The rule of law in the EU is a multi-faceted principle implemented in a multi-layered process. It is embodied in the manifold jurisdictions of its member states, the growing number of EU legislative acts and eventually in the intricate net of cross-references between these bodies of law. Legal training should enable students to understand, navigate and play an active role in this multi-layered and highly interdependent network-structure. Yet this is not happening, as curricula are often exclusively focused on national jurisdictions and legal systems. Even when EU law becomes part of teaching, it often appears as a legal-subfield of its own, with little focus on the interdependencies with and between national jurisdictions. This is exacerbated by the fact that in law the exchange of academic personnel in Europe is still in its infancy. As a result, the “transmitters”, who could contribute different legal perspectives to teaching and research, are missing. Equally detrimental, topics of crucial importance to the understanding of Europe and its legal settings – such as European Governance and Identity – have been absent in legal training so far. In the light of these challenges, five leading universities in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Paris and Rome have decided to use their experience in conducting a joint-European study program in law, known as the European Law School (ELS), to develop a role model of how to comprehensively Europeanize legal teaching. In this respect, their Strategic Partnership EULysses - new frontiers for legal teaching and training has 3 major objectives: 1. Improve “Europeanization at home” – in terms of topics of particular importance to Europe2. Improve “Europeanization at home” – in terms of academic personnel and 3. Realize the potential of digital means for cooperation and outreachTo reach these objectives the SP will 1. Implement joint teaching activities, particularly on topics of overarching importance for Europe and embedded in joint research on law and social sciences2. Establish a scheme for mobility and embeddedness of academic personnel, and 3. Set-up a Joint Digital Platform (JDP).These actions address students and academic personnel (professors + young researchers) alike. Students benefit from new course offers, held jointly by home and visiting academics. This is especially the case with – but not restricted to – the joint-seminars on topics of particular relevance for Europe. They also involve academics from other disciplines to ensure the contribution of as well as the engagement with other disciplines’ insights, concepts and methodological approaches. As these seminars are taught every year at all locations, each student at all of the 5 universities has the possibility to attend several of these courses during her or his studies – without having to go abroad. Academic personnel benefits from an innovative exchange scheme, which sees them fully embedded in research and teaching activities of their hosting faculties. Each institution sends and receives a maximum of 3 exchange academics per year. Academics not taking part in the exchange scheme equally profit from the SP through the exchange with incoming colleagues from the other ELS institutions and through the planned JDP, which creates an up-to-date “map” of the academic profiles and activities of researchers in the ELS member institutions – to be opened to all EU academia in a second step. Furthermore, academics inside and outside SP’s partner institutions gain from the concepts and training-materials developed for the joint-seminars on topics of overarching importance for Europe, such as the governance and identity of Europe, which are available on the JDP free of charge. All actions are based on a distributed and equally connected approach of responsibilities. For each objective (and derived activities) one institution bears main responsibility, with Berlin in all cases assuming the role of being co-responsible. This ensures strong coherence and equal engagement as well as different perspectives and methodological approaches to be incorporated in the conceptualization and implementation of each action. The SP’s impact and longer terms benefits cover areas within the SP’s partner institutions as well as beyond. Within the SP, it will lead to a significant broadening as well as deepening in the level of cooperation, with tangible results and new opportunities for students and academia alike. It will be a major boast for the Europeanization of these institutions’ legal training in terms of subjects (courses with new topics), people (exchange scheme) and information infrastructure (Joint Digital Platform). At the same time, the SP will serve as a role model of how to “Europeanise” legal study programs in general and in particular of how to a) introduce new topics in legal teaching and b) use digital means for these ends in the most effective manner.

