VALOR addresses the pressing challenge of marine plastic pollution across Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, recognizing this as a complex, transboundary issue.It focuses on building capacity in Ocean Plastic Management by addressing specific skills gaps across the value chain. Its key methodology is to introduce Environmental Sustainability and Deep Tech Skills across critical stages of the waste management lifecycle.Four key areas will be addressed: 1. Prevention (with a focus on developing Policy and Regulatory skills alongside Innovation and Entrepreneurship capabilities); 2.Collection (Digital and Technology Skills combined with Community Engagement Skills); 3. Recycling (Innovation and Entrepreneurship development) and 4. Policy and Governance (Cooperation Skills alongside Financial and Project Management Skills).The project will develop 16 micro-credential courses to enhance and pilot 6 existing programs (9 existing and 2 new courses at EQF levels 5 and 6), in target HEIs. A bundle of Capacity Building actions (workshops, study visits, mentoring and entrepreneurship programmes) will reach 60 academic staff, 180 students, 30 professionals. Six VALOR Labs across partner institutions will sustain maximise and sustain project results. A certification and validation schema via the recognition of micro-credentials, accreditation of courses, and alignment with EU frameworks (such as ESCO and EQF) is anticipated to enhance employability and professional qualifications.

"<< Background >>The European Parliament recognized the growing relevance of AI in a resolution on ""artificial intelligence in education, culture, and the audio-visual sector"" on May 19, 2021, emphasising the need to invest more in ""digital education and media training."" It also claimed that all Union citizens must learn the essential skills from a young age in order to better understand AI, its capabilities, and limitations in order to prepare for AI's growing involvement in all facets of human activity. However, the subject is not widely taught in European schools, creating a gap between the need and availability of AI related talents and competencies.The SAINT project’s addressed this need by providing an educational package diffusing knowledge of AI and its practical implementations. Students and educators can improve their knowledge of AI from a practical point of view and be better prepared to grasp tomorrow’ challenges on the topic. It participates in the digital transformation of schools and enhances the skills of educators and students such as collaborative problem solving skills, creativity, collaboration and communication skills. This project gathered 6 partners from 6 countries, answering the need of creating synergies in Europe.<< Objectives >>The SAINT project aimed at raising awareness on the continuously growing importance of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives and for our societies, its associated opportunities and challenges. By implementing the project, the consortium:- Provided teachers with the content and tools to teach children about AI with an engaging hands-on approach,- Filled the gap between the place given to AI in our societies,- Raised awareness in AI concepts and related practical implementations, opportunities and challenges,- Promoted interest and excellence in STEM, notably through interdisciplinary teaching,- Showed the use Minecraft Education in a classroom,- Enhanced target groups' digital skills to help schools migrate to digital learning without sacrificing benefits of classroom based learning,- Improved teachers' knowledge of digital learning spaces,- Reduced the gap between need and availability for AI related skills,- Addressed the growing need to develop remote learning solutions facilitating student engagement and creativity.The project uses Minecraft Education, a pedagogical video game as an innovative teaching tool already used in various educational projects.<< Implementation >>The activities implemented in our project comprised:Work package n°1 - Project Management1.1 Project management1.2 Quality Assurance1.3 Dissemination1.4 Exploitation & Outreach1.5 Validation and pilotingWork package n°2 - AI4K12 Educational Programme2.1 Elaboration of learning objectives and ideas & course structure2.2 Development of course2.3 Creation of Lesson Plans2.4 Collection of external resources and preparation of online materialWork package n°3 - AI Adventures in Minecraft3.1 Elaboration of AI Challenges for Minecraft3.2 Creation of the AI Minecraft World3.3 Design of resources & Implementation of resource packs and mods3.4 Development of instructional material and guide3.5 Dry runs & Validation Release3.6 Creation of the Foundry : support validation and support final version<< Results >>The concrete outputs and other results of your project are:- A set of learning objectives- 5 units of pedagogical material providing a practical demonstration of how AI serves subjects of choice based on the AI4K12 education guidelines, including study cases, examples, references, quizzes, additional material,- 5 lesson plans outlining the list of tasks were completed per unit, step by step,- External resources uploaded on the project's website,- A tailored Minecraft world packaging and delivering 5 educational challenges to enhance knowledge of AI and provide an innovative way of learning,- A Foundry : a virtual place to help grow a community of usersOther outcomes include:- Dissemination of knowledge about AI concepts and its applications,- Enhancing digital skills of educators and students, - Filling the gap between the need for AI awareness and its availability."

