iNEST Cross-cutting Activity #4 - Deliverable Milestone 25

Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem Cross-Cutting Activity #4 Education & Lifelong Learning Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Finanziato dall'Unione europea Next Generation EU Italiadomani P I A N O N A Z I O N A L E D I R I P R E S A E R E S I L I E N Z A Cover image: Piero Dorazio - Next Generation, 1968 The artist and the scientist, according to Dorazio, propose two different but parallel paths: they broaden knowledge, working more for the future than for the present. "I don't try to educate the viewer about the function of color, but rather to complete my own education on its possibilities." (from "Piero Dorazio" by Maurizio Fagiolo dell'Arco - Officina Edizioni - Roma, 1966). edited by Franco Bonollo and Massimo Malaguti with the cooperation of: Andrea Cangiani, Massimiliano Condotta, Serena Cubico, Francesco De Natale, Gianluca Foresti, Andrea Furlan, Alberto Marinò, Guido Orzes, Fabrizio Panozzo, Nicoletta Pesaro, Elena Claire Ricci, Stefano Salon, Paola Venuti Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem Cross-Cutting Activity #4 Education & Lifelong Learning 12 2 3 10 16 17 19 25 27 30 33 36 41 44 47 Introduction 1 International and local scenarios 2 The role and challenges for Universities 3 The current and future Education potential of iNEST 4 Concluding remarks 5 References Education, to equip students with the skills they need to become active, responsible and engaged citizens, Lifelong Learning, which is a strategic instrument for implementing innovation into society, with special attention paid to SMEs. 1 Introduction iNEST is the Innovation Ecosystem of the Northern-Eastern part of Italy (the so-called “NordEst”). Among the activities to be developed, a particular focus is dedicated the CrossCutting initiatives addressed to Education and Lifelong Learning. The Objectives of the Cross-Cutting action “Education & Lifelong Learning” in the frame of iNEST are associated to the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that enable people to contribute to and benefit from an inclusive and sustainable future is a process based on two pillars: The capability of developing an integrated view of Education and Lifelong Learning paths is the key-challenge individuated in the frame of iNEST. Such challenge will be faced by designing, managing and exploiting some pilot-actions and projects. To do this, an excellent starting point is constituted, on one side, by the overview of current trends, needs and challenges for Companies and workers and for Academy, professors and students, which are deeply described in various documents covering both international and national scenarios, and, on the other side, by a detailed analysis of the several innovative Education and Lifelong Learning actions developed by the 9 Universities involved in iNEST Ecosystem. This document collects all these information, in view of the creation of an iNEST Innovation Academy, with a comprehensive view both on Education and on Lifelong Learning. 2 2 International and local scenarios The need of anticipate the evolution of the future jobs has been the driving force of various investigations, carried out by international Institutions [1-8]. Some of the key-results can be summarized as follows. Figure 1 – Characterization of local labor markets, focus on Italy [8] Europe, in the frame of a research, recently carried out by Mc Kinsley [8], is constituted by almost 1,100 local economies across the 27 EU countries plus the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and has been demonstrated to be a patchwork of highly varied local labor markets that have seen increasing geographic concentration of employment growth in the past. Forty-eight dynamic cities, which are home to 20 percent of Europe’s population, generated 43 percent of Europe’s GDP growth, 35 percent of its net job growth, and 40 percent of its population growth between 2007 and 2018. By contrast, 438 shrinking regions with 30 percent of the population, mostly in Eastern and Southern Europe, have declining workforces, older populations, and lower educational attainment. The remaining half of the population lives in a wide range of economies that have been largely stable, with modest job growth prior to the pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis ended years of strong employment growth marked by greater mobility. The crisis put up to 59 million European jobs, or 26 percent of the total, at risk in the short term, through reductions in hours or pay, furloughs, and permanent layoffs. NordEst of Italy, i.e. the focus of iNEST Innovation Ecosystem, is included in the frame of stable economies, containing high tech manufacturing centers, diversified economies and tourism-based economies (Fig. 1), in perfect agreement with the premixes adopted in building iNEST. 1 3 Figure 2 – Potential net job growth in EU-27, United Kingdom and Switzerland in midpoint automation scenario [8] Once the economy recovers, Europe may have a shortage of skilled workers, despite a growing wave of automation. A key reason is the declining supply of labor: Europe’s working-age population will likely shrink by 13.5 million (or 4 percent) due to aging by 2030. Scenarios developed for the pace of automation adoption show that 22 percent of current work activities (equivalent to 53 million jobs) could be automated by 2030. A large share of potential job losses (if not all) could be compensated by job growth from sources such as technology, rising incomes, and investments in healthcare [8]. 2 More than half of Europe’s workforce will face significant transitions. Automation will require all workers to acquire new skills. About 94 million workers may not need to change occupations but will especially need retraining, as technology handles 20 percent of their current activities. While some workers in declining occupations may be able to find similar types of work, 21 million may need to change occupations by 2030. The strongest job growth is projected in professional, scientific, and technical services as well as human health and social work, while the biggest decline could occur in manufacturing (Figs 2-3) [8]. The recent report of the World Economic Forum [4] individuated the jobs which are in a growing stage and will be more and more required (Table 1). 