<< Objectives >>The objectives of this project are to reduce the unknown about the application of automatic technologies in the livestock farms and increase the green skills and solutions for the reduction of environmental impact and save the ecosystems with a positive effect on the environment. In addition, the introduction of automatic technologies and digitalization of livestock farms we can increase the use of digital tools and elearning methods and introduce new key figures in farms by young learners.<< Implementation >>We are creating a new VET course focused on the emerging new digital and automatic technologies needs by the livestock market, interaction between VET education and farmers for the introduction of new facilitation for the work and animal welfare, a web-platform focused to digital and green skills increasingly the transformation of the new job carries on digital an automatic technologies tailored to the labor market for a quick new occupations that are emerging, sharing project results.<< Results >>With this initiative we will cement the cooperation and networking of participating organisations, sharing project results with stakeholders and entrepreneurs involved in the livestock farming, contributing the development of a VET course that increase performances of farm management and work activities for the benefit of farm families for a better quality of life, increase the animal welfare, generating new occupation for the introduction and maintenance of new tools and analysis of the data.

<< Objectives >>The aim of the project is to create innovative multilingual content and study materials of theoretical and practical exercises focused on gastronomy and food, with the added goal of integrating Ukrainian speaking students into the educational process at individual universities by creating teaching materials and video instructional videos in the Ukrainian language to simplify their education.<< Implementation >>As part of the project activities, study materials will be prepared in two areas, namely food and gastronomy. The preparation of high-quality online materials supplemented by practical video instructional videos in various language versions will help the rapid adaptation of Ukrainian students as well as a better preparation process at the individual partnership institutions.<< Results >>The result of individual activities will be a comprehensive, e-learning, multilingual study material in the field of gastronomy and food. With the free accessibility of this material, we will ensure the attractiveness of studies at partner institutions and improve the quality of student training. The result will also be a faster adaptation of Ukrainian-speaking students, an increased number of which we expect at all partner institutions in connection with the ongoing military conflict.

<< Background >>Europe is facing an aging population. Life expectancy is at its highest and many European populations are experiencing major demographic changes and transition towards a much older population structure. Despite living longer many people suffer ill-health or disability in the last 15-20 years of life which not only affects the quality of life of individuals and theirfamilies but also puts pressure on public health and care services, consequentially leading to the substantial social and economic impact on the society. With such a disbalance betweenthe quantitative and qualitative characteristics of human life, it is crucial for the population to move to the stage of active and healthy aging (AHA) and it is important to promote a healthylifestyle and increase literacy in maintaining active longevity. Ad4Health project enables Food science experts and graduates with knowledge and expertise to design functional food and thus contributes to tackling society with the challenge and need to prolong the active and healthy life of the elderly people and provide a high quality of life to them.<< Objectives >>To address the challenge, ADtrain4Health initiates a partnership of 4 internationally renowned universities with strong expertise in Food Science & Biotechnologies forteaching “Advanced Training for Future Food and Nutrition Challenges for an Ageing Healthier Population” (Ad4Health) to enable the graduates to contribute to providing AHA by elaboratingfunctional diets and nutrition.The universities involved in ADtrain4Health are:- University Bourgogne Franche-Comté (UBFC, France)- ITMO University, Russia- Slovenska Polnohospodarska Univerzita v Nitre (SUA, Slovakia)- Universidade Catalica Portuguesa (UCP, Portugal).The consortium is strengthened by five associated industrial partners from France, Russia and Portugal.<< Implementation >>ADtrain4Health unites the advanced research and teaching expertise of the partners for developing open educational resources (OER) with digital interactive eLabs. The OERs willhave a modular structure on the basis of which the biomedical aspects of active and healthy longevity will be highlighted and include theoretical and methodological material forpractical work.In compliance with Digital Competence Framework for Educators, ADtrain4Health empowers learners with digital competences through instruments and tools for educating. Consultingwith the stakeholders, the consortium will select learning methods and criteria, digital instruments and tools, research methodologies, and required knowledge, skills and competences, filling gap between research, education and the society.The innovative teaching modules will be validated through the test-run in the format of the International Camp hold by the partners, resulting in first-hand experience andfeedback data. To respond the challenge resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the developed course will be transformed into online format, completed by eLabs and supported byguidelines and recommendations for educators and will be placed on the open educational platform to safeguarding the inclusive nature of digital learning opportunities. The eLabs willbring to learners various tools for learning, additional web resources, video lectures, animated demonstrations and self-evaluation, to conduct experiments by arousing their curiosityand learn basic and advanced concepts through remote experimentation. Various participants beyond the project can enroll on the online version of the course with eLabs acrossEurope including all types of learners, educators, industry workers.ADtrain4Health will draw together real-world experience with academic knowledge to provide educators with the capability and tools to design and deliver innovative cross-disciplinaryonline course with digital eLabs in Food Science, Nutrition, Biotechnologies, Marketing, Chemistry, and Biology, thus contributing to the quality and relevance of the EU education.Regular consultations with industrial partners will guide the consortium to develop and promote teaching materials and methods to prepare graduates for the Food industry and otheremployers in Europe and around the world able to deliver the best solutions, through food and nutrition, for an aging population with more longevity and health, thus contributing tomaking European economies more research-driven, knowledge-based, and competitive.