The second day (6th July) of the SECOVE Project Management Meeting was successfully held in Porto, Portugal. During the meeting, several aspects were addressed, including the dissemination of results, project management and future planning. Strategies for disseminating and exploiting the project’s results were discussed, such as newsletters, an editorial calendar and a campaign on social networks. Plans for articles and presentations related to the project, as well as a transnational conference on vocational education, were also discussed. Project management was addressed with the submission of internal reports and annual technical and financial reports. Issues related to the preparation of progress reports for the responsible agency were also discussed. The day ended with an extended discussion on planning next steps and tasks, including organizing future project management meetings and international conferences.

The 2nd SECOVE Project Management Meeting yielded productive outcomes, and the participants showcased strong dedication to the project’s success.

To learn more about the project and future outcomes, please click here.

The 2nd SECOVE Project Management Meeting took place at the Engineering School of the Porto Polytechnic (ISEP) in Porto, Portugal. The main stakeholders of the project, including representatives of various institutions and organizations, participated in the meeting, during the 5th and 6th of July 2023.

On the first day (5th July) of the meeting, the establishment, governance and funding of the SECOVE platform was discussed. There was a presentation of the SECOVE roadmap, updates on its implementation and development of the web portal. Strategies to create synergies with other projects and groups were also highlighted. The relevance of vocational education and training (VET) and sustainable development were central to the discussions. Plans were presented for developing challenging modules that encourage an entrepreneurial mindset and relevant skills. Additionally, recommendations were shared to align VET courses with Smart Specialization Strategies (RIS3). Other topics covered included teacher training on sustainable energy, development of common units on sustainable energy using virtual reality (VR) and international certification. The promotion of synergies between VET, the labour market and regional needs, as well as the inclusion of women in technical occupations, were widely discussed. Research findings on inclusive and attractive VET practices were presented, and plans to establish a SECOVE observatory, participatory pilot workshops and awareness campaigns were discussed. The promotion and support for quality and innovation in VET was also addressed, with emphasis on the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in applied research and the creation of Innovation Poles. The meeting was completed with the presentation of the project’s quality assessment, the annual assessment reports and the activities of the Quality Assurance Committee.

The session concluded on a positive note, with participants expressing satisfaction with the progress and continued commitment to collaboration to achieve the objectives of the SECOVE project.

To learn more about the project, please click here.

In a event held at HF Ipanema Park, the ICHT – Inclusive Cultural Heritage Tourism project celebrated the successful culmination of its efforts over the past two years. Hosted by Medidata, the project coordinator, the closing ceremony took place on the 29th of June, marking a significant milestone in the development of inclusive tourism in the North of Portugal.

Drawing upon their collective expertise and collaboration, a consortium of esteemed partners including Medidata, ISEP, and IPV from Portugal, POLIMI from Italy, HEVS from Switzerland, and Trier from Germany worked diligently from 2021 to 2023 to realize the project’s goals. The objective was to leverage previous experience in automatic translation of sign languages to create unique and innovative tools that would enhance inclusive cultural tourism and cater specifically to the needs of the deaf community.

The outcome of the project is set to revolutionize the way cultural heritage is experienced by the deaf in the region. Through the implementation of cutting-edge technology and advancements in automatic sign language translation, the project aims to empower the deaf community, allowing them to fully engage with and appreciate cultural sites and events.

The closing event at HF Ipanema Park served as a platform to showcase the innovative solutions developed during the project’s duration and the results obtained.

With the successful conclusion of the ICHT project, the partners involved have cemented their commitment to advancing accessibility and inclusivity within the tourism industry. Their collaborative efforts have paved the way for a more inclusive future, where cultural heritage can be shared and appreciated by all.

To know more about the project, please click here.

ATHENA held a four-day congress in Rome, Italy, from the 2nd to the 5th of May 2023. The event took place at Cusano University and brought together more than 120 participants including ATHENA rectors, national project coordinators, the president of ESN ATHENA, students’ national representatives, and a group of Athenians arising from ten EU countries. The first day, Tuesday the 2nd of May, was dedicated to promoting industry connections in the area of Rome and the Unicusano network. On May 3rd, a welcome session was held, followed by plenary sessions focused on discussing and reviewing the progress of the various dimensions of ATHENA, including education, research, branding, industry, and infrastructure, among others.

The third day, May 4th, was devoted to parallel workshops focused on the key topics currently being deployed at ATHENA. These sessions took place in the New Building, with several classrooms designated for each WP. Participants were able to take part in discussions with group leaders and other members, exchanging ideas and recommendations. Each workshop generated a task list that will guide the work for the next months until the coming meeting to be held in Siegen after the summer.

The fourth day featured a plenary session with guest speakers and a presentation by the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, an associated partner. Participants also had the opportunity to report on the parallel workshops held the day before.

The event concluded at Trajan’s Market on May 5th, following a tour of the campus and a tour of the markets earlier in the day. Project coordinators expressed satisfaction with the progress made and discussed future perspectives for the project.

ATHENA is a collaborative effort aimed at promoting transnational and inclusive education, research, and innovation, generating new paradigms for the future of the European Higher Education and Research Area. The event in Rome was seen as a successful step towards achieving the project’s objectives, promoting collaboration among its members, and installing the ATHENA European University. The warm welcome and all the care from Italian friends were key to such a successful meeting.

Ci vediamo, Roma!

The project SECOVE establishes a cooperation platform for Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVes) across Europe in the Sustainable Energy Sector.

