The project aims to modernise HE content for promotion of development of such national agro-food production systems, where farm-enterprises will apply internationally recognised good agricultural practices and sustainable agro-business management principles and approaches, thus increasing agro-food production industry effectiveness and competitiveness. Overall aim: To modernise agro-industry related higher education thus promoting implementation and effective management of sustainable agro-food production systems in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.Work packages:WP1 Detailed needs analysis and inventory of relevant curricula in 4 involved CA HEIs WP3 Increase of CA HEIs teaching and technical capacity WP4 Development of studies and the project quality assurance and measurement tools WP5 Implementation of the modernised study courses WP6 Publicity, dissemination and exploitation WP7 Management and coordination Main outcomes and outputs:WP1. The joint report – overview on conclusions and recommendations. 2 national workshops with participation of academic-business-public stakeholders organised, 60 participants participated.WP2. 6 study programmes modernised. WP3. 5 study visits held, at least 24 CA universities teachers participated, training of teachers provided, at least 48 teachers' professional competencies increased. 70 devices for laboratories, 4 sets of study literature (120 books) acquired. WP4. Modernised study programmes' quality assurance methodology. Sustainability plan. WP5. Pilot studies provided for 6 groups, at least 220 students participated. WP6. 2 national and 1 international event with participation of academic-business-public stakeholders organised, at least 120 participants participated. 12 TV and radio broadcasts, 32 publications, 1 website. Impact: Agro-food industry ensured with professionals having capacities to maintain internationally recognised sustainable agro-food management production systems.

"ProdLog addresses the issue of a weak industrial sector in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russian Federation and focuses on enabling universities to gain and provide a profound and holistic knowledge on planning and operating sustainable production processes. For that purpose a bologna-based master curriculum with 18 modules in resource efficient production logistics will be developed and implemented in six universities of the partner countries. The academic staff will be trained with innovative teaching methods in the learning factory ""Technology centre for production and logistics systems PULS"" and equipped with state of the art logistics laboratories. By means of that, the understanding of logistics shall be widened - away from transport logistics to a systemic and interdisciplinary approach of applicant-oriented education, challenges with economical, political and social problems of our society."

In Kyrgyzstan, low budget of research led to massive outflow of highly qualified scientists & lowering their prestige.The quality & potential of scientific research expertise has declined leading to the mismatch of the existing scientific & innovation potential and production needs in the use of promising technologies, to the rupture of links between science & industry.The project is aimed at the strengthening research and innovation capacities in Kyrgyzstan through promotion of PhD degrees.The project consortium includeds 4 EU Universities with big expertise in research methodology and running PhD studies and 7 Kyrgyzstani Universities. The KG partner universities are the core of the active working network established during cooperation started in the project piloted by the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education & Science to introduce first PhD programs.To achieve the aim, the project consortium will conduct the following activities: 1. Modernisation of existing PhD studies and development of new innovative PhD program compliant with EU standards on specialties that are priority for the socioeconomic development of the country and meet society's needs.2. In order to enhance research competences of academic staff and to build innovative research expertise in Kyrgyzstan, the EU partners will provide comprehensive training trainers sessions PhD supervisors and teaching staff on needed topics covering Renewable Energy Technology, Agroeconomics, Public Health, Food Technology & Safety and others.3. Improvement of administration of PhD programs by training administrators of local PhD programs,4. Promotion of PhD culture amongst academic & non-academic stakeholders and wider society in Kyrgyzstan.

The Green Deal of the European Union stems from the realization that climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to Europe and the world. Climate change hits the water sector of Central Asia particularly hard: per capita water availability may reach water scarcity levels of less than 1,000 m³ per person by 2040. A better managed water sector could play a crucial role in the sustainable and green recovery of the region. It could provide a solid basis for economic growth, prosperity and the reduction of social, economic and environmental inequalities. Building human capacity is the first, indispensable step towards achieving economic and environmental sustainability of the water sector. A comprehensive review of water-related academic and research capacity in Central Asia, prepared in 2019 by the World Bank with support by the European Union underlined the need for increasing the quality of curricula content, faculty members, research, innovation and international cooperation. In the framework of the project 5 HEIs from the EU and 11 from Central Asia will cooperate to increase the relevance, quality and responsiveness of MA/MSc curricula on water governance and water diplomacy offered by the latter. Teaching staff of Central Asian universities will receive training in the new curricula. The new programmes, inspired by European best practices and adapted to regional conditions and requirements will help train a new generation of experts, prepared to tackle the challenges faced by the water sector. Increased mobility and the development of a regional programme for continuous training and research support will guarantee sustainability of results. The new, modernized courses would increase the employability of and open up attractive career opportunities for graduates.

"In the last years, with the contribution of European Cooperation Programmes, the EHEA became a reference point for policy dialogue between the EU and several regions of the world on higher education and its key role for employability of graduates. The growing global dimension of education, needs further actions for the enhancement of exchanges between the EHEA and other parts of the world, sharing goals and principles, as the transparent recognition of studies and qualifications. Within the EHEA, the implementation of ECTS (as credit accumulation and transfer), the fundamental shift from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred approach (SCL) and the use of learning outcomes and workload in curriculum design and delivery, as result of a long process and experimentation, increased the transparency and readability of the educational process and facilitated the recognition of mobility from institution to institution and from country to country as well as successful learning mobility between institutions of EHEA for short-term study periods (""credit mobility""). The recent acceleration of mobility between EHEA and other regions through the EM programme put a renewed and global perspective of “mobility” which showed the huge challenges that HE institutions and systems still need to face and manage. The students participating to EM projects are experimenting the same problems in recognition of studies abroad, that EU students and institutions had to afford at the first stage of Erasmus mobility.The project proposal intends to harmonise the credit allocation and grading system in 5 study areas jointly developed in previous projects in 23 institutions from 8 countries belonging to 4 different regions, besides EU, providing a reliable scheme for credit and grades transfer, and is based on previous experiences of the partnership in TEMPUS Programme in CA, Caucasus, Russia and Asia and EMA2 projects in the same regions, and on the new ECTS Guide and pilot project EGRACONS"