Context/background of the projectThe SIA-ProD project aspires to develop an alternative approach for the training and professional development of early educators. The SIA-ProD project aims to provide to practitioners the methodology and the instruments for self-evaluation and self-improvement with a low-cost way. To achieve this goal, the project will implement an innovative technique named Discrete Choice Modeling (DCM) that gave to Dan McFadden who introduced it, a Nobel Prize in 2000 in Economic Sciences. DCM is widely used in marketing, biostatistics and other scientific areas, while its use in education is still very sparse. The usefulness of the discrete choice models is that it reveals the real and actual preferences of the decision makers, by extracting their representations about a topic. By implementing the DCM method, SIA-ProD project will develop a self-assessment tool and a self-improvement educational package to support the way early childhood educators teach physical activities. Physical activities in ECE were selected as the domain for which the Self-Improvement Educational Package (SIEP) will be initially developed, because of the integral part physical activity has in the development and learning of young children.ObjectivesThe 3 specific objectives were: 1. To develop new evaluation methods, which support the improvement of pedagogical approaches2. To promote early educator’s self-improvement to support the development of teaching skills.3. To enhance the quality and European dimension of in-service teacher training,Number & profile of participating organisationsIn total a number of 7 organisations participated in the consortium.From Greece, participants were University of Crete, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the School/Educational Institute Ellinogermantiki Agogi.From Cyprus, participants were the University of Cyprus and CARDET institute.From Germany, participants were the University of Bielefeld and the South Westphalia University.From Italy, participating organisation was the Sweden Emilia-Romagna Network Association.Main activitiesDue to the world limitation, we will present a categorization of the main activities, which will be described in more details in following sections. So, the project has completed the following categories of activities: -7 transnational meetings (as originally planned).-Development of the Teacher Self-Assessment Assistant (TSAA).-Self-assessment phase I: Pilot testing of TSAA (more than 60 educators participated)-Self-assessment phase II: Main study implementation (more than 200 educators participated)- Development of the Self-Improvement Educational Package (SIEP).-Self-improvement phase activities (approximately 50 educators participated)-Numerous dissemination activities at a local, regional, European and international level.-Development of a free acces on-line platform that provides to all early educators the opportunity to complete the SIA-ProD’s outputs.Results & impact The SIA-ProD project reports positive results and important impact attained at various levels: -Regarding the project’s outcomes, all the developed intellectual outputs were of the highest quality and translated to four languages. -The comparison of the initial and final measures of the project revealed a significant impact to the professional development and the self-assessment skills of the more than 300 participating educators. -The initially designed dissemination activities were not only met, but were expanded significantly, reaching large numbers of members of the international educational and academic community.-The SIA-ProD project feels that the successful development and implementation of an innovative approach for a low-cost anonymous self-assessment and self-improvement of in-service early educators constitutes a very promising result with great perspectives for wider expansion. -In addition, the project has exceeded the initial design of the proposal and developed (as mentioned earlier) a free acces on-line platform that provides to all early educators in the world the opportunity to complete the SIA-ProD’s outputs, receive instant individualized feedback and have the analogous supporting education materials at their disposal for their zero-cost anonymous professional development.Longer-term benefitsSIA-ProD aiming at empowering the longer-term benefits for the early education community, went one step further, from the initial proposal design, and developed (as mentioned earlier) a free acces on-line platform that provides to early educators the opportunity to complete the SIA-ProD’s outputs, receive instant individualized feedback and have the analogous supporting education materials at their disposal with no cost at all. Such an opportunity can facilitate the sustainability of the project’s outputs long after its completion, and also encourage the expansion of this approach to additional educational fields.

