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Pioneering cooperation partnerships for developing digital competence in higher education

An evaluation and classification of the special call for proposals on „Digital Education Readiness“
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Text: Beate Körner

Erasmus+ „Cooperation Partnerships“ play a key role in driving digital transformation and developing skills in higher education. An evaluation of the 2020 special call for proposals on „Digital Education Readiness“ demonstrates how projects promote the digital skills of students and teachers, while supporting strategic EU goals, such as the „Union of Skills“. The results highlight the European added value and long-lasting impact of the funded projects.

Supporting and supervising Erasmus+ »Cooperation Partnerships« is a vital responsibility of the Erasmus+ Key Action 2: Partnerships and Cooperation Projects Unit. Engaging with the diverse range of topics being implemented at a European level, from archaeology to dentistry, is particularly enriching. As head of the unit, I am always impressed by the thematic diversity and creative implementation in the European project teams, as well as by what students and teachers learn in the process, whether at the annual kick-off event, during monitoring sessions where the consortia present their work, or at the presentation of examples of good practice. I am particularly amazed by innovations in the digital sector and artificial intelligence. They illustrate the importance of continuous education, developing digital skills and actively engaging with new technologies to keep pace with rapid developments. It is therefore all the more gratifying that our work is advancing the basis for the development and implementation of such collaborations.

A central aim is to showcase the wide range of opportunities that the Erasmus+ programme offers for developing skills, and to make the activities and outcomes that have already been developed accessible to a wide public. An effective tool for achieving this is evaluating project results and their impact. Evaluations that demonstrate how individual projects contribute to overarching goals or strategies are particularly valuable. For instance, we recently completed an evaluation of the special call for proposals on »Digital Education Readiness« within the framework of the former Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships (now »Cooperation Partnerships«). This evaluation also placed particular emphasis on the European Commission’s key strategy, the »Union of Skills«, published in March 2025.

The coronavirus pandemic as a »booster« for skills and abilities?

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission unveiled a special call for proposals on »Digital Education Readiness« in August 2020, with the aim of swiftly addressing the challenges posed by the crisis. The call focused on building the capacity to implement online, blended and distance learning, and on developing teachers’ digital pedagogical skills, so as to ensure high-quality, inclusive digital education. It also prioritised the development and/or utilisation of high-quality digital content, including innovative online resources and tools. Of the 65 applications submitted in the higher education sector, 24 were selected for funding by the National Agency DAAD in Germany.

These projects ran from 2021 to 2023 and were all completed successfully. The results demonstrate that the call contributed significantly to the development of relevant digital tools and content, the adoption of digital technologies, and the enhancement of users’ digital proficiency. This has allowed challenges and barriers in a broad range of work and subject areas in higher education to be overcome. The selection of projects demonstrates that the objectives of the special call have been achieved. These objectives have since been converted into priorities for »Cooperation Partnerships« and will continue to be implemented accordingly. Additionally, the selection of priorities reflects the fact that the central topics of internationalisation at higher education institutions and addressing skills gaps among learning and teaching staff played an important role despite the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic in 2020. The priorities »Tackling skills gaps and mismatches« and »Promoting internationalisation« were the third and fourth most frequently selected, but horizontal, competence-related priorities, such as »Supporting individuals in acquiring and developing basic skills and key competences«, are also highly relevant (see the »Priorities for Cooperation Partnerships« diagram).

In addition to digital training materials, almost all projects have developed online courses, modules and teaching concepts, as well as the corresponding digital tools, such as e-learning platforms, blended learning environments and VR-based digital products. Consequently, the materials developed were utilised promptly to broaden the competencies of students and educators. This comprehensive approach not only mitigated the effects of the pandemic, but also established the technical requirements, capacities and skills necessary to ensure that teaching and learning continued and became more innovative, interactive, inclusive and — last but not least — based on European exchange.

An exemplary

A few examples that illustrate the outstanding activities and results:
• The DTNET (INTAMT e.V.) project has developed an online course designed to equip individuals with the necessary skills to incorporate VR technologies into their curricula.
• In the SkoPs project (University of Siegen), the aim of all courses developed is to expand the digital transformation skills of the European workforce – an integral part of the strategic goals of all European countries. The courses are aligned with relevant European initiatives, particularly the European AI Strategy.

The following example demonstrates how the two Erasmus+ priorities of »Digital Transformation« and »Inclusion and Diversity« can be successfully combined with the development of students’ and teachers’ skills. It also highlights how the outreach and impact of the project and the implementation of the follow-up project can be successful. 

