The Learning to Disagree project was initiated to address the needs of those teachers whose students are exposed to extremist ideologies, populism and ‘alternative’ facts on the internet, and whose classrooms (and national contexts) are becoming increasingly diverse and are teeming with opposing and diverging views on controversial and sensitive topics. In response to these societal developments, the Learning to Disagree project was designed to provide educators with the tools to help enable students acquire social and civic competences through debates, dialogue and discussion on contested issues as part of their formal education. The project consortium was composed of: (1) EuroClio (NL), an International NGO which has 30 years of experience in project leadership and management, as well as a large network that includes relevant stakeholder and members of the target group of the project; (2) Georg Eckert Institute (DE) an internationally renowned textbook research institute, who authored the needs assessment (O1) and policy recommendations (O5); (3) Maynooth National University Ireland (IR), who developed the Teachers Guide on Assessing Social and Civic Competences (O4); (4) Mount School York (UK), who tested teaching strategies developed for this project (O3) in practice and oversaw the developing and editing the educational material (O2); (5) Education for the 21st Century (RS), an organisation experienced in developing educational resources, especially with regard to dialogue, debate and discussion. Additionally, a core team of 17 volunteer educators was formed to create 13 “variety of viewpoints” and 15 lesson plans as part of the Exemplar content for dialogue, debate, and discussion (O2). During the reporting period there have been 5 transnational partner meetings. The first meeting (M1) served as an introduction to the project, and helped partners develop a common vision on all Intellectual Outputs, including the roles and responsibilities and the time path, and a common understanding of the specific terms and language used in the project. The purpose of the second meeting (M2) was to prepare future joint sessions, and in particular the programme for the first short term staff training (C1) . The third partner meeting (M3) focused on the analysis of the Exemplar Content developed by team members, in particular of the Lesson Plans developed to show how the content can be used in an educational context. The fourth partner meeting (M4) focused on preparing the Exemplar Content (referred to as “variety of viewpoints”) for finalisation. The fifth meeting (M5) was used to discuss how to proceed with the project during the COVID-19 pandemic. There also have been 6 short term staff trainings (STST). Serbia in March of 2018 (C1) ; Germany in August of 2018 (C2); Ireland in January of 2019 (C3); The Netherlands in August of 2019 (C4); Germany in December of 2019 (C5); and lastly in November of 2020 (C6). The last meeting was held online to facilitate participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional one-on-one meetings between partners and team members were held throughout the project. Finally, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the project at the moment when national multiplier events (E1-E12) were set to begin, some of the core team members were able to host “Learning to Disagree” Professional Training and Development Courses in Bulgaria (E3), Italy (E7), Hungary (E5), and Slovakia (E9). These trainings were designed to support history educators to use the Exemplar Content (O2), Needs Assessment (O1), Teacher's guide on dialogue, debate and discussion (O3), Training package on how to use the educational resources (O5), and Teachers guide on assessing social and civic competences (O4). The project produced a variety of intellectual outputs: a Needs Assessment (O1), a Teachers’ Guide on Dialogue, Debate and Discussion (O3), a Teachers’ Guide on Assessing Social and Civic Competences (O4), Policy Recommendations (O6). Lastly, it produced Educational Resources (O2); 15 Lesson Plans, 13 Variety of Viewpoints, 3 Source Collections, all revolving around the 4 main topics (people on the move, borders, and surviving under pressure)that enable students and educators to dialogue, debate and discuss contested issues.

The overall goal of PERFORM is to establish a European training network to prepare the next generation of Digital Retail Managers. Established Business Models need to be revised as customer behaviour is changing. Customers no longer prefer online or instore purchasing but switch between channels to suit their own personal requirements. Innovative digital technologies such as Internet of Things, Big Data, advanced analytics as well as augmented reality novel payment systems and visualisation concepts can create a unique and individual customer experience. With PERFORM we create a coherent customer experience for Digital Retail by combining online and traditional offline retail to an integrated Omnichannel system addressing the following 4 research objectives: ● Develop sustainable business models for the Digital Retail sector. ● Examine approaches to increase the customer experience along the customer journey. ● Investigate how technologies can be used to provide innovative Digital Retail services and create a unique customer experience. ● Develop knowledge base on Digital Retail operations and analytics. We will assist the Digital Retail sector to realise valuable strategic options for local EU retailers related to the Single Digital Market. PERFORM builds an interdisciplinary network including various disciplines (such as technology, business and behaviour science) and will educate Early Stage Researchers. PERFORM provides a timely response to the increasing need from the retail sector for highly skilled graduates and researchers, which are highly sought after in industry and academia. We offer exciting career perspectives based upon existing and future job profiles within the digital retail industry. The research programme of PERFORM will develop new methods, concepts and technology implementations for Digital Retail. Both academic and non-academic participants of PERFORM will contribute to strengthening the Innovation Capacity in Europe.

EMPLOY promotes the enhancement of the employability of students in higher education from a non-traditional background (both younger and adult) through improving the efficiency of transitions into the graduate labour market. With the development of a mass higher education system across Europe the student population has become more diverse by age, gender, class, ethnicity and disability. The issue of employability is a central policy concern of the EU, national governments and a key goal of the Bologna Process (The European Higher Education in 2012: Bologna Process Implementation Report) and there is also emerging evidence that graduate employability is a problem across Europe. This situation has been affected by the economic crisis but at different levels across Europe so that, for example, it is more difficult for graduate students in Portugal to find employment than graduates in Sweden. Research shows that non-traditional students are particularly affected in terms of graduateness. For non-traditional students the transition into employment often takes longer than ‘traditional students’ and there is the likelihood of entering employment which is below degree level and, therefore, less meaningful. There is also a mismatch between graduate credentials and employers' expectations. The project involves six partners from a range of countries from north and south Europe. We define non-traditional students as including those from low-income families, under-represented ethnic and socio-economic groups, mature students, first generation into HE and people with disabilities. EMPLOY centrally aims to improve the efficiency of transition into the graduate labour market of those who enter higher education from non-traditional backgrounds, by developing two European toolkits that presents best practice by HEIs and offers guidance to students on improving their employability. This will be achieved by using the voices, experiences and perceptions of participants (students, university staff and employers) through biographical approaches and in-depth interviews to identify best practices, policies and guidelines to be used in two handbooks. One handbook will be aimed at non-traditiional students in higher education while the other will be aimed at employers and university staff. The website and the use of social media, such as Twitter and podcasts, will be important in promoting dialogue and outcomes of the project. EMPLOY has a strong dissemination and exploitation strategy to ensure a wide European impact.The project will offer new insights into the relationship and different perspectives on employability and competences in relation to non-traditional students in HE. Importantly, this project aims to work for a more inclusive graduate labour market for non-traditional students across Europe.