The European Commission’s 2020 Strategy Report highlights three mutually reinforcing priorities for Europe: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. This project is largely compatible with those priorities. To improve New Media Literacy (NML) skills of school students (12-17 years old), this project aims to gather and share knowledge among the participant countries (the Netherlands, Italy, and Turkey) and generate both definitive results and tools that serve teachers in guiding students’ enhancement of their NML skills. The context of the project is that of ‘new media’, which plays a central role in the creation of a participatory culture by giving a voice to the often unheard. On the one hand, this provides increased communication opportunities but on the other hand, it exposes users to the risks and dangers of the dark side of the digital world. Thus, NML represents a critical field as new media forms are becoming increasingly accessible to students. In accordance with the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training, this project aims to cooperate in building best practices by; (1) contributing to lifelong learning and mobility of teachers through LTTs on building the relevant NML skills, (2) improving the quality and efficiency of education and training through the development of NML skills, (3) promoting equity and social cohesion by including teachers of students with special needs and active citizenship by upskilling the NML of teachers and (4) enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship at all levels of education and training through holistic NML training conducted by scholars of Communication and Entrepreneurship. Thus, the main objective, following best practices in Europe, is to enhance NML skills of teachers in order to best mediate knowledge for students. To achieve the objective, the first activity will be a TPM in Turkey. The second (LTT) will take place in Italy and the third (LTT) in the Netherlands. The last LTT will be organized in Turkey. Each partner will be responsible for disseminating the work, explorations, and interactions of the project. At the TPM; partners will introduce their countries and organizations and decide on the interview questions to be applied to teachers in their home countries. The LTT in Italy will include; the presentation of the best NML cases from each country, a discussion on the findings of the interviews and a workshop on the first two pillars of NML (access and analysis). The LTT in the Netherlands will comprise a workshop on the latter two pillars of NML (evaluation and content creation), discussions and a final decision on the integrated online platform applicable to all participating countries. The LTT in Turkey will include the introduction and an interactive trial of the online platform and an NML workshop on the effective communication skills required to transmit NML skills to students. All LTTs will involve a local stakeholder visit and a cultural tour. Partners (scholars, teachers, and representatives from Bornova District National Education Directorate) will participate in all four events. At the TPM, the Turkish partners will participate with their full project teams each foreign partner will participate with one representative. At the LTTs, the directorate will have two participants, Ege University four, University of Florence two, Istituto Enrico Medi three, and the remaining partners will have one representative each. While introducing the online platform at the final LTT, local stakeholders will also be available. At the last LTT, Turkish partners will attend with more participants in order to increase the dissemination since it does not necessitate an extra budget. Finally, all partners are expected to share the project results in their dissemination events with teachers, students, and local stakeholders. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used in the project. The quantitative method involves measuring the level of NML skills of teachers and comparing the results among partner countries, while the qualitative method will be used to understand best practices and what meanings teachers attribute to new media. Trained teachers are expected to convey their knowledge of NML to enhance students’ skills in accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating new media content. Students will learn how to think creatively, develop innovative ideas and even create a digital start-up, designed to fight unemployment. Teachers with NML skills are also expected to begin to use more technology-based contemporary teaching methods. Project results will be transferred onto an online platform, where teachers will be able to access all the necessary materials on a single platform that will function as a long-term sustainable information source.

