The idea of SUSMILE (Successful online learning for sustainable last mile logistics) is grounded on the recognition that there is a lack of training materials and tools for distance VET teaching of topics covering sustainable last mile logistics. VET teachers and trainers are facing many challenges in their efforts to respond to the current COVID-19 crisis. This period of distance learning, has surfaced a lack of adapted means, training materials and tools throughout Europe and across all VET qualifications. The transport and logistics sector is also sensitive to these challenges of the VET system that have arisen with the pandemic. In France, for example, a Carif-Oref survey on training during lockdown shows that 75% of transport and logistics training was cancelled, one of the highest rates compared to other economic sectors. The SUSMILE project will contribute to building digital education readiness by addressing this challenge through the provision of effective and inclusive teaching tools, materials, resources and methods to ensure distance learning in the area of sustainable last mile logistics. The environmental impact and high costs associated to the last mile delivery are but only increasing, especially since the uptake of ecommerce driven by the pandemic. The new habits together with the social and environmental concerns require innovative training practices for the digital era, which help train logistic professionals to reduce the negative impacts of the digital era itself. The aim of the SUSMILE project is to develop a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and related high quality digital elearning resources for VET providers to be able to train their students online on fresh, practical and innovative concepts related to sustainable last mile logistics. The SUSMILE open educational resource will contain the following innovative online resources and tools: • elearning modules to address initial and continuing education, including theory and evaluation materials, to help the user acquire key knowledge in areas such as routing systems, technologies, marketing, warehouse/ consolidation centres/ picking stations, environmental impact and processes and product care. • A serious game that through the aerial/isometric visualization of a city, the player will apply the knowledge gained through the elearning and put into practice the acquired skills. • An adaptive learning kit to provide varied learning materials for the students and help them understand last mile logistics in a dynamic way, with verbal and interpersonal sessions. The target group is represented mainly by VET providers (teachers and trainers) and their students (EQF level 4, 5 or 6), as well as logistics companies, professional organisations, social partners, public authorities, and other institutions. The most relevant expected impact is on the SUSMILE users themselves, logistics VET teachers and trainers will have at their disposal brand new learning resources that will support them on their online teaching processes. These teaching materials will not only be innovative for their online accessibility nature but also for the subject they are based on, sustainable last mile logistics, a topic for which teachers and trainers did not have contents about until now. SUSMILE will support the VET provider in the process of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and will help strengthen their ability to provide high quality and inclusive digital education. Learners will be able to access cutting-edge learning from anywhere they like, from their PC’s, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. Furthermore, they will gain focused and market and environmental oriented knowledge and expertise in the last mile logistics field, increasing their future employability in green professions. In the long term, logistics companies or industrial companies in need of logistic professionals will be able to hire eco-friendly and high skilled professionals who have been trained on the basis of sustainability. The consortium covers a wide geographical area including Spain, France, Italy and the Czech Republic, it takes advantage of a range of expertise and it has a close relation with the logistic industry. Eight partners are formally involved in SUSMILE: AFT (FR) and NVF (CZ) are organisations for the development of VET; CISITA (IT) is a VET provider, MLC (ES), ITL(IT) and ČLA (CZ), are transport and logistics associations, IKASPLAY (ES) is a serious game developer and Prospektiker (ES) is a research organisation with environmental expertise. There are also 9 associated partners, not formally participating in the project, but contributing to the success of the project. These are vocational training providers and institutional bodies from the 4 partner countries who have agreed to collaborate with the consortium especially in the piloting and in the dissemination activities.
The SUSMILE Project scope was to ensure excellency and continuity in training and distant teaching in the sector of sustainable logistics by developing an open and innovative product for the digital era. The Covid-19 pandemic has driven demand for online education sources, and this demand will continue to be significantly high or will even increase in the future. The main result of SUSMILE is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), free of charge and easy to use, with quality content and a flexible construction that will adapt to the evolutions of the sector in the years to come and a Serious Game. The outcome of the project is a tool for VET providers to be able to train their students on new, practical and innovative concepts related to sustainable last mile logistics. The MOOC will be developed to be used as self-study-based elearning or in the context of distance learning guided by a trainer or teacher. At the same time, it will allow the teachers to create educational progress and individualised paths with the available modules. In order to develop this open educational resource, three intermediate objectives are set: - The project addresses initial and continuing education through the development of elearning modules. - A Serious Game has been developed to deliver a non-formal learning tool to logistics students using the SUSMILE MOOC.
1. The pandemic has affected many sectors, including logistics, and especially last-mile distribution, i.e. the last leg of a freight distribution trip, part of the logistics process that goes from the last point of distribution (logistics centres, warehouses, stores, etc.) to the client’s doorstep. The logistics sector, following people’s restrictions of movement in the midst of the coronavirus crisis (e.g. lockdowns, quarantine, travelling ban) claims to have lived and still living a continuous Black Friday, as the demand for products bought online has greatly increased. E-commerce was boosted by these new habits, adding up to an already existing booming trend in home deliveries from physical stores (e.g.supermarkets) or food deliveries. These new realities of the digital era call for rethinking deliveries and logistics in a sustainable way to avoid the collapse of cities and the complete depletion of the environment and its resources. In fact, deliveries are associated with a social and environmental cost which becomes more and more unbearable as time goes by. Therefore, the market requires innovative training practices for the digital era to help train students to reduce the negative impacts of its operations. A recent study by Capgemini has found that 97% of retailers believe that existing methods of last-mile delivery options are not sustainable. With this in mind, SUSMILE partners will develop a fully adaptive training course focused on last mile delivery, made up of three intellectual outputs: elearning modules, a Serious Game (the core innovation element of the project) and a flexible learning kit. All these outputs will be based on active learning to promote participatory work methods for both educators and students. 2. The project idea arose as a response to a gap identified by project partners regarding the necessity to create a link between the training system and the logistics market and optimally educate future logistics practitioners based on real market needs. SUSMILE aims to fill in this gap by using latest technological advances and innovative approaches that facilitate the education and learning process (both for students as well as for lecturers) through the intensive use of ICT. 3. Sustainability and circular economy are now essential parts of the political and social agenda, as the European Green Deal highlights. Consumers are increasingly aware of the effects of their consumption, which are partially due to the logistics chain. As a response, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives in the last mile delivery are sought. All these trends have motivated the development of the SUSMILE project, that have respond to the needs of the VET professionals and create elearning materials to further develop these skills.