A2M2TECH (Doctoral Programme in Advanced Materials&Advanced Manufacturing Technologies) is an excellence doctoral training programme presented by Gazi University (GU) in Turkey as beneficiary and main hosting organisation through the Additive Manufacturing Technology Application and Research Center (EKTAM), the National Center of Excellence for AM. The programme is completed with the participation of other 3 entities as Partner Organisations recruiting fellows: Middle East Technical University, İstanbul Technical University and İzmir Institute of Technology. During the 60 months of duration of A2M2TECH, one single Open Call will be launched for the recruitment of 22 early-stage researchers (ESRs). Excellence in research&education Will be achieved through a complete research&training programme combining cutting-edge multidisciplinary topics in the AM field with a wide range of research&non-research oriented skills, thus impacting on the future career perspectives of the fellows and aligning the programme objectives and results with EU strategies and objectives regarding human resources, research&innovation. A2M2TECH will establish an open, transparent and merit-based procedure for the recruitment with the aim of providing the next-generation of skilled scientists in the bourgeoning fields of Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Materials&Additive Manufacturing. All the participating organisations in the programme have an outstanding track-record in terms of recruitment and training of doctoral researchers and they all support the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, thus ensuring the best possible conditions to enhance the potential and future career perspectives for the recruited researchers. In addition, recruited fellows will be provided with the opportunity to carry out secondments in several national&international host institutions with a particular focus on the intersectoral University-Industry collaboration.

Workers with data skills are needed across the breadth of employment sectors and development is one such sector which has become increasingly data driven, e.g. the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are explicitly measurable and include a target to improve statistical capacity in and of itself. Higher education students studying a range of social science subject areas often aspire to a career in development: a fiercely competitive and rapidly changing sector, with the need for both ‘soft’ (e.g. cross-cultural collaboration) and ‘hard’ skills now emphasised, of which data analysis is an increasingly valued ‘hard’ skill. However, there is often resistance amongst social science students to develop data skills. Students’ resistance has been linked to a lack of confidence, particularly amongst students with a limited mathematical background and/or who have had bad experiences of mathematics teaching earlier in their education. However above and beyond concerns about ability, an additional key barrier to students’ engagement in data education is a simple lack of interest. The aim of this project is to tackle these challenges and resultant graduate skills deficit by creating a team of partner universities to collaboratively develop learning and teaching materials which meet the current and anticipated future data skill requirements of development sector employers and enable lecturers to share expertise. The team is composed of four universities representing geographically and culturally diverse countries: University of Gloucestershire (UK), Gazi University (Turkey), University of Malta (Malta) and UNED (Spain). The learning and teaching resources developed through the project will closely align with the reality of working in the development sector, by exposing students to international collaboration and to working on real and pressing development issues, thus providing a clear link between the lecture hall and students’ desired careers. The specific objectives are:(1) Understand the nature of the current and anticipated future data skills deficit in the international development sector through expert interviews with key employers across partner countries. (2) Develop innovative social science instructor and student learning resources on data skills for international development informed by the findings from objective (1), based on real life scenarios which foster international collaboration between students, and benefiting from the varied expertise of project partners. (3) Pilot and evaluate the resources during a collaborative summer programme for students from across partner countries culminating in a visit to Luxembourg encompassing a tour of EUROSTAT, the European Union’s statistical agency, and an opportunity for students to share project findings and gain experience of international meetings. The pilot programme will include 5 undergraduate social science students from each partner country (20 in total). (4) Refine the materials based on student evaluations and tutor reflections and integrate the materials and collaborative student project work into the degree curriculum of partner universities, as well as making the resources freely available online for the benefit of the wider social science higher education community. The results of the project will be instructor and student handbooks on a new data skills for international development programme. These materials will have been piloted during the project and will be integrated into the curriculum at partner universities and available online for other universities to adopt. The project will also produce an academic peer reviewed paper and a blog on the nature of the data skills deficit in the international development sector. In addition, there will be a website, twitter account, webinar when