Current and future engineering practices needs highly qualified engineers trained in advanced topics of structural engineering, modern technologies and good transversal competencies. Additionally, previous acquired knowledge and conducted experimental tests have to be collected, provided and make available and accessible. Beside this, there is an urgent need for advanced training courses in the field of civil engineering for M.Sc. and PhD students in different specific topics to easier approach the increased demands and challenges in research. New forms of cooperation and training have to be introduced to address this issue.The capability of modern software tools and the access to instrumental monitoring systems lead to better (more sophisticated) design and calculation methods as well as procedures for the practical engineers. Beside this the behavior of structures and the related physical phenomena will have better understood and can be reliable described in the nonlinear and dynamic range. For instance, the influence of the wind on the dynamic behavior of bridges or the damage progression due to extreme loads can be simulated by the use of complex numerical models and (semi-) probabilistic approaches. Consequently the results can be considered in the design and optimization of the structural solutions. Parallel to it the demands on new engineering structures increase due to changed loading conditions and usage requirements. The involved partners from the different faculties and chairs at the University of Aveiro, Ljubljana, Osijek, Budapest and Weimar possess diverse expertise, experiences, capacities as well as data, information and knowledge from many past and current research projects (--> see ANNEX 1, Figure A1.2). If such things could be set available for all partners, new innovative opportunities in education and research will be possible. Following this idea the project partners confirmed to create a common knowledge pyramid by the provision of data, information and already gained knowledge for common teaching and research activities (--> see ANNEX 1, Figure A1.1). The strong interdisciplinarity between engineering, computer and natural sciences will be the chance to bundle the diverse expertise and experience and to offer new and innovative learning activities (--> see ANNEX 1, Figure A1.3 & Table A1.1).As this project does not aim at technological innovation or dissemination on the market, we will not focus on the likelihood of market uptake and commercialization of project results. In regard to the management of knowledge (intellectual property) we foresee ‘Open Access‘ distribution of the project and student results to maximize valorization of the results by local, national and European academic. The general principle of the project is to let as many people as possible share in the knowledge and innovations that will be gathered. Therefore, in general and officially the media’s to be used for the dissemination are: book/report/publications, database, network, collaborative platform incl. project website and events.At different educational levels the demands on future civil engineers will be emphasize and trained using the examples of current research topics in the field of civil and structural engineering and by the application of not previously applied ICT tools. Innovative methods in the field of education and training by application of different pedagogical approaches (e.g. project work, physical and virtual activities, lectures, multidisciplinary international team work) will develop basic and transversal skills of the participants. The participating students will be able to create their own networks for their future career (--> see ANNEX 1, Figures A1.4 & A1.5 as well as Table A1.1).The strategic partnership will improve the quality and relevance of higher education, so curricula meet the needs of individuals, the labour market and the careers of the future, as well as stimulating and rewarding excellence in teaching and research. It will provide more opportunities for students to gain additional skills through study or training abroad, and to encourage cross-border co-operation to boost higher education performance. More researchers will be trained to prepare the ground for the industries of tomorrow and it will strengthen the links between education, research and business to promote excellence and innovation (--> see ANNEX 2, Tables A2.1. to A2.3).The strategic partnership will link different already existing bilateral contacts and the European diversity in higher education. It will enable all partner institutions to better benchmark and position themselves. A common discussion open assessment and evaluation criteria for M.Sc. and PhD students will support the transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications (--> see Annex 3, Table A3.1 & A3.2).
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal), University of Osijek (Croatia), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary) were working together and being put on a strategic footing as part of the program lines »Erasmus+ Key Action II: Strategic Partnerships«. At the center of international cooperation was the exchange of technical competencies in the areas of earthquake engineering, steel and bridge construction, mathematical models, and structural analysis. The aim was to help shape innovative developments in civil engineering in intercultural exchange and to improve/promote the specialisation, social and language skills of excellent junior staff. The range of measures were diverse and spanned different disciplines in Civil Engineering, Mathematics, and Media. The strategic partnership (SP) project focused on joint short-term learning, teaching, and/or training activities, including summer schools, tele-teaching, events, and guest lecturers. Particular attention was paid to interdisciplinary research and the promotion of master and doctoral students. As part of the SP, the expertise of the involved partners was brought together in order to first gain information and further knowledge in the planned learning activities. For this purpose, all partners provided different data sets for further common use. Individual data sets were elaborated and prepared by the teachers for the different learning activities. The results obtained by the participants were then re-incorporated into the project database/platform. Thus, stepwise knowledge could be achieved. To exchange and impart knowledge, various learning formats were offered and learning groups were addressed within the framework of the project. With the aim to create offers to meet the increasing demands on civil engineers the following learning activities were included in the project and represent a major part of the project. In total three International Elective Master Course Modules were organized with five students per partner institution per course participating. The blind prediction of the experimentally observed response of scaled structural elements/specimens were organized in order to test the abilities of the students to predict this response using standard numerical models based on the pre-training course. Students obtained knowledge about the state-of-the art numerical models and procedures for the analysis and design of the tested structures/elements. They got numerous competences that are applicable in advanced design tasks. The objectives of the summer schools were to emphasize demands and solution approaches on civil engineering structures. The courses targeted post-graduate students (i.e., 2nd and 3rd cycle students) from different institutions and countries to enable knowledge transfer among the participants. The demands and challenges in research are rising due to an increase in interdisciplinarity and in complexity of mathematical models. Training courses for PhD students in specific topics were providing the chance to get easier approaches to the increasing demands and challenges in research. As part of the Erasmus+ SP project the involved partners bundled their resources and expertise to establish a network and a basis for such courses. As part of the project groups from different areas and different international universities were working together to bundle their capacities to offer attractive high-quality learning opportunities and to elaborate a common platform for future teaching and research activities. Thus, multilayer impacts could be achieved on all levels. The collaboration with internationally recognized institutions led to an increase in attractiveness and reputation of the involved Universities on a European and International level. Commonly organized blended learning activities developed training profiles, trained participants’ soft skills, and addressed future demands in research and practice. Interdisciplinary, novel and creative thinking & collaboration among all involved participants were encouraged and led to new forms of cooperation and research. New networks could be established and existing networks strengthened. New research ideas were born and joint project applications initiated/submitted. The initiated discussion among the participating institutions about assessment criteria for student learning outcomes contributed to the transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications and might led to the introduction of new teaching and evaluation concepts. The SP linked different already existing bilateral contacts and improved European diversity in higher education. All partner institutions were enabled to better benchmark and position themselves. The participating students gained additional skills by studying different European views/ demands on structural engineering due to the different construction techniques and load impacts.