<< Results >>The outcomes of the project are- four (4) new teaching e-modules will be developed and approbated by partner universities within the curricula of the existing Master's Programs.- development of educational practices to improve knowledge and skills with an inclusive approach in the field of Food Science- possibility for students to participate in high-quality study programs of international dimension, improving their language skills and increasing their intercultural awareness as well as their chances of employability- transfer of knowledge and expertise by providing training to researchers and academics from the partner institutions- a better-trained workforce in personalized nutrition providing the countries with the human resources to solve the acute and burning problems in nutrition for AHA.

<< Background >>The project BioFoodVirLabs is aimed at supporting digital capabilities by development and promoting of new forms of remote and distance learning focused on higher education in the field of biology, biotechnology and food science based on mutual cooperation of participating universities: Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (SUA), Mendel University in Brno (MU) in Czech Republic, the University of Debrecen (UD) in Hungary and Pedagogical University of Krakow (UP) in Poland. Addressing the digital transformation through the development of digital preparedness, resilience and capacity is essential given the priorities set in the context of the ongoing digital transformation of the economy and society under the influence of innovative technologies and the global megatrends of the digital age. The digital transformation brings primarily a societal and not just a technological challenge that affects all citizens in Europe. The aim of the project is to develop and use digital technologies, practices, new methods and approaches to learning and teaching through virtual laboratories to improve higher education and optimize their contribution to the economic, social and environmental growth of countries with an emphasis on sustainable development. That is why the strategic goal of the state is to approach the topic of digitization of the higher education conceptually and to apply the supra-ministerial principle in order to significantly advance the digital transformation in Europe by new learning and teaching methods and approaches. The project builds on the experiences obtained during the outbreak COVID-19 pandemic. The massive transformation from face-to-face forms to completely online and distance learning forms was observed, however digital readiness, resilience and capacity have not been on such level allowing seamless transition. Although initial responses of higher education institutions were in change of their traditional curriculums to fit an online environment, the transitioning contents to an online learning environment is not enough. Innovative virtual forms in higher education became of high interest and importance. Along with transformation of theoretical lectures, where the transition towards online was less problematic, especially courses based on practical experimental work or on learning the technological processes were endangered due to pandemic restrictions and state of readiness to transformation of face-to form towards online and distance learning. However, one year experiences helped to transform many courses, practical education presents still the challenge for innovation in learning and teaching. The stimulation of the innovations is involved in the aims of the project. We propose the approach based on the conceptualization of virtual labs in three scientific areas and preparation of the background for creation these virtual labs. The horizontal priority addressing digital transformation through development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity is involved in the project as a whole. In the initial steps, identification of the teaching materials of different forms and their collection by all participating partners will be made. Creation of digital materials, their collection and exchange/mediation among the partners within the join virtual platform present the development of digital readiness for demand of such teaching materials. The digital platform will provide continuity in access to teachers and students deals with a digital resilience and capacity. Both teachers/students and educational institutions face numerous difficulties associated to access to technology, quality of online learning, and available infrastructure. The project takes into account the legitimate issues and goes beyond short-term solutions towards potential solutions in virtual labs preparation to minimize these problems faced by higher education.