D-EMU provides highly innovative research on a crucial challenge for democracy in the EU: the legitimacy of governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It focuses on conflicts within everyday democratic practices of domestic policy elites participating in the budgetary exercise of the European Semester – identifying a substantial gap in the literature so far. Developing an innovative interdisciplinary approach and using a mixed methods design analysing four cases (France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy), D-EMU contributes a) to our understanding of the variation of legitimacy conflicts in the EMU and jumpstarts b) a debate about contextualised democracy standards for EU decision-making. The project combines ethnographic and reflexive quantitative methods with conceptual history. D-EMU commits to data sustainability in qualitative research by providing a report on the research process in order to make the qualitative data fully reusable by qualitative scholars. D-EMU is led by Dr Anja Thomas at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Dr Claudia Wiesner, a renowned scholar for conceptual history of the European Union. Two secondments (European University Institute and Centre for Research in Economics and Statistics) complement the Fellowship to allow specific methods and dissemination training. Supervision will be closely coordinated; a detailed work and dissemination plan ensure progress and sustainable impact of the project. The MSCA will expand Dr Anja Thomas’ current work on parliaments and make it a beneficial preparation for a larger grant proposal to allow her to become a leader in her field. Fulda University of Applied Sciences commits to fully support the fellow with administrative and additional financial resources, the researcher will contribute to the PhD training at her host institution. Dr Anja Thomas has substantial experience in research and teaching at leading universities, notably in France and the UK.

United Nations Model Games (MUN) is a worldwide practice of simulations in which participants take on the role of an international delegate in a simulated committee of the United Nations (UN). Against this backdrop, the goal of Practising Transnational Politics in Blended Learning (PATRAPO) is to contribute to the international MUN community by developing open access transnational teaching kits and a handbook for a two-semester series of online blended learning seminars that train students for the participation in MUNs. To do this, PATRAPO builds on a cooperation of three European Universities and a Canadian associate partner university for training for MUNs. For the time being, neither such a transnational structure nor such teaching kits and handbooks exist. The partner universities are Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Autonomous University Madrid, Zagreb University and, as an associate partner, MacEwan University Edmonton. The partners all have previous experience both in MUN model games and in EU projects and can build on previous MUN activities. The advantages of such a joint structure are the mutual support, the possible synergy effects, a widening of the respective horizons to different input and experiences, and last not least a development and implementation of best practice teaching kits as well as a joint grading scheme. Besides it furthers intra-European relations and fosters EU values. Based on their individual experiences, the partners will jointly develop, establish and implement the following elements and aim at the following results, to be carried out in a yearly rhythm:a)a teaching kit for preparative joint blended MUN training seminars (including work in small groups and virtual seminar sessions; 1st semester of each academic year) at all participating institutions, including: teaching curricula, seminar plans, active-learning methodology, material, content, explanation, organization, training video collection (accessible on the project website). We aim to teach 30 students per semester.b)a teaching kit for joint blended MUN (including delegation work in small groups and a virtual MUN; 2nd semester of each academic year), including: procedure, technical solutions, organizational advice, and detailed description of “how-to” (accessible on the project website). We aim to teach 30 students per semester.c)a handbook including a manual (intellectual property of the partners) and user advice for third parties for the two teaching kits. The handbook will be made available open access on the project website.d)a project website to provide information on the project, the ongoing process and the teaching kits as well as the open access handbook with manual.e)four intensive staff trainings for blended MUN seminars for applying these facilities: the project is a learning system including further training for teachers. We plan four staff trainings with two participants from Fulda UAS, two participants from UAM Madrid and one participant from UNIZG at the beginning of each semester. f)intensive study programmes to attend life MUN (if pandemic allows it, if not, in a big virtual MUN). At least 30 students should participate per year. g)until the end of the project, the blended MUN seminars shall be implemented as permanent elective courses in all participating institutions and a joint ECTS grading scheme established.The project aims at permanently establishing the new seminar series and the cooperation of the participating universities and build appropriate infrastructures in order to provide long-term benefits with respect to student competencies and the quality of the participating universities. Partners will establish a joint ECTS grading scheme. All students will obtain ECTS credits according to the institutional demands at each partners’ university and study program for participating in the MUN seminars. The joint blended MUN training seminars at all participating institutions will be maintained after the end of the EU funding as a fixed part of the partners’ study programmes and teaching activities. A project website will be set up by the partners and include a project description of PATRAPO, the ongoing process, results and links to the two teaching kits as well as the handbook including a manual and user advice for third parties for the two teaching kits. The website will be continued and updated after the end of the EU funding by the partners. In order to organise the seminar series, the regular exchanges in online meetings of the partners will also continue. The project PATRAPO will connect not only the faculty members but also students of the participating universities and thus build a basis for further exchange and collaboration.

