FETRA - Fellow Travellers. Soft skills for Human Resources Management in SMEs.

Development of the FETRA Project - Fellow Travellers. Soft Skills for Human Resources Management in SMEs (2020-2022) is a strategic partnership in adult education funded by the Danish National Erasmus+ Agency. The FETRA project aims to promote soft skills in human resources management among young entrepreneurs and business people responsible for micro and small enterprises. It envisages the design of 3 innovative products: a self-assessment tool for soft skills in Human Resources, a set of Open Educational Resources to promote these skills and a compendium of inspiring success stories. As local coordinator at APLOAD Lda, I was also responsible for the direct coordination of the intellectual product "Compendium of Inspiring Success Stories", to be implemented by all the partners, as well as the joint design of the project's other products and practices. Led by Coworking Plus (Denmark), the partnership included institutions from other countries: GrowthCoop (Spain), Eurospeak (United Kingdom), Indepcie (Spain) and Eesti People to People (Estonia) and APLOAD Lda (Portugal)

MINDtheGaps - Media Literacy Towards Youth Social Inclusion

Development of the MINDtheGaps Project - Media Literacy Towards Youth Social Inclusion (2019-2022), an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership in the Youth sector. This project was considered a CES 2020 Inspiring Project by the Erasmus+ Youth in Action Agency. MINDtheGaps aims to promote equal opportunities for young people in situations of social vulnerability through the development of media literacy skills. I was responsible for the project's internal monitoring and evaluation and coordinating the production of one of the three intellectual products developed within it, a tool for evaluating and testing digital literacy teaching devices for young people. Led by the Centre for Educational Research and Intervention of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto (CIIE/FPCEUP), the consortium included institutions from other countries: the Know and Can Association (Bulgaria), the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norway) and the Black Sea Region Regional Development Agency (Turkey).

UP2B - Boosting Up School Education towards European Citizenship and Labour Market Inclusion

General coordination of the UP2B Project - Boosting Up School Education Towards European Citizenship and Labor Market Inclusion (2019-2022), an Erasmus+ strategic partnership of School Education. The project aims to promote mechanisms that facilitate school motivation in the classroom context through the use of pedagogical devices sensitive to European Citizenship and the demands of the Labor Market. The proposal was based on carrying out a needs diagnosis in previous projects, which made it possible to identify deficiencies in these dimensions in schools in some European countries.

The Project proposes to create: (i) an online platform of pedagogical resources to be fed and used by teachers, based on the idea of a broad community of practice; (ii) a Manual that will highlight the relationship between multiple disciplines and school subjects and a set of professions; (iii) a physical package (hardcopy) of motivational pedagogical activities of quick consumption and effect in a classroom context, related to Citizenship and the World of Work; (iv) a digital package of motivational pedagogical activities of quick consumption and effect in a classroom context, related to Citizenship and the World of Work.

APLOAD Lda led the partnership, which included, as Portuguese partners, the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto and Terras Dentro - Association for Integrated Development, thus providing coverage to the north and south of the country. In other European countries, partners were: CETEM - Business Research Association Furniture and Wood Technological Center of the Region of Murcia, from Spain, the University of Çukurova from Turkey, the Regional Government of Çukurova from Turkey, the Know & Can Association, from Bulgaria, the NGO BrainLog, from Denmark and the Rigas Pardaugavas Pamatskola School, from Latvia, providing coverage to Eastern and Northern Europe and also to the Mediterranean region, both West and East. The maxim of the UP2B project, taken from the Europe2020 Strategy, is defined as follows: (in direct quotation and free translation from the original in English): "Schools cannot effectively work alone. They need to move away from isolated and short-term actions duration for engagement in holistic and systemic initiatives!"

