News & Events

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1ο Ενημερωτικό Δελτίο του έργου RE-START

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logo-restartΔημοσιεύθηκε το πρώτο newsletter του έργου RE-START – Reinforcing the circular economy model for START-ups, το οποίο συγχρηματοδοτείται από το πρόγραμμα Erasmus + 2021-2027. To newsletter περιλαμβάνει τα επιτεύγματα και αποτελέσματα του έργου κατά τον πρώτο χρόνο υλοποίησης. Παραμείνετε συντονισμένοι για την εξέλιξη του έργου.

Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες σχετικά με το έργο και τις άλλες δραστηριότητες της ερευνητικής ομάδας DAISSy:

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The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University implements the TOUR-X project targeting excellence in the Tourism Industry!

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tou-x-logoThe TOUR-X is a newly approved Center of Vocational Excellence (COVE) ERASMUS+ Project for the Tourism Industry. It aims to enhance the ability of the education providers to adapt the provision of skills to everchanging economic and social needs by setting up Knowledge Triangles of VET providers, representatives of the business sector, and public authorities to collaborate better and contribute to regional development in the Tourism sector.

This will be achieved by applying a bottom-up approach involving twenty-three experienced partners representing the most prominent VET providers, the Tourism sector and Regional Authorities of the seven project countries Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and China. Greece is regarded as one of the leading European countries in tourism and will be one of the four project countries (along with Italy, Spain and Germany) where knowledge triangles will be formed, targeted to accelerate tourism development at a regional level.

The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU) is a project partner in Greece and will be actively involved in all TOUR-X deliverables. Based on its long-term experience and valuable knowhow, DAISSy-HOU will contribute to the creation of TourX – Transnational Ecosystem for VET Excellence in the Tourism Sector, the design of a TourX “Hospitality Labs” ToolBox for Excellence and will promote the TOUR-X activities and deliverables through its network of stakeholders and media.

 

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A concrete example of an exciting dissemination action of DAISSy-HOU is linking the TOUR-X project within the “ERASMUS DAYS 2022” institution! In particular, the TOUR-X presentation was included in the webinar entitled “Digital competences in a cutting edge role for the Culture and Tourism professionals” organized by DAISSy-HOU online and in Greek (Thursday, 13th October 2022, 19.00-20.30 Greek time). The event focused on what digital transformation implies in tourism and culture and the development impact of the respective professionals.

  • Foteini Gatomati, Researcher of DAISSy-HOU and Project Manager of TOUR-X, delivered a speech about the milestones of the project and interacted with the participants through a vivid sharing of views and attracting the interest of academics, researchers as well as professionals from various sectors of activity such as education, local government, culture, tourism, etc. The event was included in the “DAISSy Days 2022” initiative organized by the DAISSy-HOU to celebrate the “ERASMUS DAYS 2022”. This is an innovative initiative of the DAISSy-HOU, sharing a valuable experience in the implementation of European projects, including numerous currently ongoing projects funded by the ERASMUS+ EU program.
  • The TOUR-X is a four-year project co-funded by the ERASMUS-EDU-2021-PEX-COVE program of the European Union. It is coordinated by the “AKMI ANONIMI EKPAIDEFTIKI ETAIRIA-AKMI SA” (Greece) with twenty-two (22) partners in six (6) EU member states (Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal) and China.

For more information about the TOUR-X project as well as other activities of the DAISSy-HOU:

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The DAISSy research team successfully participated in the exchange seminar in Brussels

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The exchange seminar of the Innovation Station project, co-financed by the European Commission Erasmus +, took place on 5-8 November 2022 in Brussels, Belgium hosted by OBESSU, the coordinating organization of the project. The aim of the workshop was the exchange of views of teachers and students on online (and blended) teaching and learning, the exploration of various methods and practices in online education, the identification of new ways of learning for students that aim to increase their participation in the online classroom and the promotion of self-directed learning.

The exchange seminar was attended by 35 teachers and high school students from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, and Greece.

