The need for the project was defined by the requirements of the labour market stating lack of professionals in nature recreation sector. Therefore Daugavpils University (DU) together with Siauliai University (SU) have worked out joint international interdisciplinary master degree study programme “Nature Recreation” to be implemented in cooperation with University of Cordoba (Spain). The essence of the project is to provide knowledge about sustainable use of natural systems to give a sense for human recreation in well-known nature. Nowadays it is vital to understand how to employ nature for public health improvement without the damage of nature balance. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen sustainable development of ecosystem services through joint study and training activities in nature recreation field. Specific objectives of the project are:- To advance professional skills of students, environment specialists etc. in compliance with labour market demands;- To develop specific study materials (adapted for Latvia, Lithuania and Spain) for improvement of study process and for the benefit of local, regional, national and international specialists.Main activities:1) four five-days training courses /practical workshops on such topics as nature recreation, rural tourism and ecosystem services, etc.;2) development of interdisciplinary study materials, joint research and manual;3) final conference, which aims to disseminate the results of the project to a wider public on different levels.The results and impact achieved by the implementation of the project Net4Nat include: • Sustainable ecosystem services strengthened through joint study and training activities in nature recreation field.• Multicultural environment for students created ensuring greater understanding to cultural diversity;• Students trained to do ethical and socially responsible choices for independent research to creatively improve accessibility of nature for human recreation;• Created specific methodologies - study materials (adapted for Latvia, Lithuania and Spain and available for use on internet for HEIs in other countries) enabling the diversification of the labour market and youth integration into it, especially in rural areas;• Manual on Nature Recreation developed for the benefit of students, teachers, nature and environment specialists, local/district municipalities etc. and disseminated to interested parties via internet resources and other media.• Increased competence of foreign languages of participants – students, teachers and academic staff of HEIs.• Greater use of interdisciplinary thinking within partner and other HEIs due to the teacher friendly and student-friendly interactive character of the study materials; • 3 nature trails elaborated for DU study and research centre “Ilgas” within joint research activities. This is situated in protected area and is considered to be exclusive territory in terms of nature and biodiversity. The first 3 nature trails elaborated within the project is the starting point for future development of similar actions after the project ends.

The overarching goal of the REVISE project is to reduce the fragmentation of the Latvian history research field, endorse its international prominence, establish new benchmarks in public discourse for interpreting the Latvian history of the 20th century, stimulate new conceptual ideas about the development of Latvian statehood and train new history researchers. To reach this multidirectional goal, the project proposes a broad research and communication program and defines four interrelated objectives: critically rereading the Latvian historiography of the 20th century in line with the perspective of social morphogenesis; reinterpreting Latvia’s master narrative of the 20th century in light of microhistory and mnemohistory; remediating Latvia’s history by focusing on the opportunities provided by digital humanities; rejuvenating the interdisciplinary research of Latvian history by providing opportunities for young and emerging scholars. The project results will include seven peer-reviewed monographs, at least 30 peer-reviewed research articles accepted for publishing, and recommendations on how to enhance history education, improve the use of digital resources in Latvian history research, as well as how to use historical knowledge in reducing the risks of disinformation and strengthening Latvia’s international image. The project also envisages diverse community outreach through expertise sharing, publications for the general public, and a citizen science campaign.

Changing demands on working places, caused by globalized economies, increases the need for multiculturalism and multilingualism. Business relations between Sweden and other Nordic and Baltic countries have a long history and the need for exchange is still increasing. For example, Iceland and Sweden haves strong bilateral relations since many years and many Swedish business companies are operated as franchise companies in Iceland. There is a similar situation in Finland and Latvia, where 800 and 700 Swedish business companies are established respectively. Sweden is the most important trade partner in Estonia as Sweden accounted for 14.1% of the total Estonian trade. This creates a vivid labor market in the need for workforce with adequate language skills for the modern business life in the Nordic-Baltic countries. According to the EU Language guide for European Businesses, companies that have adopted feasible language management strategies for foreign markets are, generally, more successful and achieve greater export sales growth. Therefore ViEDEX has developed, implemented and evaluated an e-learning module in Swedish language for business relations in higher education for partnership members in Nordic and Baltic countries. The e-learning module fills a gap in previous supply of courses offered in these countries and in accordance with The Higher Education Modernisation Agenda 2011 it provides labour force with adequate language skills for the modern business life. The need for Swedish language proficiency has been recognized in companies in the Nordic Baltic region, especially in Finland and ViEDEX aims at contributing to the professionalism in Swedish language use.Within the project future employees, who are able to interact in business with people from Nordic and Baltic countries, has been trained in using Swedish for communication. They have also been taught of the historical framework of Nordic and Baltic contacts and to recognize the similarities in business cultures. This has probably provided a competitive advantage for young people by their Swedish language proficiency, integrated them to a wider labour market, promoted free movement of labour in Northern Europe and thus diminished social marginalization and unemployment of young people. Providing a competitive advantage for enterprises, by increasing the use of Swedish in Nordic operating environment, entails advantage in sales as successful benefit from communication in the customer’s language. Awareness of differences in business cultures promotes business and creates new working places in the long run. Networks between participating teaching staff and enterprises is developed to share good ideas, practices and methods, develop professional skills needed in virtual, transnational cooperation and promote internationalization and linguistic diversity in the Nordic-Baltic parts of Europe. Virtual student exchange is enabled as well as flexible learning and students’ cross-border cooperation in a cost-effective way with special regard to students coming from the Baltic countries with less financial opportunities for travelling. Using modern technology, social media applications and offering the students an opportunity to improve their skills e.g. through the portal for learning Swedish and a learning game, has enabled increasing motivation in the students and also offered an opportunity for non-formal learning. By having Swedish in focus ViEDEX has promoted European linguistic diversity and a greater use of languages and language management strategies by companies in their international trade in regions where Swedish is studied. ViEDEX has developed guidelines for how to deal with communication problems in the Nordic and Baltic markets and supplied knowledge on communicational practices in companies trading with Sweden for the targeted group of participating students. The project has promoted the development of innovative educational practices and work methods and enabled integration of a greater variety of learning modes (virtual, modular and peer learning) into higher education by the transnational implementation. ViEDEX has further enabled learning in multicultural and multidisciplinary groups where students gains new perspectives on the topic studied in teaching conditions that are not available in a single institution. This supports the internationalization of learners with restricted financial means for travelling, brings them into contact with the language studied and fellow students in the same field of study and thus diminishes the inequality of student life. Within this project professional skills is linked to language studies and transnational cooperation between partners increasing language competences among learners from various fields of education, prepares them for working life and promotes free movement of labour and employability of young people.

