As indicated in the application form the project objectives were defined at three levels. At the economic and social level, the project contributed to improving the capacity of organisations to manage EU-funded projects and deliver effective results to achieve EU program’s economic, social, and environmental goals. At the higher educational level, the main result was the contribution to the alignment of the HE system to better answer the increasing market demand of qualified EU project managers by enriching the academic offer with a common and innovative academic path. At the project beneficiaries (university students) level, the main impact has been increasing student job opportunities in a dynamic and attractive sector through improving their skills and abilities in managing EU-funded projects. The project also contributed to other Erasmus+ programs outcomes as increasing synergies and links and improved transition between the higher education and VET sector as well as the job market, due to the involvement as associate partners of relevant organisations representing all the different professional sectors (private, public and non-profit).
The EU invested an unprecedented amount of resources, the effect of which will largely depend on the capacity of people and organisations to design and manage EU-funded projects. Managing projects effectively thus becomes a critical variable in valuing the resources invested. Despite this, an integrated framework of knowledge for managing EU funds is still missing at the EU level, and this topic finds very little space in the universities’ courses and programs. The lack of a common knowledge framework on EU funds management prevented, so far, the development of standardised, common and recognised curricula in the higher education sector to support the increased demand for experts in EU-funded projects. This proposal, by pooling together universities and organisations with relevant expertise on the EU project design and project management, increased the alignment of higher education sector curricula with opportunities from the job market for the profile of EU project manager. The main objective is to create a common academic path based on a shared curriculum that integrates project design and management methodology to better manage EU funded projects. The integration work will be based on the recent “OPEN PM2” initiatiative.