3 4 Table 1: List of growing and declining jobs [4] Figure 3 – Demand for technological, social and emotional skills is expected to grow in Europe [8] 5 Increasing demand Decreasing demand Data Analysts and Scientists Data Entry Clerks Al and Machine Learning Specialists Administrative and Executive Secretaries Big Data Specialists Accounting, Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks Digital Marketing and Strategy Specialists Accountants and Auditors Process Automation Specialists Assembly and Factory Workers Business Development Professionals Business Services and Administration Managers Digital Transformation Specialists Client Information and Customer Service Workers Information Security Analysts General and Operations Managers Software and Applications Developers Mechanics and Machinery Repairers Internet of Things Specialists Material-Recording and Stock-Keeping Clerks Project Managers Financial Analysts Business Services and Administration Managers Postal Service Clerks Database and Network Professionals Sales Rep., Wholesale and Manuf., Tech. and Sci. Prod. Robotics Engineers Relationship Managers Strategic Advisors Bank Tellers and Related Clerks Management and Organization Analysts Door-To-Door Sales, News and Street Vendors FinTech Engineers Electronics and Telecoms Installers and Repairers Mechanics and Machinery Repairers Human Resources Specialists Organizational Development Specialists Training and Development Specialists Risk Management Specialists Construction Laborers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 12 Knowledge (Disciplinary, Inter-disciplinary, Epistemic, Procedural), Skills (Cognitive and meta-cognitive, Social & Emotional, Physical & Practical), Attitudes and Values (Personal, Social, Local, Global). 4 The current and future Education potential of iNEST iNEST partnership involves all the 9 Higher Education Institutions of NordEst, which are listed and geographically located in Fig. 7. These Institutions are offering an enormous support to the territorial system, in terms of Education, Research and Technology Transfer, and Third Mission. An impressive description of the effort given in terms of Education and Lifelong Learning is offered by Table 2, collecting key-figures of those Universities and the sum of them, representing the Education potential of iNEST. All these Universities are continuously improving and innovating both contents and methodologies for teaching and training, in the frame of local, national and international projects (Annex A collects full details about them). A short review is offered below, adopting the classification elaborated by OECD [10] and evidenced in Fig. 8, with final Competencies associated to: Figure 7 – iNEST Ecosystem and Universities involved Table 2 – Key-figures of iNEST Ecosystem and of the Universities involved Master Degrees and PhD programs offered in cooperation with other Universities (including universities of the iNEST consortium) Transitions Technologies Education paths, offering the opportunity to Master students of developing inter-disciplinary knowledge about Smart Infrastructures or Green Technologies Winter and Summer Schools Studium Generale, unitedbz and the Alliance for Teaching and Research for Sustainability in South Tyrol Winter and Summer Schools Information and Communication Technologies Sustainability Master Degree in Data Science and Scientific Computing with UNITS and UNIUD International Master in Physics of Complex Systems (with POLITO & ICTP) Junior Maths Days conference and specialized seminar series Sustainability and digitalization Minors (Asia, culture society and markets, Artistic Management, Social innovation management for smart communities, Environmental humanities, Tools for thinking, Senses, science, and cultural expression, Integrated sustainability) Blended Courses Project of extra-curricular activities Several teaching initiatives are addressed to improving knowledge, in most case with strong attention paid to interand trans-disciplinary paths, such as: Figure 8 – OECD Classification of the path to achieve Competencies 13 Studium Duale and Scholarships sponsored by the entrepreneurial association (Assoimprenditori Alto Adige) Courses and projects offered to high-school students to support the transition from high schools to University (Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l’Orientamento - PCTO) Challenge-based learning (e.g., Student & Company Sprint) Challenge Based Learning (CBL) Seminars and Courses dedicated to the analysis of personal Soft Skills Innovative Teaching Laboratories (Active Learning Lab, Design Thinking, Business Modelling, Social research, Storytelling and Public Speaking) Team-based learning (TBL) Group working in large classes Innovative tutoring (and training to tutoring) initiatives Lifelong Learning Individual courses Lifelong Learning Courses (including on-line Lifelong Learning modules, developed at national and international level) Life-Long Learning Courses offered by SMACT Competence Center Micro-credential & Digital credential courses Innovative on-line Lifelong Learning modules, developed at national and international level PA 110 cum Laude project, in cooperation with Public Administration Training course on the management of the entire life cycle of a building Days of technical training on the Landscape Advanced/Professional Development course Continuing Education courses Short Master Programmes Erasmus+ Project USAGE (“Up-Skilling Agricultural Engineering in Europe”) Innovative one-year long specialization programs: Master in High Performance Computing (MHPC), Master in Science Communication (MCS) Studium Generale and the Alliance for Teaching and Research for Sustainability in South Tyrol A relevant focus is given, by all Universities, to the development and enrichment of skills by the students. Some examples are available, such as: They are worth mentioning also the activities related to strengthening attitudes and values, with several initiatives covering: 14 Gender equality Equal opportunities and inclusion initiatives Courses on gender balance, in cooperation with local Institutions Awards to highlight the role of women in STEM disciplines Gender equality initiatives (Women in Maths and Women in Physics to reverse imbalance in gender representation at academic & research levels in mathematics and physics Development of learners and teachers communities Learning Factory (Smart Mini Factory) Communities of Practice Contamination Lab Verona – ClabVerona Competency Center Teaching4Learning permanent Working Group Participation to European alliance with a focus on innovative teaching Elaboration of a digital certification frame, describing skills and knowledge achieved by students, and based on the