"<< Background >>The online operation of organisations during the global pandemic demonstrated that virtual communication requires more concentrated attention in a radically shorter period of time than before. Business efficiency became a compelling issue in the digital world: information spread faster and communicating online needs to be more convincing power. That is why the BESPOKE project chose the adaptation of the pitch method as a tool for fostering digital business presentation skills to enhance employability in the European labour market.Fostering employability by developing a variety of skills has been an important aim both at the level of the European Union as well as at the level of the Member States for higher and further education. Preparation for being successful in a rapidly changing global economic environment and in the European labour market featured by local and regional specificities is a major challenge. It requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders of European higher education institutions to meet this challenge. Concerning international business education the higher education institutions need to work tirelessly on updating their curricula by incorporating the latest developments in the various economic sectors, with special regard to the advancement of the fourth industrial revolution. The consortium members of this project are specifically cognizant of the EU policies and the governmental policies of their countries on the digitalisation of the economy and the related initiatives for digitalising higher and further education in this context. The consortium members are all representatives of practice-oriented higher education and firm believers in fostering employability by transferring knowledge and developing skills in line with EU and national policies, and with the expectations of the European labour markets. These digitalisation-related policies and expectations were dramatically underscored by the global pandemic. Because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the usage of online communication tools became the “new normal” in higher and further education, resulting that international business education and related skills development needed to move fully to online platforms.Within this context of digitalisation, intra- and inter-institutional discussions among the consortium members took place. Both the higher education institutions and their business partners experienced the challenges related to presentations in the digital world. The discussions confirmed that the desirable direction in international business education is to move beyond the ‘traditional’ pedagogic methods, where meetings are face-to-face and learning is assessed in the ‘classic’ learner-reports-to-instructor way. In accordance with the European quality standards for higher education (ESG 2015), representatives of employers would need to be involved not just in the design and the delivery of the various subjects of international business education, but also in the assessment procedures themselves. Such involvement would strengthen the practice-oriented approach and further ensure fairness of assessment.With regard to these inter-related needs for digitalising international business education and involving employers into assessment procedures, the consortium established for the BESPOKE project focuses on developing English-language business communication, presentation and subject-specific problem-solving skills by adapting the pitch method in a digital environment, in collaboration with employers. The consortium is composed of five higher education institutions from four different EU member states (Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, and Poland), with expertise in digitalisation of international business education, and a not-for-profit association of employers and associate partners including companies active in various areas of international business, to ensure the participation of employers.<< Objectives >>The primary aim of the project is to enhance employability chances of learners by fostering their skills in business presentation, business communication and business problem solving in a virtual and international working environment. Since international business education is interpreted as formal learning activities not just at tertiary (higher education) level, but also in further education, the term ‘learners’ refer to both fulltime students in international business undergraduate (Bachelor) programmes and to employees participating in short training courses related to one or more areas of international business. The primary aim is planned to be achieved by meeting the following, inter-related objectives:a/ The novelty of the BESPOKE project lies in the methodology, which adapts pitch presentations to the subjects of applied international business undergraduate programmes and related short company trainings, delivered via digital platforms. The pitch presentation is originally used for selling an idea in a convincing manner to potential investors. The format of the pitch, the concise presentation followed by a question and answer session, will be adapted and transformed to be an assessment instrument used in international business undergraduate (Bachelor) subjects and in short training courses related to one or more areas of international business. The learner (as mentioned above, either a fulltime student enrolled in an international business undergraduate programme, or an employee participating in a short training) will be expected to demonstrate her relevant competences by delivering a short presentation about the nature and solution of a particular business problem, and answer questions asked by instructors and representatives of employers. The sessions of the undergraduate subjects and the short training, as well as the pitch-type assessment will be conducted in a digital environment (via MS Teams or Zoom).b/ The strengthened and widened involvement of the representatives of employers is a cardinal issue to attain. The respective consortium members and the various associate partners not just participate in each and every stage of the BESPOKE project, but also contribute to the revision of the curricula by defining new challenging issues, commenting on the generic and the subject-specific materials, by actively participating in the pilot of the digital pitch-type presentation assessments in both the selected undergraduate subjects and the company trainings, and by sharing the project results internally within their networks. c/ The project also purports to train faculty members on how to prepare students to deliver pitch-type presentations and to give appropriate responses to the employers’ questions related to the presentation, both in a virtual area. The collaboration among business communication and subject-specific experts internally and also within the consortium ensures efficiency and engagement by faculty members.d/ With regard to employability, the project also aims to create the digital portfolio of students’ professional competences. Video records of students’ digital pitch-type presentation on a business matter and the discussion with potential employers could be a great proof of employability competences, readiness, and capability for providing good performance in the digital economy. The project’s website will support the participating students in interaction with employers by strengthening their applications with making the videos of their digital pitch-type presentations available.