The consortium of the project consists of a mixture of organizations, the Research Center of the University of Piraeus, the Bolt Company specialized in Virtual Reality Games and 4 High Schools from 4 different EU member states.
- Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs – I.R.T.E.A. (Athens, Greece)
I.R.T.E.A., is the lead partner for this project and was created by youth workers and youth experts. I.R.T.E.A. aims to become a powerful Think Tank in Greece and Southern Europe, bridging the gap between Youth, Policy Making, Society and the Labour Market. Utilizing its advisory status in the European Parliament, I.R.T.E.A. aims to support young people, especially those belonging to vulnerable groups, by promoting innovative actions and policies on issues relating to European priorities. I.R.T.E.A. promotes the structured and open dialogue between civil society stakeholders, while, through its projects and activities, strengthening, the active participation of young people, the idea of European citizenship and the concept of citizenship in general.
- I.R.T.E.A.’s vision is one Europe with cities and metropolitan areas committed to youth and actively involving youth policies in local and regional development, participatory processes and decision making.
- I.R.T.E.A.’s philosophy considers youth participation, equal opportunities for youth and sustainability of youth structures as driving forces of medium and long term urban development, with a key contribution to the quality of life of all inhabitants of cities and the surrounding regions.
- I.R.T.E.A.’s vision takes into account youth policies and strategies of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, and aims implementing them effectively at local level.
Visit the website of the partner: http://www.irtea.gr/?lang=en
- BOLT Virtual Services and Productions – Private Company (Athens, Greece)
Bolt Virtual is an innovative company and a market leader in the emerging technologies of Virtual Reality. We are the company which introduced in the Greek market immersive room-scale Virtual Reality with ‘The VR Project’ in 2016.
Bolt Virtual soon branched out to other VR-related services: since 2017 the company is developing its own Virtual Reality applications for most major VR systems in the market (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, Oculus Quest and Oculus Go), for gaming, corporate marketing, promotion of cultural heritage, advertising tourism products, marketing tourism destinations, as well as for educational purposes.
We are the only company in Greece organising VR events, either for corporations or for institutions, that combine the ownership of the premier VR lounge in Athens, our state-of-the-art hardware, our dedicated personnel and the development of custom-made VR content for our clients.
Visit the website of the partner: https://www.boltvirtual.gr/
- University of Piraeus Research Center (Piraeus, Greece)
The University of Piraeus Research Centre (UPRC) was founded in 1989 as part of the University that offers administration and legal support to basic and applied research, carried out by the staff of the University of Piraeus, in national and international contexts. The high quality of research and consulting work carried out to-date by the UPRC has led to a large volume of collaborations either in international frameworks (e.g., EU-funded projects) or undertaken on behalf of large domestic companies, institutions and Ministries.
The aim of the Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Laboratory, as participating partner to this project is twofold: to promote and support knowledge and to develop synergies with public and private agents in order to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
The Laboratory aims at complementing research and educational goals and at the same time, it aims at constituting a valid scientific agency for incorporating sustainable development, bioeconomy and circular economy in the new era. In close cooperation with European Union agents and international institutes and organizations, it wishes to contribute to mentality change in terms of research and development policy, to optimum cooperation and coordination among involved parties and to promote knowledge as the primary economic factor.
The Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Laboratory includes both research and education in the relevant field as its main focal axes. In particular, it entails actions, among others, such as field studies and investment appraisals, consultancy services to public organizations, private firms, multinational corporations and others involved in sustainable development, bioeconomy and circular economy within research programs, presentations, workshops, conferences, seminars and open sources platforms in order to promote the above fields.
The laboratory consists of 12 main researchers and 2 assistant researchers.
Visit the website of the partner: https://www.kep.unipi.gr/
- Experimental High School of the University of Crete (Rethymno, Greece)
Piramatiko Geniko Likio Rethimnou Panepistimiou Kritis is a Senior High School providing general education. It has 241 students aged 15-18 years old, and 33 teachers. The school was established in 1999 and it was designated in 2012 as Pilot Experimental High School by the Ministry of Education, after a successful evaluation process. The school aims at:
1. Providing free public high-quality education which will contribute to the overall and balanced development of students
2. Promoting educational research in collaboration with the corresponding University Faculties and Departments, in the teaching of the subjects of the curriculum, the psycho-pedagogical field, as well as the organization, administration, evaluation, and relation management at school level
3. Training/mentoring, by means of practice for undergraduate university department students, especially, those of Pedagogical Science Departments, and Departments of Science and Philosophy Faculties and Pedagogical Science post-graduate programme students
4. Offering training and pilot teaching lessons in cooperation with Universities and the Educational Policy Institution for teachers of the wider educational community in order to enhance their professional development
5. Pursuing the goal of creativity, innovation and excellence, by the means of clubs, which students of all state schools can join, and the promotion and education of students with special learning abilities and talents but also the support of pupils with learning difficulties
6. The pilot implementation of new curricula and teaching methods, innovative teaching practices, innovative and creative activities, educational work and school facility quality assessment programmes, new school management and operation models.
