The Europe Higher Education in the World sets out as one of key priority towards a comprehensive internationalization strategy the integration of digital learning practices into the teaching and learning processes, enabling to mainstream the global dimension of education into the design and content of all curricula {COM(2013)499 final}. The Modernization Agenda for HE calls universities to fulfil their role in society as driver of economic development, creating stronger links to business communities and civil society, recalibrating education systems to enhance social cohesions, and entrepreneurial skills which generates value creation for economy, culture and society {COM (2011) 567 final}. The project "InoLearn4BEEs" envisages an innovative architecture and proposes an innovative mechanism to bridge the world of education and work, stepping up changes in educating Business, Engineering and Entrepreneurship (BEE) students by promoting innovative Student-Centred Learning (SCL) approaches, fuelled with ITC- tools and fruitful cooperation between universities and different industries. The solution is built on developing, testing, implementing and improving an Innovative SCL practices which will equip students from BEE education with digital experiences and competences, critical thinking, being more responsive to cultural, social and linguistic diversity and better prepared to understand the real-life problems, market expectations and the complexity and diversity of subjects from diverse disciplines, based on four objectives: PO1. Transform existing teacher-centred culture into students-centred learning approach by designing the personalized learning methodology and customizing the pedagogical tools to be used in Business, Engineering & Entrepreneurship (BEE) education areas and curricula, on multicultural context of Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland. PO2. Capacitate and elevate the students’ innovative knowledge, entrepreneurship & digital skills through the toolkit with intercultural knowledge resources embedded in Innovative Student-Centred Learning Practices, by capitalizing on the values brought by the involvement of local stakeholders (enterprises, civil society organizations, and public entities) from different industries within Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland. PO3. Stimulate and enhance the digital skills and critical thinking of students based on exploiting the Innovative Student-Centred Learning Practices in interdisciplinary and intercultural approach fuelled ITC learning experiences, by engaging students in Business, Engineering & Entrepreneurship (BEE) education from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland. PO4. Spread out and multiply the results and benefits of the Innovative Student-Centred Learning Practices by ensuring the widest possible dissemination of project outputs and outcomes to the multicultural university-industry cooperation from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland. The effects of "InoLearn4BEEs" project will be the virtual integration of innovative learning environment that incorporates ICT-tools and innovative pedagogical approaches, giving more opportunities for interactive learning in which students are active, receive feedbacks from teachers and from e-platform, and become able to resolve cross-disciplinary problems, and to understand multicultural challenges and views. By applying Student –Centred Learning practices with digital technologies it is supported the modernization of different disciplines within Business, Engineering and Entrepreneurship (BEE) education areas which translates into impactful, measurable and scalable development results for students, teachers, and other relevant stakeholders from industries. The project sustainability is ensured by an innovative digital-based learning mechanism that enrich teaching methods with new pedagogical approaches, improve e-education, and support personalized learning in the attempt to equip students in Business, Engineering & Entrepreneurship education with the right mix of digital, critical thinking, and entrepreneurial skills, by an active involvement of relevant stakeholders with multicultural coverage (Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland). Through a set of interconnected activities which bring in the centre of innovation teachers and experts from four European country, students and teachers from cross-disciplinary fields of education (Business, Engineering and Entrepreneurship areas), and key stakeholders from local business sector, civil society, public administration and/or governmental entities, the "InoLearn4BEEs" project induces innovation changes which transcend the partnership based on long-lasting effects.
The Europe Higher Education in the World sets out as one of key priority towards a comprehensive internationalization strategy the integration of digital learning practices into the teaching and learning processes, enabling to mainstream the global dimension of education into the design and content of all curricula . The Modernization Agenda for HE calls universities to fulfil their role in society as driver of economic development, creating stronger links to business communities, recalibrating education systems to enhance social cohesions, and entrepreneurial skills which generates value creation for economy, culture and society {COM (2011) 567 final}. Our project InoLearn4BEEs delivered a coherent response to the key priority set by EC in Modernisation Agenda for HE and exploited the transformational benefits of ITC-tools. It enriched teaching practices, improved learning experiences of all participants through a set of interconnected activities that supported personalised learning, equipping students with transferable skills, in the joint attempt to contribute to competitiveness and innovation potential of the market economy. The project overcame the shortage of sustainable collaborations between academia and business and brought forward an innovative solution bounded on Student-Centred Learning (SCL) practices, contributed to the improvement of digital and critical thinking skills of students in Business and Engineering & Entrepreneurship fields based on exploiting the potential of ITC learning environment, enriched with international cooperation between universities and industry. By unique combinations of complementary skills, six EU partners (4 HEIs, 1 HE Association, and 1 SME) brought in the centre of innovation numerous teachers and students in Business, Engineering and Entrepreneurship, and business stakeholders in the joint support of innovation at the level of all parties involved, based on achieved objectives: O1. Transformed the existing teacher-centred culture into SCL practices through the series of modernized disciplines (24 learning syllabus for SCL aimed at entrepreneurial skills development) within the areas of Business, Engineering & Entrepreneurship education. These were innovated and modernized through personalized e-learning practices and new pedagogical methods and tools, with incorporated multicultural views on international resources, innovative pedagogies, methods and teaching skills for SCL. O2. Capacitated entrepreneurship and digital skills of students through the series of 24 intercultural digital teaching modules and 72 learning objects covering all entrepreneurial phases embedded in Innovative SCL toolkit. Given the engagement of 93 transnational stakeholders, from a wide range of local industries, in articulating the thematic maps for cross-disciplinary study case development, the innovative knowledge resources were augmented with real-life challenges from business sectors. O3. Stimulated and enhanced digital skills and critical thinking of 417 bachelor students enrolled in Business, Engineering & Entrepreneurship (BEE) education through the exploitation of Innovative Student-Centred Learning practices in interdisciplinary and intercultural approach fuelled with ITC learning experiences. O4. Multiplied the benefits of Innovative Student-Centred Learning practices by the involvement of 260 transnational participants better connected to the international dimension of higher education and exposed to synergies among 24 modernized disciplines within BEE education areas, and 13 teachers/learners with acquired better use of digital learning and new pedagogies in teaching via SCL. Our project induced positive changes at all parties involved, as per components: - HE institutions with integrated digital learning practices into the teaching and learning processes, giving students more opportunities for interactive learning and entrepreneurial development through innovative SCL approaches, increasing the international dimension of education; - The enterprise with augmented business perspectives, increased intercultural and civic experiences, and improved capacity to generate further international cooperation and shared learning approaches; - The association of HEIs with advanced capacity to support excellence in education and foster societal development, spreading best practices and learning experience by the aid of new pedagogies in SCL approaches. Given the innovative learning environment, the project induced positive and sustainable effects ensured a critical mass of more responsive stakeholders for new educational models and international collaboration via digital learning and expanding use of SCL practices. The project offered a meaningful way for modernizing curricula and relevant disciplines/courses for BEE area, increasing international experiences and competences of the teaching staff, and development of joint courses and strategic partnerships.