EU-recognized systems of Open Badge and MicroCredentials, Development of innovative training tools, with national and international cooperation for the development of MOOCs, with existing agreement with the key providers of eCourses, Set up of innovative hardware system for video-lessons, characterised by high interactivity and supporting increased learning efficiency, Pilot project for virtualization of ICT labs and of technological labs, Internal calls supporting innovative training initiatives, to be developed jointly by various Departments, Joint participation of various Universities to POT and PLS national programs, supporting the development and strengthening of Guidance Counselling and Tutoring initiatives, Participation of various Universities of iNEST to Higher Education Initiatives (HEIs) Calls, with related elaboration of self-evaluation on the above-mentioned HEInnovate portal [14], Participation to some of the European Institute of Technology (EIT) Knowledge & Innovation Communities (KICs). Improvement of Knowledge, achievement of Skills, development of Attitudes and values are in all Universities supported by structural actions, such as: 15 developing the capability, in perfect agreement with the mission of iNEST Ecosystem, of sharing, improving, up-grading these excellent experiences among Universities, making available such experiences and tools to own students, but also to students still in high schools, opening new up-skilling scenarios for persons already involved in professional activities and jobs, contributing to exploiting of NordEst potential by making true a systemic vision of the overall Education path of persons, as shown in Fig. 9. 5 Concluding remarks The state of the art presented in these pages is certainly promising and encouraging. Effort of iNEST Universities on Education and Lifelong Learning issues is strong, highly motivated and with relevant attention paid to innovation. The list of activities, initiatives and projects is really impressive, but generates some challenges: Figure 9 – Overall and integrated vision of Education path of persons Such challenges will be faced by the Education & Lifelong Learning Working Group of iNEST, firstly on a “design” level (during 2023) and then going, in 2024 and 2025, to the implementation stage. 16 C. Daheim, O. Wintermann, 2050: The Future of Work – Findings of an International Delphi Study of The Millennium Project (2016) The Future of Jobs Report 2018, World Economic Forum, 2018 100 Jobs of the Future - Deakin University, 2019 The Future of Jobs Report 2020, World Economic Forum, 2020 NATO Science & Technology Organization, Science & Technology Trends 2020-2040 – Exploring the S&T Edge (2020) C. Eckert, O. Isaksson, S. Hallstedt, J. Malmqvist, A. Öhrwall Rönnbäck, M. Panarotto: Industry Trends to 2040, Ing. Conf. Engineering Design ICED19 (2019) K. Jonkers, R. Tijssen, A. Karvounaraki, X. Goenaga, A Regional Innovation Impact Assessment Framework for universities, JRC Science for Policy Report, 2018 The future of work in Europe, McKinsey Global Institute, 2020 The Good Work Framework: A new business agenda for the future of work, World Economic Forum, 2022 The future of education and skills – Education 2030, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2018 K. Jonkers, R. Tijssen, A. Karvounaraki, X. Goenaga, A Regional Innovation Impact Assessment Framework for universities, JRC Science for Policy Report, 2018 New EIT Action to Support the Innovation Capacity of Higher Education Institutions in Europe, 2020 EIT synergies with Horizon Europe and other EU programmes 2021-2027, 2020 HEInnovate eight dimensions, 2020 Eurotech Universities. “EUROPEAN ENGINEERING EDUCATION OF THE FUTURE”, 2020 OECD Skills Studies, Supporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Higher Education in Italy (2019) Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem (iNEST) Work Programme, 2022 References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 17 Annex A 18 A.1 University of Bolzano Key figures of University of Bolzano are collected in Table A1. The Free University of Bolzano is involved in several innovative Training & Education activities. Among them, it is worth mentioning the following initiatives. Studium Duale and Scholarships sponsored by the entrepreneurial association (Assoimprenditori Alto Adige) Since many years, the University of Bolzano is offering its Bachelor in Industrial Mechanical engineering as a dual study program (studio duale), i.e., students have the opportunity to combine studies and work (also thanks to the extension of the duration of the bachelor to 4 years). While this teaching format is rather common in German-speaking countries, the experience of the University of Bolzano is rather unique in Italy. The first years is foreseen as a full time year at the University, while from the second year onward students can sign an employment contract with a company participating in the program or with a new one and spend one semester at the company (doing then only the exams at the University) and one semester at the university every year. 19 Table A1 – University of Bolzano: key figures For more information: https://www.unibz.it/assets/Documents/University/Numbers-Facts/2022_09_02_Facts-and-Figures_EN.pdf Learning by doing and projects combined with self-paced study and tutorship programs (company tutors and university tutors) are the success key of this teaching format. Next to the knowledge of the specific study programme, students acquire precious professional skills like team-working and problem solving. In addition, in order to increase the affordability of the university degree for all students (independently by their economic means), the university signed an agreement with Assoimprenditori Alto Adige for the financing, by some companies, of three-year scholarships to 10 students worth 10,000 euros each for those admitted with the highest scores. For more information, please see the website of the abovementioned bachelor program: https://www.unibz.it/en/faculties/sciencetechnology/bachelor-industrial-mechanical-engineering/ Courses and projects offered to high-school students to support the transition from high schools to University (Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l’Orientamento - PCTO) The University of Bolzano offer both individual internships and short courses/group projects to high school students. The topics covered include: simulation of manual and automated assembly systems, eye tracking technologies for product development and production, industrial