Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BoostEuroTeQ (BoostEuroTeQ: strengthening institutional transformations for responsible engineering education in Europe.)
Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2024-08-31
The project BoostEuroTeQ strongly builds on synergies with the education-focused activities of the EuroTeQ Engineering University (funded by Erasmus+) to reinforce institutional change towards responsible research and innovation. The project aims to enable individuals involved in technology value creation to interact with stakeholders from the wider society, ensuring desirable and socially robust pathways for societal transformation. The work plan set out in BoostEuroTeQ strengthens and complements core parts of the EuroTeQ Engineering University. The specific objectives in this regard are as follows:
1) Strengthening the EuroTeQ Engineering University’s role as a change-maker (specifically in the areas of professional education and research & innovation) to introduce a paradigm shift in the engineering education of the future.
2) Understanding the differences, unique features, and best practices across the continent regarding value creation processes in technology, including all relevant stakeholders in the process alongside civil society and policy-makers.
3) Developing a level of international and transcultural collaboration that deepens the understanding between the different national societies and societal layers.
In the first pillar, which focuses on enabling individuals, BoostEuroTeQ aims to improve strategies for strengthening human capital and reinforcing cooperation with non-academic actors. In the second pillar, which focuses on societal transformation, BoostEuroTeQ seeks to reinforce the impact of university research & innovation and build sustainable involvement and engagement with citizens and civil society.
1) Strengthening the EuroTeQ Engineering University’s role as a change-maker (specifically in the areas of professional education and research & innovation) to introduce a paradigm shift in the engineering education of the future.
2) Understanding the differences, unique features, and best practices across the continent regarding value creation processes in technology, including all relevant stakeholders in the process alongside civil society and policy-makers.
3) Developing a level of international and transcultural collaboration that deepens the understanding between the different national societies and societal layers.
In the first pillar, which focuses on enabling individuals, BoostEuroTeQ aims to improve strategies for strengthening human capital and reinforcing cooperation with non-academic actors. In the second pillar, which focuses on societal transformation, BoostEuroTeQ seeks to reinforce the impact of university research & innovation and build sustainable involvement and engagement with citizens and civil society.
Focusing on enabling individuals:
- Based on 15+ interviews with relevant stakeholders, a qualification framework for the “EuroTeQ Learning Professional” has been finalised, and a good understanding of the role has been achieved within the eco-system through different dissemination activities.
- In cooperation among the partners, a training concept for the “EuroTeQ Learning Professional” was developed, to qualify experts in the scientific upskilling of professional engineers.
- We piloted the training program with stakeholders from different universities and the ecosystem.
- With 15+ interviews, the developmental needs of professional engineers have been analysed as well as current offers for lifelong learning on the market and at the EuroTeQ institutions, showing pathways to establish them as lifelong learning partners for professional engineers.
- To pilot the collaboration between the lifelong learning centres at the partner institutions, the concept of a tailor-made programme for the upskilling of professional engineers has been developed.
- We piloted a tailor-made programme for the upskilling of professional engineers.
Focusing on societal transformation and institutional strategies for responsibility and co-creation:
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of responsibilisation strategies and instruments used in the different EuroTeQ universities have been identified in comprehensive SWOT analyses, with a particular focus on the needs and potential of technical universities.
- The benefits and challenges of co-creation teaching and its effects have been investigated with 30+ interviews and 10+ course observations across the partner universities.
- Relations to discuss the roles of responsible innovation, social sciences, and humanities, and co-creation teaching across the EuroTeQ universities and in other networks of the European University Alliance have been established, workshops to connect with local eco-system partners around the topics have been conducted, and first insights and
results have been shared at conferences and in peer-reviewed articles.
- We elaborated a comprehensive report of indicators of co-creation teaching that we have shared with relevant stakeholders (especially teaching and learning units at the EuroTeQ universities).
- We elaborated a Manifesto for Responsible Co-creation with the involvement of EuroTeQ leadership and the academic community of our universities more broadly. Two policy briefs distributed amongst the EuroTeQ community complement the work of this work package. We added publications in comparative research in collaboration with other
work packages.
With regards to outreach and dissemination activities, a communication plan and free-of-charge channels for dissemination have been established. Project activities were monitored to share relevant activities and results with the relevant target audiences and the wider eco-system.
- Based on 15+ interviews with relevant stakeholders, a qualification framework for the “EuroTeQ Learning Professional” has been finalised, and a good understanding of the role has been achieved within the eco-system through different dissemination activities.
- In cooperation among the partners, a training concept for the “EuroTeQ Learning Professional” was developed, to qualify experts in the scientific upskilling of professional engineers.
- We piloted the training program with stakeholders from different universities and the ecosystem.
- With 15+ interviews, the developmental needs of professional engineers have been analysed as well as current offers for lifelong learning on the market and at the EuroTeQ institutions, showing pathways to establish them as lifelong learning partners for professional engineers.