The school is staffed with experienced and trained teachers having either a Doctorate or a Master degree and expertise in teaching and pedagogical methodologies.
Visit the website of the partner: http://lyk-aei.reth.sch.gr/main/
- Escola Secundária Domingos Rebelo (Azores/ Portugal)
Domingos Rebelo Secondary School is situated in the city of Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel Island, in the Azores, Portugal, and is a High School providing general education. It has over 2000 students aged 12-18 years old, and about 240 teachers. The School receives students from urban and rural areas and although it isn’t situated in a very poor socio-economical area, there’s a high number of students coming from families with serious financial problems and/or low levels of education (4/6 years).
As the residents of the area live in an outermost region of Europe, they are highly penalized by their insularity. That is one of the reasons why they wish to participate in European co-operation programmes – to encourage co-operation among nations and intellectual exchange, as well as teachers and students’ mobility, thus reinforcing the European dimension of education and intercultural awareness among students.
In particular, through this partnership they will motivate students and teachers to use foreign languages, improving their level of proficiency; it will develop students and teachers’ digital competences; it will also improve the quality of education professionals and, ultimately, that of education itself. We hope this project will help us achieve the main goal of our school – to increase the rate of academic success among ALL our students, so that “no child is left behind”.
In addition, they believe Education is not limited to school or the local community – it should be part of a greater community as The European Union. The contact established among teachers and students of different cultures and languages allows the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences, making them better professionals, better citizens and human beings. By comparing their reality with the reality of others, teachers and students alike will be more aware not only of their own reality, but also of their European citizenship, sometimes forgotten due to living on a remote island.
Visit the website of the partner: https://edu.azores.gov.pt/escolas/escola-secundaria-domingos-rebelo/
- Lykeio Aradippou (Aradippou, Cyprus)
Aradippou “Tasos Mitsopoulos” Lyceum is located in the city of Larnaca and in the municipality of Aradippou. It has around 500 students between the ages of 15-18 and 75 full time and part time staff. A modern structure built in 2007, out school celebrates ten years of successful teaching and shaping young minds. The school boasts a large theatre and an open amphitheatre, as well as a football and track pitch and an indoor basketball court. The school offers different directions depending on inclinations, skills and interests of students. There is Classics, Natural Sciences, Languages, Economics and Commerce. The school was renamed Aradippou “Tasos Mitsopoulos” Lyceum in 2015, after the untimely death of local resident and Minister of Defence Tasos Mitsopoulos.
The school currently participates in (EduWeb) programme, which aims to enhance the cooperation between schools and educational institutions across Europe in order to combat the digital exclusion of adults in terms of Internet use by making students, the educators of the digitally illiterate adult members of their families, in safe and creative web. Our High School also participates in Mediterranean Model United Nation (MEDI.M.U.N) a simulation of the United Nations for students where students become delegates, representatives of a UN Member State and to the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBAL) programme where students operate a small scale meteorological unit.
Visit the website of the partner: http://lyk-aradippou-lar.schools.ac.cy/
- Ecole Europeene D’ Ixelles (Brussels, Belgium)
The European School of Brussels 3 is one of the 4 schools attended by the children of the employees of the European Institutions. They are unique in their character as they combine national educational programmes with intercultural educational principles. Around 180 teachers (full time and part time) work for the European School Brussels 3 where about 1800 students study in the secondary cycle (years 1 to 7 of secondary school, from 11 to 18 years of age). There are 7 language sections in the school (French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Greek and Czech), as well as some students who do not belong to one of the language sections (Bulgarian and Slovak). The European Schools offer children from various nationalities the opportunity to study their mother tongue, as in each language section there are language classes taught by native seconded teachers. Further subjects that are taught in the students’ mother tongue are sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology). At the same time students attend mixed classes (geography, history, ICT, sports, art), which they are taught in their first foreign language. In these classes they have the opportunity to experience different mentalities and exchange views with their peers from other nationalities.
The students who do not belong to one of the language sections (Slovak and Bulgarian) are taught their mother tongue but have to follow sciences in one of the other language sections. The school has a team of educational advisors who are responsible for educational matters and cater for the students well being at school. The advisors deal with any complaint regarding bullying, cyber-bullying and have carried out extensive sessions regarding appropriate internet use in the past, as well as the respect of human values at school. A school psychologist, who works part-time for our school, accompanies students, teachers and educational advisors on their daily tasks. She has personal meetings with students and daily meetings with the school management in order to discuss matters at the need to be resolved in cooperation with the rest of the school community. Cooperation and the respect of difference are two of the school’s core values. The European School Brussels 3 can thus act as a model for a multicultural environment where mutual respect, as a precondition for co-existence and wellbeing, is daily practice.
Visit the website of the partner: www.eeb3.eu