In an effort to bring science and society together in Europe, and consequently increase the continent’s international competitiveness, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education must be more relatable to European youths to raise their interests and involvement in STEM careers. This project proposes an educational platform with multi-level components, designed and developed on the base of a well-researched pedagogical framework, which aims to make STEM education more attractive to young people from age 10 to 18 years old. Universities, schools, teachers, students, parents, business and media partners come together to complete a circle in which STEM becomes a part of the daily life of youths through an educational portal that also prepares them for future careers. The socially motivational platform for emotional and educational engagement, herein referred to as the STIMEY (Science, Technology, Innovation, Mathematics, Education for the Young) platform, will combine: - social media components and entrepreneurial tools (present), - robotic artefacts (the future), - radio (the past) to educate, engage and increase the youth’s interest in STEM education and careers. The platform, with individual e-portfolios, will be designed to tap into the children’s curiosity and motivations from a young age. The platform will take into account the specific needs of girls and boys, to be attracted and stay with STEM in a social collaborative environment with serious gaming and healthy competition among peers. The platform will give teachers the necessary modern tools to deliver STEM education in an attractive and engaging manner in-class, while also following up on students’ progress even outside of class.

The project is aimed to enhance quality of HE with employment focus in content by enhancing internal QA for teaching/learning & improving teaching staff performance at BY Universities for them to respond to the increased demands of society/economy. It has objectives to enhance QA policy-making & procedures for work with teaching staff to ensure quality in HE through the establishment of Centres for Academic Development & Teacher Training (CADTT) at each BY partner; optimise pedagogical performance of teaching staff via the development of an in-service university teacher training programme for university staff who need pedagogical training; increase quality of students’ performance at University & at work places through application of innovative education methods to ensure transition to student-centred practice-based & market-oriented education; apply QA system at BY Universities for identifying staff in need of pedagogical training; & introduce new regulations on teaching staff employment at BY Universities. Managerial, academic staff & students are the target groups in the project. Labour market, the other Universities in the country are the major stakeholders.The major outcomes & outputs achieved in the project – CADTTs, internal system of QA, innovative methods of education, In-service University Teacher Training Programme, & regulation for staff employment, will be the tools for producing impact on the target groups & stakeholders. An important aspect of the project is the development of pedagogical interaction & networks for staff in the EU, TK & BY. The main impact will be on the university management system in what concerns QA for teaching/learning & teaching staff performance-staff & students will be the target group. Innovative education methods will expand the impact. The society's stakeholders-other BY universities & labour market will be final beneficiaries of the wider impact – graduates’ enhanced skills for better employment & performance at work.

Belarus is in the process of building nuclear power generation with two reactors envisaged: construction of the first will be completed this year, construction of the second will finish in 2020. Higher Education in nuclear safety and radiation protection will be of utmost importance, hence appropriate curricula need to be developed and set in place. Aim of this project is the development of curricula at the Master level, in line with Bologna principles, to be accredited by the Ministry of education and adopted throughout the Country. To this aim, a number of Belarusian University, covering practically all the regions of the Country, have been involved in the project, and will serve both as developers and as “testing facilities” for the new curricula. The EU Universities involved all have a long-lasting and deep experience in the field, and have developed in the past their own curricula in the field. The expected results will be innovative two-year study program, including a special attention to practical training effected with a two prong approach: new, up to date didactic laboratories to be set up in all the Belarusian partner HEIs; traineeships in institutions and companies active in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. Special attention shall be focused on “training the trainers”, i.e., professional instruction and internship for the teachers-to-be. Ideally, a first generation of teachers will be formed during the three years of the project, and this first group of fully trained teachers will continue the work raising the new generations of instructors. The end result will be a Country-wide education framework in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The impact on the Country is quite clear: the capability of handling the new nuclear industry safely and effective; the wider impact for Europe will be that a newcomer in the nuclear industry can be trusted to be capable to manage its nuclear potential.

The DUALBEL project aims to support the Belarusian partner institutions (Ministry of Education, National Institute of Higher Education, Universities and Enterprises) in the development and implementation of the dual study model including the legal and organisational framework in the Belarusian higher education system. In this way, the project provides modernization impulses for the Belarusian higher education system by taking into account the interests of the Belarusian labor market, creating the framework for labor-market-adequate study programs at Belarusian higher education institutions and thus increasing the employability of university graduates.In the first half of the project period, a study will be carried out to survey existing approaches to dual studies in Belarus. The study, in connection with further training measures for Belarusian project partners on dual studies at EU universities, will provide the necessary contribution to the development work and creation of the Belarusian model of dual studies. Parallel to this, dual model curricula for academic and in-company training will be developed and examined by the Belarusian Ministry of Education and released for implementation. In the second half of the project period, the new dual curricula in defined fields of study will be tested and evaluated as pilot projects in cooperation with partner companies in Belarus and disseminated to other Belarusian universities. The project is coordinated by Deggendorf Institute of Technology. From the EU, Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences Pori, Latvian University Riga and University of Zilina are participating. In Belarus, the consortium consists of 11 universities, the National Institute of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Republican Institute of Vocational Education and 19 partner companies. The project is scheduled for a duration of 3 years.

During most of the first decade of the 21st century, Belarus experienced strong economic growth (GDP in 2001-2008 grew on average by 8.3% annually) and made substantial progress in poverty reduction (poverty line declined from 30% in 2002 to 5% in 2010). However, since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, Belarus has experienced significant economic instability. Strong and robust economic growth and development in Belarus going forward will necessarily have to rely on the country’s human capital. For that, it is necessary to move upmarket through a steady increase in labour productivity, which in its turn requires and adequately prepared workforce. Improving the effective functioning of the higher education (HE) system is thus an important priority for the country. The main aim of ‘Fostering Competencies Development in Belarusian Higher Education’ (FOSTERC) has been to strengthen the use of innovative principles and approaches to teaching and learning in the Belarusian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for the improvement of graduates’ learning outcomes. FOSTERC has examined the curricular development focusing on graduates’ competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes). It has fostered competencies development for matching the social and economic demands and in turn to improve the overall quality of HE. Implementing the reforms, FOSTERC has supported the modernisation of governance, management and functioning of Belarusian HEIs, and the upgrade and improvement of teaching and learning methodologies. It has provided trainings, methodological tools and indicators for conceptualization of learning outcomes, and has integrated good practices and new methods into daily activities. It has also provided the necessary information and tools to facilitate the implementation of internal and external quality assurance assessments, supporting, at the end, the modernisation of Belarusian participating universities and being the reference of the modernisation of the rest of Belarusian HEIs.