During the four-day meeting, several workshops were held, presentations were given and some of the project’s research work was promoted. In particular, good practices of distance education, and structural problems encountered by the participants such as problems with internet access, limited connection to online courses, etc. were presented. Reference was also made to the problems of students such as lack of technological infrastructure, unequal digital skills, lack of technical support, etc. Regarding the problems of teachers, these were related to the lack of digital skills, time management, lack of motivation, bureaucracy, lack of uniform ICT tools, etc. In addition, reference was made to the socio-emotional experience of both students and teachers as well as the pedagogical challenges encountered.

The innovation of this workshop was the equal participation of teachers and students in the exchange of views and ideas on distance teaching and learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Both teachers and students had the opportunity to share their experiences and make recommendations for good practices, methods, and tools that will shape future sustainable education.

Six short interviews were conducted with 3 students and 3 teachers from EU countries who attended the event. They expressed their satisfaction with the knowledge they gained and their willingness to participate in future educational activities.

If you or your institution are interested in “Innovation Station” and would like to contribute, benefit or just follow the development of the project, you will find us in the following:

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Πρόσκληση σε Ερευνά Διερεύνησης των Εκπαιδευτικών Αναγκών των εν ενεργεία και μελλοντικών εκπαιδευτικών Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ως προς την Εκπαίδευση STEAM στην Ειδική Αγωγή

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logo-spiceΤο πρόγραμμα SpicE (Special Education STEAM Academy) στοχεύει στην ενίσχυση των ικανοτήτων των εν ενεργεία και μελλοντικών εκπαιδευτικών Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης Ειδικής και Γενικής Αγωγής στην αποτελεσματική σχεδίαση και υλοποίηση συμπεριληπτικών προγραμμάτων STEAM, προκειμένου να προστατεύσουν τους μαθητές/ήτριες με Ήπιες Εκπαιδευτικές Ανάγκες τόσο από τον εκπαιδευτικό όσο και από τον κοινωνικό αποκλεισμό.

Για το σκοπό αυτό, διαμορφώθηκε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο, το οποίο επιδιώκει να διερευνήσει

  • τις παρούσες στάσεις αλλά και ανάγκες των εκπαιδευτικών ως προς την υλοποίηση προγραμμάτων STEAM για την υποστήριξη των μαθητών/τριών με Ήπιες Εκπαιδευτικές Ανάγκες σε συμπεριληπτικά σχολικά περιβάλλοντα.

Προσκαλούμε, εν ενεργεία και μελλοντικούς/ες εκπαιδευτικούς Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης (δασκάλους/ες) Γενικής και Ειδικής Αγωγής στην Ελλάδα, να συμμετάσχουν στη δράση αυτή συμπληρώνοντας το διαδικτυακό ερωτηματολόγιο που περιλαμβάνει η έρευνα.

Τo ερωτηματολόγιο θα παραμείνει ανοικτό μέχρι τις 21 Δεκεμβρίου 2022. Μπορείτε να αποκτήσετε πρόσβαση σε αυτό επιλέγοντας τον παρακάτω σύνδεσμο: 

https://forms.gle/1KV9JaDBJeShavyF9

Η συμμετοχή σας στην έρευνα, μέσω της συμπλήρωσης του ερωτηματολογίου, απαιτεί περίπου 15 λεπτά. Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες που αφορούν στο έργο αυτό, διατίθενται στην ακόλουθη διεύθυνση: https://spiceacademy.eu/

Ευχαριστούμε πολύ!!

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The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU joined the ‘EDIFY-EDU: Equality, Diversity, Inclusion For improving the qualitY of Management EDUcation, training and professions’ transnational kick-off meeting in Ireland

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edify-edu-logoThe transnational partners’ meeting of the ‘EDIFY-EDU: Equality, Diversity, Inclusion For improving the qualitY of Management EDUcation, training and professions’ European project took place on 12th and 13th  October 2022, in Dublin (Ireland) and kicked-off its implementation.