engineering tools and methods, small and mini hydropower solutions, Software/App development. For more information, please see https://www.unibz.it/it/services/orientation/pcto/#Organism-2878 (available only in Italian or German). Similarly, the University launched in 2010 the project Uni meets School, which allows students to try during their 4th-5th years of high school some short University-courses (in case of subsequent enrollment 2-3 ECTS of the courses attended are recognized to the students). Finally, orientation days and lab visits are also organized by the different Faculties as well as by the University for high schools students. Master Degrees and PhD programs offered in cooperation with other Universities (including universities of the iNEST consortium) Considering its relatively recent foundation (1997) and small dimension, the University of Bolzano has designed several study programs (in particular Master Degrees and PhD programs) in cooperation with other Italian and foreign Universities. This model has several advantages, such as it allows to exploit the competencies available at the different universities avoiding at the same time duplications of the teaching offer (in closer universities), it allow students to experience different universities (and sometimes countries), it allows to reach critical mass of students on subject areas / degrees that if offered in many universities would not have such a critical mass, it allows universities to offer more degrees (the so called “requisiti minimi” are indeed easier to be fulfilled since more Universities are involved). At this respect, just to make a few examples: 20 (i) the Master in Viticulture, Enology and Wine Marketing, which foresees a common first year in Conegliano (one of the locations of the University of Padova) and then a second year at the University of Udine (curricula: “Research and development in enology” and “Research and development for a sustainable viticulture”), at the University of Verona (curricula "Economy and marketing in wine business", " Identity, typicality, terroir" and "New frontiers in viticulture and enology") or at the University of Bolzano (curriculum: Sustainable management of mountain viticulture within landscape valorization"). (ii) the Master in Environmental Management of Mountain Areas offered thanks to the crossborder cooperation within the EUREGIO between the University of Bolzano and the University of Innsbruck. (iii) the Master in Energy Engineering jointly offered by the University of Bolzano and the University of Trento. (iv) the PhD programme in Linguistics offered in cooperation (convenzione) with the Universities of Verona and Marburg. Unibz has been sponsored for this PhD, in terms of fellowships, by EURAC research and the Regione Trentino Alto Adige. (v) the PhD programme in Economics and Finance and in Management which foresees cooperations with the University of Verona as well as many leading foreign universities. Challenge-based learning (e.g., Student & Company Sprint) The University of Bolzano has offered in cooperation with other partners some challengebased learning extra-curricular courses, to foster group working, critical thinking and entrepreneurship skills of students. An interesting example at this respect is the “Students & Company Sprint”, a five-day course organized by the NOI Techpark and the University of Bolzano in February 2022 (financed by the European Social Fund), in which three companies presented an innovation challenge that student teams had to solve following the Google Design Sprint Methodology, mentored by experts and scientists. Based on a selfassessment questionnaire based on the European Entrepreneurship Competence framework sent to students after this course, this course had an overall very positive effect on students’ entrepreneurial competences. The highest effect was on the ability to “work with others”. A case study on this course is in preparation and will be published soon in the portal with higher education cases HEInnovate. New editions – also with other formats – are planned in the next few years. Learning Factory (Smart Mini Factory) The Smart Mini Factory lab (https://smartminifactory.it/about-us/smart-minifactory/) is a learning factory laboratory used for applied research and for teaching (both Bachelor and Master courses and life-long courses). It aims to study and simulate different modern and advanced concepts of production technologies and methods in the context of Industry 4.0, with particular attention to small and medium enterprises. 21 (d) Summer School - Designing and testing new development models in the human-animalenvironment interdependence. Agroecology, social inclusion, territory and community, (e) Summer school on “Artificial Intelligence: from Deep Learning to Data Analytics”. PA 110 cum Laude project – PA 110 cum laude is a project launched by the Ministry of Public Administration as part of the broader plan called “Re-Formare” the Public Administration. PA 110 cum laude intends to enhance university vocational training, to enable public employees who have graduated to obtain a university degree. Specific study programs are also planned for targeted training in the Public Administration's fields of interest. In this context, the University of Udine signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry for Public Administration to offer, as early as February 2022, the opportunity for PA employees to enroll in study courses with a specific focus on PA. For the academic year 2022/23, bachelor's and master's degree courses and advanced and refresher courses will be part of the program. The training offer is designed to meet the goal specified in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Component 1-Mission 1) of developing interventions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes by strengthening the skills of human capital in administrations. Individual courses – Enrolment in individual courses allows students to attend lectures, sit for the final exam of one or more subjects of the various degree courses or single-cycle degree courses offered at University of Udine and obtain a certificate. These are one of the initiatives aimed at encouraging continuing education and are aimed at those who want to update themselves on specific topics or supplement their professional skills; - have already graduated but need additional examinations for admission to public competitions or specialization courses; need to acquire the curricular requirements for admission to a Master's degree course; wants to obtain recognition of examinations upon enrolment in a degree course. Equal opportunities and inclusion – The course aims to promote a culture of respect and inclusion. Specifically, the course aims to acquire knowledge on the systemic mechanisms of exclusion and make people understand the genesis of stereotypes and prejudices; develop skills to promote equal opportunities, the inclusion of diversity, the recognition and enhancement of different talents in a logic of promotion of rights, respect and civil coexistence, reduction of inequalities and the fight against all forms of discrimination and violence; promote autonomy of judgement, mediation skills, adaptation, integration and inclusion; develop soft skills aimed at managing and communicating the value of diversity in professional contexts and in team working. 