Technology and transfer of knowledge is a set of activities and processes that lead to the costing of knowledge outcomes of universities and other research organizations on the market. These are mainly results of research and development (R&D); however, the transfer of knowledge includes other outputs of universities that can be commercialized in the form of providing various professional services by selling intellectual outputs to industry. Transfer knowledge is for university very important and each researcher and also students especially Ph.D. students should know about the possibilities of bringing the intellectual outputs to the industry. With this topic, there are coming various problems and tasks which must be effectively solved. The University of Hradec Kralove would like to implement a new subject that will be focused on technology transfer, transfer of knowledge and intellectual property protection. The aim of the project is to focus on technology transfer, intellectual property protection and to support the creation of a business environment based on the results of science and research by individual instruments and to support the establishment of spin-off companies as business entities established for commercialization of intellectual property created at the university. Implementing this project, we will strengthen the institutional cooperation between the University of Hradec Kralove and the University of Granada and Technical University of Košice at the level of education and cooperation in intellectual property. Before setting this project all organizations made a need analysis and based on this analysis the needs of the participating organization is to strengthen the knowledge in transfer technology and it is important to implement new subject which will be covering this field. The Czech University managed to find strong partners with handling with a relevant topic. There will be a significant impact of the project ´s outputs and we can divide the impact on the individuals and also at the institutional level. For participants who will be directly involved in the project, there will be a high impact in their professional career, for students who will participate in the innovative course or in summer school there will be a large impact in their understanding of the subject of transfer technology and they will obtain important information in the field of intellectual property. For the students, the program will immerse the participants into study areas that represent important contemporary topics connected with the technology transfer and the problematic areas connected with intellectual property, in an international and multicultural environment and the project will have an impact also to the anti-corruption strategy in the business intellectuals property. As the project combines theoretical topics with practical applications, students will identify new fields of study, develop their knowledge, competences and will be able to monitor and apply the results of transfer technology analyses and follow-on work on the intellectual outputs to business avoiding corruption aspect. On the institutional level, there will be a large impact on the technology transfer process and there will be the support of setting spin-off. With technological development, information-based society, changing communication styles, as well as an imminent transformation of the job market, the innovative method and the related study methodology represents a viable and efficient tool on how to face all the current societal challenges in the field of bringing an intellectual property to the industry. The project will have an impact on innovation in their study programs by addressing the dimension of intercultural communication and related issues. The primary target group is the education sector staff teachers at university from the participating universities, who will extend their knowledge about the subjects and activities related to the field of transfer technology education, which they can further use in the lessons. The second target groups are the master and Ph.D. students of these universities who will benefit from the results of the project in the way, that the teachers will be able to prepare them better in the field of transfer technology, intellectual property and setting business issue by spin-off companies. The third target group is the management of a university that will use the methodology of setting spin-off in the university environment. The project also aims at the staff of other universities, technology transfer offices in both countries and members of the local transfer technology community, who may be inspired by the project in learning how to work on this education. In a wider context, the project aims not only on the educational staff and students but in the ongoing process of globalization, human capital is undoubtedly gaining in importance as a source of innovation.

<< Background >>The project addresses the key goals defined by the EU (Manifesto for Adult Learning in the 21st Century: The Power and Joy of Learning: https://eaea.org/our-work/influencing-policy/manifesto-for-adult-learning-in-the-21st-century/), the European Higher Education Area and the Bologna Process (https://ehea.info/) and national ministries (Czech Republic: Strategic Plan of the Ministry for Higher Education for the Period from 2021: https://www.msmt.cz/areas-of-work/tertiary-education/strategic-plan-of-the-ministry-for-higher-education-for-the?highlightWords=strategic+plan; Slovakia: https://www.minedu.sk/dlhodoby-zamer-ministerstva-a-jeho-aktualizacie/; Poland: https://efs.mein.gov.pl//wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Zintegrowana-Strategia-Umiej%c4%99tno%c5%9bci-2030-cz%c4%99%c5%9b%c4%87-og%c3%b3lna.pdf) focusing on lifelong and adult learning. An extraordinary role is played here by the process of improvement and modernisation of university teaching whereas the main emphasis is put on competences relevant for life and work in the 21st century. Social sciences and humanities (SSH) are sometimes neglected in this respect, especially in Central Europe, and put in contrast with “exact” sciences. Nevertheless, the obtained data clearly prove that graduates from SSH are necessary for many different employers (cf. Needs Analysis in the annex). These sciences significantly help to develop soft skills such as effective communication, cooperation, creativity, independence, problem solving, planning and organizing work, lifelong learning, active approach, critical thinking etc., which are crucial for active citizenship and democracy as well. However, these needs and skills are not always clearly identified and further cultivated by teachers and