<< Objectives >>Common practice in the tertiary education is nowadays significantly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new approaches present an opportunity window in educational process. Especially those connected with remote and distance learning, since the various restrictions affected teaching and learning process in courses and practical training, as well as in international mobilities. Innovations in tertiary education are shifted mostly towards searching for the novel use of digital and information-communication technologies to cover the gaps that appeared. Transformation of education meets barriers in practical vocational courses/trainings. In this context a significant improvement over the classical teaching approaches in agricultural and life science education can be found in developments in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies. Virtual labs, as a kind of virtual reality, present an interesting form of modern digital technologies. Those advantages are breaking down the barriers of time and distance while maintaining a research-based learning approach. Promotion of remote laboratories makes available biological, biotechnological and technological processes and enhances experiment based on learning in higher education in digital way. The main objective of the project BioFoodVirLabs is fostering in higher education by development and promoting of new forms of remote and distance learning, new learning and teaching methods and approaches focused on vocational higher education in the field of biology, biotechnology and food sciences. The following 4 sub-objectives of the project are needed to meet the priority objective: (1) a survey and comparison learning and teaching methods and approaches, using information and communication technologies in the teaching process at the partner universities; (2) suggestion of innovative on-line forms of education, learning and teaching methods and approaches; (3) creation of digital materials, their collection and exchange/mediation among the partners within the virtual platform; (4) concept of common practical training and laboratory courses using modern digital technologies by virtual labs.The opportunity to learn from the transformation of education is a need that was brought by pandemic. The result is in reflection in development and use of novel approaches, reactions and discovering of best practices in tertiary education process. The project outcomes (virtual labs proposed) have to deal with the following challenges and needs to be fulfilled with the project solving: (1) reflection on current situation in the field of vocational education; (2) a need of safe environment to build up experience in vocational studies; (3) minimization of time and geographical limitations to make it accessible for a wide audience; (4) environment to build up soft skills for new generation; (5) inclusiveness – involvement of disabled students and their specific requirements.<< Implementation >>The design of the concept of virtual labs of the presented project will ensure key interdisciplinarity and summarization of theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of biology, biotechnology and food sciences, which will be distributed by modern technology to other educational areas, which fundamentally innovates the current educational environment. Emphasis will be placed on achieving an international quality educational-practical process with an essential link to research and innovation. The aim of establishing virtual labs at the university environment is to support the professional and personal progress of the graduate, the development of key theoretical and practical competencies of the graduate, the development of critical thinking or progressive stimulation of research and innovation at university conditions. A significant added value is the quality preparation of the graduate for a future career with the assumption of easier application and higher competitiveness on the European and global market. The design of the concept of educational, practical and innovative activities, which will be an integral part of the virtual labs, will be created thanks to the cooperative activity of the universities of Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The acquired theoretical knowledge and scientific experiences of the institutions involved will be shared, assuming that the ideas and experiences of renowned foreign experts in the field of education and research will ensure the emergence of a quality international platform virtual labs. The concept itself will consist of internationally recognized study materials, methodological procedures, proven laboratory tasks, practical demonstrations, demonstration videos or interactive presentations, which will provide graduates with specific competencies, including the ability to design experiments, formulate goals and hypotheses or the ability to correct statistical evaluation and draw exact conclusions. An integral part is the development of creative thinking, the development of self-solving skills and especially foreign networking in the field of food science, biotechnology and biology. We are convinced that the concept of virtual labs will significantly increase the interest of future domestic or foreign graduates about the educational and practical process at partner universities.<< Results >>Expected results are summarised as follows: (1) Concept of 3 virtual labs – Biology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences, (2) Libraries of virtual labs: library resources, scientific methodologies, multimedia materials, inquiry-based learning activities, interactive objects, video and audio tutorials, virtual experiments, interactive learning activities, (3) Evaluation of outputs – the result of testing of collected materials will deal with: Promoting of joint research and educational activities within the international framework as a priority area with the use of the modern on-line education methods, Exchange of knowledge, experiences, good practice in the research process, Learning new approaches – personal communication, consulting with experts, Questionnaires on materials and their usability (interactive presentation software), Joint scientific publications - preparation of publications, Possible kick-off for preparation of joint projects in future. The project results will be in accordance with the main and partial aims focused on promoting the connection of theoretical knowledge and practice by applying innovative methodological procedures. The project enhances the internationalization of common teaching materials with innovative remote and distance technologies and materials which promote the international scientific knowledge and knowledge of involved institutions. This concept will include a summary of key areas in biology, biotechnology and food science for the successful and quality security of education and the creation of an educational environment in higher education.