»Collaborative Learning of Viewing and Decisionmaking Skills« (cLovid)

Coordination: University of Münster

Partner institutions: University Medical Centre Utrecht (Netherlands), University of Turku (Finland)

Duration: 01 March 2021 to 28 February 2023

Budget: € 268,589

Content: The cLovid project aimed at creating the technical conditions for adapting flipped classroom scenarios. These include active and collaborative activities in microscopic pathology, responding to contextual requirements such as limited campus capacity and the demand to provide distance learning to overcome geographical barriers to participation.

Results: Medical educators were provided with digital teaching materials designed for flipped classroom courses and the supervision of online scenarios in microscopic pathology, which also served to enhance and develop the educators’ digital teaching skills. Students were able to strengthen their collaborative learning skills by participating in flipped classroom scenarios. Relevant open-source tools were used and partially adapted for the materials and their application. The project results are also complemented by evaluations and research on pilot implementations of a methodological framework, as well as a good practice example for flipped classroom courses on microscopic pathology.
The digital materials and software developed are accessible online.

www.clovid.org

This unique combination of didactic scenarios with intelligent digital tools is very powerful for visual learning. Can‘t similar solutions be developed for skills training?
Professor Dr Samuel Edelbring, University of Örebro, during the project’s closing event.
The answer to that is »Yes!«Also refer to the Erasmus+ Project ACTIVATE.
Dr. Bas de Leng, Project Manager

»Agile Competency-Based Learning for Individuals and Teams« (ACTIVATE)

The new Erasmus+ »Cooperation Partnership« ACTIVATE (2024–2026) was designed and funded, and based on the cLovid project (University of Münster) in the field of nursing education. Focusing on skills training in nursing education, it will undoubtedly be of great benefit to society.

Evaluation highlights the effectiveness and European added value of the special call for proposals

Thanks to their international approach and multilingualism, the cooperation projects funded under the special call for proposals »Digital Education« have resulted in a wide range of freely accessible teaching, learning and training materials that can be used extensively in the education and training programmes of the participating institutions. The digital nature of the results means they can easily be adapted and disseminated by different institutions and various fields of work, both within Europe and internationally. This strengthens sustainability and broadens their impact.

These projects add significant European added value by addressing national educational issues at a European level and providing a framework for innovative digital educational practices. A key aspect is the enhancement of digital skills to modernise and strengthen education, training, exchange and cooperation in higher education, particularly in the context of the pandemic. Using synergies through joint platforms and networks encourages the expansion of knowledge and enables new collaborations, even across European borders.

The results highlight the strategic importance of digital transformation, particularly within higher education, as well as the effective utilisation of project resources in order to foster sustainable cooperation partnerships.

Support for the »Union of Skills« through funding from the NA DAAD

The evaluation also revealed that improving digital innovation at higher education institutions requires not only digital tools and measures, but also the development of the digital skills and competencies of students and teachers. By placing an emphasis on further developing these digital skills in calls for proposals for the current programme generation from 2025 onwards, Erasmus+ can effectively contribute to implementing the »Union of Skills« strategy. This is particularly relevant to the first pillar, »Building solid foundations through education and training«, in terms of improving basic digital skills, and to the second pillar, »Upskilling and reskilling for the green and digital transition«.

By publishing the evaluation, the NA DAAD illustrates how Erasmus+ is contributing to the implementation of the »Union of Skills» through its funding programmes, which integrate the issues of skills and qualifications into communication with German higher education institutions from an early stage. It also promotes the targeted dissemination of project results by providing platforms for exchange and networking among relevant stakeholders. The Erasmus+ Forum for Partnerships and Cooperation Projects »Erasmus+ Projects as a Catalyst for Future-Oriented Skills», which took place on 8 – 9.05.2025, was an ideal opportunity to disseminate information: the »Union of Skills« formed the thematic framework of the event and inspired a lively panel discussion entitled »How can Erasmus+ cooperation projects contribute to strengthening key skills and synergies?».
 

What skills will we need in the future?

The focus was on how Erasmus+ cooperation projects can contribute to the promotion of future-oriented key competences, such as »Future skills« and AI competences, as well as generating institutional synergies within higher education institutions and with external partners. The discussion brought together a variety of perspectives from the worlds of higher education institutions, politics, practical experience and project contexts. It offered practical insights into the mechanisms that Erasmus+ cooperation can set in motion, as well as identifying where structural and practical challenges lie. It became clear that the development of students’ and teachers’ skills – a firmly established part of the identity of higher education institutions – should be more closely linked to overarching EU strategies such as the »Union of Skills« and brought more strategically to the fore. The NA DAAD will continue to support higher education institutions in this regard by providing the relevant support services.

digitalisation cooperations among higher education institutions

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