The EDIFY-EDU project addresses the skills gap of Management education in regards to competencies on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). The project will facilitate skills for management students and managers in medium-sized companies, to respond to the societal transformation by setting up a system for skill assessment, learning offer and validation and recognition.

The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU, the Greek Academic partner, actively participated in the hybrid kickoff meeting, represented by its Director, prof. A. Kameas and DAISSy’s project Manager, Ms E. Georgakakou, who delivered a detailed presentation about the activities and deliverables related to the EDIFY-EDU platform, for which DAISSy serves as the Leader partner on its design, implementation, maintenance and evaluation.

The meeting was hosted by the Irish project Coordinator, DUN LAOGHAIRE IADT-Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and all eleven (11) partners from six (6) EU member-states, were represented. Namely, the partnership consists of the following organizations, of which all participated in the meeting:

The partners used this opportunity to meet in person in a most fruitful way by discussing thoroughly about the project objectives, i.e. the:

  • Identification of the skills considered strategic for the new millennium i.e. digital, green and social skills.
  • Strengthening the cooperation between the Academic and VET sectors, as well as with the Adult Education and nor-formal learning.
  • Boosting the capacity of a highly strategic sector, such as Business and Management, to tackle the new market conditions due to the pandemic.
  • Managing the challenges of the post pandemic era as an opportunity for developing a new generation of managers, with respect to the equality, diversity and inclusion principles in all business strategies and policies.

Emphasis was also placed to the exchange among the partners about the content of the project outcomes and the sharing of tasks, namely regarding the:

  • Research on training needs
  • EDIFY Curriculum outline
  • Massive Open Online Course-MOOC (EQF 5)
    • Higher Education and VET Management students, managers of small and medium sized enterprises, employers, etc
    • Sustainability and green competences for business and management, providing good practices to be implemented at the workplace
  • Specialisation Training Course (EQF 6)
    • face-to-face, virtual learning, project-based learning, and a work-based learning phase
    • customized learning paths
  • Face to face international training events (Winter School on Gender Equality)
  • Work-based learning and learning mobilities

The EDIFY_EDU is a three-year project co-funded by the ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant of the European Union and it also involves three Associated partners in Germany, Italy and Belgium. The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU and the Achade-Achaia Chamber Development Entity are the two partners which will be thoroughly linked for the effective implementation of the project activities in Greece, embracing also a number of respective stakeholders aiming at the multiple exploitation of the project results and its impact. Stay tuned!

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For more information on the EDIFY-EDU project, and other activities of DAISSy:

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University presented the BIBLIO project at the ERASMUS DAYS – DAISSy Days 2022 online event!

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erasmus-days-2022The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU), the Greek project partner, presented the “BIBLIO: Boosting digital skills ad competencies for librarians in Europe” EU project within the “ERASMUS DAYS 2022” institution. In particular, the BIBLIO presentation was included in the “DAISSy Days 2022” (13-15.10.2022) initiative organized by the DAISSy-HOU, to celebrate the “ERASMUS DAYS 2022”. This is an innovative initiative of the DAISSy-HOU, sharing a valuable experience in the implementation of European projects, including numerous currently ongoing projects also funded by the ERASMUS+ EU program.

Specifically, the presentation of the BIBLIO project was part of the thematic webinar entitled “Digital competences in a cutting edge role for the Culture and Tourism professionals” which was organized online (zoom platform) and in Greek on Thursday 13th October 2022 (19.00-20.30 Greek time).

The webinar focused on what digital transformation implies in the sectors of tourism and culture and its impact on the development of the respective professionals. It highlighted indicative European projects currently undergoing by DAISSy-HOU, which aim at developing the skills of the professionals active in the sectors of museums, Libraries, cultural heritage, tourism and hospitality. The objective was achieved through the presentation of the milestones of EU projects undergoing and/or completed by the organizer, as well as the exchange with the main actors involved in this process. Emphasis was put on the interaction with the participants through a vivid sharing of views.

