Author: Nikolina Frangoullidou

Empowering the Innovators of Tomorrow: Fostering Green & Social Entrepreneurship in Schools

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 26/07/2024. Posted in Blog.

The growing awareness of social and environmental issues of recent years, has fueled the demand for innovative and sustainable solutions to navigate through the increasingly the increasingly complex realities and issues our societies and the world face. This shift is also reflected in the priorities of young people, who are increasingly interested in leading or participating in initiatives that positively impact society.

The Rise of Social Innovation and Green Entrepreneurship

Social innovation and green entrepreneurship are thus gaining prominence as effective responses to social and environmental challenges. At the same time, it becomes increasingly clear that the innovators of tomorrow, as well as all citizens, must be equipped not only with technical skills but also with a deep understanding of social and environmental responsibility.

Projects like INITIATION play a crucial role in this context, focusing on fostering these values in school education.

INITIATION: Fostering Green Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in School Education

A joint initiative of leading education and research institutions from four EU countries – Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Estonia – INITIATION focused on fostering green social innovation and social entrepreneurship in secondary education. Through a structured and comprehensive plan, the partners developed structured and innovative resources and activities to cultivate a socially-driven entrepreneurial spirit among high school students, inspiring them to become agents of change in their local communities.

By merging green social innovation and social entrepreneurship, the project aimed to raise students’ awareness of environmental and social challenges and empower them to act creatively and ethically. It also sought to instill an impact-oriented mentality, encouraging students to think beyond personal gain and consider the broader implications of their actions.

Why Focus on Secondary Education?

Schools are the breeding ground for the leaders of tomorrow. They play a pivotal role in shaping the values, skills, and mindsets of young individuals. Integrating green social innovation and social entrepreneurship into school curriculums can have far-reaching benefits:

Encouraging Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: Engaging students with real-world problems encourages them to think critically and develop practical solutions.
Promoting Ethical and Responsible Behavior: Teaching students about sustainability and social responsibility helps to cultivate ethical leaders who prioritize the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.
Preparing Students for Future Careers: The demand for jobs in the green economy and social enterprise sectors is growing. Providing students with relevant knowledge and skills prepares them for successful careers in these fields.
Fostering a Sense of Agency and Empowerment: Involvement in impactful projects helps students develop a sense of agency and empowerment, leading to increased engagement and motivation in their academic and personal lives.

The INITIATION Contribution

Building on these principles, the INITIATION project team developed a holistic approach taking firm steps to integrate these concepts into the educational systems of the participating countries. The cornerstone of the project was the development of a methodological framework that encompassed key components for integrating social entrepreneurship and green social innovation education into school curricula, fostering a hands-on learning experience.

This framework was complemented by tangible learning resources, specifically designed to enhance students’ knowledge and involvement in the field, as well as a Teachers’ Handbook to support educators in delivering transformative and practical learning experiences.

Testimonials and Impact

These tools and resources were successfully implemented in 4 schools across the participating countries, receiving highly positive feedback from the more than 100 students and teachers who participated in its actions and training workshops.

“This program helped me understand how social entrepreneurship can lead to positive change,” Giannis, a Greek student from Kalamata High School, remarked. “I never imagined my passion for sustainability could translate into a viable business plan.”

Educators also praised the project for its extensive resource library and experiential learning methodology. “Students can practically explore social entrepreneurship within the framework of the INITIATION curriculum,” said Nicholas Shiaxiate, a history teacher at The Junior Senior School in Nicosia, Cyprus. “Watching my students gain confidence in their ability to be socially conscious innovators has been immensely rewarding.”

Conclusion and the Future

The INITIATION project concludes its work on July 31st, having profoundly impacted educational institutions in the participating countries, planting the seeds for an innovative and environmentally conscious culture. The project’s work also represents a paradigm shift in education that, if emulated and expanded, can transform how students perceive and respond to social and environmental challenges in their communities.

To sustain and amplify this impact, it is crucial to invest in mainstreaming relevant educational programs, utilizing the resources developed, and learning from the project’s work. Cross-sector collaborations between educational institutions, policymakers, schools, and existing social entrepreneurs can build a strong ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the expansion of green social innovation from the ground up.