28 The course is structured along interdisciplinary lines and involves lecturers from all the University's departments. The topics of gender, diversity inclusion and equal opportunities are developed according to a multidisciplinary approach and in an interdisciplinary perspective. The involvement of lecturers belonging to different scientific-disciplinary fields makes the course varied and stimulating. The method used by the lecturers is that of dissemination of the results of scientific research in order to make concepts and notions from each discipline accessible to all, focusing more on perspective and message than on technicalities. 29 Maritime spatial planning; Geography of global supply chains; History of contemporary architecture; Design of Common Goods and Co-design of urban spaces. A.4 University of IUAV Key figures of University of IUAV are collected in Table A4. Alongside the themes and subjects that characterize each specific degree program (Architecture, Urban Planning, Design, Arts), the IUAV University of Venice has structured initiatives aimed at the transversal training of its students on relevant topics that are fundamental to face the future challenges of the territories. Information and Communication Technologies and the theme of Sustainability have been identified as relevant topics to improve the competence and the skills of its students. The University offers elective courses that focuses and /or involve ICT or Sustainability topics. Many of them are transversal to all study programs. Regarding Sustainability, elective courses are about: 30 Table A4 – University of IUAV: key figures Digital interactions; Drawing laboratory, animation and digital scene Regarding ICT, elective courses are about: In addition to the training on specific topics and skills relevant to the innovation of the territory, the traditional teaching is integrated with activities aimed at strengthening the students’ soft skills. For this reason, among the various job placement initiatives, the IUAV University promotes the organization of workshops, seminars and meetings that aim to help students identify and certify their skills. These training sessions are preparatory to improving the job search process following graduation. The theme is addressed in various types of events, including a series of seminars dedicated to the analysis of personal Soft Skills. The activity is organized through a mix of lectures and workshops which, with innovative methodologies such as Serious Play, aim to support participants in bringing out their thoughts, their strengths, Soft Skills and their relational and communication skills. There are also meetings dedicated to building and improving one's transversal skills necessary to live and work in an international environment. To improve the impact of university research and its competences on the territory, it is necessary that the training and research activity is not aimed exclusively at students, but that it involves the territory and the professionals that operate in it. On this aspect, recently, during the a.y. 2022/23, IUAV has designed a training course on the management of the entire life cycle of a building (with regard to the health sector) aimed at personnel of the ULSS 3 Serenissima (health department of the Venice area). Through this advanced training course, methodologies and techniques are analysed, explored and implemented, in order to get the competences and skills to manage an advanced "organizational model" by the use of innovative tools that allow to govern activities, flows and products of the operational phases of building construction: launch, management and control of procedures of tender; monitoring and control of the construction stages of the work; monitoring and control of the management and maintenance activities of the works; functional and spatial variations/variants of building parts. The model presented in this course is based on a pervasive use of ICT tools such as BIM sotwares. Among this innovative course and the well-established training activities, the University offers the “Giornate di formazione tecnica sul paesaggio” (Days of technical training on the Landscape). 31 It is a professional training course, active since 2018, organized in synergy with the Regional Observatory for the Veneto landscape. This training initiative is aimed at professionals (engineers, architects, urban planners, agronomists/foresters, geologists, agrotechnicians) and public administration technicians, as well as farmers who carry out their activity in traditional rural landscapes or in agricultural lands that are characterized of historical interest that feature the territory of the Veneto Region. The aim of the course, even if it focalized in the Veneto territory, is to provide the knowledge and technical skills to promote the protection, management and redevelopment of the landscapes of the Northeast of Italy, with particular attention to territorial, urban and sector planning policies and to those of a cultural, environmental, agricultural, social and economic. 