Under Construction - Key Skills Making Top Professionals in Construction and Habitat 4.0

General coordination of the Under Construction Project - Key Skills Making Top Professionals in Construction and Habitat 4.0 (2018-2021), an Erasmus+ strategic partnership in Vocational Education and Training. The project addresses the skills of professionals and trainees in seven areas of Civil Construction and Industry 4.0: Carpentry, Masonry, Tiling, Joinery, Domotics, Design & Technologies and 3D Printing. It is based on a needs assessment of the partnership, looking at how current labour market trends are shaped by increased competitiveness, thus requiring rapid updates and increased professional skills. It then becomes necessary to facilitate the conditions for this improvement, mainly in "traditional" professions but also in emerging and rapidly evolving professions. The project proposes to create: (i) guide on excellent skills in the seven targeted areas; (ii) training curriculum for each of these areas; (iii) open access e-learning courses on identified skills; (iv) roadmap for integrating curricula into formal training paths based on the piloting results obtained. APLOAD Lda led the partnership which included the Institut für Lern-Innovation - Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen Nuernberg, Germany, CETEM - Associação Empresarial de Investigação Centro Tecnológico do Móvel e da Madeira of the Region of Murcia, Spain, the Consorzio Materahub Cultural and Creative Industry, Italy, the company Merk, Netherlands and CICCOPN - Professional Training Center for the Civil Construction Industry and Public Works of the North, Portugal.

New Life - Reshaping Life in a Generous Country

Local coordination and development of the NewLife: Reshaping Life in a Generous Country project (2017-2019), an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership in Adult Education. This project aims to promote the provision of quality educational responses aligned with the needs of its target audience, in particular, refugee women with low qualifications. It aims to increase literacy and skills, particularly linguistic and digital skills, through informal and non-formal education actions. It focuses on language learning using digital tools through e-learning courses accessible on various media (computers, tablets, smartphones). Data was collected from refugees and asylum seekers in partnership with the Portuguese Refugee Council (CPR) to identify needs better. The NewLife Project was coordinated by the Çukurova Regional Directorate of Education (Ministry of Education) based in Adana, Turkey, a region where the presence of refugees is extremely significant. In addition to APLOAD's Social Planning and Evaluation Department, the project also brought together the following institutions as partners: Çukurova University, Turkey; Megider (Turkey), an NGO working in Adult Education; Dalya Ajans (Turkey), a company operating in information and communication technologies; DIAN (Greece), a company with strong experience in promoting e-learning.

T-Box

Local coordination and development of the T-Box project (2017-2019), an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership in School Education. In Portugal, APLOAD co-operated with Agrupamento de Escolas Gonçalo Mendes da Maia, a leading school in the municipality of Maia. The European Partnership (10 institutions in all) was also made up of schools and other institutions from Spain, Denmark, Poland and Bulgaria, with the project being coordinated by the "Academician Mihail Arnaudov" Secondary School in collaboration with the "Know and Can" Association, both based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Bulgarian National Erasmus+ Agency funded the project and lasted 24 months (Oct/17 to Sep/19). It created a "toolbox" for school teachers to use to help them motivate pupils in the classroom. The "toolbox" exists in physical and digital versions using mobile device applications. As well as taking part in the project's implementation work, I was also responsible for coordinating the work in the Portuguese context and for the project's internal monitoring and evaluation (national and international components).

Free to Choose

Local coordination and development of the Free to Choose project (2017-2019), co-financed by the European Program Rights, Equality and Citizenship, DG - Justice and Consumers of the European Commission. This project aimed to combat gender stereotypes among a young audience and at a time of life transition: changing study cycle, changing studies for employment, among others. "Free to Choose" was a project consisting of 3 essential phases: firstly, the partnership investigated the project's central theme. Secondly, it designed a board game to be used with simultaneously playful and pedagogical objectives related to combating stereotypes of gender, and in a third phase, the partnership dedicated itself to experimenting and piloting the game through its use in school and training environments and training users (educators, teachers, tutors). I took on the general coordination of this last phase. The project development partnership was made up of 10 institutions from 5 countries: Cooperativa Social ITACA Onlus, coordinating NGO (Italy), Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia (Regional Government, Italy), Instituto di Ricerche Economiche and Sociali Friuli Venezia Giulia - IRES FVG ( NGO, Italy), UNIMORE - Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (University, Italy), Universitat de València (University, Spain), Opcionate (NGO, Spain), MIGS - Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (NGO, Cyprus), MCBIT (NGO, Slovenia), Zavod Nefiks (NGO, Slovenia) and APLOAD Lda (Portugal).