students. The current state of higher education (HE) in the involved countries is such that many academics have never completed a continuous pedagogical education and even now they neither go through any systematic process of increasing their pedagogical competences, nor have sufficient printed materials or online sources for their self-education. Moreover, they often remain limited by borders of their own research field and their nation/state regarding the knowledge presented to students. From the didactic and methodological point of view, just a minimum of professional publications deal with tertiary education in SSH in the given countries (cf. Needs Analysis). It is thus obvious that university teachers need to be systematically educated how to use modern didactic methods, how to work with an interdisciplinary approach and how to teach applicable practical skills expected by the global labour market and the changing world. Managers of the teaching process (such as deans, vice-deans, heads of departments, guarantors of study programmes, etc.) must receive a valid insight and acquire the competences necessary to design fully internationalised curricula corresponding to employers´ needs. These are the real gaps that need to be filled by using an effective interdisciplinary and international approach. Therefore, adequate forms of formal and informal education of academics are planned, which will aim at the development of appropriate forms of (self-)reflection, self-development and an overall increase in pedagogical competences required for education focused on life in the 21st century. This perfectly fits into the Erasmus+ KA2 call 2021 priority “Stimulating innovative learning and teaching practices” which will be fulfilled by stimulating quality teaching of SSH at HE institutions (HEIs), reflecting current challenges together with real and exactly proven needs of the global labour market and the complex feedback from graduates and students.<< Objectives >>The project addresses the key objective stated by both the EU and national ministries to improve and modernise tertiary education with regard to the competences relevant for life and practice in the 21st century (cf. Needs Analysis). Three progressive Central European universities (already cooperating and contracted with Erasmus+ agreements):1) Philosophical Faculty of the University of Hradec Králové (UHK, CZ),2) Faculty of Sociology of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (AMU, PL),3) Faculty of Arts of the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (CPU, SK)joined their forces to reach the goal through international cooperation which will provide an efficient means for a detailed analysis of the current state and a design of effective tools for a continuous development of modern and effective teaching of SSH in the HE sphere. Based on the Needs Analysis, it is clear that all three countries and institutions are facing similar challenges and shortages in the internationally and interdisciplinary conceived long-life education of HE teachers. The consortium brought together three institutions with different portfolios offering experience and high expertise in different fields: internationalisation, didactics, education theory, sociology, humanities, etc. (cf. Key Staff in the annex). Such a synergy allows participating institutions to better meet the needs of their employees (academics and supportive staff) as well as those of students, from a broader perspective and with multiple levels of sharing a good practice.The project will aim at the acquisition and deepening of skills for the use of modern didactic methods and principles with a special focus on digitization (involvement of online and blended forms of education), connection with the employers´ sphere, internationalisation of curricula and reaching global skills. The project aims at both interconnecting groups of university teachers and managers of the educational process (deans, vice-deans, heads of departments, etc.). It strives to connect particular skills of the involved institutions (didactics, psychosocial aspects of education, virtual mobilities, SSH and the labour market, minorities´ involvement, etc.), to share their best practice and, based on the work in an international team (and in international subteams), to develop and disseminate this so desperately needed know-how to their institutions, regions and countries, offering it to a wide international audience as well. There is no doubt that the challenge of making SSH better applicable to life and work is a common need, and so is their high impact on the whole society, the society to which they offer otherwise unavailable special skills necessary for modern citizenship and democracy (cf. Needs Analysis). The project not only offers a detailed scholarly insight into several selected topics, but also interconnects research with a smart structure of learning, teaching and training activities or public multiplier events (cf. Work Scheme and Timetable in the annex). All important findings are going to be structured in the final results, made widely accessible for university teachers of SSH through e-learning courses and maintained in the long term.<< Implementation >>The project consortium consists of institutions from the Central European region facing similar challenges and sharing parts of common history. The Central-European area thus makes a perfect delimitation for a project developing the university teaching of SSH. The project will be implemented through systematic international cooperation on results and the use of activities aiming at reaching particular objectives as well as overall goals. The project team will meet regularly on transnational and national levels (see Timetable in the annex). The project results will be presented and shared at Learning, Teaching, Training (LTT) Activities aimed at the staff of the participating institutions and Multiplier Events (round table, workshops, international conference) which will address broad public. The feedback from these events will be used for the final form of the results (cf. Work Scheme). The research activities are planned to be carried out on the basis of cooperation between organizations and with the mutual exchange of appropriate procedures (research methods, etc.) and data. In the frame of the LTT activities, required mobilities will help the elaboration of project results, and in particular they will enable a meeting of employees of the participating institutions in one place for a joint teaching, learning and training. With such cooperation between organizations and on the basis of previous analyses, it will be possible to create a joint handbook (guide) for modern teaching of SSH and jointly work on an e-learning corpus as the main result. A round table will disseminate the idea and the first findings of the project (psychosocial analysis) and especially the question of advantages and disadvantages of SSH. The established communication and meeting schemes, including the workshops and the final international conference, will be important for the creation of the following results - an analyses of the psychosocial and intercultural dimension of tertiary education, a handbook and e-learning. These results will be tested and used as a theoretical basis for LTT activities and public events. All project results are linked, leading from the analyses through the definition of a curricular document/handbook to the application in the form of e-learning and dissemination activities, including the final conference and a collective monograph published in the Open Access mode. The results will be easily available on the project website and sustainably maintained after the project duration.