The development of urban agriculture (UA), sustainable agriculture and green economy in the Western Balkan (WB) region allows to support and strengthen prospects for farming, but also society in general. The BUGI project offers capacity-building for different stakeholder groups, like students, graduates/workforce, businesses, researchers and teachers, but also towards planning and infrastructure domains. The starting point of the project was an analysis of existing business models, preferences and capacities in the agricultural sector in WB countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA), Kosovo (XK), and Montenegro (ME), as well as an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses and needs of WB Higher Education Institutes (HEI). These analyses were used to define a framework for curricula for new master and life-long learning (LLL) study programs in UA in the WB region, teachers training, and infrastructure for curriculum implementation. The WB teaching staff underwent 7 study visits to EU partner HEIs and urban agriculture farms and initiatives gaining needed expertise and fostering an international partnership between EU and WB partners. As part of the master programme some required accompanying activities took place, namely learning guide for teachers, skills and competence evaluation guide, module placement guide and diploma supplement were developed for the master programme. The new curricula were successfully developed, accredited and implemented by WB partners with the help and support of EU partners. Univ. of Sarajevo (UNSA) and Univ. of Mostar (UNMO) started with master programme implementation in 2019, and Univ. Donja Gorica (UDG) and Univ. of Pristine (UP) (for UP and Univ. of Peja (UHZ) students) in 2021. Since the new curricula utilise ICT tools and competency-based learning methodology and foster collaboration with the entrepreneurial sector through project-based work, teachers attended two workshops on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Experiential Learning (EL) in competence-based learning and Distance Learning (DL). The new teaching material for master and LLL courses was developed in local languages and English. WB partners signed a multilateral interinstitutional agreement to foster cooperation on common ECTS design and for the virtual and physical exchange of students and/or staff in the context of the master study programme in UA. Two XK partners signed an agreement on cooperation in the implementation of the study master programme UA and LLL training programme. Special attention was given to collaboration with further stakeholders in order to promote sustainable development and a green economy in the region. It resulted in starting a green entrepreneurship e-portal and android application under the BUGI umbrella - a platform where producers (farmers) meet consumers and vice-versa. LLL modules for BA and ME partners were delivered with the support of the Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency (SERDA), while UHZ implemented the LLL programme for XK partners. WB HEIs visibility and capacity to deliver more attractive education and training have been increased in line with program countries practices and experiences. The project resulted in the implementation of new state-of-the-art teaching/learning environments accompanied with appropriate transferable competencies and entrepreneurial skills and partnership with the business sector aiming for strengthening students’ employability and possibility for self-employment. It also promotes cross-cultural experience and increases partners HEIs capacity to answer changes in societal needs, sustainable agriculture and green economy.

Sustaining a cohort of new entrants is crucial to the ongoing vitality, resilience and competitiveness of the agricultural sector and rural regions in Europe. New entrants bring with them innovation and entrepreneurialism, as well as practical skills and networks developed on farms and through off-farm employment. However, new entrants face considerable challenges in entering the sector, particularly access to land, capital, labour and markets, but also business skills and knowledge development on both applied and theoretical levels. Analysis of Eurostat figures suggests that there is not an adequate replacement rate of young farmers in many European countries, although there is evidence of considerable innovation and comparatively high rates of new entrants in others (Zagata and Sutherland, 2015). The NEWBIE Network (New Entrant netWork: Business models for Innovation, entrepreneurship and resilience in European agriculture) has been designed to address the significant challenge of enabling new entrants to successfully establish sustainable farm businesses in Europe. The NEWBIE network will facilitate the development and dissemination of new business models, including new entry models, to the full range of new entrants - from successors to complete newcomers to the agricultural sector. This will be achieved by a transdisciplinary network of farming organisations, educators, advisors, researchers and industry stakeholders, who will assemble, assess and exchange the state of the art on new entrant farming enterprises, and establish national and European new entrant support networks. NEWBIE will focus particularly on enabling innovative business models developed by new entrants to be integrated into academic research and educational curricula, and broadly disseminated to new entrants across Europe.

