UMITA (Ultrasound Medical Imaging: from Theory to Applications) is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) whose main objective will be to train researchers in a multidisciplinary environment, at the border between signal and image processing, applied mathematics, ultrasound instrumentation, clinical and industrial applications. Ultrasound (US) imaging is the gold standard technique in numerous medical applications, such as the cardiovascular or cancer diseases addressed by UMITA. However, it still suffers from several limitations including low spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, low frame rate for specific applications, and huge quantity of data in 3D acquisitions. As device-related solutions based on current technologies approach their physical limitations, performance improvements can be achieved using novel post-processing techniques. Researchers with multidisciplinary skills in the fields addressed by UMITA are the solution to tackle these very challenging issues in US imaging. The early-stage-researchers (ESR) recruited by UMITA will take advantage of this unique combination of physics, mathematics, engineering and medical training. The activities of UMITA will be performed in close interaction with the industry, through the active participation of at least three companies: CAMELOT, VICOMTECH-IK4 and ESAOTE. Furthermore, clinical applications are part of this work and thus the relevant skills are brought through three clinical teams : University of Pisa, Medical team of Prof. Carlo Palombo, Cardiff University Wales Heart Research Institute, team of Prof. Alan G Fraser, and University of Lyon, Medical team of Creatis. The multidisciplinary scientific training of UMITA ESRs will be completed with complementary skills essential for their future academic or industrial careers. The workshops organized by the non-academic partners of UMITA will give them a complete view of the industrial environment. The numerous occasions to present their work (e.g., international conferences, UMITA meetings, dissemination of their results to general public) will help them to acquire high communication skills. The lectures about ethics in science provided during the summer schools organized by UMITA will give them a different perspective on how their future research will interact with our society. The meetings organized with spin off creators will allow them to understand that a balance between scientific and complementary skills is mandatory to success in their future careers. Thus, the major objective of this network is to conduct interdisciplinary research and provide training to early stage researchers (ESRs) that will allow them to develop innovative US imaging expertise associated to advanced signal and image processing techniques. Besides developing complementary skills such as scientific communication, the ESRs formed by UMITA (Ultrasound Medical Imaging: from Theory to Applications) will develop multiple expertises, in signal and image processing, US instrumentation, industrial and clinical applications. These multidisciplinary skills will allow them to address important challenges in the field of medical imaging.

Specialisation in literature and cultural studies is often accompanied by the loss of vital connections. The separation between Anglophone and Francophone literatures, and between classical and contemporary literary and cultural studies are examples of how connections can be lost. ‘Mediterranean Imaginaries: Literature, Arts, Culture’ presents the particular space of this sea as an area of study, thereby providing a platform where scholars with different specialisations can meet. The Intensive Study Programme (ISP) is highly innovative in studying not only how literature and other art forms are produced in the Mediterranean, but also how the Mediterranean has been represented and “produced” by other “North European” cultures, historically and more recently. The ISP takes account of very recent literature and films that feature current forms of migration as well as developments on the Southern Mediterranean shores (the so-called “Arab spring” and the recent waves of migration ), and their representation. The two week ISP features lectures given by specialists in the field and these are followed by all the students. While attending all the lectures and their discussion, the specialist workshops, organised in two series co-ordinated by the academic advisers to the project, allow students to choose between the two different workshop series, so that students can achieve more focused specialisation on particular areas of the curriculum. Seminar A concentrates on classical representations of the Mediterranean while Seminar B has a more contemporary focus. The students all attend a number of joint seminars (A+B) that allow them to share learning and research. Students from Malta, Goldsmiths, Nova Gorica, Minho, Cagliari, Florence and Carthage will benefit from the large pool of experts lecturing in the Intensive Study Programme. Students will achieve knowledge of a range of texts and films representing aspects of the Mediterranean, they will learn to identify literature and cultures from different periods and different areas, as well as influences between texts. Students will study how different works construct Mediterranean culture, history or geography, how cultural encounters, clashes or exchanges are represented in various texts, and how these, in turn, impact on their national literatures.The syllabus of ‘Mediterranean Imaginaries: Literature, Arts, Culture’ enables students who are at a distance from the Mediterranean sea to study literature and culture from this region. The topic will draw scholars and students working in comparative, Anglophone and Francophone literary studies as well as others from disciplines such as history , cultural studies, film studies, visual arts, and philosophy, thus presenting a strong multidisciplinary approach. Through the ISP, important cross-cultural perspectives and opinions will be shared amongst participants and students. This would not be possible if the module was run separately at the 7 universities. The follow-up events - the post-graduate conferences organized by the UOM's Department of English - at the end of the ISP in 2017 and 2018 give opportunities to all the students to present their collaborative work to a wider audience. As these conferences will also include literature culture related to the Mediterranean, the students extend their knowledge of these subjects even further. The follow-up events in London in June 2017 and 2018 again call for collaborative work from all the students. The work will be presented by 4 of the Maltese students and by the 6 Goldsmiths students who have attended the ISP at the conference of the London Intercollegiate Network for Comparative Studies or of the Goldsmiths Literature Seminar. As the Maltese students do not benefit from mobility for the ISP, it is appropriate that they should have the opportunity to go to London to work in a different academic environment.The Strategic Partnership as a whole widens the horizons of the students and academics taking part and makes them more aware of the wealth of knowledge on Mediterranean affairs harboured in 6 European and 1 North African university. This will enhance the international competitiveness of the participating universities. Students will also become more conscious of the practical ways in which literature can influence society, for example, by addressing issues related to migration, racism and xenophobia in the Mediterranean and beyond, thus enhancing their value as European citizens, and increasing their employability. Number of participants per year requiring funding For Intensive Study Programme Goldsmiths College : 4 academics, 6 students each year Florence: 1 academic, 3 students each year Cagliari: 1 academic, 3 students each year Minho: 1 academic, 3 students each year Nova Gorica: 1 academic, 3 students each year For Blended Mobility Malta 1 academic 4 students each year

Now, in a rapidly changing world, the issue of heritage protection and use is one of the most important problems of modern countries and societies. Cultural heritage represents big potential for economic growth, generating value and thereby directly benefiting citizens. Finding better balance between preservation of cultural heritage and sustainable socio-economic development of regions is necessary. Therefore, there is a need for a development of teaching programmes enabling educating specialists to apply modern, attractive forms of re-use, management and protection of heritage, while preserving its historical value. The aim of the project was to create an international cooperation network of researchers, academic teachers and practitioners specialising in various fields of management, protection and use of cultural heritage. University Network for Cultural Heritage – Integrated Protection, Management and Use collected, elaborated and shared knowledge in the field of protection, management and use of heritage, archaeology, architecture and cultural landscapes in order to develop the interdisciplinary programme of the Course on Integrated Protection, Management and Use of Cultural Heritage. The course combines the issues of protection, management and use of three types of cultural heritage: architectural heritage, archaeological heritage and cultural landscape. PARTNER UNIVERSITIES: • Politechnika Lubelska, PL • Universita degli Studi di Firenze, IT • Universita di Bologna, IT • Panepistimio Ioanninon, GR • Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg, DE NON-ACADEMIC PARTNERS: • ICOMOS Polska, PL • Fondazione Romualdo del Biando, IT • Fondazione Flaminia, ITPartnership was complementary, each partner brought significant added value to project. ACTIVITIES: • Comprehensive elaboration of an interdisciplinary Course on Integrated Protection, Management and Use of Cultural Heritage, consisting of three Modules: Sustainable Protection of Cultural Heritage, Modern Management of Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Use of Cultural Heritage • Elaboration of didactic materials for three modules of the interdisciplinary Course on Integrated Protection, Management and Use of Cultural Heritage • Pilot implementations of three interdisciplinary teaching modules: organisation of Summer Schools: on Sustainable Protection of Cultural Heritage, on Modern Management of Cultural Heritage and on Contemporary Use of Cultural Heritage • Creation and testing of Knowledge-exchange and educational Portal on Cultural Heritage • Multidirectional dissemination of the project Based on the course curriculum universities are better prepared to educate new generation of specialists in the field of cultural heritage who understand the need for and the objectives of sustainable protection, modern management and contemporary use of cultural heritage also in terms of society and its needs. The partners elaborated modern, innovative curriculum giving high quality learning opportunity, attuned to requirements of labour market, modern trends and doctrine of sustainable development. INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS: • Interdisciplinary teaching module: Sustainable Protection of Cultural Heritage • Best Practice Handbook on Sustainable Protection of Cultural Heritage • Best Practice Handbook on Sustainable Protection of Cultural Heritage – case studies • Knowledge-exchange and Educational Portal on Cultural Heritage • Interdisciplinary teaching module: Modern Management of Cultural Heritage • Best Practice Handbook on Modern Management of Cultural Heritage • Best Practice Handbook on Modern Management of Cultural Heritage – case studies • Interdisciplinary teaching module: Contemporary Use of Cultural Heritage • Best Practice Handbook on Contemporary Use of Cultural Heritage • Best Practice Handbook on Contemporary Use of Cultural Heritage – case studies RESULTS ACHIEVED ON PROJECT'S COMPLETION: • Permanent cooperation network • Continuous transfer of knowledge, experiences and good practice • Strengthened research capacity of European universities • Broadened educational offer of European universities The project has contributed to the implementation of modernisation agenda of HE through: • increasing attainment levels to provide the graduates and researchers Europe needs, • improving quality and relevance of higher education, • strengthening quality through cross-border cooperation, • supporting internationalisation of the European HE. The project results contribute to the development of relevant and high-quality skills and competences not only in the participating countries but also throughout Europe.

ADD-ONSKILLS project responds to an increasing need for taking up new challenges in digital and remote times, that set the bar high for teachers and trainers in technical universities. Thus, they need not only to follow quick-changes in the construction sector, but also face the prospect of remote or hybrid learning. Preliminary research about the competences of graduates of technical universities as well as results of analysis of our previous Erasmus+ project, showed inability to conduct comprehensive analysis taking into account different aspects and technical solutions to create the best energy-effective and ecology-friendly solution. The analysis of the previous project in this area showed a gap to be filled, thus, we decided to face the challenge. Moreover the pandemic situation made students stay home or conduct blended learning, that raised requirements to educators. Modern lessons would thus move from an approach centred on the teacher's performance to one based on the construction and development of new students' skills, guided by the teacher working with them on the evaluation of content, making it clear, comparing results, developing new ideas. The teacher would therefore not only be entrusted with the role of controlling learning but also that of facilitating the interaction of knowledge, managing relationships, developing practical hard and soft skills. Multimedia modules are aimed at stimulating subsequent reflections and activities to be carried out by students. They must deal with the topics with an integrated approach between different disciplinary areas, encourage questions and develop creative thinking. We need to prepare engineers to enter the international labour market. To achieve the aim of the project a cohesive consortium with active involvement of 5 HEIs and one association of engineers has been established. All partners understand inevitability of changes in the education system and have wide experience in different areas related to designing low energy and eco-friendly buildings for sustainable cities. Common work of our teachers, their participation in an international short training, project meetings will enable the exchange of knowledge about designing and workmanship of modern, smart buildings using eco-friendly solutions. It will also contribute to the creation of a long-lasting network of cooperation in the didactic and scientific field. We will create an innovative learning module for blended mobility course, taking into account that the full course could be done remotely if necessary. We will develop at least 4 e-labs that will provide remote access to the equipment or will allow to simulate operation of systems depending on external variables to replace typical labs on site. Our ideas, tools and methods will be tested on two groups of students working in international and interdisciplinary teams. All products verified during the courses (syllabus of the course, didactic e-modules, e-labs, e-book) will be delivered and available free of charge on the ADD-ON_SKILLS web page. The innovative ADD-ON_SKILLS module will be included in our HEIs programmes and offered to students from various universities as a facultative subject (4 ECTS), or/and as a course to upskill young engineers. The implementation of this module will allow to enhance the attractiveness of the studies, complement the programme with modern IT technology achievements and make the teaching content more consistent with the practical aspects to prepare graduates to enter the demanding international labour market. It is worth to note it will ease HEIs virtual teaching and sweeten the pot. Participants of ADD-ON_SKILLS project (students, teachers) will improve their language competence, interpersonal skills, raise their multicultural awareness and get specialist engineering knowledge. Employers taking part in meetings will find HEIs open for cooperation with business and industry in many fields (joint case-studies, thesis, trainings etc.).In the future, ADD-ON_SKILLS module that is open to new technologies and adapts to the needs of the labour market demand will contribute to the development of the economy, filling the gap in education observed. We will organize at least 3 multiplier events in Poland and Lithuania, to promote results of ADD-ON_SKILLS project and ERASMUS+ ideas at various levels. We will disseminate the results among students, teachers and scientists–we will share our outputs, facilitate access to materials that will be helpful in different disciplines and courses. The results of the project will be also submitted to the executives of HEIs to inspire them to further improvements in the educational process. Moreover, we will disseminate the results of our analysis among local citizens to make them more environmentally conscious, which hopefully will result in larger use of modern innovative solutions, reduction in energy consumption and decrease of greenhouse gasses emission in the future

