<< Background >>Project Simulation of Sustainable International Business (S.O.S. International Business) addresses the need for greater accessibility and international connectedness of teaching and learning practices with innovative digital tools and methods. Project partnership consists of three HEI institutions oriented to finance, accounting, and management, and institute for corporate social responsibility. As smaller, into practice oriented higher education institutions, two partner organisations educate significant share of already employed students, students with families and drop-out students from other universities - profiles that do not readily participate in international mobility. Without quality internationalization at home, these students face challenges with the access to positive impacts of internationalization in tertiary education. Furthermore, with being practice-oriented institutions, our academic staff is active in other professional fields and by having other obligations in their home countries they also face limited access to international mobility. This challenges in reaching internationalisation goals can be addressed through strategic development of digital educational tool that will enable distance international cooperation in teaching and learning practices. The third partner higher education institution recognises the need for strengthening its digital readiness of teaching and learning practices due to its high ratio of international students. The latter also emphasises its need for the upgrade of existing processes with innovative tools, learning practices and pedagogy.Content wise, we are focusing on educational field of international business. By this, we will not focus on knowledge about niche markets and product & business development but on accounting, tax, law, financial, managerial and socially responsible solutions for long-term survival & success in international business environment. These topics are crucial for learners of international business, but at the international scale often overlooked, because they are harder to develop in international context. The partner organizations possess the needed expertise for developing such content.Since the project will develop solutions for the study contents of international business, we will moreover address the overarching need for strengthening sustainability and corporate responsibility aspects in the teaching practices and materials of the field. With the mentioned particular needs of partner institutions, the project will contribute to overall impact on digital readiness, international connectedness and sustainable practices primarily in higher education, but also at cross-sector levels.<< Objectives >>The purpose of the project is the creation of learning practices with digital solutions & innovative pedagogy for the development of international learning content in the field of sustainable international business, which will have a positive impact on higher education and wider society through international peer cooperation of students&teachers. Core objectives:1.Design, develop and test a digital tool for simulating sustainable international business for the purposes of higher education, which will enable the international cooperation of pedagogical staff and students.2.Train pedagogical staff for the use of digital simulation and related methods of innovative pedagogy in higher education learning processes in the field of international business.3.Train pedagogical staff for the integration of sustainable aspects in the development of study contents in the field of international business.4.Develop and test the content of simulation cases in the field of sustainable international business for use in higher education learning processes.5.Develop a guide with a methodology of application (for the training of users-students of digital simulation) on the basis of the testing training of students.6.Adapt & integrate the developed content of the simulation cases into the digital game about sustainable international business, intended for interested distance learners.7.Design and develop a technological solution for the digital game of the sustainable international business for interested distance learners.8.Develop daily training modules and implement trainings for users of digital simulation of sustainable international business for teaching purposes.9.Monitor, analyze & interpret synergies, challenges and good practices in strengthening internationalization through the digitization of teaching practices in small higher education institutions.10.Disseminate information about the project & programme and project results in accordance with the dissemination strategy.<< Implementation >>We will develop&design a technological solution (digital simulation tool - platform), train pedagogical staff, create content (sustainable international business simulation cases), and test-perform simulated cases in HEI, but also other settings. The simulation will connect the chosen study subjects of partner higher education institutions and enable the lecturers to teach and students to learn on practically designed cases through international peer cooperation. The developed simulation for the use in higher education will be adapted for individual use through gamification methods and offered to interested distant learners from companies, NGOs, and general society. Based on the project, we will also implement the study about the effects of digitalisation of learning practices on the internationalisation of small higher education institutions.<< Results >>Project will produce the following results:1.Digital tool (platform) that will enable easy and intuitive content development for the digital simulation of the financial, accounting, management, and legal situations in international business. It will support the upload of various multimedia contents, built-in analytics, network building, and interactivity between students and teachers. Guidelines for different users and for integration of sustainability into study contents will be integrated into the tool for easier dissemination. 2.The developed simulated cases of the sustainable international business will be developed and tested between partner institutions and at first used between them. Through the dissemination of project results and encouragement for further use the expansion of cooperation with other higher education institutions and stakeholders is envisaged.3.Digital simulation game for individual use is an adjustment of the simulated cases of the sustainable international business. The integrated analytics of the game will track and inform the user-learner about his or her performance. It will be based on the gamification methods, but will not include interactivity. 4.The study about the effects of digitalisation of teaching&learning practices on the internationalisation of the small higher education institutions. The study will consist of case studies of the higher education institutions involved in the project and will combine qualitative and quantitative research methods. The primary target groups of the project are students and teachers of the involved HEI and the partner HEI themselves. Students and teachers will improve their digital competences and their knowledge about the sustainable international business, raise their learning autonomy (students) and their understanding of innovative pedagogy (teachers), gain new international and intercultural experiences, obtain a user-friendly tool for interactive teaching&learning through simulation of international business cases and therefore develop more positive attitude towards the use of ICT in study processes. The involved HEI will strengthen their internationalisation processes (also through the “internationalisation at home”), make a first big step towards their comprehensive digital transformation and upgrade of their study programmes with topics of sustainability. The impacts and outcomes of the project will reach other HEIs and stakeholders that will participate in the project as associated partners or in its promotional activities; other (individual or institutional) users of the developed tool and/or game after the end of the project can expect similar impacts.

