This proposal seeks to increase and reinforce the cooperation that has been initiated between the University of Economics in Bratislava, Sciences Po and the University of Liège in the field of Environmental Diplomacy and Geopolitics. This field of international relations is gaining increasing importance, as environmental issues have become an increasingly important matter in international politics. The three partner universities have all developed a specific field of expertise in relation to the topic of the proposal: The Faculty of International Relations of the University of Economics in Bratislava (EUBA) has developed a wide expertise in the politics of environmental resources, including its security dimension; Sciences Po has recently launched a new research programme entitled Politics of the Earth, which looks at the new geopolitical challenges brought upon by the Anthropocene; The University of Liège (ULG) has specialised into the human impacts of environmental changes, with a focus on migration and health issues. Thus the areas of expertise of the three partners cover a wide range of subjects related to environmental diplomacy and geopolitics: resources, politics and impacts. The key objective of this proposal is to bring these areas of expertise together to create a comprehensive and consistent cluster of research activities. This cluster will allow for a better understanding of the interactions between environmental politics, natural resources and their influence on human populations. In particular, the partnership will seek to achieve the following objectives: 1. Develop joint research activities, events and projects pertaining to environmental diplomacy and geopolitics. 2. Foster cooperation and exchanges of faculty and students between the three partners, as well as with other international, non-EU partners. 3. Reinforce the research and teaching capacities of the partner universities. 4. Develop a common publication strategy

<< Objectives >>-Supporting silver workers in PSM to master the digital transformation and secure their sustained value within the changing working environment-Providing a (open-source) skill measurement tool to analyse silver workers competences with special regard to digital and I4.0 demands and identifying silver workers individual qualification needs-Developing a flexible qualification program and (open-source) learning modules which can be tailored to each individual to address the respective skill gaps<< Implementation >>Crucial activities to achieve the objectives are:- Establishing design principles for the skill measurement tool and learning materials by collecting data through a literature analysis, expert interviews and a survey to ensure the successful implementation and usability throughout a wide range of PSM practitioners- Developing curricula, learning courses and MOOC in accordance with design principles- Testing and disseminating project’s outcomes (e.g., through case studies, multiplier events)<< Results >>Our expectations about the outcomes are the sustainable application of our skill measurement tool and learning materials beyond the project’s end. Furthermore, our aim is to qualify silver workers for the upcoming digital challenges and thereby decrease ageism and concerns towards new techniques as well as increase their self-confidence using I4.0 items. For industrial partners, we will create synergies between know-how of silver workers and I4.0 techniques to strengthen their competitiveness.

<< Objectives >>The MachineLearnAthon project aims to develop increasingly relevant machine learning (ML) competencies and skills among students from various study programs. To this end, we propose a new teaching concept complementing ML challenges with micro-lectures. Our innovative concept promotes motivation and action-oriented learning through project-based tasks and gamification elements. In addition, the students acquire competencies required for cooperation in interdisciplinary and international teams.<< Implementation >>- DIDACTIC CONCEPT: Develop and improve the didactic concept of MachineLearnArthon.- CHALLENGES: Develop and publish real-world MachineLearnAthon use cases with industry partners.- MATERIAL: Develop and publish additional learning material to make ML challenges accessible to students with no prior ML knowledge.- EVALUATION: Run and evaluate MachineLearnAthons at all partner universities.- WHITE PAPER: Disseminate the concept and the evaluation results through white papers.<< Results >>- More than four MachineLearnAthon cases support the digital transformation and the wide acceptance of machine learning solutions.- Free MachineLearnAthons cases, micro-lectures, and ML tool introduction units are integrated in existing courses or are established as new courses in different programs of our universities.- Digital environment for collaboration and comparison of challenge results (leaderboard) connects students and partner universities and promotes innovative learning.

D-COLLAB project focuses on the digitalization agenda at all stages of higher education with a special focus on Slovakia. The pandemic of COVID-19 has found education systems in many countries largely unprepared for the need to switch to digital teaching and learning. Even though higher education institutions have been probably better prepared for the abrupt shift towards online teaching than secondary or elementary schools, the degree of complexity of teaching at the tertiary level contributes also to the challenging nature of this task. In the middle of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the D-COLLAB project focuses on finding and introducing effective ways of teaching and learning at the tertiary level using digital platforms. The interventions will be introduced at the University of Economics in Bratislava, who is the main beneficiary of the project. The project will focus on training the teaching staff as well as the students at all three levels of higher education to equip them with knowledge and competencies needed for effective teaching and learning in the digital environment. The project will also develop digital competencies of students with special needs, who are in an even more challenging situation due to the shift towards online learning. The corresponding 5 intellectual outcomes will be produced to support the skill development of these target groups. The produced outcomes will be made available through the developed web e-learning platform and they will be made available to interested teachers and learners locally, nationally, and internationally in open access to help them with their learning and teaching challenges in the digital space. During the project, three integrated training modules will be developed for the teaching staff and one training module for students (with a special section focused on students with special needs). The training modules will be implemented twice during the existence of the project, with the involvement of about 80 academics and 150 students, out of them about 40 students having special needs. The project will also focus on the active dissemination of its activities and outcomes through different channels and towards target groups outside of the participating partner institutions. Thus, the project has the good potential not only to contribute to a higher quality of digital instruction at the University of Economics in Bratislava but also at other institutions of secondary and higher learning in Slovakia, and in other partner and European countries. Even though the developed outcomes will focus on the instruction in economics and management programs in the first place, many aspects are relevant and can be carried across to other academic disciplines, or even to lower education levels. From the long term perspective, the project outcomes will facilitate the development and introduction of fully-fledged online degree programs at the University of Economics in Bratislava, but also at other institutions throughout the project partner network. The core outcomes of the project will be sustained over the existence of the project through the continued cooperation among partner institutions and also thanks to the commitment of partners of their own institutional resources.

Considering the challenges posed by the impacts of climate change on the small-island atoll nation, it is paramount that its higher education institutions prepare the climate leaders of tomorrow to reach their fullest potential on the national and international stage. Building the capacities of HEIs in Maldives and other small-island nations and countries of Asia-Pacific is critical to addressing the double injustice of climate change, i.e. its geographic and generational injustices. Regarding the former, the geopolitics of climate change are dominated by the interests and objectives of emitters in the Global North, even though it is the countries of the Global South that are hardest hit by the impacts of climate change. In terms of the latter, it is not the generations responsible for greenhouse gas emissions who will pay the price for global warming but the youth of today and tomorrow. CHILDREN has the ability to at least attempt to rectify these wrongs: its overarching aim is to build the capacity of the Maldives National University (MNU) and the Maldivian society at-large to tackle the pressing issue of climate change in the fields of climate diplomacy, leadership and resilience. In order to achieve this aim, CHILDREN pursues the following specific objectives:Improve and reinforce the teaching capacities of partner institutions in climate studiesFoster interdisciplinary academic cooperation and exchanges to strengthen the research capacities of partner institutionsImplement and develop joint activities, events, publications and projects pertaining to climate change diplomacy, leadership and resilience.In order to achieve these objectives, CHILDREN will partner MNU with the University of Liège, University of Paris, and and University of Economics in Bratislava, all of whom bring institutional expertise in various aspects of climate research, teaching, and international cooperation.