comprehensive teaching and learning solutions, supported by advanced technologies and IT tools. The project included the following outputs:

1. Methodology of Interactive Asynchronous and Synchronous Online STEM Education

2. Distance Teaching Toolbox for Educators

3. Teacher Training Courses

4. Smart Gamification Based On Multiple Intelligence Theory

5. Online Badges For Sustainable Education (21st Century Skills)

6. Guidelines and Recommendations for stakeholders of modern distance education.

The consortium also offered participating academics a range of training opportunities tailored to their individual needs, enhancing their competences for effective, engaging and responsive online teaching and learning. Students, on the other hand, had an opportunity to meet in selected partner countries to participate in workshops carried out in the blended-learning formula, with the use of gamification elements. Another activity involving students was a trip to the sailing base of the Lodz University of Technology in Masuria for the "21st Century Skills Survival Camp". As part of the classes, they developed skills of the 21st century, sought after on the labor market.

The project was aimed at students and academic teachers ready to use ICT in the face of challenges of remote education.

E-Close was a 2-year project implemented from 01/03/2021 to 28/02/2023.

The project budget was 290 815 EUR.

Project number: 2020-1-PL01-KA226-HE-096239

More information is available on the project website https://eclose.p.lodz.pl/

The project has been recognised by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System as an example of good practice and can serve as a source of inspiration for other organisations.

https://woiz.p.lodz.pl/en/projects/educate4green