Context/background of the projectNon communicable diseases (NCDs) take 38 million people’s lives each year worldwide, in Europe NCDs are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) have recognized the importance of nutrition in prevention and treatment of NCDs. Dietitians play an important role in the prevention of NCDs and in patient care of several diseases. For every 1 Euro spent on dietary counselling of patients suffering from obesity or obesity-related diseases, society receives a net of 14 to 63 Euro in return. Health professionals need to be trained to use new technologies as well as to provide innovative means of health care aimed at improving patient care. To improve the quality and relevance of dietetic Bachelor programs in Europe, the Strategic Partnership IMPECD (Improvement of Education and Competences in Dietetics) has been formed in 2015. Dietetics is a relatively young discipline at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Europe and differences in curriculum and thus education still exist. Thus implementation of international research projects, comparability of project results, agreement of the most efficient therapies and cross border mobility for professionals is difficult. Moreover, there is a substantial need for innovative learning materials. Different learning materials for the training of the various Dietetic Care Processes (DCP) are available, but unfortunately none use an innovative learning approach or are free for use. ObjectivesThrough an innovative Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), based on a unified framework DCP, students are trained for dietetic practice based on clinical case studies as well as they train transversal skills like clinical reasoning, problem solving, collaborative and interdisciplinary working. The project will be a role model for Europe and other HEIs will be encouraged to implement the unified framework DCP and the MOOC. IMPECD addresses also the Education and Training 2020 strategy of the EU.Number and profile of participating organisationsThis Strategic Partnership is composed of following five European institutions of higher education (HEI): •Artesis Plantijn University College, Antwerp (Belgium)•Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen (The Netherlands)•University of Applied Sciences, Fulda (Germany)•University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg (Germany) •University of Applied Sciences, St. Pölten (Austria)Important stakeholders like the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) and the National Associations of Dietitians in Austria, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands support the project as experts in the Sustainability and Impact Board (SIB).Description of undertaken main activitiesThe project IMPECD aimed at the IMProvement of Education and Competences in Dietetics by following activities:•creation of a unified framework DCP •production of a MOOC, free for use •creation of nine instead of five complex clinical cases that students are solving in the MOOC by following the DCP (after positive approved amendmentin 2017)•implementation of two Intensive Study Programmes (ISP) to test the MOOC and evaluate the materials•development of a syllabus and implementation guidelines to strengthen the sustained implementation at the partner HEIs and to disseminate the results Results and impact attainedAll activities mentioned in the project application were reached. Based on in-depth analysis a unified framework DCP was created and evaluated by teachers and students as a basis for the development of in total nine clinical cases instead of five. A guideline for developing clinical cases was produced, and the MOOC was embedded in the IMPECD-platform (www.impecd.eu). Furthermore, pedagogical training materials were developed to present the clinical cases in the MOOC. A syllabus was compiled as a guideline to implement the MOOC within the curriculum of other European HEIs. To disseminate the results as a role model for Europe, three implementation guidelines were published as a discussion basis for the stakeholders in form of international journal articles. In total 40 national and international dissemination activities were conducted. These results supported the development of a European unified framework DCP and the discussions about the implementation of a standardized language in the field of dietetics. If relevant, longer-term benefits.•improved quality and relevance of dietetic higher education in Europe•improved key competences including English language, international collaboration, digital competences, knowledge and understanding of dietetics, dietetic care process as well as professional reasoning, building professional relationships and thereby increasing employability•improved Lifelong Learning as basis of excellent dietetic therapy in Europe, which can lead to cost savings in the health care sector.

1. CONTEXTInternships play a key role for young people’s integration into the labour market. They are essential in bridging the skills gap between education and work. However, the great majority of internships do not fulfil their purpose. According to a Eurobarometer study, out of 4,5 million students and graduates doing an internship each year in Europe, 59% are unpaid, 40% work without a contract and 30% have no learning content (Source: Flash Eurobarometer 278, November 2014). This results in an appalling situation where millions of young people face serious problems of social inequality and access to internships, no protection of rights and no acquisition of the skills necessary to get a job. No tools exist yet to identify and guarantee a quality internship. 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT & LONG TERM BENEFITSThe aim of this Erasmus+ project is to develop tools that create transparency on the internship conditions within companies in Europe. The expected long term benefits for students are the following: help students a) avoid bad internships with low learning content and poor skill development and b) find employers that offer quality internships. The high visibility of their internship programs and the reputation at stake will incentivize employers to invest more in quality internships. This will contribute to increase the overall quality of internships in Europe. Thanks to the digital tools we develop, we intend to empower and connect the entities acting as an intermediary between the internship provider and the intern (youth-led NGOs and universities) to provide better services and security for young people. With the intended employer guide for quality internships, we intend to develop a guideline to help employers improve their internships. 3. OUR APPROACH & THE RESULT OF THE PROJECTTo reach our goals we intend to optimize and create digital tools that allow users to generate and publish large amounts of data on the internship condition within companies throughout Europe. This data will help young people assess the quality of the internship BEFORE applying. InternsGoPro developed a prototype rating system and a label to certify employers that offer quality internships. We will develop an open source plugin software enabling us to connect the information produced by the rating system, listing of labelled companies and potentially internship offers to any youth-led jobsites, university intranet or career services in Europe.4. BACKGROUND OF PARTICIPANTSThe consortium consists of 7 partner organisation from 5 countries: UAH (Spain), ESN (Belgium), AIESEC (Netherlands), InternsGoPro (Belgium), PRAXIS represented by ISEP Porto (Portugal), Inter-research (Germany), Fulda University (Germany) and EUF (Luxembourg). The partners all focus on improving the integration of young people into the labour market. At least 3 have a strong focus on quality internships. The competencies of the partners complement each other in the project. 5. THE ACTIONS TO REACH OUR GOALAction 1: Review existing initiatives to promote quality internships and develop a set of criteria to assess the quality of an internship program within a company in Europe. Action 2: Upgrade and update the prototype rating system that InternsGoPro developed based on the results from action 1. Action 3: Develop the technical infrastructure (plugin & API) that connects the InternsGoPro database of ratings and labelled employers with web sites that display internship and job offers. Action 4: Develop an employers guide for quality internships, guiding them on how to implement quality internships. Action 5: Organise a dissemination campaign of the tools to connect more platforms and generate more data from users.Action 6: Carry out capacity building activities to empower youth workers of the connected platform to use all the tools (such as the European certification scheme and statistical software).