<< Implementation >>The core activity of the project is digital advancement of learners’ business communication skills. The term ‘learners’ refer to both fulltime students in international business undergraduate (Bachelor) programmes and to employees participating in short training courses related to one or more challenging areas of international business. This core activity has the following components:1/ The first step is the development of a methodology handbook on adapting the salient features of digital pitch-type presentations to various academic subjects of applied undergraduate business programmes, and to company trainings. The handbook will be construed by faculty members of the universities participating in the project. These faculty members are experts in business communication and presentation skills, and will seek opinion on the draft handbook from the staff of the consortium member, representing employers.2/ When the generic methodology handbook is ready, another group of faculty members of the universities participating in the project will commence to work on the subject-specific elements. Five subjects of the undergraduate international business programme were selected for this part of the project: Entrepreneurship, Finance, Logistics, Marketing and Sustainable Management. This new group of faculty members are experts in these fields and they will be trained as to the methodology on how to design and introduce digital pitch-type presentations into their courses (both the academic subjects and the company trainings) by the first group, the business communication experts, using the handbook.3/ After the training these faculty members will work in multi-country subject-specific groups and develop e-learning materials helping the learners to be familiar with successful delivery of a digital pitch-type presentation. E-learning materials will be prepared for each of the five academic subjects (see their list above), as well as for short company trainings.4/ The next activity is the pilot. Twelve-twelve learners per academic subject (total 60 learners) will participate in the pilot of digital pitch-type presentation from various partner universities. Eight-eight learners per company trainings (one company training per each partner university, total 40 learners) will participate in the pilot of digital pitch-type presentation from various associate partners. During the preparation for the digital pitch-type presentation the learners will have online classes or online training sessions on topics related to the selected subjects, and will have access to the subject-specific e-learning materials. Each one of the 100 learners participating in the pilot will deliver a short and concise presentation via MS Teams or Zoom to a group composed of faculty members and representatives of employers, followed a question and answer session. At the end of the pilot each learner will receive meaningful feedback from the faculty members and representatives of employers. 5/ Using the available features of digital communication platforms, the performances of the learners (both the presentation and the question and answer session) and the feedback they receive at the end of the pilot of digital pitch-type presentation will be recorded. These recorded videos will be edited and uploaded to a password-protected part of the project website. The videos as a ""digital portfolio of professional competence"" will be available for the learners to support their future job applications.6/ At the end of the project the results will be shared internally, as well as during multiplier events in each country organised by a consortium member, and other events by associate partners, local chamber of commerce or national association of higher education institutions.The core activity will be complemented by the necessary project management activities.<< Results >>The results of the BESPOKE project can be summarised in the following numbers, in relationship with the above listed activities:- 10+25 faculty members will develop the methodology handbook (Methodology WG + inputs from WG1-WG5)- 1 methodology handbook developed in 5 languages- 25+5 faculty members trained for online pitch at the transnational training event (WG1-WG5 + Methodology WG)- 5 e-learning materials in 2 versions developed (v1 for the HEI students and v2 for the adults at the company trainings)- 100 learners participating in the pilots (5x12 students + 5x8 employees)- 30 videos published as ‘good practice’ (5 best videos from the different subject areas + 1 video per country from the company trainings)- 1 detailed and informative project website – for the usage of the e-learning materials and the good practice videos as well- 5 multiplier events with 30-40 attendees eachThe other outcomes of the project can be described as a list of benefits. Innovation and efficient communication are critical success factors in the academy and industries, therefore the participants will directly be impacted, whereas other stakeholders of the business life (e.g. local and central governments) will indirectly be benefited by the results of the project. The participating educational institutions will have invaluable gains by being familiar with the new online platform-based communication methods and will learn the new viewpoints and approach of employers regarding their online competitiveness and the respective requirements towards workforces. The new pitch-type method and its literacy will create innovative content in the curriculum systems of university partners and their cooperation will strengthen the mutual recognition of diplomas within the EU Member States.The company training session will strengthen the partnership between higher education institutions and employers, with special regard to developing an executive training portfolio, further to the academic programmes offered by the participating universities. The internal human resources development processes of the representatives of employers will be enriched by the company training sessions.The participating learners will enjoy long-term benefits in their careers through gaining competences via the digital pitch-type presentations and the following discussions with faculty members and representatives of employers. The learners’ mind-sets will be enriched by integrated thinking, by methods to articulate problems and to tackle them regarding the perspective and interests of companies. The participating employers will learn how to revise the “obsolete” negotiations techniques and replace them with ones that are appropriate in virtual area, to improve the competitiveness of their mainstream business and the supporting activities. These associate partners will also realize gains by getting to know potential employees in a business environment where they are deprived of direct signs of personalities and personal impressions."