<< Results >>Based on international cooperation, a unique comparative research will be conducted together with sharing of a good practice to design principles of the joint curricular approach which will focus on internationalisation, needs of the global labour market, digitisation, re-evaluation of soft skills, and generally speaking, the use of multiperspectivity as an important challenge for teaching SSH in the 21st century.Multiperspectivity here means, in the sense described by R. Stradling (Multiperspectivity in History Teaching: a Guide for Teachers, 2003), active involvement of more stakeholders in the educational process, focus on competences (not just knowledge) and emphasis on interdisciplinarity and internationalisation of the curriculum.The following project results are expected:(A) international comparison and analysis of contemporary trends and challenges of teaching SSH in the Central European region (conducted from the psychosocial and intercultural perspective),(B) handbook (guide) containing suggested principles and standards for tertiary education of SSH with a special accent on the Central European region based on previous analysis,(C) e-learning methodical materials focusing on transnational, multidisciplinary and multiperspective insights into SSH easily accessible for university teachers of SSH.All results are going to be published in English.Based on the principles of social constructivism, the project will foster mutual formation of common interpretations, methods and values. The key element of HE is seen in internationalisation as a basic principle for the desirable development of personal and professional competences of graduates (cf. Needs Analysis). SSH will thus be presented as an important, indispensable and beneficial component of European tertiary education in the 21st century.A successful implementation of the results mentioned above will accelerate partner universities long-term cooperation e.g. on double / joint degree programmes, co-tutelles, convergence of their study programmes, mutual mobilities, blended intensive programmes, scientific collaboration, etc.Due to the significant synergy achieved by working in the consortium, the significant and long-term deepening of ties in the established partnership is expected.

<< Objectives >>We want to address the evolving situation regarding the management of heritage sites and artefacts, which increasingly demands the use of wider perspectives and transdisciplinary approaches able to combine solid humanistic theoretical grounds with practical fieldwork and lab training by creating a new curriculum that would prepare students for new challenges brought by the changing landscape of the field of heritage management.<< Implementation >>Apart from the work on the project outcomes itself, transnational project meetings (four virtual and five with physical attendance of the TRT members), four workshops, and a professional conference will be implemented.<< Results >>There are two main outcomes expected from this project: 1) Curriculum for a new master`s degree in “Project Manager in Archaeological Heritage”, bringing together knowledge, skills and applied technologies from several academic disciplines. 2) Online platform bringing the lab and fieldwork experiences to the students unable to participate in-vivo. As a follow-up of the project, we expect further cooperation among the partners most likely resulting in an Erasmus Mundus programme.

The COVID pandemic has restricted opportunities for face-to-face learning at higher education institutions (HEIs) not only at home, but also in study abroad exchanges. HEIs are trying to respond by offering their education largely online and in blended formats. While ICT offers many opportunities in education particularly for innovation and quality improvement, the current challenge is not to simply invent new technology applications, but to ensure that academics adapt and utilize techniques and tools in meaningful and effective ways to deliver curricula and content in virtual learning environments that are high quality, engaging, inclusive and safe for all participants. Many academics lack these skills or need improved skills and expertise; in particular, the ‘student agency’ concept [as defined in OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030] may be impacted by the instructor’s unfamiliarity with digital environments and lack of skills. The project will use the knowledge and expertise of the partners to develop the capacities of academics and students in high quality, engaging pedagogical approaches to virtual learning spaces in domestic and internationally diverse curricular settings. Project activities include: a comprehensive evaluation of a virtual and blended international exchange pilot program; a six-week Summer Learning Lab where students will work in multidisciplinary teams, solving real life education development cases; the design, piloting and evaluation of innovative pedagogical practices in digital learning and teaching; and a hybrid Professional Learning Community that builds on a community learning model developed by one of the project partners in their their successful Internationalization of Curriculum transformation. The project also includes the design and implementation of a sophisticated interactive virtual platform that will extend the audience far beyond the borders of the project, and create sustainable interaction. The project is an innovative response by a team, each bringing its own experiences to mitigate the impact of COVID through: (1) collaborating with students as the source of expertise and innovation in all phases of the project (2) enabling institutional cross-fertilization through an