SECOVE networks are nationally based, with a CoVE in each partner country able to connect and interact at the national and transnational levels. The platform’s primary goal is to promote the uptake of innovative and qualitative lifelong learning opportunities, oriented towards the development of skills, competencies and the achievement of qualifications, including the promotion of mobility opportunities. The project adopts and supports a holistic approach to promote creativity, inclusion and an entrepreneurial mindset together.

This information and regular updates of the project activities and events can be found in the SECOVE newsletter if subscribed, in this website. The latest newsletter can be found attached.

Nos passados dias 30 e 31 de março, o Departamento de Engenharia Informática (DEI) voltou a homenagear os estudantes dos seus cursos. Os prémios procuram reconhecer o esforço, dedicação e mérito acadêmico dos melhores estudantes dos cursos de Licenciatura e Mestrado oferecidos pelo DEI-ISEP durante os anos letivos 2020/21 e 2021/22.

A cerimónia contou com a presença de vários membros do departamento, assim como com membros das organizações e unidades de investigação que patrocinaram estes prémios, incluindo o GILT.

As fotos do evento podem ser acedidas em https://bit.ly/3KzcDP3 (2020/21) e https://bit.ly/3GCmkLp (2021/22).

O Evento Multiplicador Nacional do Projeto Erasmus Biomaps Cartoteca de Autores Europeus, projeto europeu de inovação educativa, localmente coordenado pela Unidade de Investigação GILT, realizou-se no dia 18 de abril na Escola Superior de Educação (ESE) do P.Porto.

Organizado pelas Professoras Marta Saracho-Arníz e M. Fátima Lambert, docentes da ESE e colaboradoras no projeto, o Evento, estruturado e formalizado como ação formativa de curta duração (ACD), de 6 horas, destinada a docentes de Literatura Portuguesa e de Espanhol, contou com a presença do Professor Mario Bedera Bravo, consejero de Educación de la Embajada de España e integrou a brilhante comunicação “Mapas de ficción. Geografías, identidades e imaginarios”, do Professor Xaquín Núñez Sabarís da Universidade do Minho.

Durante a tarde, os participantes tiveram oportunidade de experimentar as ferramentas da ARCGIS, no worshop dinamizado pelo Engenheiro Rui Santos, representante da empresa ESRI.

É de realçar que o projeto Bio-Maps Cartoteca de Autores Europeus que envolveu o cruzamento entre as áreas da geolocalização, da literatura, da história e da língua espanhola, que recebeu recentemente o Prémio AGE de Inovação Educativa.

Hannover Messe 2023 started yesterday, bringing together companies and organizations from around the world to showcase the latest in industrial technology and innovation throughout the week. One of the participants this year is ATHENA European University and the partners of the project, including GILT/IPP, which is taking part to present Virtual Sign, a technology used for automatic bidirectional sign language translation.

This technology has the potential to revolutionize communication for the hearing-impaired and deaf communities, as it can bridge the language gap and enable deaf and non-deaf communities to communicate more effectively. In Hannover Messe, visitors can see Virtual Sign in action.

In addition to the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, the University of Siegen and the University of Orléans were also present in the first day, showcasing their advancements in technology and innovation.

To learn more about ATHENA, please click here.

To learn more about Hannover Messe 2023, please click here.

The 4th ICT-INOV consortium meeting took place on April 3 – 5, 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The meeting was organized by John Von Neumann Institute and counted with 29 participants, representing the project partners.

The meeting was held for partners to “collaborate on all aspects of the project implementation, including the design and development of the digital learning services, the development of educational activities for innovation, piloting in courses, instructor training, development of good practice guidelines, organization of community building events, organization of final project conference, dissemination, project management, and quality assurance”.

This project – ICT-INOV – aims to enrich the potential of ICT higher education in Asia and Europe to harvest the innovation potential of students empowering them to bring ideas into action. To learn more about this meeting, please click here. To learn more about the project activities and developments, visit http://ictinov-project.eu/.

Preceded by an online meeting, the face-to-face kick-off meeting of the Capacity Building Erasmus+ project ICT4 EDU took place in Amman, on the 8th and 9th of March, hosted by the University of Jordan. GILT researchers directly involved in the project participated in the meeting activities.

The main objective of the ICT4EDU project is to improve the quality of ICT competencies of early childhood teachers and educators in the nine higher education institutions placed in Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt, in line with the advanced EU practices, thereby, aiming at increasing the quality of education in preschools in those three countries.

+ info: ICT4EDU Website | Facebook

GILT researchers were the hosts of the 4th Transnational Meeting of the VRNurse4Kids Erasmus+ project, on the 27th and 28th of February. Aiming at developing an e-learning course on Virtual Reality, targeted at pediatric nurses and nursing students, during this meeting, the partners focused on the requirements for implementing the course, and on strategies to improve the content and respective interactive activities.

The meeting closed with an enlighting visit to the Center for Rehabilitation Research, located in the Health Sciences School of the Polytechnic of Porto.

The University of Orléans (France) hosted the BlendEd Course Kick-Off week, which took place from the 13th to the 17th of February.

This year’s BlendEd edition gathers 52 students organized into 5 teams. Each team must devise a solution for the problem posted by a specific company.

During this week, the students got to know their project challenge and their teammates, had the opportunity to get familiar with Design Thinking and SCRUM frameworks in a “SCRUM Thinking” workshop, and engaged in Teambuilding and Intercultural activities.

For the next few months, students, companies, and teachers will be working at a distance on the proposed solutions. The final results will be presented “live” in Heraklion at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (Greece) by the end of June.

+ info