Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) are PV elements used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope, increasingly being incorporated into the construction of new buildings as a source of electrical power. The advantage of integrated PV over common non-integrated systems is that the initial cost can be offset by reducing the amount spent on building materials and labour that would normally be used. These advantages make BIPV one of the fastest growing segments of the PV industry. BIPV is considered to be the optimal method of installing renewable energy systems in urban, built-up areas where undeveloped land is scarce and expensive. Their widespread use is expected to become the backbone of the zero energy building European target for 2020. Despite technical promise, social barriers to widespread use have been identified (conservative culture of the building industry & integration with high-density urban design) and there is a disparity between the technological progress made and the professionals’ knowledge and skills (architects, engineers) being responsible for the integration of BIPV. PV can be included in buildings only if the professionals involved have sufficient knowledge of the technology and appropriate design tools. High level of technical knowledge and skills is required for BIPV planning. The project aims at developing an innovative and multidisciplinary, high quality course for BIPV in order to provide the necessary skills for the future BIPV professionals. This will be implemented at the postgraduate level and will be part of several Master programmes in Sustainable Energy. Innovation (through the utilization of ICT, VLE, remote labs), sustainability (partnership between academia, industry and other stakeholders) as well as significant impact for academic institutions, industry and other stakeholders will be the main outcomes. Project activities: 1. Identification of framework and requirements. 2. Development of high-quality didactic content on BIPV for higher education. 3. Development of virtual learning environment and course adaptation. 4. Deployment of remote labs. 5. Pilot testing of the course and refinement. 6. Awareness raising of the job prospects offered within the renewable energy sector in the field of BIPV. 7. Increase of awareness, sensitivity, and promotion of BIPV technologies among key target groups within the local economy. The consortium consists of: • A higher education institution in the Netherlands with extensive experience in the field of PV and BIPV. • A higher education institution in Cyprus with extensive experience in the field of PV and BIPV. • A higher education institution in Austria with extensive experience in the field of PV and BIPV. • A large enterprise in Cyprus with a worldwide presence and expertise in project & quality management, advisory services in the field of renewables, human capital development and training. • An expert company in Germany with high level experience in engineering, research, training capacity and dissemination projects in the renewable energy sector. Tangible & intangible outcomes: 1. Development of appropriate and up to date educational material for BIPV. 2. The creation of a Virtual Learning Platform & Remote Labs for BIPV education and training. 3. Accreditation (in parallel but beyond the scope of the project) The impact of the project is anticipated to be large and multi-dimensional. Higher education institutions will be able to incorporate the newly developed course component in their existing Master’s Programmes in Sustainable Energy thus enriching and improving the existing curriculum. They will be able to attract more students as they will be given new learning opportunities & experiences. They will satisfy the needs of the relevant industry, establish closer links with the relevant stakeholders, provide opportunities for closer interaction and satisfy the needs for quality education and learning. Moreover, they will receive worldwide recognition by academia and the industry as institutions with a focus on BIPV. They will be in a better position to develop and adopt a full Master’s Programme on BIPV as the market develops with the further uptake of the technology. On the longer term, improved visibility and recognition for these institutions offering such a high quality, innovative course and through open access of the material such excellence is expected to improve university ranking. Improvement, innovation and modernization of education in the countries involved and beyond the partnership is ensured, since the deliverables will be openly available to any HE institution interested in incorporating it into their Master’s Programmes. Stronger relations will be formed with economic actors in the PV and the wider business world and PV enterprises will be able to recruit well-educated and trained professionals (engineers, planners, architects, designers).

The EU’s eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 - Innovative healthcare for the 21st century, among other barriers, identified “a lack of awareness of, and confidence in eHealth solutions among patients, citizens and healthcare professionals.” By intercepting at an early stage, in education and training of healthcare professionals, the project at hand, PrepaCare(XR), seeks to develop and strengthen the digital competences of future healthcare professionals (students), instructors, and hospitals. Along the current Priorities of the European Commission 2019-2024, PrepaCare(XR), insofar, follows the priority to enable a Europe fit for the digital age as it empowers a new generation of healthcare professionals to shape the digital future of health and care. PrepaCare(XR) seeks to do so by establishing a room for an exchange of cross-border best practices in healthcare among European Higher Educations and healthcare providers. Available resources of current knowledge creation in learning, teaching, training of a multidisciplinary group of experts in healthcare (FI), medical professionals and engineering (AT, IT) and design and visualisation (PT) participating in the project will be collected and distributed in the form of a data set/ collection. As a next step, comprehensive knowledge of online simulation-based learning in healthcare is considered for co-creation of content. The project will develop a digital learning environment that combines several pedagogical methods and models. Teaching practices and delivery methods vary across organisations and operating cultures. In order to create a common understanding and develop a culture of operation, shared tools and operating models are required to maximise the benefits of the new digital twin. Innovative pedagogical concepts are designed for a tailor-made application in extended reality (XR). The new concepts produced in this frame will be made available as a publication. On the basis of online simulation-based learning, PrepaCare(XR) aims at creating a digital twin for healthcare training by combining the e-resources and activities of all partners by using real-world applications, ICT-enriched learning, and collaborative practices that stress the inclusive nature of learning and teaching opportunities in the various formats (blended, distance, on-site). Visualisation concepts and usability are considered and applied in the various simulations and co-creations to ensure acceptance by end users. Processes are aligned with practice by contributing real-world applications of healthcare providers, hence closing gaps between educational and professional life. In doing so, PrepaCare(XR) enables the shift of healthcare training to blended and distance learning and proposes a new way of educating healthcare professionals to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the European healthcare sector. This is especially important in the current situation, in which COVID-19 has affected our ways of working, studying, and living. As the project's wider impact is to contribute to the EU4Health action to strengthen the health system by the digital transformation, special attention will be drawn towards dissemination activities. The goal is to address a broad audience of health and care educators and trainers and other stakeholders of the higher education sector. The intellectual outputs stemming from this project will encourage the audience to make use of the results of the project and hence serve added value. While digital competences of all participants are developed and strengthened, better collaborative, innovative opportunities in higher education within the field of health, care, and medical engineering are created. Through the use of XR, PrepaCare(XR) improves the quality of curricula in the four programme countries and be available to the whole university body (not just mobile participants). In times of uncertainty or crisis, the project provides the tools for healthcare educators to support and ensure learning and teaching continues without interruption. For students, it provides an immersive and flexible learning experience, and change to learn about valuable skills that are important in current working life. Insofar, PrepaCare(XR) facilitates the transformation of analogue to blended and distance training and encourages international and intercultural user exchange. As an outlook, PrepaCare(XR) forms the basis for EU4Health 2021-2027 in terms of creating a pool of capable healthcare professionals that will together be able to tackle future crisis scenarios. Europe and beyond will profit from better-educated and well-trained future graduates entering the market with a higher level of employability. Therefore, PrepaCare(XR) represents the first step in a clear vision of novel teaching and training aids and concepts in the field of health and care.