Project launching

Innovative digital teaching and learning

The ATHENA project kick off meeting took place on 15th & 16th March 2021 and gathered all the project partners.

The meeting was the opportunity to review all steps and objectives of the application, to agree on the next deadlines and review all the tasks and responsibilities of each partner. This moment strengthened the working relationships and created a sense of partnership within the group.

The project ATHENA is Funded by the Programme Erasmus+ under the call “KA226 - Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness” and will last for 24 months, from 1st March 2021 until 28th February 2023.

ATHENA is coordinated by
Iscte – Instituto Universiatário de Lisboa (Portugal)
The partners involved are
Politecnico di Milano (Italy) Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität Wien GMBH – SFU (Austria) Université Gustave Eiffel (France) Webwise Inovação Lda (Portugal)
The associated partners are
Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (Canada) Ecole Supérieure des Sciences (Tunisia) Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) Heriot-Watt University Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Microsoft (Portugal) Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Universidade de Santiago (Cabo Verde) University of Technology and Applied Sciences (Sultanate of Oman)

The main goal of ATHENA is to create, test and implement innovative digital practices, putting technologies in use to create new pedagogic approaches and achieve better learning and teaching experiences. The project will create templates that lecturers can adopt and adapt to their classes, using different pedagogic approaches. It will consist of a toolkit that includes ebooks, videos, games, quizzes, AR and AI.

ATHENA will produce the following results:
A multi-regional Platform Digital Learning Live HUB for lecturers (eLEARN-HUB) to support them with the implementation of online/e-Learning courses.
A universal Toolkit for Digital Learning tailor-made by lecturers form all the scientific areas and ready to be used.
An online Technology for the courses in Architecture, Leadership, Logistics and Research Methodology.

The four courses will be based on the practical adaptation of the Universal Toolkit to fit the different scientific areas, contents, and requirements of the four Universities involved in the partnership.	The four courses will be tested with pilot groups of professors and students, with active online participation of teachers from non-European Countries (Cape Vert, Brazil, Tunisia).	The final version of the courses will be implemented at a larger scale through training events aimed at lecturers from the four universities.

The expected results are
The empowerment of lectures and students regarding their digital teaching and learning competencies. The increase of Universities’ capacity to face the challenges of digital learning. The creation of four networks of core lecturers and researchers within the partner universities according to their scientific area: Architecture, Management, Research Methods and Logistics, extended to the overall participation of the universities from the four countries. The involvement of teachers and students of the associated universities and the international university network. The capacity building for universities to better deal with pandemic or similar crises situations. The strengthening capacity building as the institutions involved will work in an international context. The capacity building of a large network in several regions of the world (Europe, Africa, and South America). The consolidation of a transnational network of cooperation to improve the Higher Education European Space, creating common solutions for global challenges.

The expected results are

The empowerment of lectures and students regarding their digital teaching and learning competencies.
The increase of Universities’ capacity to face the challenges of digital learning.
The creation of four networks of core lecturers and researchers within the partner universities according to their scientific area: Architecture, Management, Research Methods and Logistics, extended to the overall participation of the universities from the four countries.
The involvement of teachers and students of the associated universities and the international university network.
The capacity building for universities to better deal with pandemic or similar crises situations.
The strengthening capacity building as the institutions involved will work in an international context.
The capacity building of a large network in several regions of the world (Europe, Africa, and South America).
The consolidation of a transnational network of cooperation to improve the Higher Education European Space, creating common solutions for global challenges.