"<< Background >>The development of scientific research and the transfer of its scientific knowledge to the educational process is the main strategic goal of all partners involved in the project. Internationalisation is considered an integral part of universities' development strategy, so opportunities are being sought to develop multilateral activities. Cooperation with foreign universities and access to scientific experience has been and will be a great stimulus in the future for improving the quality of education and research at the national and transnational levels. One of the main priorities of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra is to create and strengthen transnational cooperation with major European and global research and educational institutions to strengthen the internationalisation and modernisation of higher education not only at the local but also at the global level. Within the call ""European Universities"", SPU is the coordinator of the university alliance INVEST, which proves the exceptional position of the university on an international scale. Within the consortium, an exchange of knowledge is carried out to analyse the effectiveness of the use of best practices in higher education and the innovation of existing online education methodologies with the direct involvement of the most modern digital tools. The presented project is an application and extension of the excellent position of SUA in education in the field of sustainable management of animal genetic and food resources. The project's added value is the incorporation of the national priority of the program in the field of inclusion of participants with a lack of opportunities. The University of Siedlce is the first higher education institution in Poland which expand study for participants with a lack of opportunities by adapting study programs and educational methodologies to improve inclusion. Another part of the consortium is the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. The CULS's long-term internationalisation strategy is to establish partnerships with relevant international organisations that initiate debates on food security, agricultural innovation and climate change. Establishing and maintaining cooperation with such organisations strengthens the position of the CULS, increases its prestige in the international field and opens up new opportunities for the university and its staff. Mendel University in Brno is very active in internationalisation and cooperates with more than a hundred partner institutions worldwide. In addition to these traditional programs, MENDELU also offers programs focused on regional development. Digitisation is recognised as one of the main management problems in recent years and is the key issue for internationalisation. Digitisation of education is an important form that enables full participation in international programs. The need to create a partnership arises from the annual evaluation of educational activities, which is carried out annually at partner universities. Part of the annual evaluation is also the evaluation of the quality of educational activities, which is carried out in the form of questionnaires for students and the form of self-evaluation of academic staff. This assessment is the basis for the needs analysis. The needs analysis shows that most students are interested in completing part of their studies or internships in an international environment. In more than 95% of cases, students mention the Erasmus plus program as the most suitable alternative for securing their stay at a partner university or company abroad. The analysis also revealed a requirement for open access to the digital content of study materials for the offered subjects. The self-assessment of academic staff revealed the need to increase competencies in the area of innovation of the pedagogical process, response to current knowledge, methodological development, active international cooperation and acceptance abroad.<< Objectives >>Ensuring the nutrition of the population is the main task of agriculture and animal production. The livestock sector is currently suffering from a shortage of skilled labour. This is due to the low interest in studying and especially the insufficient competencies in the changing and increasingly diversified conditions of the production environment. The advantage of the cooperation of partners in the preparation of experts for production practice is the possibility to acquire skills and competencies related to differences in production systems. The main goal of the project is to introduce digital modules at all levels of education to enable international cooperation in teaching focused on sustainable management of animal genetic and food resources at universities that prepare graduates for the production of food resources of animal origin. These activities will be of a multiplier nature, as international cooperation in education will contribute to the intensification of cooperation in the field of science and research as well as the education of academics and professionals in practice. The aim of the project is 1) Acquisition of competencies and development of digital skills in the creation of educational modules 2) Increasing the prestige of partners through the transfer of knowledge of teachers and learners 3) Promoting equal opportunities and access, the inclusion of participants with a lack of opportunities so that they are accessible to all In order to achieve the desired state, it is necessary to solve international projects and develop activities that will contribute to increasing the interest of students at all levels of study, the quality of education and the attractiveness of study. The intensification of academic exchange will be reflected in the resumption of the activities of joint program boards and commissions for all levels of study, as well as habilitation and inauguration events. Through involvement in the project, students will gain knowledge, practical skills and competencies that can be used in their future careers. Teachers of partner universities will increase their competencies in the methodological and professional field as well as digital competencies.<< Implementation >>Project activities will be divided into the following horizontal activities: HA1) Harmonisation and innovation of curricula. Harmonisation and innovation of the content of courses for the 1st university degree; Harmonisation and innovation of content of courses for II. University degree; Harmonisation and innovation of content of courses for III. university degree; Within this horizontal activity, emphasis will be placed on unifying the didactic procedures of the theoretical and practical part of the courses offered, with emphasis on providing current knowledge based on the requirements of production practice, including innovation in the context of precision farming and social requirements: (a) the relevance of the link to EU legislation; (b) the relevance of the link to the environment and climate change in the context of the long-term sustainability objectives (UN SDG); (c) the timeliness of the link to technical and technological innovation towards practice; (d) the timeliness of the link to computerisation and digitisation in the context of precision farming; HA2) Creation of interactive educational materials. Innovation and elaboration of interactive electronic teaching materials for the 1st university degree; Innovation and development of interactive electronic teaching materials for II. University degree; Innovation and development of interactive electronic teaching materials for III. University degree; Introduction of lectures and interactive courses for students; Compilation of a methodological curriculum for the education of students with fewer opportunities; Within this horizontal activity, emphasis will be placed on the technical, organisational and content side of courses for all higher education levels, with emphasis on the implementation of: (a) up-to-date information and the latest research results; (b) up-to-date information in the context of the existing structure of study programs; (c) the current content of lectures and seminars in relation to the latest trends; The common goal of activities HA1 and HA2 will be the preparation of a common digital module of electronic materials for teaching students at all university levels, accessible to students of partner universities. HA3) Improving the quality of university teacher education. Joint didactic seminars for academic staff of partner universities in the field of digital education; Joint didactic seminars in the field of problem-oriented teaching of hard / soft skills in education. Within this horizontal activity, emphasis will be placed on the professional and methodological readiness of academic staff for teaching in a virtual environment: (a) innovation in self-monitoring and self-assessment; (b) effective guidance of learners; (c) open access for students with fewer opportunities. Project activities were planned so that it was possible to meet the project objectives. The content of individual activities includes a specific division of work, tasks leading to the creation of the result and the methodology used.<< Results >>The first type of outputs will be the development of comprehensive modules for the education of students with a high share of innovation, interaction and digitisation. The training modules will be designed to take into account the inclusion of participants with a lack of opportunities: 1) Creation of an electronic module of study materials for students focusing on animal genetics; 2) Creation of an electronic module of study materials for students focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources; 3) Creation of an electronic module of study materials for students focusing on animal breeding; 4) Creation of an electronic module of study materials for students focusing on precise animal husbandry. The second type will be outputs aimed at increasing the competencies of academic staff: 1) Didactic seminar for academics in digital education; 2) Teacher training in problem-oriented teaching; 3) Training of teachers in the field of inclusion of participants with a lack of opportunities. Outputs of the first and second types will be finalised in the form of a multiplier event aimed at participants outside the partnership. The multiplication event will take the form of a professional conference with international participation entitled: The use of digitisation in the innovation of the content and structure of study programs and the inclusion of students in the management of animal genetic and food resources. All project outputs will be publicly available on the created project website in digital form. The partnership will also include the renewal of joint pedagogical, scientific events of partner universities and professional seminars with a link to practice. As part of the project dissemination, we will use the E + Project Results Platform created by the EC for the E + program. We will use the platform as a useful tool for free access to all project outputs and results. When expanding knowledge and contacts in the field of education, we will focus on the use of the ePALE platform used to support and strengthen professions in the field of adult education. We will use the platform to promote planned multiplication events and project meetings through blog posts, discussion forums and a calendar of professional events."