More precisely and concerning the BIBLIO project presentation, Foteini GATOMATI, project manager, presented the ongoing findings and emphasized the BIBLIO blended training course. It was showcased how the ongoing BIBLIO outputs have responded to the new skills of Librarians in the digital era, according to the two emerged job role profiles in the Library sector i.e. the Community Engagement and Communication-CECO and the Digital Transformation Facilitator-DIGY.

biblio-1Furthermore, Leonidas Papachristopoulos, Librarian and trainer at BIBLIO MOOC, referred to the results of the completion of the MOOC and the positive impressions of the BIBLIO trainees currently involved in the work-based learning activities.

For more information about the DAISSy Days 2022 event on tourism and culture, please visit:

The event was also promoted through the DAISSy-HOU social media, as hereafter:

 The «DAISSy Days 2022» sessions of the ERASMUS DAYS 2022 were implemented online and attracted the interest of academics, researchers, students as well as professionals from various sectors of activity (such as education, local government, culture, tourism, energy, etc.).

The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU is the Greek partner of the BIBLIO project (ERASMUS+ / 612411-EPP-1-2019-1-IT-EPPKA2-SSA) and implements it, in cooperation with the Distance Library and Documentation Centre (DLIC) of the HOU, associate partner.

biblio-2Stay tuned and remember to visit the site of the BIBLIO project and check the “Stories” of the BIBLIO partners! https://www.biblio-project.eu/stories/

For more information about the BIBLIO project as well as other activities of the DAISSy-HOU:

This project is funded by the ERASMUS+ program of the European Commission, under grant agreement no. 612411-EPP-1-2019-1-IT-EPPKA2-SSA.

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Hellenic Open University hosts Kick-off-Meeting of SpicE

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Special Education STEAM Academy gathering representatives of universities, ministries and institutions from Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Bulgaria in an open dialogue to strengthen the Education Framework for STEAM in Special Education for students with mild disabilities in Primary Education

From September 22nd to 23rd, 2022, in Athens (Greece) the Hellenic Open University (HOU, Greece) hosted ministry representatives, teachers, professors, and managers of 11 education institutions from Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Bulgaria. The purpose of this meeting was to launch the project SpicE, co-financed by the European Union through the ERASMUS+ programme. This 3-year project is meant to promote visibility and inclusion for primary education students with mild disabilities, as well as to improve and promote STEAM techniques in Special Education at European level.

SpicE aims to enhance Primary Education Teachers’ ability to implement effective STEAM instruction for protecting students with Mild Disabilities (Special Education) from educational and social exclusion. STEAM is used both as the means and as the purpose for enabling a much-needed shift in Special Education in Primary Education both at an in-service and pre-service level. It sought to uplift barriers for a significant number of students that are silently, slowly, and indirectly marginalised from the early stages of European school systems due to the lack of Teachers’ STEAM skills and the lack of a methodological between STEAM and Special Education educational models.

The event allowed for a warm welcome from Prof. Achilles Kameas (HOU), the project coordinator, to the tour de table where partners met and got to know each other, which helped establish the connections that will ensure a smooth project implementation. The meeting was also available on Zoom for the participants that could not attend the meeting in person.

The objective of the kick-off meeting was to make sure all partners have a clear understanding of the expectations of the project, to understand the structure and workflow that will be followed throughout it and to be able to discuss the various work packages and their expected outputs, so that each partner understands their roles and responsibilities.

More specifically, partners discussed the project overview, project management, how special education practices will be collected and analysed, the educational and competence frameworks for STEAM in Special Education, the quality assurance in SpicE, the project’s dissemination means, channels and materials, and a shorter overview of the work packages concerning the professional development of STEAM special educators as well as the pilot testing and evaluation of future project results.

Moreover, Ms. Evita Tasiopoulou and Mr. Eddy Grand-Meyer from European SchoolNet presented EUN activities related to SpicE as well as two STEAM projects focused creating a conceptual framework of reference for integrated STE(A)M education, developing a capacity building programme for primary and secondary education teachers and designing an improvement journey with different stages associated to intervention steps based on research and proven experiences with recommendations.

