Specialized training on applied tools for sustainable marine ecosystems Erasmus Project

Project Title

Specialized training on applied tools for sustainable marine ecosystems

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

Three Higher Education Institutions (HEI) involved in TRASMARES (UC-IHC, UNIBO, UCoimbra) are willing to consolidate a more modern, transnational, attractive, accessible and dynamic technical training in a constant changing world. A digital transformation of the education is needed in order to optimize the learning process within a new teaching framework. On the other hand, the fourth partner, TED (Telefónica Educación Digital) demands high-quality, novel and cutting-edge research for a standardized and certified model of modular digital education. This is how industry, companies and employees will recognize this model to acquire alternative skills, promote well-qualified professionals, and incorporate recent higher education students into the labour market. This innovative, open and online model on specific training attempts to improve the internationalisation, attractiveness and competences of the partnership.

TRASMARES aims to consolidate a new innovative, open, online and officially certified education, promoting the digital transformation of institutions and increasing the opportunities through lifelong learning flexible pathways addressing professionals, graduates, post-graduates and VET students, by means of a micro-credential on “Sustainable Marine Ecosystems” in the context of climate change integrated by different thematic Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC).

In this context, four groups of activities have been programmed: i) coordination and management; ii) elaboration and validation of MOOCs (intellectual outputs); iii) official certification of the micro-credential on “Sustainable Marine Ecosystems”; and, iv) dissemination and exploitation of TRASMARES’ results.

Four well-known experienced institutions, three HEIs and one digital education company will integrate the strategic partnership created for TRASMARES. This consortium, with high specialization level in different and complementary areas of digital education, climate change, nature conservation, nature-based solutions, ecosystems’ vulnerability and land-sea-ocean interactions will work jointly for a better digital transfer of the knowledge and tools developed.

The contribution of TRASMARES is focused on the development of higher technical training addressing professionals, graduates, post-graduates and VET students on new methods, procedures and tools for the sustainability of marine ecosystems, in the context of the climate change scenario. With this purpose, the main output of TRASMARES will be an open online micro-credential of 4 MOOCs integrated in the MiriadaX platform, which will run beyond the project lifetime as committed by TED in the partner’s collaboration agreement. TRASMARES expects to attract around 1,500-2,000 students enrolled in each MOOC (intellectual output). Students of MOOCs will be trainers of colleagues and; therefore, the targeted community would be eventually be much wider. Moreover, the dissemination activities will additionally outreach an extensive audience at national and international level through the project website and MiriadaX platform.

Regarding the impact on the participants, novel training, in this subject, will certainly increase their potential for employability in the labour market. Partners will improve their attractiveness, internationalisation and competence as modern institutions adapted to the new education paradigm. HEIs will acquire new-trained professionals in digital skills and competences, towards a digital transformation. For targeted groups and relevant stakeholders, this project will allow to have technical staff with new capacities to resolve all the questions and challenges related with the day-to-day at the enterprise level. At local, regional, national, European and international level, the public administration, being one of the main receivers, will benefit from the added value of including this knowledge in their scope of work since they will then contribute to deliver effective, updated and influential related policies. Internationally, the scope of the subject of the project will promote the interactions amongst foreign students all over Europe attracting external professionals.

Finally, concerning sustainability, consolidation of this model is the main objective of this project. Activities will be preserved in the future with the aim of creating similar initiatives or projects arising from the results of TRASMARES. The consortium expects to promote an innovative, modern and dynamic concept reflecting a new scope and focus in the use of updated digital technologies as a new learning method support the developing of sustainable resources.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 257953 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA
• TELEFONICA EDUCACIÓN DIGITAL SL
• UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA