The main objective of the EastMed project is the development of a HEI-level Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), focusing on the region of the Eastern Mediterranean. The MOOC, entitled "EU and the Eastern Mediterranean: Prospects and Challenges", will give an emphasis to the concurrent refugee crisis and energy security, and will be developed and delivered in accordance with ECTS/ESG.Europe and the Mediterranean countries are bound by history, geography and culture. At the crossroads of the European, African and Asian continents, the Mediterranean region presents political and economic challenges that have recently relaunched the debate on Euro-Mediterranean integration and cooperation.However, developments in the 21st century have necessitated viewing it conceptually as a distinct “new” region with specific characteristics.Comprised by Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Turkey, the region is assuming increased significance in world affairs.More specifically, the region of Eastern Mediterranean is currently of vital importance for the EU, due to a number of prospects and challenges. The Eastern part of the Mediterranean is indeed witnessing some of the most intriguing, worrisome and dangerous events in today’s world.Ultimately, understanding the Eastern Mediterranean as a “new” region with the aforementioned characteristics can lead to more prescient analyses of shared regional challenges and, perhaps more importantly, actions and initiatives aiming at cooperation and stability.The project follows an iterative and incremental development methodology, which guarantees successful and timely project implementation through repeated cycles (iterative) and in smaller portions at a time (incremental), allowing partners to take advantage of what was learned during development of earlier phases. EastMed will deliver:-Current Situation Analysis, Needs Assessment, Case studies and Best Practices in Regional MOOCs, which will provide the partnership with a clear and coherent understanding of the end-users' needs regarding the EastMed course, of the state-of-the-art in the development and delivery of subject-related MOOCs, as well as of the pivotal issues and aspects of the regional developments that the EastMed Course should focus on, with an emphasis on the refugee crisis and the energy issue. -Design and Development of the EastMed Course, which will design the EastMed curriculum, modules and assessment as well as relevant Supporting Documents -EastMed Moodle Platform and website-EastMed educational material and digital content (OER), including the EastMed OER Database will actually be a freely accessible e-library,-Delivery of the EastMed MOOC, in accordance with ESG-EastMed Policy Recommendations, which will reflect the project's policy orientation and will include Policy Briefs, and a policy-oriented academic collective volume, exploring in depth the "EU and the Eastern Mediterranean: Prospects and Challenges".It is expected that at least 2700 persons will benefit from EastMed implementation, including:-At least 400 undergraduate students will attend the open, EastMed MOOC during project lifetime.-At least 1200 undergraduate students in the participating institutions will get informed on the EastMed Course-The project will focus in areas of interest for at least 200 academics and researchers in EU studies, IR, Political Science and related fields, and will provide innovative methodologies and tools that can benefit at least 20 e-learning academics, researchers and technicians, as well as ECTS experts and networks around Europe. -At least 100 research associations/organizations, research centres, educational institutions etc.-At least 240 persons will be involved through the EastMed Multiplier Events (Policy Dialogues and Info Days)-One final dissemination event-conference will be held in Cyprus, attracting at least 60 persons.-At least 10 EU networks and projects in relevant fields will benefit from the EastMed intellectual outputsEastMed will establish a wide range of synergies in local, national, regional, EU and international level, diffusing and promoting the concept MOOC mainstreaming through focusing on the crucial role of the Eastern Mediterranean in contemporary international affairs.
The main objective of the EastMed project has been the development and delivery of an open HEI-level Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in accordance with ECTS/ESG in order to focus on the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, with such MOOC, entitled as "EU and the Eastern Mediterranean: Prospects and Challenges" giving an emphasis to the concurrent refugee crisis and energy security. The Eastern Mediterranean region presents political and economic challenges that have recently relaunched the debate on Euro-Mediterranean integration and cooperation. In this context, the EastMed MOOC aims at promoting the development of new modes of teaching through exploitation of new technologies within the scope of learning about the Eastern Mediterranean. EastMed MOOC's design, development and delivery has been feasible through the exploitation of international partnerships between University of Piraeus, University of Cyprus, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, with all partners contributing to the Intellectual Outputs for the development of new training methodologies and tools addressing the specific needs of the target group. The MOOC delivery was first pilot-tested and then took place in two rounds, with Eastmed MOOC having been taught on the basis of the design and development of four (4) Modules in total, with at least 400 undergraduate students having participated to it during project's lifetime. Specifically, the implementation of of the EastMed MOOC includes the following six (6) Intellectual Outputs: (1) IO1 - Current Situation Analysis & Needs Assessment (2) IO2 - Design and Development of the EastMed Course (3) IO3 - EastMed Moodle Platform and website (4) IO4 - EastMed educational material and digital content (OER) (5) IO5 - Delivery of the EastMed MOOC (6) IO6 - EastMed Policy Recommendations The aim of the MOOC has been to raise awareness among students and future scholars on the strategic importance of the Eastern Mediterranean area and to educate on relevant policy matters, targeting audience interested in studying in-depth the specificities of the Eastern Mediterranean, thus gaining a deep understanding of the concurrent challenges and prospects of the region, in enhancing their knowledge in regional politics based on ECTS/ credits, in upgrading their digital competences by attending a MOOC and in participating in a transnational project overcoming geographical or cultural obstacles. The impact of the EastMed project has been the following: (a) The project has created a broad network of interested parties, spanning from the local to the international level. All geographical levels have been benefited from the promotion of the MOOC's concept through networking, synergies and exchange of best practices. (b) It has presented an opportunity for the EU, national and regional levels to improve their knowledge on the region's dynamics and on the potential of digital, innovative methodologies in Higher Education, by also offering an opportunity for a better understanding of the EU's neighborhood through exchange of views and multiculturalism. (c) The EastMed MOOC has advanced overall the MOOC practice, expanding it to more Social Sciences subjects. (d) The project, as an example of a regional project of international reach and as a tool of internationalization, has promoted agreements on scientific cooperation between academic institutions and participation in international programs for mobility, research and training.