Other activities carried out throughout this meeting include the approval of the Project Management Handbook and the establishment of the Steering Committee.

In the holding of this event in Athens, partners could share their experiences as well as become familiar with important aspects of the newborn project, and also enjoy the academic, cultural and geographic aspects of the City of Wisdom during their stay.

Additionally, it was hoped that the creation of synergies, and the coming results of the following working tasks and sessions will bring clarity for the implementation of the activities planned in the first year of work for this project.

 

 

For more information, visit the project’s website: spiceacademy.eu or check out its social media on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at @SpicEAcademyEU.

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The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU launches its activities on EDIFY-EDU European project on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Management EDUcation and professions

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edify-edu-logoThe ‘EDIFY-EDU: Equality, Diversity, Inclusion For improving the qualitY of Management EDUcation, training and professions’ is a newly approved European co-funded project that addresses the skills gap in the sector of Management education in regards to the competencies on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), which are constantly in a higher demand in the present complex and digitally transforming society.

The project aims to facilitate the acquisition of EDI competencies and transversal skills for management students, who are the future managers, and actual managers in business, focusing on small and medium-sized companies which are the backbones of the economy, in order to respond to the current societal transformation. This will be achieved by setting up a system for skill assessment, learning offer (as micro-credentials), knowledge validation and recognition. Specifically:

  • The EDIFY-EDU has already kicked off its activities on analyzing the training needs on the Management education and business sector regarding EDI in Europe.
  • Following the analysis, the identified needs will be translated into a modular training Curriculum addressing EQF levels 5-6, that is based on blended learning principles and it will be realized within: a MOOC, of 6 to 8 weeks long); Specialisation Courses, of a maximum duration of 8 weeks, and Work-Based Learning (WBL) six-months activities in the participating piloting countries, including Greece. This modular training program will emphasize on the development of EDI skills as well as digital, green and social skills which are considered strategic for the new millennium.
  • At least a hundred and twenty-five (125) trainees from five (5) EDIFY-EDU countries will be involved in the process and will transfer the acquired competences and skills to the real work environments, by strengthening the relation with the actual managers and applying a “flipped classroom” approach, i.e. trainees will familiarize the company managers with EDI skills and inadvertent unconscious bias in the workplace.
  • The outer goal is to incorporate the Equality Diversity and Inclusion principles across all business management processes. Therefore, a diverse work environment and an inclusive workplace culture, in which the EDI principles are respected in the business policies and practices, will be promoted, in order to enable employees to feel valued and reach their full potential in their workplace.

The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU) is the Greek Academic project partner and will be actively involved in all EDIFY-EDU deliverables. In addition, it will be one of the partners responsible for the development of the research methodological framework and tools and the conduction of the National and EU Report on the research findings, as well as the development of the Curriculum.

Furthermore, DAISSy, with its long experience, will be responsible for the whole Implementation of the Curriculum and in particular for the design, development and maintenance of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and e-learning platform, as well as the assessment and evaluation process of the training activities.

Lastly, taking into account its high-standard expertise, DAISSy will have a very active role in the standardisation of the Specialization courses and the conversion in ECTS credits, combined with the organisation of the WBL activities and the mobilities.

The EDIFY_EDU is a three-year project co-funded by the ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant of the European Union and is coordinated by the DUN LAOGHAIRE IADT-Institute of Art, Design and Technology (Ireland) with eleven (11) partners in six (6) EU member states (Ireland, Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Greece) and three associated partners in Germany, Italy and Belgium. The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU and the Achade-Achaia Chamber Development Entity are the two partners which will be thoroughly linked for the effective implementation of the project activities in Greece, embracing also a number of respective stakeholders aiming at the multiple exploitation of the project results and its impact.