32 A.5 University of Padova Key figures of University of Padova are collected in Table A5. University of Padova is involved in several innovative Training & Education activities, which are structured at various levels. The central unit for improving and modernizing teaching at Padua University is constituted by the Teaching4Learning@Unipd® project. Through project courses, teachers will become part of departmental and inter-departmental communities where they can initiate and share good teaching practices and promote innovative, technological methods. Teaching4Learning @Unipd® is the result of constant research carried out in the field of teaching in higher education and in international research groups that propose as their ultimate objective the innovation of university teaching. They aim to do so by promoting learner-centered approach, aligning with the proposals of European documents: Strategy 2020 (European Commission, 2010) and the Agenda for the modernization of the European higher education system. The teachers voluntarily involved in the project are highly interested and motivated, with a significant driver to share their experience with other colleagues. In fact, at the end of the proposed training course, the expected result concerns the chance of creating a faculty learning community among the participants, with the aim of being able to support each other in teaching practices and experimenting with and discovering together new teaching strategies to engage students, encouraging active and informed participation in teaching activities. 33 Table A5 – University of Padova: key figures The methodologies and techniques through which university teaching is carried out are often complemented by the strategic use of technology. In response to this need, the Digital Learning and Multimedia (DLM) office has set up a web page dedicated to the use of new technologies for teaching, where are indicated: tools and courses available for teaching, guides and tutorials on the use of the various tools, services to support the University staff, possibility of requesting workshops and specific training activities, according to the needs of schools or departments (in recent years, weekly workshop cycles have already been provided on the use of Moodle and new technologies for teaching). In order to improve its presence at international level, the University of Padova has decided to join the MOOC world and to produce some courses held in English, as part of a new strategy on education and distance learning where innovative pedagogical techniques are needed. With FutureLearn for Campus, the whole University of Padova community can access Future Learn's MOOCs or enjoy for free the upgraded versions of courses from institutions that have joined. Special devices to improve teaching and learning efficiency have been developed (e.g. the patented LightBoard, see https://www.boardonair.eu/). An intensive programme courses addressing students at developing cross and soft skills is available. Skills and abilities acquired by participating in projects, training courses and/or other activities in the various areas of university life, in order to promote an inclusive university environment are certified. Some examples are: Communication and Soft Skills, Digital Skills – Psychology, Formula SAE International Competition - Operative Member and Executive Member, JEst – Junior Enterprise, Mooc Probability and Statistics, MotoStudent International Competition, Lift UP - Aircraft Design for the ACC student competition, Design of Components in a Critical Raw Materials Perspective, 1001Vela Cup International Project – Mètis Vela Unipd, RAIDMAP – Raw Ideas for Materials Projects, Scientific Communication for Psychology (SC4P), Soft Skills for Management, Soft skills for personal and professional development, Formative tutoring, UniZEB Operative Member, Valorisation of the University's Cultural Heritage. For teaching staff, training courses are also offered, to improve teaching through the adoption of innovative teaching techniques and by involving students through experimental proposals: Inclusive teaching, Teaching online, Mooc Educator, Mooc Lead Educator, Peer Observation, Teaching4Learning, Teaching4Learning Change Agent, Teaching Online. Coming to Disciplinary projects to enhance teaching quality, since 2018 UNIPD has financed the implementation of innovative teaching projects to foster the improvement of teaching in undergraduate, master's and single-cycle master's degree courses. 34 Projects are presented by Schools or by Departments, and include initiatives for the improvement of teaching that can directly involve students with proposals for innovation and experimentation in teaching. Virtual labs (technological & informatics, see https://vlab.unipd.it/) have been developed, as well as innovative international tutoring initiatives, industrial seminars, wide programs multiand inter-disciplinary courses, pilot project on blended courses. . In the area of Engineering, the pilot-project Transitions Technologies has been developed, offering new approaches to face multi-dimensional problems associated to ecological and digital transitions. New education paths, integrated with existing Master Degree programs, have been set up, to shape two modern professional profiles, such as those of Green Technologies Expert and Smart Infrastructures Expert (https://ingegneria.unipd.it/didattica/transitions-technologies#). Several Master Degree programs (upgraded or recently introduced) are also covering key topics such as sustainability and digitalization, e.g.: Sustainable Chemistry and Technologies for Circular Economy, Environmental Engineering, Sustainable Agriculture, Data Science, Management for sustainable firms, Tourism, culture and sustainability, Energy engineering, Cybersecurity. A relevant focus, at different levels, is given to continuous and lifelong learning initiatives, including Specialization Schools, First-level and Second-level Short Specialization degrees (quite advanced scientific courses or studies in life-long learning programs, with acquisition of at least 60 credits), Higher level training courses, Professional courses. In several cases, such initiatives are developed in cooperation with Public Administration (e.g. PA 110 cum Laude project, in cooperation with Public Administration) or in the frame of EU projects (e.g. LightRight, 4LAlloys and MILLE Projects, all financed by EIT-RM and covering topics related to sustainability and eco-sustainable design). Furthermore, University of Padua has adopted open badges and digital certificates so that the skills acquired in the various academic fields can be tracked and promoted. In this way, each training path can be certified and becomes part of the know-how of students and UNIPD staff, ensuring their personal and professional growth. Both open badges and blockcerts-digital certificates are digital certifications. issued to meet the need to develop digital solutions which comply with national and international policies. 