Coordinator

Advanced Technology Systems - ATS

ATS provides software solutions and services for education, public administrations and businesses. Its eGovernment solutions have been implemented by more than 80 public organizations, including ministries and county councils. The products developed by ATS are supported through the activities of its Research and Innovation Department, whose mission is to create new economic and social values. ATS has coordinated and participated as a technical manager in various national and large-scale European research projects targeting technology-enhanced learning such as the BEACONING Project and the Games and Learning Alliance. Its efforts have focused on the development of large-scale learning ecosystems, authoring tools, accessibility solutions, digital games, open repositories, etc. These solutions have been implemented in more than 14 countries. ATS is an active participant in national and international networks, such as BEACONING (Breaking Educational Barriers with Contextualised, Pervasive and Gameful Learning), ARIES (The Romanian Association for Electronic Industry and Software) – the largest IT association in South-Eastern Europe; the Romania Advanced Distributed Learning Partnership Lab; the Rural NEET Youth Network.

Partner 2

Hand Free Computing (Ireland) - HFC

Hands Free Computing renewed as Thriiver provides a wide range of Assistive Technology – both hardware and software. Providing dedicated in-house trainers, the company deliver more than 2,000 hours of Assistive Technology training every week, helping individuals get the most out of their equipment. For the areas of working life where technology can’t help, or is only part of the solution, Hands Free Computing offer a series of awareness training and coaching sessions. Increased awareness helps empower individuals, managers, teams, and colleagues to unlock their true capabilities and appreciate the strengths of a diverse workforce.

Partner 3

Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik - BIBA

The ”BIBA - Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik” is a research institute focused on engineering science. It was founded in 1981 as one of the first affiliated institutes of the University of Bremen and counts as one of the largest research facilities in the federal state of Bremen. It consists of two divisions: “Intelligent Production and Logistics Systems”, headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag and “ICT applications for Production”, headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus-Dieter Thoben. Based on distinct fundamental research, BIBA carries out applied and contract research, both on national and international level, in the areas of production and logistics for relevant industries like logistics, automotive, aviation and wind energy. Furthermore, BIBA is involved in a University of Bremen-based Collaborative Research Center, funded by the German Research Foundation, as well as in the Bremen Research Cluster for Dynamics in Logistics (LogDynamics) and the International Graduate School for Dynamics in Logistics. With the LogDynamics Lab, the institute operates a demonstration and application center for innovative mobile technologies in logistics.

Partner 4

University of Thessaly - UTH

The University of Thessaly is the only higher education institution in central Greece. After merging with 2 other higher education institutions, the University of Thessaly currently has over 30 departments and enrols 40.000 students, making it the 3rd largest university in Greece. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering enrols 1.000 undergraduate and graduate students and addresses areas that include electronics, energy, hardware, software, networks, and educational technologies. The informal Creative Technologies Learning Lab integrates emerging design, pedagogies, and ICT for generating innovative, rewarding, and effective learning experiences that build the knowledge and skills needed by industry and society in today’s world. The lab has implemented over 35 R&D projects in the area of technology-enhanced learning focusing on diverse aspects such as game-based learning, learning communities, design thinking, simulations, online collaboration environments, and more. In the context of R&D, the lab has working relationships with educational authorities and educational institutions in the area of Thessaly and beyond.

Partner 5

P.A. College - PAC

P.A. College is the distinct Executive Business School of Cyprus offering specialised university degree programmes which include the unique BSc (Hons) Business Computing and the BA (Hons) Business Administration with specialisations in Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Management. All programmes have recently been re-accredited by the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (DI.P.A.E.). P.A. College offers 12 ACA exemptions required for the professional qualification of ACA of the ICAEW and maintains strong links with distinct firms in the industry such as KPMG Limited (Cyprus) etc. The Research and Development Department coordinates the research undertaken by academic faculty staff who publish their research in reputable journals and conference proceedings as well as build multidisciplinary teams and combine their specialisations in research projects. Research work encompasses a range of fields such as the development of a games-based educational platform for intellectually-challenged children, gender inclusivity and gender diversity, mobile computer-supported collaborative learning, development of theoretical models for learner engagement and new methodologies for developing educational games amongst other research areas.

Partner 6

South-West University "Neofit Rilski" - SWU

The South-West University (SWU) is a state institution that offers training in Bulgarian and English in 80 Bachelor's, 121 Master's and 88 specialized PhD programmes. The university is one of the biggest higher education institutions in Bulgaria. It employs 500 full-time professors, associate and assistant professors. The non-academic staff is around 500. SWU provides training for about 14 000 full-time students and 400 doctoral students. The academic structure includes 9 faculties: Faculty of Law and History, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Public Health, Health Care and Sports, Faculty of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philology, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Engineering. There are over 30 laboratories and research centres available at the University. The University implements pro-active international policies involving the cooperation of training and research institutions from all around Europe, the USA and Russia. The University has signed contracts with about 150 universities in Europe under the Erasmus+ mobility program.

Partner 7

“Friendship Ambassadors” Association - AAP

The association was set up in 1993. By 2007 it ran various cultural and cultural education projects mainly for pupils. The major partner was the French association Les Amis de Târgovişte in Verneuil sur Avre, who assisted our NGO with various resources (including volunteers). Pupils from Targoviste went to France and their French peers came to Targoviste. Since 2007 the association has been undertaking EDC/HRE and school development projects as well as projects on education of values and local development. We closely work with schools, local in-service teacher training centre, county centre for educational resources, and other NGOs. Between 2008 and 2009 the Friendship Ambassadors Association developed a really innovative project based on the Council of Europe’s tool for quality assurance of EDC in schools. The project was supported by the Council of Europe and the US Embassy in Bucharest. Eight middle and secondary schools in Dambovita county were challenged to integrate their EDC policy and development plans in the whole development process of their institution, to introduce democratic practices (mainly responsibility) in various procedures (such as need analysis, analysing their community’s resources and interests, giving feedback to their students/parents/etc.), to enhance their team building capacity, and to develop criteria to evaluate the quality of some EDC components. The project was really complex and enabled the participants to develop another good practice guide (ccd-dambovita.ro). In 2012 we ran a seven-month project inspired by a British Council’s initiative. The project Creativity Map of Dambovita County – a tool for cultural and entrepreneurial education of high school students brought together 20 students, 44 artists and entrepreneurs, and some trainers. The students interviewed the small business owners and wrote some stories depicting what they understood about those professional and personal experiences. At the end of the project the students presented a performance created by themselves to the public in Targoviste and to the visitors of the Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest. They wanted to share the feelings and perceptions generated by this special experience with the adults (parents, teachers, business people) and other youngsters. Starting from the common experience of consumers, they turned to the conditions of creative people. We also put together most of the elements of the projects in a book (hartacreativitatii.wordpress.com). At the end of 2017 the association and “Mihai Viteazul” Middle School in Targoviste held a one-week science exhibition which was visited by over 1200 people, mostly pupils who enjoyed the interactive experiments that explained them various physical phenomena (video). The project was funded by Dambovita County Council. The “Friendship Ambassadors” Association is a member of DARE Network (educators for democracy and human rights in Europe) who currently participates in an Erasmus+ project (DEMOGAMES) aiming to develop analogue and digital games about democracy, a manual for youth workers (ideas to use the games in various educational contexts) and online training courses on game-based learning (dare-network.eu ).