<< Objectives >>The project aims to transform pedagogical scenario design practices in instructional engineering by developing a structured common language, facilitated through a pedagogical scenario kit complemented by open digital resources. It enhances the skills of trainers, teachers, and instructional designers in creating inclusive, multimodal training adapted to various educational contexts. By integrating accessibility and diversity, it promotes an equitable pedagogical approach open to all.<< Implementation >>Train-the-trainer programs will be implemented to ensure the widespread adoption of the pedagogical scenario kit in the partners' languages (Arabic, French, Greek, and Romanian) as well as in English. Open, multilingual, and online training sessions will be available, providing free access to the kit as an Open Educational Resource (OER). Finally, dissemination activities will be carried out throughout and beyond the project to share the knowledge and expertise developed.<< Results >>The project will provide a pedagogical scenario kit and online training as an OER for trainers, enhancing their skills in multimodal pedagogical scenario design. It will foster the creation of a community of practice through inclusive and accessible training. The project will ensure broad dissemination of its work via open platforms. Finally, the dissemination of the project's knowledge and expertise will guarantee a lasting impact within educational and academic networks.

<< Objectives >>The general perception among staff members of Third Sector (TS) entities and Micro-Small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is that organizations lack strategic vision on digital issues. The general objective is to support a more dynamic, committed and professional environment inside TS and MSMEs thanks to the open-source approach to boost their digital transformation. This will be achieved by integrating good practices/methods/tools for the professional development of the staff.<< Implementation >>Thanks to DIGITopen, the target groups will benefit from innovative and additional opportunities in the field of C-VET digital training. To achieve that, the following activities are planned: - 4 TPMs - 1 transnational training activity- Research- Design of the course curriculum - Production of Toolkit - Development of the online platform - Testing of the platform- Piloting of the online course- Development of a self-assessment tool- Design of Guidelines for digital through open-source<< Results >>The following main results are planned: - Production of Toolkit addressed to Third sector organizations and MSMEs- Development of an open-source MOOC - Development of a self-assessment tool (SAT)- Guidelines for digital transition through open source- training of TS and MSMEs staff- Creation of an EU network of organizations committed to the open-source approach

<< Background >>We applied for this project because we recognized an urgent need for trustworthy methods to assess and enhance the digital readiness of universities—methods that move past self-reported questionnaires. We found that many existing approaches leaned too heavily on subjective data. At the same time, universities are producing large amounts of instructional and institutional data through systems like learning management and student information systems. By exploiting these resources, we saw an opportunity to derive more objective insights into how well-prepared institutions really are to implement and sustain digital services. Additionally, we aimed to identify and propose targeted interventions—such as improved staff training and upgraded digital infrastructure—to bridge the gaps in digital readiness. In essence, our project is driven by a commitment to help European universities systematically assess, improve, and future-proof their digital service capabilities, by providing clear, objective measures of their progress.<< Objectives >>Our primary objective was to develop and validate a robust digital readiness framework for higher education institutions, implemented as an open-source web platform. This framework is based on objective, data-driven indicators derived from actual institutional and instructional practices. Specifically, we aimed to:Define Measurable Dimensions: Establish a set of quantifiable dimensions—such as policies, governance, teaching and learning, and digital infrastructure—that address the multifaceted challenges of digital transformation, forming the DigiReady+ framework.Develop Software Tools: Build a software tool with accompanying Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) designed to extract and process data from various institutional information systems (e.g., usage analytics) in order to measure the readiness indicators.Construct a Knowledge Repository: Create an open, expandable repository that aggregates relevant documents, guidelines, and best practices to support assessment and informed decision-making.Rigorously test the framework and toolkit across diverse European higher education contexts, refining the methodology based on empirical findings, assessing stakeholders' acceptance.