The conclusion of INITIATION marks not an end, but a beginning—a call to continue empowering the innovators of tomorrow.

Learn more about INITIATION and access its resources here

RALExILA – National Registries of Adult Learning and Education to support the deployment of Individual Learning Accounts

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 25/07/2024. Posted in Projects & Initiatives.

The RALExILA project is dedicated to enhancing access to adult training opportunities by improving the quality of Adult Learning and Education (ALE) programs and making access systems more efficient and equitable. This involves ensuring clear information, increasing learners’ understanding of available opportunities, and improving funding and guidance services. The project aims to develop a model and proof of concept for an integrated information system that links national registries for training opportunities. This system will focus on interoperability, accessibility, and inclusiveness, ensuring high-quality ALE provisions for all.

Civic Champions- Empowering civil society organisations and activists championing human rights and democratic values in the EU

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 25/07/2024. Posted in Projects & Initiatives.

Civic Champions aims to enhance the protection of civic space in selected EU countries in the Southern Europe by empowering civil society actors to report threats and violations of their fundamental rights. In the context of the “shrinking civic space” phenomenon, this project has the goal to develop monitoring and early warning mechanism, capacity building and promoting public trust in civil society actors through a combination of evidence-based and communication actions.

Exploring New Paths to Inclusive Education in Cyprus

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 02/07/2024. Posted in Blog.

In an increasingly interconnected and diverse world, the importance of inclusive education has never been more apparent. At its core, inclusive education believes that every child has the right to learn and grow in a supportive environment. This approach recognises each student’s unique skills and adapts teaching methods accordingly.

Instead of isolating students with disabilities or with fewer opportunities like migrants, inclusive education integrates them into mainstream classrooms, providing the support and resources they need to succeed. As a result, it has the potential of not only enhancing academic achievement but also fostering social and emotional development. By learning in diverse environments, students develop empathy, cultural competence, and critical thinking skills, which are essential for success in an increasingly globalised world.
Although the advantages of inclusive education are evident, achieving effective and consistent implementation throughout the entire system remains difficult. Schools often find themselves facing challenges such as insufficient resources, lack of teacher training, and resistance to change. Consequently, as the recent findings of the European Commission show, many member states not only miss out on leveraging the full potential of inclusive education, but tend to dismiss its importance. An approach that deepens the associated issues and challenges resulting in low proficiency and early school leaving in the process.

Success of Inclusive Hubs in Cyprus

In a bid to address current gaps, CARDET and the Institute of Development have partnered with fellow European organisations in a common pursuit to support holistic approaches to teaching and learning and creating stronger interagent communities. Through a common initiative – Inclusive Hubs – the partner organisations aim to support the national strategies to facilitate stronger communication between schools and local communities and provide measures to foster inclusion. Towards that end, the partners combined their expertise and experiences together to build engaging and innovative teaching materials to empower educators, students and parents to work collectively and transform schools into inclusive hubs. These were very well received and celebrated when put into practice, in the piloting of the project at the Pallouriotissa A Primary school throughout May and June.

During this period, CARDET and IoD used the innovative educational materials developed by the partnering countries to showcase to students, parents and school staff, how inclusive education can be fostered within an existing system and be used to celebrate the differences, as well as find the common ground.

The activities ranged from small games, to exploring the world of music around the world, sharing folklore stories from different countries, as well as compiling a delightful recipe book packed with traditional dishes from students’ homelands. These activities culminated in a touching video of students sharing their favourite things about their school, as well as an impressive final event filled with performances of local and migrant students, celebrating our wonderfully diverse community.

Through these fun activities, engaging conversations and exchange of opinions, the Inclusive Hubs project has been instrumental in highlighting the importance of acceptance, equality and inclusion within the school premises, as well as outside of it. While the series of activities left the school staff and young learners inspired with actionable take-aways on how to better our school communities, this is merely a step on the long road to making inclusive education a standard across all the schools on the island.

To be a part of the change and learn more about the Inclusive Hubs initiative, please visit the official project website.

The kick off meeting of EPIC project in Athens

The Official Launch of the EPIC Project

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 01/07/2024. Posted in Project News.

The EPIC project (Entrepreneurial Citizenship for Social Change) officially launched with a successful kick-off meeting in Athens, marking the beginning of an inspiring journey aimed at empowering youth workers and young people in the Western Balkans to become active citizens and social entrepreneurs.