For more information on the EDIFY-EDU project, and other activities of DAISSy:

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Multiplier event of the UPDATE project “The utilization of digital solutions in vocational education and training”

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DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University organized a dissemination event of the project UpDATE- User-friendly Practical Distance Active Training Experience (http://update-project.eu/ ) under the title “The utilization of digital solutions in vocational education and training”.

The event took place on Friday 11th November 2022, at 18:00, in the “Byzantino” Hotel in Patras, Greece, with participants coming from the vocational education and training sector, both teachers/trainers and representatives of VET organizations, representatives of digital solutions providers and representatives of institutional education bodies.

The event started with a welcome address by Dr.Spyridon Papadakis, Organizational Coordinator of the Regional Centre for Educational Planning of Western Greece and his intervention on the need for the vocational education and training sector to utilize modern digital solutions in order to upgrade the content and effectiveness of education.

In addition, Dr. Achilleas Kameas, Professor at the School of Science and Technology and director of the DAISSy research group of the Hellenic Open University, presented the group’s scientific interests, activities and the numerous projects it implements.

Later on, the participants had the opportunity to be informed about the objectives, expected results and actions of the UPDATE project by Mr. Konstantinos Potsis and Ms. Panagiota Polymeropoulou, key members of the project team, while the first deliverable of the project was presented and more specifically a report on good practices in the implementation of digital solutions in vocational education and training across Europe and popular useful digital solutions: http://update-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/UPDATE-IO1-Greek-compressed.pdf.

Finally, there were two more presentations on DAISSy research group’s projects that contribute to digital readiness in the fields of education and vocational training, namely the DigiPath project – “Enhancing the readiness of Vocational Training teachers for digital education” – by Ms. Vicky Maratou, and the Agile2Learn project – “Developing the professional skills of teachers and students” – by Dr. Katerina Nikolakopoulou.

The general objective of UPDATE project, which is co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme 2021-2027, is to improve the quality of vocational training delivered by VET organisations – in view of increasing the learning opportunities, inclusion and training success of learners, as well as their employability – reinforcing the trainers and tutors’ abilities to implement forms of blended and distance didactic and apply the new technologies to the training activities of high practical and manual content (specific feature of vocational training).

For more information about the project and the other activities of DAISSy research group:

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2nd Transnational Project Meeting of the WINBIZ project: Women’s Innovative Business Incubation Zone

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The second transnational project meeting of WINBIZ: Women’s Innovative Business Incubation Zone was successfully organized on 3-4 November 2022 in the premises f thr Hellenic Open University in Patras, Greece.

The representatives of the project’s partner organizations – Apsu – Associacao portuguesa de startups from Portugal, European Grants International Academy SRL from Italy, Bildungsgesellschaft Gemeinnutzige GMBH from Germany, C.E.S. Academy from the Republic of North Macedonia, Association For Social Innovation from Romania and members of the DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (ΗΟU) from Greece – discussed the project’s current state and next steps, regarding management and financial issues, project results dissemination plan and quality assurance.

Moreover, there were presentations and discussions regarding the main project results and guidelines on the proper implementation and finalization of the project’s deliverables, like WINBIZ Social Report, WINBIZ Trainer Toolkit, WINBIZ Training course and WINBIZness Plans catalogue.

The WINBIZ project, which is co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme 2021-2027, involves migrant women or women with a non-Western background, with medium-high levels of education, in a training pathway aimed at enabling the acquisition and development of personal, transversal and specific competencies and skills necessary for their full integration/ reintegration in the European labour market, thus generating well-being for themselves and for the society they live in.  The main objective of the project is to encourage the higher qualification of adult migrant women with a medium or high level of education through training and coaching, allowing them to acquire and develop personal, transversal, and entrepreneurial skills and abilities necessary for their inclusion in the labour market, promoting their empowerment and social integration, so that they can produce wealth for themselves and society. Through educational training, WINBIZ intends to promote women’s social self-entrepreneurship to generate systemic impact and contribute to the promotion of a sustainable, inclusive, and innovative civic economy model.

 

 

For more information about the project and the other activities of DAISSy research group: