The European partner countries struggle with economic and social challenges. Remote and rural regions suffer from decreasing economy, unemployment and migration. ERDI seeks solutions to these problems boosting the expertise, entrepreneurship and co-creation of knowledge in bioeconomy. ERDI project aims for better graduate employability and improved competitiveness of the regional economy to gain better income in the future. Bioeconomy in ERDI refers to a sustainable but profitable use of renewable natural resources in the field of energy and agriculture. Bioeconomy is one of the growing businesses in Europe. It is a tool for sustainable and inclusive economic growth and job creation. However, bioeconomy still suffers from a lack of skilled labour and also business models are still too few. ERDI works through a multidisciplinary and international network of educational institutions, enterprises and administrators. ERDI develops the students’ and other beneficiaries’ expertise in bioeconomy and supports multicultural and transversal skills. ERDI also internationalises the education; fosters innovations and builds bridges between the stakeholders on different levels and regions. Furthermore, ERDI improves the openness and availability of higher education through innovative digital educational materials. ERDI aims and objectives are met through four main work packages: Curriculum development; innovative digital learning tools; knowledge alliance models and business networks. The work plan formulates an entity where the up-to-date issues raising from the HEI and WLP partners’ strategic, long term development and needs can be explored and solved. Together the co-creation of knowledge and expertise has impacts to the graduate employability, bio-economy businesses and regional development. ERDI results are: ERDI competences and course; digital tools and learning materials; knowledge alliance models and tools; spread of business models and ideas; dissemination materials.
ERDI project is highly relevant as it builds tools enabling the universities to develop working life relevant higher education. ERDI has promoted the partner HEIs and businesses in building the future competences in the field of bioeconomy that are urgently needed to work for a bright world. In its turn, ERDI helps us to work for the goals of the circular economy and zero-waste society. The real changes are possible only when we have competent professionals. Students can do the change - they are the future shapers who might change the world. To be able to re-shape our societies and practices they need have a vision and understanding embedded with the multidisciplinary knowledge and skills. That enables the HEI graduates to apply learning into practice and turn challenges into possibilities and solutions. Entrepreneurial mindset, interpersonal skills, resilience and ability to build trust are the key transversal skills the HEI graduates do need in the labor market. This calls for future oriented curricula, adequate learning environments, competent teachers and staff members, possibility to interact with the world of work and possibilities to solve real problems interacting in diverse teams – all this is what ERDI did and the ERDI results do in the future.ERDI project aims for better graduate employability, increased competitiveness of the regional economies and boost to bioeconomy businesses fostering better income and prosperity in the future in all the partner regions. Furthermore, ERDI increases the relevance and openness of higher education and provides the working life partners a path for a meaningful internationalisation and networking. In addition, ERDI promotes inclusion in education as it develops open education and varied pedagogical approaches to meet with the needs of the more diverse learner’s. These aims are accomplished by realising five concrete objectives:1.ERDI internationalises education by developing multidisciplinary, dynamic, working life serving, learner centred and international curriculum;2.ERDI supports accessibility of education by applying innovative and interactive digital e-learning tools and materials;3.ERDI defines the core competences of a bioeconomy expert to rise the working life relevance of education;4.ERDI boosts co-creation of knowledge with the working life and surrounding society by establishing innovative, concrete and systemic participatory knowledge alliances on regional and international level; and5.ERDI strengthens bioeconomy business, entrepreneurship and employability sharing and generating business models and innovations in local, regional and international networks.To ensure a fit for purpose implementation of the project and achieving the results, the partners worked with these objectives in following thematic work packages: Curriculum Development (WP3), Digital Learning Tools (WP4), Knowledge Alliance Models and Tools (WP5), and Business Networks (WP6). The Current State Analyses (WP1) that provided a wide survey with relevant background information forming a base line for the thematic work packages supported the thematic work. The horizontal work packages Management (WP2), Quality Assurance (WP7), Evaluation (WP8) and Dissemination (WP9) supported the entity. All the work packages were sub-divided into concrete outputs and outcomes. That helped in making the whole process concrete, understandable and visible. All the ERDI results and project information is available on the project result web pages.