35 A.6 University of Venezia Ca' Foscari Key figures of University of Venezia Ca' Foscari are collected in Table A6. Ca’ Foscari University has established a “Teaching & Learning Innovation Center” which aggregates within a single hub all the University initiatives related to teaching innovation, the development of methodologies and tools for a better learning and teaching experience, training transversal skills and soft skills. The center designs and delivers several innovative Training & Education activities. Among them, those that are worth mentioning are: blended courses, minors, the innovative teaching laboratories and the Competency Center. BLENDED COURSES Blended training means adopting an approach that combines traditional training with trainer-led online activities. Unlike eLearning, online classes do not completely replace faceto-face classes; teachers use technology to enrich the learning experience and expand knowledge. The first Blended courses at Ca' Foscari started in the a.y. 2013/14 with the SxA (Studiare per Apprendere) project. The number of courses that apply this modality has never been significant, if compared to the overall training offer, but the feedback, as far as student satisfaction is concerned, has always been very positive. 36 Table A6 – University of Venezia Ca' Foscari: key figures MINORS The Minors are a complementary path to the degree courses, which allows to enrich the student’s main field of training with transversal skills useful for both continuing their studies and meeting the demands of the world of work. Each Minor consists of three courses of 6 credits each. After passing the three exams that make up the Minor, students obtain a certificate of the path taken and an Open Badge: a digital certification that describes the skills acquired. Examples of interdisciplinary Minors Asia, culture society and markets The three modules that embrace the four macro-areas covered by the course – China, Japan, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent – are aimed at students from the scientific, economic, cultural-humanistic fields who intend to direct their cultural and professional attention towards the countries of Asia. The purpose of this Minor course is to allow students not specialised in the languages and cultures of those areas to approach a variety/plurality of ways of life, thought and communication, typical of some regions (macro-areas) of Asia, providing them with basic knowledge to understand individual and collective customs and behaviour, work and organization systems in the context of companies, markets, businesses, academic and research institutions. Artistic Management Through the Minor in Artistic Management students learn and apply the techniques of artistic expression, increasingly requested by companies for their storytelling but also to introduce and strengthen the cultural variable in the workplace. This responds to the growing interest of companies in managerial figures with transversal skills, possessing both creative and technical knowledge. The Minor proposes a new idea of manager, aware of the resources offered by the languages of art. Social innovation management for smart communities The changes in the social and economic ecosystem provide a reliable key to understanding the increasingly numerous cases of governance failure, both of companies and institutions. Management, in rethinking its own paradigms and value system from the ground up, must resize the traditional techno-centric approach and contaminate itself with contributions from the humanities and social disciplines, to place people and society at the centre of the value system. Environmental humanities This Minor intends to introduce BA students to a new academic area that addresses the urgent planetary environmental crisis from an interdisciplinary perspective. 37 “Economy, environment and development”, “Materials and chemical engineering for nano, bio, and sustainable technologies”, “Data science and artificial intelligence”, “Geophysics and geodata”, “Global change ecology and sustainability”. A.8 University of Trieste Key figures of University of Trieste are collected in Table A8. University of Trieste has several Training & Education activities both integrated in the courses of first, second and post-graduate level both in specific, transversal and extracurricular activities. Courses − University of Trieste offers courses in the fields of social-humanistic studies, of science and technology, and of life and health sciences. Several courses deal with the themes of sustainability and digitalization; in particular the following master’s degrees are worthy of mention: 44 Table A8 – University of Trieste: key figures 45 “Occupational safety and health”, “Individual creativity techniques”, “Business management: startup with Leadership, Teambuilding & Intellectual property”. Post-graduate offer − Among the post-graduate offer, University of Trieste activates several advanced master, specialization and professional development courses. Of particular interest for this project are interdisciplinary and innovative courses as the Advanced Masters in Sustainable blue economy and Medical Physics, and the professional development course in Health humanities. Furthermore, the University of Trieste activates Summer and Winter Schools open to international students and addressing topics ranging from inclusion and cultural relations to the new challenges emerging from energy technologies. PA 110 cum Laude project − To promote the Life Long-Learning University of Trieste has also activated the PA 110 cum Laude project, in cooperation with Public Administration, favoring the enrolment of public employees in almost all its courses. European Alliance − The University of Trieste is partner of an European Alliance, that has the objective to promote the development of competencies to deal with emergent global transformations (digital infrastructure, environmental sustainability and social inclusion], through innovative challenge-based curricula. Teaching Learning Center − With the aim to activate in medium term a Teaching Learning Center, the University of Trieste has recently completed a pilot project, called “Trasformazione”, for the improvement, sharing and innovation of the teaching skills of its teachers. Specific activities are the following: Open Badge project − In order to enrich its educational offer, to increase students' skills and competences and to provide a tool to improve their curriculum, University of Trieste has started a project of extracurricular activities aimed at issuing Open Badges hosted by the Italian digital credentialing platform Bestr; these Open Badges to certificate disciplinary knowledge, transversal skills, linguistic and IT skills, professional technical are awarded to student’s extracurricular activities even if their ex-post recognition remains possible. There are a variety of subject areas introducing badges, and the number of Open Badges awarded by the University of Trieste is steadily increasing. Some of University of Trieste Open Badges currently available are: 46 learning (innovative training courses); mentoring (a service dedicated to the support of innovative enterprises and start-up); coworking (an exclusive space where students can work on their project and share ideas); making corner (specific area equipped with instruments as 3D printers and laser cutters to develop prototypes). C-Lab project − The Contamination Lab represents, for the students, the opportunity to unleash their creativity, develop their entrepreneurial spirit and managerial potential so as to work on their own projects and grow professionally; in order to deliver its mission, the CLab is structured on four services: Space Science and Technology (lead by UNITN) Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience (lead by UNICAM) A.9 SISSA Key figures of SISSA are collected in Table A9. SISSA is one of the seven schools of excellence in Italy dedicated to advanced doctoral training and, in particular, the first Italian institution ever to award PhDs. It is located in Trieste, one of Europe’s main scientific hubs: over 30 research centers present in the area and the highest number of researchers pro capita of any European city. The core business of SISSA is in its PhD programs and their contribution to research including in partnership with industries. An exceptional feature of our PhD scholarships is that they last for four years: students select their PhD projects at the end of the first year in which their main duty is to follow research level courses. This setting gives them a broader view of their research area and, at the same time, provides them with a solid high-level knowledge of their research filed. Importantly, this opportunity is made available to PhD students from any awarding institution through the the Visiting students Training Programs (VSTP) in Mathematics and Physics. SISSA also participates in innovative higher education programs funded by the Pnrr. It is partner in two new Pnrr National Doctorate programmes: 47 Table A9 – SISSA: key figures Master in High Performance Computing (MHPC) in collaboration with ICTP. An innovative specialization course covering the fast-growing field of high performance cpmputing (HPC) which includes lecturers from the industrial world. Since 2021, the MHPC is selected member of the first pan-European HPC pilot Master program which involves a consortium of European universities as well as research/supercomputing centers and industrial partners. Every year, many of the MHPC students are returning students with industrial experience. Master in Science Communication (MCS). In collaboration with professionals in the field including very innovative courses such as in journalism and AI, in science and politics, and in data journalism. PHD4PMI and PHD4INNOVATION (Training learning by doing): students are challenged by industries to solve their innovation needs. The initiative is now being offered to all seven schools of excellence of Italy through the PRO3 program. Series of webinar training delivered by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and headhunters. SISSA does not run its own Bachelor or Mater degrees. However, it is involved in a few cross-institutional and transversal MSc level programs in partnership with other iNEST institutions. Relevant to iNEST is, for instance, the Laurea Magistrale in Data Science and Scientific Computing with UNITS and UNIUD, followed up by the recently established PhD programme in Theoretical and Scientific Data Science (TSDS). SISSA also partnerships at the international level to the training of high skilled scientists in high priority sectors such as with the International Master in Physics of Complex Systems (with POLITO & ICTP) and the pan-European HPC Master program (see below). SISSA runs two innovative one-year long specialization programs: Finally, SISSA has an outstanding experience in leading European Doctoral Networks and European Industrial Doctorate (EID), as well as Research Summer Schools. Initiatives aimed at the broader education of SISSA students may be of interest to iNEST partners. We promote student’s lead seminars and workshops such as the Junior Maths Days conference and specialized seminar series. Our students are also involved in the SISSA 4 Schools (S4S) initiative aimed at pupils of all ages which include welcoming pupils in SISSA to experience the life of scientists. This is part of a broader initiative in Talent Valorisation and Development providing a series of events and courses aimed at strengthening soft skills, including employability through interactions with industries. This initiative includes the programs: Soft skills training also includes one-to-one coaching with the talent valorisation one-to-one coaching sessions, Job Fairs and the JOIN program Find job inspiration in SISSA Alumni’s career stories. 48 We also promote gender equality initiatives aimed at reversing the traditional imbalance in gender representation at academic and research levels in mathematics and physics with the Women in Maths and Women in Physics initiatives. Notably, over 20% of MHPC students are women, a much higher percentage than that found at national and international level in this sector which can be as low as 5%. In the frame of Spoke 9, SISSA collaborates with OGS in developing a digital twin of the North Adriatic Sea. OGS, together with Cineca, the national supercomputing centre, established a training programme in the field of High Performance Computing (HPC) for applications in Earth Sciences, called "HPC Training and Research for Earth Sciences" (HPCTRES), supported by the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR). The main objectives of the programme are capacity building, the enhancement of human capital, and advanced training in the fields of Digital Twin Earth, Earth System modelling and numerical methods, the latter being considered a strategic transversal component for modelling. HPC-TRES co-funds training and research awards (scholarships, research grants, and PhDs) designed to contribute to the thematic research lines of the scientific plan of the HPC-TRES programme. Since 2015, HPC-TRES has co-funded almost 60 young researchers. For more details see https://www.ogs.it/en/high-performance-computing-laboratory-hpc-tres. 49 March 2023