EPIC focuses on social entrepreneurship, offering youth the chance to leverage their skills to address social issues, reduce youth unemployment, and foster community development. The project achieves this through two key components: the Training Programme on Social Entrepreneurship and the Toolkits for Development & Operation of Social Enterprises.

At the kick-off meeting, EPIC partners from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece, and Kosovo gathered to discuss the project’s objectives, strategies, and upcoming activities. These discussions have set the stage for collaborative efforts to promote active citizenship and social entrepreneurship in the region.

To find out more about EPIC initiative, visit the project’s website and stay tuned for more updates on Facebook and Instagram.

EPIC – Entrepreneurial Citizenship for Social Change

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 01/07/2024. Posted in Projects & Initiatives.

Recognising the power of young people to drive change in their society, the EPIC project is here to empower youth workers and young people in the Western Balkans to become active citizens and social entrepreneurs. It helps participants identify social issues, develop innovative ideas, and, with the right guidance and support, transform these ideas into successful businesses.

Aligning with the EU’s EASI (2020) perspective, the project emphasises social enterprises’ role in addressing social issues through civic commitment, particularly among disadvantaged groups. By focusing on social entrepreneurship, EPIC provides youth with the opportunity to apply their skills to create innovative solutions for social problems, reducing youth unemployment, and fostering community development. Social enterprises create jobs in underserved social and environmental sectors, providing meaningful opportunities and combating social exclusion, skill gaps, and financing barriers.

Specifically, the EPIC project aims to:

Foster cooperation across different regions of the world through joint initiatives
Raise the capacity of organisations working with young people outside formal learning
Support the development of youth work
Promote non-formal learning activities, with a view to improve the level of competences while ensuring the active participation of young people in society

RELIEF project releases an e learning platform with online courses

RELIEF Launches Free Online Courses to Enhance Agricultural Bioeconomy Skills

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 28/06/2024. Posted in Project News.

RELIEF is excited to announce the launch of its new e-learning platform, designed to upskill individuals in the agricultural bioeconomy. This innovative platform, now available to the public, offers 20 specialised courses complete with supplementary materials, aimed at boosting knowledge and skills essential for sustainable agriculture.

Engaging and Accessible Learning Experience

The platform provides an interactive and engaging learning experience through gamified resources, ensuring optimal user engagement and knowledge retention. Supporting multiple languages, including English, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, and Swedish, the platform is accessible to a diverse audience. Courses cater to various educational levels, from university students to agronomists and farmers, and are entirely free of charge.

Comprehensive Course Offerings

The platform features five primary modules, each containing multiple learning units. Watch the introductory videos to discover the course contents:

Participants can explore introductory videos to get an overview of the comprehensive knowledge in bioeconomy and circularity concepts, as well explore multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and managerial skills to further enhance and implement bioeconomy practices in rural contexts.

Easy Access and Support

Interested individuals can register and access the courses online for free at the RELIEF E-Learning Platform. To assist users, the platform offers detailed guides and a YouTube tutorial for effective navigation. Additionally, trainer support materials, including PowerPoints and activity instructions for each module, are available.

About RELIEF:
RELIEF provides training opportunities for university students, agricultural consultants and farmers to facilitate the transition to the bioeconomy in the agricultural sector and help revitalise rural areas in the EU. RELIEF is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the EU – Partnership for Innovation, Alliances for Education and Enterprises action.

For further information: relief@uop.gr

TINKER findings and recommendations of a recent research

TINKER Research Reveals Ground-breaking Findings and Recommendations

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 28/06/2024. Posted in Project News.

The TINKER project, aimed at enhancing informatics education across Europe, has released its comprehensive report on the state of informatics education in six European countries: Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, and Croatia. The report, compiled through literature reviews, focus group discussions, and questionnaire responses, offers a detailed insight into informatics education, authentic learning practices, and gender inclusion initiatives. Key aspects of the research included a thorough analysis of National Curriculum frameworks, educational guidelines, and textbooks used for teaching informatics.

Curriculum Structure and Integration of Informatics

TINKER highlights significant variations in the structure and integration of informatics education across partner countries. In Greece, informatics stands as a standalone subject in primary education, whereas Cyprus integrates learning outcomes into optional and compulsory subjects. Italy and the Netherlands embed digital competencies within various subjects without a distinct informatics course. At the same time, Ireland integrates informatics concepts across subjects rather than offering it as a standalone subject at primary and secondary levels. At the secondary level, Cyprus and Greece maintain informatics as a separate compulsory subject, whereas Italy and Croatia integrate it into other subjects, making it optional in later grades. Despite these variations, the TINKER project underscores the universal recognition of informatics education’s importance while highlighting the challenge of establishing it as a standalone subject with dedicated time allocation.

Authentic Learning Practices

The TINKER project identifies significant implementation limitations across the studied countries regarding authentic learning, which connects academic concepts with real-world applications. Despite the National Curriculum’s intent in Cyprus, many teachers lack familiarity with authentic learning, leading to inconsistent application. Greece faces gaps in aligning teaching methods with digital competency development, necessitating comprehensive professional development. In Ireland and Italy, efforts to incorporate authentic learning are hindered by time constraints, limited resources, and resistance to change. Croatia’s educators encounter obstacles like inadequate resources and large class sizes despite using authentic learning practices.

Gender-inclusive practices

Gender inclusion in informatics education emerges as an area requiring substantial improvement. While efforts are made in some countries, such as Cyprus, to represent male and female role models in curricula, comprehensive strategies for diverse perspectives still need to be developed. Greece and Italy struggle with tailored approaches for diverse student demographics, perpetuating gender stereotypes. In Ireland and the Netherlands, challenges like gender imbalances in the field and curriculum materials reinforcing stereotypes are prevalent.

To address these challenges, the TINKER project proposes strategic recommendations. These include advocating for curriculum reform to integrate informatics as a compulsory subject at the primary education level, aligned with the European Digital Competence Framework (DigComp 2.2). Recommendations also focus on updating curriculum guidelines to explicitly promote authentic learning and gender inclusion, alongside enhancing teacher training and professional development programmes.

The research findings will be used by the partners to shape the project materials and activities. The ultimate aim is to develop innovative teaching methods that meet the needs of teachers and students. This will involve creating resources and strategies tailored to enhance informatics education across Europe.

Find the TINKER Transnational Report on state-of-the-art and needs, here.

TINKER – An authentic learning and gender inclusive framework for teaching informatics in schools across Europe.

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 28/06/2024. Posted in Projects & Initiatives.

TINKER project aims to revolutionise informatics education in upper primary and lower secondary schools through a comprehensive pedagogical framework. Rooted in authentic learning principles, the project encourages students to engage with real-life tasks, promoting exploration and intentional connections between theoretical knowledge and practical experiences. The project also aims to address and overturn the severe underrepresentation of women and gender minorities in the field, by adopting a progressive gender-inclusive stance. In particular, it will promote gender-inclusive teaching practices creating positive student-centred environments that celebrate diversity.

VIRDUAL: Boosting digital innovation in VET by integrating Extended Reality to train work-readiness skills for Work-based learning programmes

Written by Nikolina Frangoullidou on 14/06/2024. Posted in Projects & Initiatives.

We are excited to announce the release of our new project VIRDUAL. A project which aims to boost digital innovation in vocational education and training (VET) by equipping teachers and in-company trainers with the skills to use Extended Reality (XR) tools and simulation techniques. This will help them train apprentices and work-based learning (WBL) participants in work-readiness skills.

VIRDUAL will increase the capacity and readiness of VET centres and companies participating in WBL to manage an effective shift towards digital education. The project will support the purposeful use of XR digital technologies in WBL for teaching, learning, assessment and engagement, developing digital pedagogy and innovative use of digital education contents in VET.

The digital-based methodologies and results of VIRDUAL project will enhance expertise of the target groups in the use of Extended Reality (XR) to train work-readiness skills in WBL and will promote the innovative use of digital education by means of implementing a double approach to training Digital skills:

1) VET teachers and in-company trainers, target users of the project, will be skilled on using XR to train work-readiness skills.

2) Apprentices and WBL participants, will be trained through XR on work-readiness skills, to be applied in businesses during their participation in apprenticeship programmes.