<< Implementation >>The activities were organized around four (4) Intellectual Outputs and a number of Events aiming at dissemination, capacity building and assessing stakeholders' acceptance.Intellectual Output IO1 - Framework Design and Development: We began by reviewing existing digital readiness and competence frameworks (e.g., UNESCO, JRC) and mapped their qualitative indicators to potential quantitative data sources. Then through a number of participatory workshops involving stakeholders, we defined a framework containing seven dimensions of digital readiness: D1: Digital leadership & government, D2: Digital strategy & policies, D3: Teaching & Learning, D4: Digital Content & Curricula, D5: Training & Support, D6: Infrastructure, D7: Networks & collaboration. The development of the framework underwent four cycles of development and validation with stakeholders, through a number of participatory workshops organized to start within the participating institutions and later inviting a wider group of stakeholders, during multiplier events.Intellectual Output IO2: We developed a web based Toolkit and API interface. The result of this activity can be accessed at the URL https://udready.gunet.gr. This multilingual (English, Greek, Spanish and German) toolkit and supporting APIs can connect to data produced by campus systems such as the LMS, student information portals, while it allows the administrator to define the specific version of the framework applicable to a specific university. The UDReady Tool, is a core component of the DigiReady+ project, a comprehensive platform for assessing and enhancing digital readiness. It has the form of a user-friendly web tool that facilitates seamless interaction with the DigiReady+ Indicators Catalogue, which is backed by weighted algorithms that evaluate readiness dimensions from measured indicators. The tool enables the creation and management of DigiReady+ Campaigns that refer to specific measurement timespan. The produced result is the DigiReady+ Scoreboard that has the form of a detailed report and recommendations to guide strategic decisions. An Admin Tool provides functionality for managing users, roles, higher education institutions (HEIs), and settings, ensuring a streamlined user experience. The tools were tested in Partner Institutions and associated partners: Three partner universities (in Greece, Spain, and Germany) tested the toolkit in real-world settings. We gathered feedback from various stakeholders. Additional associated universities, like NKUA, were also involved in the design phase.Intellectual Output IO3: We designed and developed a Knowledge Repository that was later connected to the Intellectual Output IO2, to become part of the toolkit. The DR+ Knowledge Repository can be accessed from URL https://digiready.gsic.uva.es . It contains multiple types of resources (e.g., national documents, guidelines, project outputs, including the outputs of the project itself) dealing with the different dimensions of Digital Readiness for HEIs. The repository incorporates an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows its integration with other systems, including the UDReady Toolkit. UDReady interacts with the repository to recommend resources based on the obtained Digital Readiness scores. The usefulness of the Repository strongly depends on the hosted resources and the recommendations given. The Repository was populated following a two-step process in which both researchers and stakeholders (e.g., HEI managers, IT experts, faculty, etc.) participated. The repository currently stores more than 50 resources, in four different languages (i.e., Greek, German, Spanish and English), targeting the different DR dimensions.Intellectual Output IO4. Refinement and Large-Scale Validation: Based on stakeholder feedback, the framework and the developed tools' features and data models were refined to their final form. Finally, we conducted a large-scale validation study, involving more than ten (10) additional associate partners across Europe who tested the DigiReady+ tools and shared their feedback on usability, impact, and sustainability.In addition, we organized a number of events in the form of Workshops: They had the form of Hands-on training sessions that were organized to help stakeholders interpret the readiness indicators and integrate them into quality-improvement processes of their own institutions. EDEN Digital Learning Europe supported dissemination through its network of member universities, its conferences, and other scientific events. In particular we organized six open events (multiplier events and learning/teaching activities) and participated in a number of workshops and panels related to digital transformation of HEIs.<< Results >>1) DigiReady+ Framework: A multidimensional model for measuring institutional digital readiness, combining established self-assessment rubrics with data-driven indicators. The framework details critical success factors along seven key dimensions.2) Open-Source Toolkit and APIs: The finalized DigiReady+ software (openly licensed, see https://udready.gunet.gr) offers customizable dashboards for different stakeholder groups (policy makers, administrators, etc.). It enables real-time data analysis, automatic generation of readiness scores, and produces tailored recommendations for improvement.3) Knowledge Repository: We curated a shared repository containing documents on effective online teaching practices, staff-training materials, institutional analytics case studies, and sample datasets. This living resource supports institutions as they address identified gaps in their digital capacity. This repository can be accessed through https://digiready.gsic.uva.es4) Evidence of Impact: Pilot evaluations demonstrated use of the framework and tools in the case of several European universities. Participating universities reported on how, using the DigiReady+ approach, they can obtain clearer insight into how institutional policies, infrastructure, and teaching practices intersect to support (or hinder) digital readiness.5) Sustainability and Adoption: Through collaboration with EDEN’s network and GUNET’s user base, multiple external institutions learned about DigiReady+ and used its framework participating in structured evaluation activities and learning/teaching events. The open licensing and robust validation make ongoing use and further customization feasible, extending the project’s impact well beyond the initial partnership.