SupportAbility - Supporting European SMEs in the Employment of People Living with Disability or with a History of Mental Illness: a Pilot Development in the Furniture Manufacturing Industries

Local coordination and development of the project 'SupportAbility - Supporting European SMEs in the Employment of People Living with Disability or a History of Mental Illness: a Pilot Development in the Furniture Manufacturing Industries" (2016-2019). The "SupportAbility" project was co-funded by the European Erasmus+ Program under Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships for Cooperation and Innovation. The project was coordinated by BFM - British Furniture Manufacturers Limited, a trade association representing the interests of the wood and furniture industries, in United Kingdom. The partnership included the institutions Searchligther, from the United Kingdom, Sinopspastik Çocuklar Dernegi, from Turkey, the Asociación Empresarial de Investigación Centro Tecnologico del Mueble y la Madera de la Regiuon de Murcia, from Spain, the Asociación de Profesores de Formación Profesional en Madera y Mueble, from Spain, and APLOAD - Social Assessment and Planning, from Portugal. It focused on studying and supporting the maintenance of employment for people with disabilities in SMEs, with a particular focus on companies in the wood and furniture sector. Developed 5 fundamental products: a report on the state-of-the-art employability of people with disabilities in the countries involved, a repository of documents of interest on the topics under study, a database and online guide for accessing the repository, a curriculum training to train mentors to support the insertion of people with disabilities into the job market and, finally, an e-Learning course using that curriculum. APLOAD's responsibility and participation in the project was transversal to all these dimensions, coordinating the last product, the e-Learning course.

Better-e - Better e-Learning for All

Local coordination and development of the 'Better e-Learning for All' (Better-E) project (2015-2017). The 'Better-e' project was co-funded by the European Erasmus+ Programme under Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships for Cooperation and Innovation. It was coordinated by the University of Çukurova, Adana, Turkey, with the University of Ferrara, Italy, Firat University, Turkey, the companies DIAN, Greece, Searchlighter, UK and the Non-Governmental Organisation MEGIDER, Turkey being part of the partnership. The Portuguese partners were the University of Minho and APLOAD. The project's overall aim was to promote distance learning via e-learning by training providers working with the adult public who are socially disadvantaged and at risk of exclusion/marginalisation.

IDEA C - Inter-cultural Dimension for European Active Citizenship

Local coordination and development of the IDEA.-C project. The project's general objective was to raise awareness among the young population of the importance of civic and political participation. Held 13 local workshops and 4 international events in Italy, Hungary, Germany and Poland. It involved more than 400 young people, experts, students, local stakeholders and political decision-makers. The main target group was young people under 25 years old, given their tendency to low political participation, as well as all citizens of the participating countries (in addition to the already mentioned Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Estonia and Slovenia). During the 18 months of project activity, participants involved in the 4 international events were encouraged to share experiences, good practices and opinions through activities characterised by different methodologies (workshop, seminar, role play, use of interactive technology, open debates) during which focused on the importance of active participation and cooperation within the EU, encouraging active participation in democratic life. In this context, I conducted a lecture on the topic, entitled "Towards an increased sense of belonging - from Local to European level", presented at the University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Bremen, Germany. The main objectives were: - To give citizens the opportunity to interact in the construction of a closer, more supportive and democratic Europe, thus promoting active EU citizenship; - To develop lasting cooperation between cities and citizens by creating a platform aimed at improving civic and democratic participation at local and EU level; - Counter the high rates of electoral abstention, particularly in European elections.