The purpose of the project is to address core sustainability issues which have been playing an important part in today’s business activity and have immense potential in contributing to the future development of the world. Its main focus is on identifying areas where sustainability issues are critical followed by suggesting solutions to be practically implemented. The objective can be achieved by introducing a new subject into the curricula of tertiary education institutions where different aspects of sustainability can be addressed, including cultural and social sustainability, sustainability of businesses, environmental and employment relations, marketing and sustainable production and consumption, psychology and communication for sustainability, sustainable design, tourism, and hospitality industry, sustainable finance and management, etc. The outcome of the first stage will cater for educational needs of the contemporary societies to tackle core environmental and social problems. In the process of educating students of economics current issues need to be approached both globally as well as locally and to meet this objective cooperation between tertiary education institutions is indispensable. The first stage of the project involves partner's contribution to the development of the joint curriculum for the subject.The new subject “ Economics of Sustainability”, dealing with general issues of sustainable development should incorporate different areas, including cross-cultural and country specific issues. Such an approach will also stimulate young generations' openness to different cultures, tolerance and responsiveness to different needs, thus strengthening social potential. International character of the project will provide for stronger ties and unity between HE institutions, their staff and students. Consequently, sense of belonging to the common world will be developed where issues can be solved commonly. A coursebook written by researchers following their findings in the first phase of the project will be targeted primarily to students of the partnering institutions as a support material for the new subject introduced into the curricula of partnering institutions. Its secondary functions can be performed as a PDF downloadable open-access resource to be used by students and teachers of other institutions worldwide. The essence of sustainable development although clear, is hardly ever realised by individuals. Activities towards CSR or sustainability definitely improve the company image while they are not likely to be one of the criteria taken into account by individual consumers. This lack of individuals’ awareness may result in their ignorance of such beneficial actions and simultaneously no positive feedback or support given to them. The objective of the project is to enhance interest and stimulate participation in sustainable develpment of the nations.Technology diffusion is the root of behavioural changes which, on the one hand, lead to new expectations of product and service providers and, on the other hand, empower consumers to such an extent so as they get involved in co-creating or even creating market offerings themselves. On the other hand, it’s been proved people lack creativity and therefore it should be stimulated and encouraged.Modern technology proliferation plays the most important role in driving transition to sustainable development by, for example, the emergence of new business models, such as sharing/access economy that reflect social needs resulting from changing demographics and other megatrends. The new developing system is based on re-using, re-cycling and sharing, all activities leading to reduction of environmental impacts and thus contributing to values of CSR and sustainability. The project will be utilised to strengthen and support such positive behavioural trends.The project's results will be disseminated by creating an open-access platform where ideas for utilising game-dynamics will be entered to be used proactively by business leaders as well as consumers willing to combine fun with socially and environmentally desirable activities. The innovative idea of the platform consists in gathering both novel and tested solutions in one place thus enabling quick and easy access to a variety of ideas that can have potential in creating sustainability - conscious approach of the public. By utilizing game-dynamics, which have been proved effective in encouraging consumers to behave in a certain way, businesses can gain mportant benefits from marketing, relationship building to CSR- related merits. The platform will also be useful for consumers with sustainability- conscius mindset to help them find socially- or eco- friendly solutions, associate them with relevant business and support the intiatives.