exchange of existing expertise not only across partner institutions but also within different institutional units such as International Offices, IT, Further Education Units, Special Education units, etc. and student units such as the Erasmus Student Network into the capacity building process; and (3) collaborating and developing learning ‘on the go’ in an innovative professional development format, the Professional Learning Community. The project team is multidisciplinary and multi-segmental with the aim of boosting cross-fertilization, encouraging ‘out of the box’ thinking, and enabling innovative solutions to learning and teaching issues. The team at each partner institution will target academic instructors, undergraduate and graduate students, university leaders and university units to bring this cross-sectional input into the capacity building process. The expected overall impact of the project is to enable the professional development of HEI stakeholders in quality, engaging pedagogical approaches to virtual learning spaces, and to empower them to install these curricular innovations in their home institutions. The project's dissemination mechanism combines a broad range of in-person and virtual formats together with social media. This diversity is designed to appeal to the wide range of target groups who will have different skill levels and different levels of interest in engaging in digital platforms and social media. The project's resulting interactive virtual platform will provide an opportunity to discuss and exchange best practices and invite stakeholders from outside the partner institutions and extend the project’s impact far beyond the project’s partner institutions. The high-quality outputs developed by experts in digital, inclusive and international education, in attractive formats (webinars, podcasts, videos, and networking discussions etc.) will be freely available. It will provide a place where professionals can “shop” for specific ideas, expertise and inspirations and interact with the community of experts involved in this project. This critical infrastructure will enable dissemination of the project to go beyond the usual static format of workshops and written material. It will ensure that the project outcomes will be sustainable and available beyond COVID, and contribute to new methods and tools in teaching and learning at all HEIs

During recent years, universities in the participant countries of this project, have set internationalisation goals, both to compensate declining populations (especially in Estonia and Hungary) as well as to stay competitive. Together with a wave of migration, which also affects these countries at different intensity, the four participating countries have faced a new demographic situation. Although the number of immigrants, whether foreign students or other, may be not significant, there are debates in the society about the immigration, on one hand, and on the other hand schools and universities have to adapt to a changing student profile. Issues can raise when there are students from different backgrounds in the classroom whose views may be conflicting between each other or with those expressed by the teacher. But even without a diverse classroom, certain topics can be controversial, like pay gap, political conflicts or ethnic issues. So far, universities in this project countries have paid little attention on how to address these issues neutrally without creating unnecessary conflicts, and it has been up to the teacher to find the most suitable method.The objective of this project is to gather the expertise of four countries facing similar challenges, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Estonia, involving experts from the associated partner from Sweden, and to develop guidance material for educators from universities and general education. This material will discuss the nature of issues related to ethnicity, gender, religion or political behaviour and, the most importantly, introduce didactics to teach awareness, develop empathy and respond to controversy, handle offensive comments, create safe environment as a prerequisite for inclusion. These didactical tools will be developed jointly, in English and later adapted to local needs and translated into local languages for reaching a wider audience. The participants of the project are firstly around 30 teachers of the participating institutions. The target of around 300 people will be outreached by multiplier events, organised by every partner at the end of the project and gathering educators, education ministries and relevant NGOs. Meanwhile, at least 800 people during the last year of the project is expected to be affected by the project results due to the use of didactic material and MOOCs developed in the course of the project. As the materials will be publicly available and promoted to social and youth workers, the numbers can be even higher.The main output of the project is a didactic material adapted into an e-course for universities and school teachers. This e-course will be run in local language (except in Hungary) at least once a year. Three MOOCs on Islam, gender issues and radicalisation will be developed for a larger audience and run at least once a year. In addition to that, a methodological toolbox for teachers will be developed and publicly available. In addition to intellectual outputs, the consortium will organise two in-service trainings for teachers on addressing sensitive issues in the classroom, and multiplier events for a larger audience tailored for specific needs in every partner country.In order to reach the objectives, experts from the partner universities as well as the associated partner will contribute with their expertise both to building the content and developing the methodology. Each partner university is responsible for each intellectual output, which will be tested and assessed through trainings. The e-courses and MOOCs launched during the third year of the project will provide valuable feedback meant to improve the materials.At the end of this project, teachers will possess necessary skills and tools for creating meaningful and academically relevant discussions on sensitive issues in well-rounded and inclusive environment. The universities overall will benefit from being able to tackle and respond to challenges that internationalisation may originate. The materials developed during the project can be easily adapted to other contexts where it might be used, i.e. social work, youth work, NGOs, local communities, etc.In a long term benefit, the project consortium believes to contribute to calm, balanced and constructive discussions on sensitive issues in the multicultural modern society.