- To pilot the collaboration between the lifelong learning centres at the partner institutions, the concept of a tailor-made programme for the upskilling of professional engineers has been developed.
- We piloted a tailor-made programme for the upskilling of professional engineers.
Focusing on societal transformation and institutional strategies for responsibility and co-creation:
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of responsibilisation strategies and instruments used in the different EuroTeQ universities have been identified in comprehensive SWOT analyses, with a particular focus on the needs and potential of technical universities.
- The benefits and challenges of co-creation teaching and its effects have been investigated with 30+ interviews and 10+ course observations across the partner universities.
- Relations to discuss the roles of responsible innovation, social sciences, and humanities, and co-creation teaching across the EuroTeQ universities and in other networks of the European University Alliance have been established, workshops to connect with local eco-system partners around the topics have been conducted, and first insights and
results have been shared at conferences and in peer-reviewed articles.
- We elaborated a comprehensive report of indicators of co-creation teaching that we have shared with relevant stakeholders (especially teaching and learning units at the EuroTeQ universities).
- We elaborated a Manifesto for Responsible Co-creation with the involvement of EuroTeQ leadership and the academic community of our universities more broadly. Two policy briefs distributed amongst the EuroTeQ community complement the work of this work package. We added publications in comparative research in collaboration with other
work packages.
With regards to outreach and dissemination activities, a communication plan and free-of-charge channels for dissemination have been established. Project activities were monitored to share relevant activities and results with the relevant target audiences and the wider eco-system.
The expected impacts and the current status of the project towards reaching them can be summarised as follows:
Transforming engineering education and engineering the University of the Future by transforming the learning experiences of the individuals involved:
The pilot activities of new, innovative learning experiences for lifelong learning at universities were completed. While serving as pilots for the roll-out of similar activities on fullscale, we gathered valuable information on their further development through several evaluation approaches.
Understanding co-creative education and generalising co-creation practices tailored to local needs:
The systematic comparison of co-creation practice across cultural, societal, and regulatory contexts, as well as of different technological domains, is in progress. Conclusions of a range of explorative case studies that analyse and compare practices at the EuroTeQ universities have been compiled in respective reports. The areas in which engineering, social science, and responsibility research have been brought together differ across the EuroTeQ universities. We carried out numerous workshops and stakeholder engagement events focusing on joint visionary statements on responsible co-creation as well as practical recommendations for strengthening co-creative teaching. The resulting experiences are completed deliverables, additional documents, and scientific publications.
The upskilled EuroTeQ Professional as an interlocutor between academia and industry, improving the employability of the Engineer of the Future:
The connection (knowledge and human exchange) between academia and industry has been strengthened. After the market analysis of lifelong learning offers and the status-quo analysis of respective expert roles at the partner universities, the qualification framework and the analysis of the developmental needs of professional engineers have laid the basis for a closer link between the latest research on future skills and the development of cutting-edge lifelong learning offers. The development of training concepts and the recruitment of participants for the newly developed tailor-made formats across the partner universities/countries laid the basis for the connection between academia and industry. Finally, the piloting of these formats enabled the establishment of universities as companions in the lifelong learning journey of professional engineers.
Transforming engineering education and engineering the University of the Future by transforming the learning experiences of the individuals involved:
The pilot activities of new, innovative learning experiences for lifelong learning at universities were completed. While serving as pilots for the roll-out of similar activities on fullscale, we gathered valuable information on their further development through several evaluation approaches.
Understanding co-creative education and generalising co-creation practices tailored to local needs:
The systematic comparison of co-creation practice across cultural, societal, and regulatory contexts, as well as of different technological domains, is in progress. Conclusions of a range of explorative case studies that analyse and compare practices at the EuroTeQ universities have been compiled in respective reports. The areas in which engineering, social science, and responsibility research have been brought together differ across the EuroTeQ universities. We carried out numerous workshops and stakeholder engagement events focusing on joint visionary statements on responsible co-creation as well as practical recommendations for strengthening co-creative teaching. The resulting experiences are completed deliverables, additional documents, and scientific publications.
The upskilled EuroTeQ Professional as an interlocutor between academia and industry, improving the employability of the Engineer of the Future:
The connection (knowledge and human exchange) between academia and industry has been strengthened. After the market analysis of lifelong learning offers and the status-quo analysis of respective expert roles at the partner universities, the qualification framework and the analysis of the developmental needs of professional engineers have laid the basis for a closer link between the latest research on future skills and the development of cutting-edge lifelong learning offers. The development of training concepts and the recruitment of participants for the newly developed tailor-made formats across the partner universities/countries laid the basis for the connection between academia and industry. Finally, the piloting of these formats enabled the establishment of universities as companions in the lifelong learning journey of professional engineers.