The project URBAN GReen Education for ENTteRprising Agricultural INnovation (URBAN GREEN TRAIN) created an innovative training path in the field of Urban Agriculture (UA) entrepreneurship, based on University-Society-Business Cooperation (USBC).The project was coordinated by the University of Bologna (Dept. of Agricultural Sciences, IT) and the consortium included excellent Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), innovative SMEs and NGOs of high-level expertise on different and complementary fields: UA, education, dissemination, HE, with partners from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The project lasted 36 months, and created a model of curriculum and course in UA Entrepreneurship structured into five modules and topics:Module 1: Introduction into urban agriculture concept and typesModule 2: Resource use from a challenge perspectiveModule 3: Urban agriculture types/production systems and short food chainsModule 4: Networking and governanceModule 5: World of business and urban demands.The topic areas, provisionally identified during the proposal phase, have been re-designed according to the methodological guidelines presented in IO1 NEW URBAN AGRICULTURE INITIATIVES TOWARD A MINDSET CHANGE. IO1 presents new entrepreneurial models, training opportunities and needs resulting from the work undertaken by partners to update the state of the art of UA entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, as well as to analyse training needs of the project target groups: SMEs, NGOs, HEIs, PAs. As result of this work, two inventories respectively of business and training opportunities in UA, were created and made available on the project web site at http://www.urbangreentrain.eu/en/?id=UA_Enterprises and http://www.urbangreentrain.eu/en/?id=UA_Enterprises&category=419. The five URBAN GREEN TRAIN MODULES AND RESOURCES (IO2) globally resulted in a training offer of 150 hours, including various types of educational resources, specifically developed by partners or collected among existing ones: presentations, articles, videos, images, eBooks, discussions, etc.The full set of modules was tested in a joint international pilot course, offered both fully online (on Moodle educational platform of the University of Bologna, IT) and in a blended modality (combining face to face and online training) and involving participants from different countries and professional backgrounds.The face to face part of the course was conducted through a 2 weeks intensive course in Bologna (IT), including a blended mobility for adult learners and a joint training staff event, aimed at strengthening knowledge and methodological exchanges.After the testing, the modules and resources were improved and translated in the partner languages (IT, DE, FR and NL) as well as in Portuguese, as additional language. The model of international curriculum developed during the project to serve as prototype for collaborative creation of further courses/curricula in UA entrepreneurship is illustrated in IO3 “MODEL AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A CURRICULUM IN URBAN AGRICULTURE ENTERPRENEURSHIP”. This output addresses non partner-HEIs, other training providers and public / private stakeholders and presents the main training actions and elements that define the URBAN GREEN TRAIN curriculum, accompanied by a set of recommendations. URBAN GREEN TRAIN was accurately disseminated in partner countries and across Europe to raise awareness on UA, and to support the opening of the path for innovative and sustainable cities. Several tools were developed for this purpose: the project web site www.urbangreentrain.eu (available in EN, FR, DE and IT), an e-Newsletter distributed periodically in four languages (IT,DE, FR, EN), a promotional video and a brochure presenting the main results and IO3 recommendations. Four national multiplier events (two in Germany, one in Italy, and one in the Netherlands) and one final international conference (in France), were organised in 2017, to launch the EU Cluster URBAN-AG and present the project results. The EU Cluster URBAN-AG involves more than 80 members from partner and non partner organisations, from several countries in Europe and beyond, representing different key actors and stakeholders in UA, as to promote knowledge and innovation exchange. URBAN GREEN TRAIN had a relevant impact on partner organisations and target groups (HEIs, SMEs, NGOs and PAs) and significantly contributed to strengthen the cooperation among Research, Education and Business and to modernise the HE system, also enhancing its role in building a sustainable economic and social growth. URBAN GREEN TRAIN succeeded in developing and offering a course and a model of curriculum in Urban Agriculture Entrepreneurship which gives a clear and comprehensive overview of the sector and its potentials, as well as a set of policy recommendations, as to serve as prototype for collaborative creation of further courses/curricula in urban agriculture.

EFUA’s objectives are to unlock Urban Agriculture’s potential by achieving better knowledge, better deployment, and better policies in this field. By setting up an UA Forum it aims to develop a new level of stakeholder engagement to better inform decision making and turn Urban Agriculture into a European, regional and local policy domain. EFUA will contribute to the work programme by defining next practices and stakeholder based R&I programmes for Urban Agriculture and also by investigating its role as an innovator in the agricultural and food sector and the urban bioeconomy. UA is a thriving subject, globally, but has not made its way into European policies due to barriers resulting from gaps in both knowledge and advocacy. EFUA will overcome these barriers by establishing the UA Forum, thereby allowing a new level of stakeholder engagement, co-building of knowledge, better deployment and specifically targeted policies. The UA Forum is set up following a quad helix approach and as durable format to ensure ongoing networking in Urban Agriculture and to give European policies a partner to better support UA in the long term. EFUA’s workflow is organized in three loops culminating in 3 public conferences and the co-design of a UA vision. EFUA’s work is facilitated by the UA platform offering various tools for engaging stakeholders and co-building of knowledge together with the UA Forum, but also for communication and dissemination. Special networking methods are used to access cutting edge knowledge from R&I projects to define next practice of Urban Agriculture. Benefits of Urban Agriculture and recommendations for action are targeted to European policy makers thereby supporting various agendas and programs. Impact is increased by target audience oriented communication, making use of excellent dissemination channels. Impact is sustained by perpetuating the UA Forum’s work.