The European Commission’s 2020 Strategy Report highlights three mutually reinforcing priorities for Europe: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. This project is largely compatible with those priorities. To improve New Media Literacy (NML) skills of school students (12-17 years old), this project aims to gather and share knowledge among the participant countries (the Netherlands, Italy, and Turkey) and generate both definitive results and tools that serve teachers in guiding students’ enhancement of their NML skills. The context of the project is that of ‘new media’, which plays a central role in the creation of a participatory culture by giving a voice to the often unheard. On the one hand, this provides increased communication opportunities but on the other hand, it exposes users to the risks and dangers of the dark side of the digital world. Thus, NML represents a critical field as new media forms are becoming increasingly accessible to students. In accordance with the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training, this project aims to cooperate in building best practices by; (1) contributing to lifelong learning and mobility of teachers through LTTs on building the relevant NML skills, (2) improving the quality and efficiency of education and training through the development of NML skills, (3) promoting equity and social cohesion by including teachers of students with special needs and active citizenship by upskilling the NML of teachers and (4) enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship at all levels of education and training through holistic NML training conducted by scholars of Communication and Entrepreneurship. Thus, the main objective, following best practices in Europe, is to enhance NML skills of teachers in order to best mediate knowledge for students. To achieve the objective, the first activity will be a TPM in Turkey. The second (LTT) will take place in Italy and the third (LTT) in the Netherlands. The last LTT will be organized in Turkey. Each partner will be responsible for disseminating the work, explorations, and interactions of the project. At the TPM; partners will introduce their countries and organizations and decide on the interview questions to be applied to teachers in their home countries. The LTT in Italy will include; the presentation of the best NML cases from each country, a discussion on the findings of the interviews and a workshop on the first two pillars of NML (access and analysis). The LTT in the Netherlands will comprise a workshop on the latter two pillars of NML (evaluation and content creation), discussions and a final decision on the integrated online platform applicable to all participating countries. The LTT in Turkey will include the introduction and an interactive trial of the online platform and an NML workshop on the effective communication skills required to transmit NML skills to students. All LTTs will involve a local stakeholder visit and a cultural tour. Partners (scholars, teachers, and representatives from Bornova District National Education Directorate) will participate in all four events. At the TPM, the Turkish partners will participate with their full project teams each foreign partner will participate with one representative. At the LTTs, the directorate will have two participants, Ege University four, University of Florence two, Istituto Enrico Medi three, and the remaining partners will have one representative each. While introducing the online platform at the final LTT, local stakeholders will also be available. At the last LTT, Turkish partners will attend with more participants in order to increase the dissemination since it does not necessitate an extra budget. Finally, all partners are expected to share the project results in their dissemination events with teachers, students, and local stakeholders. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used in the project. The quantitative method involves measuring the level of NML skills of teachers and comparing the results among partner countries, while the qualitative method will be used to understand best practices and what meanings teachers attribute to new media. Trained teachers are expected to convey their knowledge of NML to enhance students’ skills in accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating new media content. Students will learn how to think creatively, develop innovative ideas and even create a digital start-up, designed to fight unemployment. Teachers with NML skills are also expected to begin to use more technology-based contemporary teaching methods. Project results will be transferred onto an online platform, where teachers will be able to access all the necessary materials on a single platform that will function as a long-term sustainable information source.