the materials are launched online and partners will give presentations on the project at conferences so as to ensure the programme reaches a wide range of universities. The impacts of the project included enhanced employability amongst student participants in the summer pilot programme, as well as future students at partner universities who will benefit from this addition to their curriculum and students at other universities which adopt the programme. The project will also have an impact on partner university academics and other academics who adopt the programme by assisting them to broaden their curriculum and to provide specific career guidance to their students. In addition, the project will have an impact on employers in the international development, and more broadly social development, sector by growing the pool of graduates with data skills required for the current and future demands of the sector. Ultimately, this will also be beneficial to the clients of development organisations as the organisations will be better equipped to harness the power of data to further their cause.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has limited the collective creativity because most of the artistic and cultural activities in Europe and elsewhere have been interrupted. On the other hand, the current epidemic has caused social stigma and it has caused the physical and social isolation of people with fewer opportunities.In this context, our project aims to propose innovative solutions to access and develop artistic and cultural initiatives for all. We will create and implement a digital and inclusive platform, designed for dynamic information, training, networking and support for creative initiatives. The ""Multiculti ART"" platform is also part of the development of smart cities in terms of art and culture. It will make activities, visits, meetings and collective creativity possible for youngsters from various backgrounds and by reaching the various citizens of our communities. We will focus on networking (especially among youth), and the creation of tools for the development of creative, artistic and cultural skills. By following this orientation, we wish to anchor the basis of intelligent, artistic, cultural and creative cities with the commitment of diverse and complementary partners.Our 24 months strategic transnational partnership project will be lead with 4 NGO from France, Greece, Belgium and Turkey. It includes the following activities:1- Kick-off meeting in France, gathering all partner’s project manager, to establish the roles, modalities and methods of implementation for this project.2- Preparation and implementation of a survey to identify the expectations and needs for the various stakeholders (organizations, local citizens, artists, local representatives) regarding the development of skills, the accessibility to artistic and cultural activities, as well as benefiting from the smart city in the fields of art and culture.3- Creation of the platform ""MULTICULTI ART"" to develop a diversified network (institutions, associations, local authorities, cultural companies, artists, local decision-makers and youth), with an easier, clearer and dynamic information circulation about local cultural activities. This platform will also support initiatives in the artistic and cultural field. It will be the basis of the smart cities (in art and culture) for the involved communities.4- Creation of E-learning trainings accessible on the platform as micro-learning about social entrepreneurship in this field. 5- Creation of an interactive map (GIS) to promote and visualize the information related to cultural and artistic events, activities and initiatives which take place in the communities of the consortium members.6- A training course in Turkey for artistic and cultural educators from the institutions/ organizations, as well as for cultural stakeholders from the city halls, to develop their digital and pedagogical skills, in order for them to become co-administrators of the platform and e-mentors for the beneficiaries.7- Creation of a mini-tutorial, as an interactive video, which helps anyone to understand the advantages of the artistic and cultural smart city, and use efficiently the platform, contribute to it, and to its dynamism and durability.8- Creation of a promo-video of the platform ""MULTICULTI ART"" to increase the numbers of users.9- a remote mid-term evaluation meeting, with all partner’s project promoter, to share feedbacks and results, and to adjust the following parts of the project in consequence, in order to reach our objectives.10- A seminar in Belgium involving 2 local elected representatives, the participants of the previous training course, one active youth of our platform, from each partner community, and the person in charge of the project from each partner. The seminar aims to increase their engagement for the development and promotion of the platform, to support local and artistic initiatives created by the platform’s beneficiaries, and to acheive a cooperation plan for a better implementation of the smart city in terms of art and culture via the platform.11 – To carry artistic and cultural local initiatives/creation implemented by the young active members of the platform, in their local community. These initiatives will be referenced on the GIS map.12 – A dissemination event organized locally by each partner, to promote the platform and the concept of smart city in terms of Art and Culture. Each partner will organize a local event and promote as well the initiatives set up by local citizens, beneficiaries of the platform.13– An evaluation meeting in Greece, which will lead to a cooperation plan co-conceived with the partners, in order to ensure the sustainability of the project."