<< Objectives >>We aim to:_Map faculty needs & competences for i-SCP teaching in HE & align with key tasks/activities in MOOC and process-oriented FD activities within an active CoP_Provide i-SCP FD personalised faculty-centred processes incl. action research, peer-coaching, peer-observations, self-reflections & self-assessment & evaluate their efficacy _Create i-SCP FD content with reflective/interactive activities (E-book, MOOC with micro-credentials) _Create policy & Faculty developer guide<< Implementation >>Activities include:Needs analysis: questionnaires, focus groups, interviewsI-SCP induction FD seminars for faculty a. participating in peer-observation and peer-coaching activities and b. taking up action research within an active CoPCreation of interactive content, resources, prompts for action & reflection for FD (E-book) and MOOC with micro-credentials Using content as an incentive for creating more alliances/networkingEvaluation of FD processes used for FD developers Guide & Policy<< Results >>A key mission of COALITION involves exchanging good i-SCP FD practices and dissemination of knowledge and expertise. The targeted population in this project are academics who will be empowered to make their teaching more inclusive, disseminate their insights to the wider academic community in their university and collaborating universities. They will be benefited from the opportunity to exchange experiences, ideas, views and good practices with other faculty members from other universities

As stated in the 2023 Education Vision document published by the Turkish Ministry of National Education in October, 2018 “We bear witness to the rapid changes in all parts of life in the 21st century” which is driven by science and technology. As a result, robots, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, big data etc. … are no longer the stuff of science fiction movies. In the last 250 years, the world has experienced four Industrial Revolutions which have entirely changed the face of industry. Unfortunately, as pointed out in “The Education 4.0 Revolution” white paper published on https://www.intelitek.com/, education system and pedagogical change have, to a great extent, lagged behind these revolutions. Therefore, we believe that it is high time we brought education into the 21st Century rebuilding educational paradigms alongside the new industrial revolution in order to be able to achieve the desired goals, overcome the shortcomings in the field of education and keep pace with major industrial changes so that we can raise our students accordignly.That is why this project partnership comprising of a local education authority and a university from each of the participating countries including Turkey, Poland, Latvia and Italy has been built up. Within the context of the project, we will cooperate and collaborate on the following topics to be addressed by the project for achieving our common goals, overcoming our common problems, meeting our common needs and expectations as well as improving the quality and efficiency of the education services.TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT-Student Centered Education-Innovative &Interactive Teaching Methods-21st Century Skills-Practical Web Tools-Free Online Learning Platforms-Skills-Based Assessment And Evaluation-eTwinning PlatformWithin the scope of this project, there are 4 main target groups comprising of about 9700 students, teachers, students’ families of the 49 secondary schools affiliated to the participating local education authorities and finally other educational stakeholders in the towns of each project partner as all of them are components and stakeholders of eduction.With this project partnership we aim at:* upgrading our teachers’ professional competences and digital skills by improving their qualifications in various innovative teaching methodology, active learning strategies as well as in using web 2.0 tools and e-learning resources in classes* raising the teachers’ awareness against skills-based assessment and evaluation, 21st century skills and key competences so that they consequently focus more on improving students’ skills during classes* raising awareness of teachers, students and parents against their new roles as stakeholders of teaching and learning process* promoting teachers to adopt a more student centered education approach gaining awareness against the changing roles of the education leaders, teachers and students in the process of education * promoting teachers and students to use eTwinnging platfom and project based learning approach in classes.* promoting teachers to adopt a more innovative, interactive, outcome-oriented, skills and competency-based teaching approach * promoting students to have a more interactive and effective learning perspective* motivating students to learn*equipping students with the required digital skills, 21st century skills and key competences* promoting students to make use of free online learning resources in their learning process* informing students’ parents about active learning techniques, free online learning resources and useful web tools as well as key competences and 21st century skills so that they can support their children better and more consciously* ensuring innovation and transformation in education and bringing the education into the 21st Century throuhg replacing outdated educational practices with more innovative, interactive and student centered educational approaches.To achieve our common objectives, the local education authorities in the partnership will organize and coordinate the project activities and training activities such as meetings, seminars, webinars, workshops, conferences related to the above mentioned topics to be addressed by the project. On the orher hand, the participating universities will provide the local eduction authorities with the necessary academic support related to the topics to be adressed as part of the project. One of the eventual goals and expected results of this project is to bring the education, which has been being practiced more or less similarly for over 100 years, into the 21st century in order to ensure innovation and transformation in education bringing a newer dimension, which is more innovative, more interactive and student centered, to education primarily in the local level.