STEAM thinking is a process which promotes collaboration between the Arts, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Its direct relation, STEM thinking (prioritising Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, only), has typically been understood as a way of delivering the skills required for high-tech, high-value jobs, and so seen as critical to economic prosperity. Increasingly, this position has been expanded to incorporate the benefits that ‘artistic’ practice can provide. In particular, approaches that favour clear application of creativity and imagination, in combination with more typically understood STEM skills such as numeracy and analysis, are considered to be routes to deeper insight and more transformative innovation. Obviously, what constitutes creativity and imagination is a potentially contentious point, but an outlook that focuses on the areas of intersection between the arts and the sciences leads to certain, tangible benefits, including: techniques for collaborating across disciplines; the ability to consider varied perspectives; and the identification of points of common ground between seemingly unrelated areas of thought. The resulting competencies are combinatorial in nature and, in an HE setting, find expression in courses such as design engineering, digital arts and data visualisation.Whilst arguments for supporting STEM are well rehearsed, STEAM, is becoming more and more prevalent in the HE sector. This is not only as a way of ensuring that students acquire the multi- trans- and inter-disciplinary skills required for the future jobs market, but also to increase intellectual curiosity and, through collaborative approaches, to prime them in developing solutions to multi-aspect global challenges. Furthermore, an HE institution with STEAM at its centre, is well positioned to develop new and responsive curricula that move beyond the traditional segregation of faculties and schools found in most European universities.Whilst a number of approaches to multi-, trans- and inter-disciplinary learning currently exist, to date, no comprehensive scheme has been developed to identify the specific effectiveness of HE STEAM approaches. The STEAM INC project seeks to address this, and the rising importance of STEAM in HE, by way of three objectives:1. Identify points of intersection across current European HE STEAM approaches and develop a collaborative definition of HE STEAM2. Produce methodologies for the implementation of STEAM thinking in HE education, policy and engagement3. Create an evaluation framework for measuring the effectiveness of STEAM processes in HEIs and HE partner organisationsThe partnership is made up of six higher educational institutions currently delivering STEAM approaches. They have been selected for their foresight in adopting process which span traditionally separate areas of thought.Birmingham City University (lead partner)Central St Martins College, University of Arts LondonTrinity College - Science Gallery DublinAalto University, Helsinki Amsterdam University Dresden Technical UniversityThe seventh partner is Ars Electronica, which is a unique, world-renowned platform for art, technology and society, hosting an annual festival in September each year, where the work of the project will be showcased, tested and demonstrated. The activities in STEAM INC will centre on five, linked processes: 1) collaborative definition of work packages at transnational partner meetings 2) cross-partner development of STEAM learning resources through working-group leads 3) international training events at which HE staff, students and partners are invited to experience new STEAM methods and approaches 4) pre and post questionnaires identifying increased understanding of STEAM thinking 5) refinement and publication of final STEAM resources. This will result in a STEAM approaches Handbook; guidance for STEAM implementation across HE education, policy and engagement; and a framework for STEAM evaluation.It is envisaged that the impacts of the project will be wide-ranging and sustainable, including:•More confident and effective arguments for including cross-disciplinary collaboration in HE strategies•Clearer positioning on the value of STEAM in HE and so more streamlined routes to implementation•Deeper student competencies in multi-, trans- and inter- disciplinary practices•More stimulating curriculum design•Expansion of methods for assessing student work•Better designed cross-faculty and cross-school projects and proposals•More rewarding external partnershipsThe potential longer-term benefits of the project include an increased awareness of the value of 'artistic' skills and their application; a more agile HE sector (through appreciation of different perspectives and competencies); and an increased ability for Universities to tackle global challenges and generate innovations.

"Uczelnie wyższe w dzisiejszych czasach najczęściej podkreślają w swoich Misjach potrzebę nowoczesnego kształcenia przystosowanego do rynku pracy oraz transferu wiedzy do społeczeństwa. Podejście interdyscyplinarne okazuje się nieocenione nie tylko dla naukowców, ale przede wszystkim dla studentów i absolwentów. Wzmacnia kompetencje przekrojowe, kreatywność i elastyczność, daje wiedzę i słownictwo umożliwiające lepsze zrozumienie innych dyscyplin, zapewnia niezbędne umiejętności komunikacyjne i przygotowuje do pracy zespołowej pożądanej na współczesnym rynku pracy. Europejskie instytucje szkolnictwa wyższego starają się zmienić swoje oblicze zgodnie z wymogami gospodarki opartej na innowacjach, stąd wzmacnianie interdyscyplinarności i rozwijanie nowoczesnych metod kształcenia i pracy jest szansą na zwiększanie ich zdolności innowacyjnych i dydaktycznych oraz lepsze przystosowanie do dynamicznie zmieniających się społeczeństw, gospodarek i rynku pracy.Głównym celem projektu było podniesienie poziomu interdyscyplinarności na uczelniach poprzez zastosowanie podejścia oddolnego, tj. wspieranie studentów, nauczycieli akademickich i kadry zarządzającej w rozwijaniu ich zdolności do myślenia dywergencyjnego, twórczego, projektowego (zgodnie z podejściem design thinking-DT). Wymienione grupy docelowe tworzą ekosystem każdej uczelni i każda z nich jest równie ważnym elementem całości, bez którego prawdziwa zmiana instytucjonalna nie jest możliwa. Pozostałe cele projektu są zgodne z następującymi priorytetami programu Erasmus +:1. Osiągnięcie odpowiednich i wysokiej jakości umiejętności i kompetencji, takich jak: kreatywność, adaptacja do szybko zmieniających się okoliczności, kompetencje międzykulturowe i wielojęzyczne, rozwój pracy zespołowej, elastyczności, umiejętności uczenia się oraz lepsze postrzeganie własnej zdolności rozwiązywania problemów. 2. Wspieranie innowacji i kreatywności poprzez partnerstwa, inter- i transdyscyplinarne podejście oraz wzmacnianie roli szkolnictwa wyższego w regionach. 3. Promowanie umiędzynarodowienia, uznawania i mobilności, wspieranie zmian zgodnie z zasadami procesu bolońskiego. Sam charakter projektu oraz szeroki skład konsorcjum projektowego wzmacnia per se rozwój procesu bolońskiego poprzez promowanie współpracy europejskiej oraz rozwój europejskiego obszar szkolnictwa wyższego.W trakcie realizacji projektu:- stworzono 5 produktów, które dostępne są bezpłatnie dla każdego w Internecie, - zrealizowano 20 wydarzeń upowszechniających (245 odbiorców), - zorganizowano 3 intensywne treningi z zakresu DT (84 uczestników), każdy skierowany do jednej z trzech powyższych grup docelowych,- zorganizowano 5 kilkudniowych spotkań partnerskich w siedzibach Partnerów (w 2020 r. zdalnie) i kilkadziesiąt spotkań online. Wiedza na temat DT upowszechniona w instytucjach partnerskich stała się m. in. przyczynkiem do zmian podejmowanych w programach kształcenia, jak również wprowadzania przez uczestników projektu metod DT w ramach prowadzonych zajęć oraz w codziennej pracy zespołowej. W UMCS na kierunku Socjologia wprowadzony został obowiązkowy przedmiot ""Warsztaty myślenia projektowego"", w ramach którego poznawane jest w praktyce podejście DT, Uniwersytet Bifrost wprowadził kurs z DT bazujący na IO2 oraz IO4, metody DT są również częścią nauczania Teorii Decyzji na Wydziale Biznesu. Na Uniwersytecie w Amsterdamie doświadczenia z projektu DT.Uni pomogły we wdrożeniu DT jako metody na nowych kursach i doprowadziły do ​​opracowania całkowicie nowego interdyscyplinarnego programu studiów na Wydziale Nauk o nazwie ""Ludzie, nauka i technologia"". W TU Dresden zostały wprowadzone regularne warsztaty DT dla studentów w katedrze Industrial Design Engineering, a do programu nauczania wprowadzono e-book IO2 (Wydział Informatyki), usprawniający już istniejące metody projektowania w nauczaniu. Metody DT są stosowane w dziale „Strategii i komunikacji”, stowarzyszeniu badawczym „DRESDEN-concept”, którego członkiem jest TU Dresden, klastrze CeTI, w administracji Wydziału Inżynierii Środowiska. Zespół STEAMhouse w BCU opracowuje nowy program warsztatów DT dla studentów. Pilotaż będzie prowadzony z udziałem grupy studentów różnych dyscyplin na Wydziale Informatyki, Inżynierii i Środowiska w lutym 2021 r. Ambicją BCU jest wprowadzenie tego typu programu na innych wydziałach, m. in.Wydziale Sztuki i Projektowania oraz Biznesu i Zdrowia, a techniki DT zostały użyte w badaniach naukowych i pracach rozwojowych związanych z eXtended BCU - projektem BCU badającym technologię AR/VR w celu stworzenia wirtualnych przestrzeni edukacyjnych. Również UEBA oraz IPG od 2018 r. wdrażają DT na kursach prowadzonych przez uczestników projektu DT.Uni. Projekt zapewnił dobre zrozumienie narzędzi i technik design thinking, doświadczenie w ich stosowaniu, sposób na wzbudzenie entuzjazmu i szkolenia innych oraz, co najważniejsze, pewność wykorzystania tego podejścia, a tym samym zwiększania interdyscyplinarności w przyszłości."