The project entitled Strategic Platform for Ameliorating Tunisian Higher Education on Food Sciences and Technology (SPAAT4FOOD) is a partnership of 17 heterogeneous organisations, 7 Partners and 10 Associated Partners (4 state UN from of Tunisia, 3 state UN from three European programme countries, 2 EU Associations, 2 TN Associations, 3 regional public bodies and 3 industrial) In this project, the activities will focus on FST field by ameliorating competency; capacity building, relationship between universities and socioeconomic sector; creation of FST virtual laboratory and technologic platform; improving of staff teacher expertise and food higher education quality of students.This consortuim will develop and execute a series of activities that were structured in 8 WPs. In the first phase, there will be meetings to setting up a functional structure and there will be surveys for analysis of universities / food industries relation. Then, the partners will participate in the analysis of the current educational system and methodology, the qualification of higher education teaching staff. The main aim is in developing and modernizing teaching tool methodology for current and future TN higher education.Throughout the project, new tools and methodology will be exchanged. Moreover, the project will implent modern prototype virtual laboratories, professional integration unit and food technology platform devoted to helping all participants to be more successful in their future job and this can promote sustainability of universities/food industries cooperation. The all project activities description and the dissemination of the project's results will be published on the WEB site and via a network of associated partners. Ultimately, all consortium will be active to ensure quality assurance, monitoring and management of the project.

Cultural heritage is recognized as a driver and enabler for sustainable development. Its reuse / adaptive reuse and valorisation plays a crucial role in attracting tourism, increasing employability, advancing the region’s economic potentials, producing urban and regional development, while prolonging the heritage lifespan. However, many heritage sites are not recognized by their governments and lack the tourism awareness and publicity. The unclear strategy for developing and marketing these sites, induce the loss of their unique values. Additionally, the inappropriateness of the facilities and/or services in such sites, produce a repellent effect for visitors. The South-Mediterranean region (3) is characterized by numerous overlooked heritage sites that are poorly publicized for the tourism industry. This drawback reflects in the academic sector that needs to acquire the suitable skills for innovative Management of Cultural Heritage via Tourism Development. The academia requires the inauguration of a blended education that delivers an intermediate shade between Heritage, Planning, Tourism, and Economics. The project aims to delineates the drivers connected to the potentials of cultural heritage in the context of developing a touristic destination, encouraging a socio-economic recovery. From another angle, it also investigates the role of touristic sites in promoting the preservation and revival of heritage assets. The project will implement Intensive Study Programs (ISP) in six universities, promoting peer-learning approaches while allowing the urban development of the case studies in Italy, Spain, Egypt and Tunisia. It will provide a Strategic Partnership between HEIs, in order to address the issues found in Heritage Management education associated with tourism promotion, addressing the insufficient exploitation of heritage assets (tangible & intangible). The project will approach the field of heritage management by tackling 6 main threads: Urban Planning, Socio-Economic Planning, Architecture Directives, Creative Usage, Environmental Efficiency, and Circular Economy. The project has a cross-sectorial approach, as it will involve several sectors during the ISPs, including the academia, business, tourism, heritage authorities, local government, and local citizens. The project will deliver 6 main Intellectual Outputs that will be accessible to students, teachers and professional bodies, active in the field of Cultural Heritage and Tourism. 1) The Intensive Study Programs will provide theoretical and practical development of Cultural Heritage case studies. Developed on different phases, each ISP will be available for students from the four beneficiary universities. ISPs will increase students’ exposure, contributing to internationalization and mobility activities. 2) Case study-based ISPs will provide proposals to develop and actual overlooked local heritage sites with the contribution of experts in the field of Heritage Management and local authorities. 3) The output of each case study-based ISP will be published as “Tourism-led Heritage Development” guiding manuals for each of the selected case study. 4) Detailed factsheets will be developed and publicized about the designated case study heritage site of each University. 5) TOURITAGE micro-lab will be initiated to assist researcher in the survey and mapping of the designated case study, while being an important asset for future researchers. 6) A final international exhibition & forum will take place at the end of the project, to present the findings of the project to the wider public. It will exhibit students’ work across the 6 different heritage sites. The event will encompass the launching the developed guiding manuals for “Tourism-led Heritage Development” for the different investigated case studies, where ideas, views and methods can be exchanged for future development and progress and expansion with other universities, businesses and local authorities. The f

