Funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme, INITIATION brings together HEIs and organisations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Cyprus, and North Macedonia, under the coordination of a leading university from North Macedonia. The project adopts a whole-institution approach, strengthening institutional capacity to design and implement forward-looking strategies that integrate sustainability and digital innovation.

INITIATION empowers universities in the Western Balkans with essential digital skills and green competencies, ensuring alignment with European standards and fostering sustainable education practices across the region.

Through innovative training programs and collaborative activities, INITIATION bridges the digital skills gap in higher education. Our commitment to equipping academic leaders and students fosters an ecosystem of sustainable education, enabling institutions in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina to thrive in the digital age and contribute to regional development.

Over the course of the project, INITIATION will deliver a comprehensive set of capacity-building activities, including:

• the development of Strategic Recommendations informed by state-of-the-art research and stakeholder engagement;
  
• blended formal training programmes for more than 240 faculty members and academic leaders, focusing on green and digital competencies, strategic decision-making, and innovative learning design;
  
• informal learning opportunities, such as virtual and in-person mobilities and job shadowing;
  
• and student hackathons, engaging over 100 higher education students in developing digital and green solutions.
  

Through these activities, INITIATION aims to:

• enhance the capacity of academic leaders to design and implement sustainable digital and green institutional strategies;
  
• support faculty in developing interdisciplinary courses that embed green and digital skills;
  
• improve students’ employability by equipping them with integrated competences relevant to the evolving labour market;
  
• and establish participating HEIs in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina as regional role models in sustainable and digitally enhanced higher education.