Learning

Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU) in Turku and Vaasa, Finland is an internationally acknowledged research university with an extensive responsibility for preserving the Swedish educational and cultural heritage as the only Swedish-speaking multi-disciplinary university in Finland. Due to the Swedish language and the university’s location on the South-West and West coast, ÅAU also serves as a bridge for collaboration in research and education between Finland and other Nordic states. ÅAU employs 1,200 staff and provides high quality education to 5,500 undergraduate and 780 postgraduate students, of whom 500 postgraduate students (64%) are awarded Masters Degrees and around 70 students (9%) graduate with [...]

Across Europe a growing movement of people is developing inspiring digital solutions to social challenges. These range from social networks for those living with chronic health conditions, to online platforms for citizen participation in policymaking, to using open data to create more transparency about public spending. We call this phenomenon digital social innovation (DSI). DSI offers the possibility to deliver social impact more efficiently and to empower people to take more control over the issues they face. But DSI has so much potential it is yet to fulfil, but once it enters mainstream consciousness, the public service and third sector it [...]

MEET THE TEAM Want to find out a little more about the INACT Erasmus+ project and meet the partners who are making all of this possible then just keep reading… At the time when innovation is so clearly needed, education is failing to respond. The OECD shows that, in contrast to many companies and countries which have innovation policies and departments, “innovation remains a marginal policy agenda in most education systems.” Our own review of research/policy on education innovation revealed that the growth of technological innovation has masked the lack of pedagogic innovation and has made it harder to put forward [...]

The EU defines the Silver Economy as “the sum of all economic activity that serve the needs of people aged 50 and over, including the products and services they purchase directly and the further economic activity this spending generates.” It stretches across all sectors (public and private) of the economy, including health and nutrition, leisure and well-being, finance and transport, housing, education and employment. Spoiler alert: the silver economy is huge…and growing. A European Commission study conducted by Technopolis and Oxford Economics estimated a baseline value of €3.7 trillion for Europe’s Silver Economy in 2015, measured primarily as private expenditure by [...]

 ‘I needed to think about the future’ This article depicts the inspring story of Razan Alsous, who fled Syria with her husband and three children and arrived in Huddersfield with all their belongings squeezed into one suitcase. Ambitious and determined to carve out a new, and better, life, Alsous sought to find a job. But despite her scientific background and pharmacy degree, it was a massive battle; companies demanded references and a history of working in the UK that she simply didn’t have. At the same time, Alsous was starting to make her own halloumi from scratch using local milk. “We [...]

Introduction to the Catalyse project Want to find out a little more about the CATALYSE Erasmus+ project and meet the partners who are making all of this possible then just keep reading…   The post Introduction to the Catalyse project appeared first on Welcome to Catalyse.

Being a socially responsible business often involves higher material and labour costs. But there is a business case to be made for being a good corporate citizen. In a competitive labour market, employees are drawn to companies that have a good track record for responsible behaviour, such as environmental protection. By being a good role model, a company will attract people who have skills such as innovativeness, leadership and the ability to work in teams. And by treating employees responsibly, costly employee turnover is minimized. It is also good for a business to stand out from the crowd—for the right reasons [...]

MEET THE TEAM Want to find out a little more about the TEACH DIGITAL Erasmus+ project, meet the partners who are making all of this possible then just keep reading… The digital gender gap persists across Europe – “gender inequality in the digital sphere is a result of the persistence of strong unconscious biases about what is appropriate and what capacities each gender has, as well as about the technologies themselves.” Women, especially those from migrant backgrounds, face higher levels of gender stereotypes and discrimination which reduce their motivation and access to the digital training. Teach Digital thus has a clear [...]