The promotion of Biotechnology adapted to the needs and priority problems of Tunisia will help reduce its dependence on the outside world and promote its autonomy. The emergence of new technologies in the Biotechnology has encouraged the renewal of industrial strategies and the growth of innovative companies creating new jobs. The present project aims at modernizing higher education, strengthening the LMD reform and consolidating the quality of education in Tunisian biotechnology institutes in order to improve the qualifications and qualification of graduates in order to guarantee a better insertion rate in the labor market in various sectors: pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and environmental industries. It aims particularly to make the training courses in the biotechnology paths more professional to match the needs of the world of work and thus optimize the employability, the speed of integration and the entrepreneurship spirit of graduates. This project proposal aligns with higher education reforms in the partner country (Tunisia) which promote university-business cooperation and encourage new learning methods based primarily on entrepreneurship. The project will be enriched by the contributions of the European universities members of the project through the transfer of expertise and good practices for quality training compatible with European standards and meeting the socio-economic needs of Tunisia.

The next production revolution (NPR) is occurring because of a confluence of digital technologies (e.g. 3D printing, the Internet of Things, advanced robotics), new materials (e.g. bio- or nano-based), and new processes (e.g. data-driven production, artificial intelligence). Africa is expected to be “the world’s next great manufacturing centre”, potentially capturing part of the 100 million labor-intensive manufacturing jobs that will leave China by 2030, provided it embarks decisively on a path of industrialization and circumvent the challenges the “New Industrial Revolution” is generating. Tunisia is one of the African countries that has understood early enough that the digital transformation and the next industrial revolution offers exciting opportunities for the country to make its great leap into the future. Tunisia shows an articulate innovation ecosystem that is promising for introducing the NPR in the country. However, benefiting from the NPR requires overcoming a myriad of obstacles. Major reforms and efforts are needed at the level of infrastructure, education, training and scientific research to provide Tunisian industrialists with the human skills capable of appropriating the technologies accompanying this Revolution. In addition, the low connections between universities and industries come out to weak innovation linkages that may stop further innovation in the country, especially in the field of NPR where the relevance of applied research and technology transfer is high. To this end, NePRev aims to develop a closer connection between universities and industries and reinforce the role of Tunisian universities to promote the transition toward the NPR and adapting to the evolving needs of the labour market in Tunisia. A key major outcome of NePRev is to set up a joint research master degree in Next Production Revolution, focusing on the training and education of researchers and experts prepared to help the Tunisian industry to embrace this revolution.

It is undeniable that the world we live in constantly changes (“everything flows” as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus pointed some 2.500 years ago). Nowadays, one of the major vehicles of this principle is the climate change; and it is going to be even more intense in the following years. The primary sector, plant and animal production, depends a lot on the climatic conditions and it is expected to carry most of the weight of this change. Therefore, adjustments are necessary in the way that we perform agriculture; adjustments that will allow the continuation of the production of quality food from animal and plant origin and that will ensure the survival of the human race. In this direction, the wider objective of this project is to create qualified scientists who will contribute to the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture and will be readily absorbed by the labour market.The key actions of this project will be: a) the development, testing and adaptation of new content for courses, learning materials and tools and b) the university-enterprise cooperation. The major outputs of this project will be: a) new updated material in the field of “climate change, crop and animal production” in two languages (French and English), b) the development of the relevant courses, c) the development of modern learning materials (educational and mechanical equipment related to the courses) and d) the development of learning tools (e-learning platform, dynamic web site), that will all contribute to the succession of the wider objective of the project.The impact of this project is expected to be significant since: a) it will provide the HEI’s with the appropriate tools to produce highly trained scientists in the respective field, b) it will strengthen the internationalization of HEI and the capacity to network effectively in research, scientific and technological innovation and c) it possesses a strong dissemination WP, involving all stakeholders.