The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU) organized with success the multiplier event on “Smart Work and Open Learning“, which took place in person on Friday 22^nd September 2023, in Patras (“My Way” hotel). It is a dissemination event about the results of the “WorkingSmart: Smart working and Open Learning” European project, implemented by DAISSy-HOU, as the Greek partner, that marks the completion of the project activities.

The WorkingSmart project aims to challenge EU SMEs to consider the empowering culture created by new technologies and smart working with different approaches to work and life styles between women and men. The project will define the profile of the Smart Work Manager/Advisor and train him/her to be able to address resistance to change within and outside EU organizations, primarily resistance not (only) to the technical dimension of change, but also to the social and cultural dimension of change (personal relationships) that will accompany digital change.

The multiplier event was addressed to entrepreneurs, managers and executives, employees and freelancers and was very popular, attracting the interest of more than forty (40) participants, members of the project’s target groups and areas of activation.

The sessions were launched by a welcome address by Christos Pierrakeas, Professor of the University of Patras, Deputy Director of DAISSy, and a presentation of the activities of the Research Group, emphasizing on its vision and mission.

Then, Vasiliki Takouli, Project Manager of DAISSy, presented the Working Smart project and analyzed its actions, objectives and results, as well as the specific role of DAISSy, which developed part of the educational material and also contributed to the creation of the professional profile of the Smart Work Manager/Advisor, being one of the main objectives of the project.

Accordingly, Hara Kokkinou, DAISSy Researcher, presented the professional profile of the Smart Work Manager/Advisor, analyzing the way of creating and thinking based on the desired profile as well as its goal.

This was followed by a presentation by Rizo Chaliabalia, DAISSy Researcher, on the Working Smart online platform and the training material, included in the project results, to be used for the training of candidates wishing to familiarize themselves with remote working. It is noteworthy that, during the updating of the training material, ten (10) representatives of the stakeholders took part in this process and contributed to the documentation by providing constructive comments.

Εmphasis was put to the interconnection of WorkingSmart with Agile2Learn, a related European project that is also being implemented by DAISSy-HOU as the partner in Greece, which was presented by Katerina Nikolakopoulou, Researcher of DAISSy, analyzing its content.

The sessions were finalized by reflecting on the activity, that led to a fruitful discussion on the introduction of distance working and the ways of motivating SMEs to integrate it, into their operating framework. The atmosphere was pleasant and the comments were positive, regarding both the usefulness of such projects and the willingness of active participation, in future initiatives of this kind.

The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University is thankful to the participants and all those companies that contributed to the success of the dissemination event, through their continuous support.

The WorkingSmart is a two-year project co-funded by the European Union, under the Erasmus+ programme. It is implemented by a consortium of six (6) partners from five (5) countries (Spain, Italy, France, Slovenia, Spain, Greece) with the DAISSy Research Group of the HOU as the Greek partner.

For more information about the WorkingSmart project and other DAISSy Research Group activities:

• Website : http://daissy.eap.gr/en, https://www.workingsmartproject.eu/
• Facebook : @DAISSyResearchGroup
• Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/workingsmartproject/
• Twitter : https://twitter.com/daissy_research
• Instagram: @daissy_researchgroup
• Email : info@daissy.eap.gr

On February 2nd-3rd, 2023, the 3rd Transnational Meeting of the WorkingSmart Erasmus+ Project took place in Rome, Italy.

Hosted by aiComply, 12 people participated in the two-day long meeting (11 people on-site in aiComply offices, and 1 person connected on-line) representing all project partners from 5 European countries – France (IPRA), Greece (HOU), Italy (aiComply), Slovenia (CPU GZS), and Spain (InMedia and UOC).

The meeting was focused on some of the main project topics, such as the content of the training modules and their application in the virtual platform, but it was also aimed at reviewing administrative and financial issues and providing a state of the art of quality assurance and sharing & promotion activities.

The meeting was successful. All the Partners joined the two-day discussions with great attention and collaboration, bringing an added value perceived by all participants. The meeting has also been an opportunity for Partners to meet again after the previous transnational meetings in Lyon and Ljubljana, strengthening more and more the built relationship and the feeling of cooperation and connection among all of us.

On the first day, we focused on administrative and project management issues, project quality monitoring and sharing & promotion activities, including statistics about LinkedIn page engagement and the communication strategy for the last period of the project.

This was followed by a focus on the training modules, in particular Partners presented their modules, their progress and goals for finishing the content, leading to discussion and agreement on certain aspects of the training package.

The second day started with a demo of the learning platform by aiComply and it was the occasion for all Partners to provide suggestions on the possible resulting views of the training modules into the platform. aiComply also presented a demo of the scenario-based game features. Through a very productive brainstorming and discussion, all together we finally agreed on its overall context and structure and defined next deadlines for the project.

The meeting was also an opportunity to strengthen teambuilding. aiComply also invited to the extra-meeting activities some representatives of the group it belongs to – which enhanced the much-appreciated cultural exchange and a wider dissemination of the project. 

This transnational meeting again proved to be very successful and one step closer to bringing a quality training program in the field of smart working in a user-friendly platform accessible for free, aimed at helping HR managers, leaders and business owners in the planning and implementation of smart working in their organizations.

On June 13 & 14,2022, the CPU in Ljubljana (Slovenjia), hosted the 2nd transnational meeting of the partners of the European project WorkingSmart – Smart working and Open Learning.

The meeting was attended in person by partners from IPRA/MEDEF Auvergne Rhone Alpes IPRA/MEDEF AUVERGNE RHONE ALPES, members of the DAISSy research group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU), aiComply S.r.l., INMEDIA SOLUTIONS S.l., the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Institute of Business Education, Slovenia (GOSPODARSKA ZBORNICA SLOVENIJE CENTER ZA POSLOVNO USPOSABLJANJE). Partners from FUNDACIO PER A LA UNIVERSITAT OBERTA DE CATALUNYA (UOC) and members of the DAISSy research team participated online. During the two-day meeting, the consortium had the opportunity to discuss issues regarding the work packages currently underway, as well as to plan the steps to be completed in the next period for the remaining packages.

On the first day 13/06/2022 the meeting started with an overview of the project management in relation to quality assurance and evaluation for the work that has been undertaken and is expected to commence in the near future. An evaluation report for the first six months of the project was presented to the partners and the partners introduced their external partners and advisory board and how they plan to work with them and their contribution to the project.

The UOC team presented some changes regarding the questionnaire to be created and answered questions about the timing and how the questionnaire will be conducted. The partners agreed to have periodic updates on the progress of the survey and the number of participants.

On the 2nd day 14/06/2022 the aiComply S.r.l. team provided an update on the work to be carried out to create the platform and the timeline plan. The first step concerns the design of the platform. The consortium will have to confirm the characteristics and structure of the platform.

Furthermore, an example of Moodle was presented as an example of an online education platform and the partners discussed how the structure could be easy to use and attractive to users. They also discussed the possibility of granting a certificate and what criteria would be used to award it.

The CPU team presented the description of the deliverable concerning the participant training package, the actions, the methodology and the implementation schedule. The consortium discussed about the content of the methodology, the creation of the training videos and the translations that will need to be implemented.

The project coordinator, IPRA/MEDEF Auvergne Rhone Alpes IPRA/MEDEF AUVERGNE RHONE ALPES, presented statistics and mentioned how important it is to disseminate the project and share information about it.

The aiComply S.r.l. team presented a draft of the project website. All information will be available in each national language of the consortium. The LinkedIn link related to the project is on the page as well as the options to subscribe to the newsletters. The goal is to have updated published material at a consistent and sufficient frequency.

Regarding the newsletters, the InMedia team presented the dissemination plan for the project. The consortium discussed about information assurance and data protection.

For more information on the WorkingSmart project and other DAISSy projects and activities:

• Website DAISSy: http://daissy.eap.gr/en/
• Facebook : @DAISSyResearchGroup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/
• Twitter : https://twitter.com/daissy_research
• Instagram: @daissy_researchgroup
• Email : info@daissy.eap.gr

On December 20-21^st, 2021, a first transnational meeting of the WorkingSmart project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ of the European Commission, took place in Lyon, France. Hellenic Open University with DAISSy research group is the Greek partner of the project.

Hosted by IPRA/MEDEF Auvergne Rhone Alpes, 15 persons participated in a two-day long meeting (9 persons on-site at MEDEF premises, and 6 persons were connected on-line) representing all project partners coming from France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain.

The project meeting was dedicated to networking, project management, administrative, financial aspects, the quality evaluation, and reporting obligations of all partners. It was fundamental to all partners as has allowed to draw a common understanding of project goals and objectives, validate the management of the project work plan, better clarify rules and responsibilities of each partner, and define communication agreements and procedures.

WorkingSmart is a two-year long Erasmus+ project (November 2021-October 2023) striving to challenge EU MSMEs to take into account the empowerment culture brought about by new technologies and smart working with different working approaches and lifestyles, among women and men.

The project aims to train and empower a novel Smart Working Manager/Advisor capable of dealing with resistance to change inside and outside EU organizations, primarily embedded into the resistance not (only) to technical change but social and cultural change (personal relationships) that will accompany the digital change.

The project seeks for participation of indirect beneficiaries (entrepreneurs, managers and executives, workers, and independent professionals) at different stages of the project (focus groups, piloting, multiplier events), so as to better manage their specific concerns and make learners more skilful.

During the project a number of ICT-based training tools and resources will be developed to support the acquisition of digital and entrepreneurial competences compliant with the EU DigComp and EntreComp frameworks, with a particular focus on problem solving issues.

Novel professionals benefiting from this project will be trained to help organizations and their managers to be capable of planning smart working in a way that is flexible and fit for purpose, dealing with organisational and labour issues, including compliance to the GDPR and performance measurement and management, in terms of both measurable and acceptable modifications in the physical and daily routines of the job, as well as the way flexible working will alter the established hierarchical and control relationships.

At the end of this learning and teaching experience of global smart working competence, the EU workforce, including young professionals will be better prepared and engaged as collaborative problem solvers, regardless of the specific job levels.

If you or your institution are interested in smart working and you wish to contribute, benefit, or simply follow up on the development of the WorkingSmart project, please contact the DAISSy research group of HOU:

• Website DAISSy: http://daissy.eap.gr/en/
• Facebook : @DAISSyResearchGroup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/
• Twitter : https://twitter.com/daissy_research
• Instagram: @daissy_researchgroup
• Email : info@daissy.eap.gr

Project partners:

• IPRA/MEDEF AUVERGNE RHONE ALPES, France, Coordinator
• HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSITY with DAISSy Group, Greece
• aiComply, Italy
• GOSPODARSKA ZBORNICA SLOVENIJE CENTER ZA POSLOVNO USPOSABLJANJE / Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia – Institute for Business Education, Slovenia
• FUNDACIO PER A LA UNIVERSITAT OBERTA DE CATALUNYA, Spain
• INMEDIA SOLUTIONS, Spain