IDEA C - Inter-cultural Dimension for European Active Citizenship

Coordenadação local e desenvolvimento do projeto IDEA.-C. O projecto teve como objetivo geral sensibilizar a população jovem para a importância da participação cívica e política. Realizou 13 workshops locais e 4 eventos internacionais que decorreram em Itália, Hungria, Alemanha e Polónia. Envolveu diretamente mais de 400 jovens, peritos, estudantes, intervenientes locais e decisores políticos. O principal grupo alvo foram os jovens menos de 25 anos, dada a sua tendencial baixa participação política, assim como todos os cidadãos dos países participantes (acrescem aos já mencionados Portugal, Grécia, Bulgária, Espanha, Reino Unido, Bélgica, França, Estónia e Eslovénia). Durante os 18 meses de atividade do projecto , os participantes envolvidos nos 4 eventos internacionais foram encorajados a partilhar experiências, boas práticas e opiniões através de atividades caracterizadas por diferentes metodologias (workshop, seminário, role play, utilização de tecnologia interactiva, debates abertos) durante os quais esteve em foco a importância da participação e cooperação ativas dentro da UE, encorajando a participação ativa na vida democrática. Neste âmbito conduzi uma palestra alusiva ao tema, intitulada "Towards an increased sense of belonging - from Local to European level", apresentada na University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Bremen, Alemanha. Os principais objetivos foram: - Dar aos cidadãos a oportunidade de interagir na construção de uma Europa mais próxima, solidária e democrática, promovendo assim a cidadania ativa da UE; - Desenvolver uma cooperação duradoura entre cidades e cidadãos através da criação de uma plataforma destinada a melhorar a participação cívica e democrática a nível local e da UE; - Contrariar as elevadas taxas de abstenção eleitoral, nomeadamente em eleições Europeias.

e-Portfolio System as a Source for Employment of Prospective VET Graduates

Coordination of the project "e-Portfolio System as a Source for Employment of Prospective VET Graduates" (2013-2015). It was a Transfer of Innovation previously developed by other projects in the scope of Education, Online Education and web-based teaching. The general coordination of the e-Portfolio Project was in charge of the University of Çukurova in Adana, Turkey, a country that gathered the Universities of Firat and Nigde and a multimedia producer in the Project; the Partnership was complemented by Institutions from Spain, Hungary, Poland and APLOAD, in Portugal. It was framed and co-financed in the Leonardo da Vinci Sub-Program, dedicated to Vocational Education and Training within the framework of the Lifelong Learning Program.

e-Bridges - Building (e-)Learning Bridges

Coordination of the e-Bridges project. e-Bridges has created a learning environment between Institutions that face similar barriers to e-learning. The partnership approach reinforced uniformity in results, both theoretical and practical. Firstly, the partnership discussed and established the characteristics of e-Learning that are important in sharing e-learning experiences (e.g. common difficulties, innovative practices, strengths); created a common e-Learning User and Promoter Protocol. Secondly, it tested the Protocol with small-scale e-Learning activities (creating instructions). Each partner was responsible for reaching adult e-learners in the other partners' countries, with an emphasis on sharing practices and results. Thus, while some partners promoted an e-learning activity (a course or training unit), other partners identified, welcomed and supported participating e-learners. Two testing activities were promoted, ensuring European added value for the final achievements and, importantly, for the common learning process itself. The User Protocol incorporated partners' past experiences with barriers to e-learning, resulting in a plan to support and overcome them. To this end, the partners promoted debates during and between partnership meetings, seeking to identify the nature of e-learning barriers (technological, economic, social, legal, geographic and affective). By addressing these barriers, partners have improved the e-learning activities they promote. As a result, a greater number of e-trainees were reached, increasing their skills, promoting new skills, whether hard or soft skills.

LOGIC

Local coordination of the LOGIC project. The project focussed on the use of logic in adult education, based on the "Learning Theory" of Jean Piaget and Bärbel Inhelder. It gathered educational practices linked to the 8 key competencies of the European Union (at the time). The practices collected met two requirements: (i) they had a logical "nature" and (ii) they were geared towards developing transversal competences and digital literacy. The project aimed to strengthen the professional competencies of teachers and trainers of adults and trainees in terms of logical reasoning and problem-solving. The project allowed the partners to exchange practices in a meaningful way. Through this work, the teams and their networks generated peer reflection to analyse and adjust each individual practice to the user's context (trainers, career guidance counsellors, social workers, etc.), taking into account environmental requirements and national and European contexts. The project develop innovative practices in vocational education and training and the recognition of qualifications and competencies, by linking key competences with effective practices.

ACP@TIC - Through Innovative Contributions

Coordination of the Project "ACP@TIC - Through Innovative Contributions" (9th European Development Fund, financed by EuropeAid), promoted simultaneously in Praia, Cape Verde and in Beira, Mozambique. ACP@TIC included training for disadvantaged audiences (around 3000 hours of training for more than 400 people), the production of teaching materials, itinerant training, and awareness campaigns. Once the EuropeAid Call was identified, I proceeded with the complete project design based on the needs analysis carried out on the ground in conjunction with the "Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers" of the respective countries. The thematic areas identified as pressing and common to both countries were: Information and Communication Technologies, HIV/AIDS, Gender Equality, Food Security & Nutrition and Entrepreneurship. Responsibilities assumed by me, as General Coordinator of the project, were: needs analysis; design of the project proposal; writing the application in English (Summary Note, Technical Component, Logical Framework and Budget); Submission of the proposal to EuropeAid's international competition (being highly competitive, in total only 8 proposals were selected for financing in this Call worldwide applicable); Contracting procedures with EuropeAid; General Coordination on the ground; Internal Monitoring & Evaluation; writing Progress, Final and Internal Evaluation reports; preparing the Tender Specifications and conducting public procurement procedures (vehicles, computer rooms, works and renovations, Audit and External Assessment services); monitoring the work of all components directly in the field (multiple trips and stays in the field in both countries involved); monitoring and response to the field monitoring visit carried out by the European Commission in Praia, Cape Verde in the post-project phase.

AMALIA - Artistic Mediation Applied to the Literacy of Adult Learners

Local coordination and development of the AMALIA project - Artistic Mediation Applied to the Literacy of Adult Learners - was implemented in France, Portugal, Germany and Turkey. The tangible and non-tangible results obtained were, among others, a horizontal analysis based on a collection of good practices in the participating countries, a common definition of artistic mediation in adult learning, and a transferable framework of European good practices. All the results were based on artistic mediation processes in the different countries, helping a better understanding of national Vocational Education and Training systems, respecting transversal competencies relating to cultural and linguistic diversity, knowledge and understanding of diverse historical and cultural backgrounds, values of tolerance and respect for diversity at all levels. All the adult learners involved in the project were selected and recruited according to criteria of disadvantage (social, economic, cultural, etc.).

NOS TERRA

Coordination of the project "NOS TERRA", a Cooperation for the Development action promoting training and qualification of women in the Municipality of S. Miguel, Santiago Island, Cape Verde, in the production and marketing of fruit jams, preserves and jellies with a view to taking advantage of the region's endogenous resources and promoting female entrepreneurship. The entity promoting the project was Terras Dentro - Desenvolvimento Integrado, in partnership with the Municipality of Viana do Alentejo, Portugal, and the Municipality of São Miguel and with the Associação Agro-Hortelão, an Association of Farmers and Breeders dedicated to the development of their community. Among other activities, the project equipped an industrial kitchen at the Agor-Hortelão facilities, in Cape Verde, through the export of all equipment (from the necessary industrial machines, crockery and glass bottles for storing and disposing of products, to the most small technical instruments, such as refractometers). This was followed by the coordination and training team travelling to the field to provide training and train people in the applicable Agro-Food Production and, at a later stage, in Business Creation and Production Flow. The NOS TERRA project trained approximately 20 women from Hortelão, some of whom started their own companies. Due to the implementation of this project in that community, others followed in the area of Tourism, which boosted development in an outermost location, currently with relevant business dynamics in the country's local context.

Nature GIS - A European Thematic Network for Protected Areas/ Nature Preservation and Geographical Information

Specific consultancy in collecting and processing statistical data for the Nature-GIS project (external consultancy contract). The Nature-GIS project was a network that brought together different actors interested in Protected Areas, users and experts in Information Technologies and Nature Conservation. Its objectives were to improve information on the implementation of European Union policies, raise awareness of GIS in this field and promote access to data and information. As a reference result, a complementary product was created for operators, "Technical guidelines for data infrastructures for protected areas", the content of which was verified through web access to structured geoinformation on protected areas using OpenGIS technology. Through Conferences, its website, Newsletters and other means, the Nature-GIS Project has created an operational network capable of involving new external users and carrying out dissemination actions at different levels to spread the results obtained and make them available to all operators in this field. The National component of this project was coordinated by Professor Miguel Araújo.

Nature GIS - A European Thematic Network for Protected Areas/ Nature Preservation and Geographical Information

Consultoria específica em recolha e tratamento de dados estatísticos no projeto Nature-GIS (regime de avença). O projeto Nature-GIS foi uma rede que reuniu diferentes atores interessados em Áreas Protegidas, utilizadores e peritos em Tecnologias de Informação e Conservação da Natureza. Teve como objectivos melhorar a informação sobre a implementação das políticas da União Europeia, aumentar a sensibilização para os SIG/GIS neste domínio, promover o acesso a dados e informações. Como resultados de referência foi criado o produto complementar para os operadores, "Technical guidelines for data infrastructures for protected areas", cujo conteúdo foi verificado através do acesso web a geoinformação estruturada sobre áreas protegidas utilizando a tecnologia OpenGIS. Através de Conferências, do seu website, Newsletters e outros meios, o Projeto Nature-GIS criou uma rede operacional capaz de envolver novos utilizadores externos e de realizar ações de divulgação a diferentes níveis para difundir os resultados obtidos e disponibilizá-los a todos os operadores neste domínio.

Sem Fronteiras - Acolhimento e Integração de Imigrantes em Meio Rural

Coordination of the Project Sem Fronteiras ("Without Borders"), financed by the ESF - European Social Fund under the EU EQUAL Programme in the thematic area of Preventing Racial and Ethnic Discrimination/ Promoting the Integration of Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Coordination of the national and transnational components of the project (which, although articulated, took place in parallel, as two different projects, due to the specific format of the EQUAL Programme). The project included Social Research, Training for Foreigners, Intercultural actions, and Support in legalisation processes. It was implemented during the period of construction of the Alqueva Hydroelectric Dam, which attracted hundreds of workers from, above all, Eastern countries (Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Russia, etc.), who, following a brief period were reuniting with their families, increasing the immigration phenomena. This generated rapid changes in local sociocultural contexts in a region used to seeing its populations leave (but not seeing "outsiders" arrive). This context required a significant intervention, with the project even supporting the definition of reception and integration policies for rural areas, given the direct collaboration with ACIME - High Commission for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities (currently ACM - High Commission for Migrations). The national component of the project was developed in partnership with the Municipalities of Montemor-o-Novo, Viana do Alentejo, Alvito, Cuba, Portel, Vidigueira and Alcácer do Sal. In applicable cases relating to legalisation processes and similar, the Project activities were carried out in direct coordination with SEF - Foreigners and Borders Service. The European component of the project was developed in partnership with Universities and NGOs from several European countries (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom). The Project Sem Fronteiras was part of the National Thematic Network nº 5 of the EQUAL Programme called "Social and Professional Integration of Immigrants, Refugees and Ethnic Minorities", aggregating all projects in this thematic domain at national level, a Network of which I was the national coordinator by direct appointment of the EQUAL National Agency; the Network had the scientific expertise of Professor Jorge Macaísta Malheiros, Researcher at the Center for Geographic Studies at the University of Lisbon.