Partnership

The University of Malta (UOM) traces its origins to the founding of the Collegium Melitense by the Jesuits in 1592. The College was raised to University status by Grand Master Manoel Pinto de Fonseca in 1769. Situated at Msida, it is the highest teaching institution of the State by which it is mainly financed and is open to all those who have the requisite qualifications. Over the past few years, the University has reviewed its structures in order to be in line with the Bologna process. Conscious of its public role, the University strives to create courses which are relevant and timely in response to the national, regional and international needs. The supreme governing bodies of the University are the Council and the Senate.The University has been involved as coordinator and partner in numerous EU funded projects under various Programmes including FP5/6/7, Horizon 2020, Lifelong Learning Programme, Culture 2000, Tempus, Erasmus+, INTERREG EU-MED-ITALIA MALTA-ENPI CBC MED and various other international and national programmes and initiatives.

The University is also represented in a number of European and international University networks and groups. University of Malta (UM) is the sole public and highest teaching institution in Malta, with its structures being in line with the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education area. UM has a 400-year history and there are over 11,500 students including 1,000 foreign/exchange students from nearly 92 different countries, following full-time or part-time degree and diploma courses. Around 3,500 students graduate each year. UM is comprised of 14 Faculties and several other campuses: at Valletta, Marsaxlokk and Gozo. As of 2020, the UM employed a total of 2,848 employees including academics, administrative, technical and industrial staff (1,885 on a full-time basis and 963 on a part-time basis). 

The University of Western Macedonia - UOWM emerged from the merging of two Higher Education Institutions in 2019 (both operated for over 20 years), expanding its educational remit. It consists in 7 faculties and 22 departments, offering over 20 postgraduate programs and 3 in collaboration with other universities. The development of structures for the exploitation of research products, the diffusion of culture of new technologies and innovation, the creation of centres of certification of local products, the promotion of the region's assets, the diffusion of ecological conscience, the elevation and the respect of the cultural wealth, reflect the activity of the UOWM. One of the main objectives of UOWM and specifically the CrInTE Lab (which is led by the Early Childhood Education Department but includes members also from the Computer Science Department), is the creation of new knowledge through the promotion of scientific research. The research activity is supported by the human resources (postgraduate and undergraduate students, scholars, researchers, etc.) and by the appropriate infrastructure, constitutes the most important factor for the improvement of both the Teaching and Education level. Fostering fully incorporation of ICT in everyday practice, the UOWM invests in innovative educational programs and multidisciplinary fields of research that correspond to the needs of the modern world.

Till now, UOWM has managed more than 200 projects (both, National and European), thus being able to fully contribute to this project. As a laboratory, UOWM has a strong focus on educators’ training and educational policy – strategies deployment, by participating in National and European research programs. Being an educators’ training facility, it supports and promotes innovative teaching approaches, such as eLearning. UOWM is directly linked to education, through undergraduate and postgraduate courses and it holds a tight relationship with schools and teaching staff, thus it is able of identifying training and learning needs. There is a close collaboration with educators in situ, on a permanent basis, in matters of research and everyday teaching practices, by designing and implementing experimental and official teaching programs and approaches, while training future educators in the process. Furthermore it can validate the scientific accuracy of the training material produced for teachers and students and train a large number of future teachers.

Also, UOWM has the ability and expertise to internationally disseminate the activities and products of the project, as it has active collaboration via Bilateral Agreements with 18 departments from all over Europe, via the Erasmus mobility and exchange programs, as well as the know how to support online promotion via Social Networks and other means. 

Advancis (ADV) is social enterprise invested in transforming learning to promote higher levels of education and qualification. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES The company’s intervention is focused on 3 areas:

>Research & Development

ADVANCIS engages in R&D projects in the areas of Learning and People Management & Leadership, cooperating with national and international partners to support the development of new knowledge, processes, products and services.

• New curricula design for higher education, school education and vocational training

• New educational products, namely digital contents and learning games

>Empowerment

ADVANCIS offers innovative lifelong learning opportunities - training, workshops, seminars - and consultancy support for educators and managers based on state-of-the-art knowledge and methodologies, covering a wide set of areas in the fields of Learning and People Management & Leadership.

• New learning approaches, methodologies and tools

• Implementation of project-based pedagogical models

• New leadership models and people management approaches and tools

• Design facilitation of people’s management processes

>Resources

ADVANCIS offers innovative learning resources in a number of specialized areas to support innovation in learning.

• Learning Games

• Learning ebooks

• Toolkits

RECENT ACTIVITY

Advancis has organised over 30 learning activities and events, with more than 1.200 participants in the past 3 years. Most of these activities (80%) were targeted at educators, covering areas like XXI Century Learning, Design Thinking in Education, Playful Learning, Digital Learning Games and eBooks, Storytelling Applied to Education, Project-Based Learning, Entrepreneurship Education, Leadership among others. The company has established an important cooperation with KAOSPILOT (Denmark) through which Advancis is now Programme Partner. Advancis also supported the creation of a new school (pre-school and primary level) with a project- based methodology, namely by helping define the learning approach and support its implementation. Advancis was involved as coordinator and as a partner in several LLP and Erasmus+ projects focused on the development of new learning approaches and tools, like learning games, PBL, ebooks and others, and of new leadership approaches. A few examples include:

Adventure in AI: Developing Children’s AI Literacy

KidVenture: Increasing the entrepreneurial culture of children through gaming

MONEY MASTER: Improving Financial Literacy Among Youngsters (using a serious game)

D-Think: Design Thinking Applied to Education and Training

Artful Leadership: developing the new generation of servant leaders through arts

T-Story: Storytelling Applied to Training

UNLOCK: Using Escape Rooms for entrepreneurship education in HE 

Chiswick House School is a professional learning community committed to 21 st Century learning-centred education. Within our Early Years Sector we host 550 pupils whose age ranges between 2 to 7 years. Our standards of teaching are embedded within an enquiry- based, knowledge-rich and inclusive environment. Our emergent curriculum fosters engaging and active learning experiences. Based on being responsive to the children’s interests, we aim at creating meaningful learning experiences enthused by the children’s curiosity. The destination of our curricluar goals are based on National Standards (learning Outcomes Framework Malta),but the process with which children achieve learning, aligned through national curriculum content, but sewn within individual diverse interests inspires a lifelong passion for learning. We foster emotionally intelligent pupils, through our robust Social and Emotional Learning Programme. We encourage effective communication and critical thinking learners and we aspire to educate children to become responsible and autonomous citizens. Every member of the community aspires to be a collaborative and creative lifelong learner able to confidently face new challenges in a fast-changing world. 

Educational Association Anatolia (EAA) is a non-profit educational association based in Thessaloniki. EAA’s aim is to support and amplify the educational offerings and social impact of Anatolia College locally, nationally and internationally, through a range of research and cultural activities and partnerships. Anatolia College takes pride in its long trajectory of quality education since its establishment in 1886, uniquely combining pedagogical principles and practices of Greek, American and European education that foster academic excellence, social innovation and students’ well-rounded development. Anatolia College is nowadays an integrated educational community with three academic divisions: Anatolia Elementary School, Anatolia High School/IBDP, and ACT - American College of Thessaloniki, which offers graduate and post-graduate programmes. Anatolia College is also home to four centres: Anna Papageorgiou STEM Center, CTY - Center for Talented Youth, the Entrepreneurship Hub, a start-up accelerator aiming to promote innovative business creation, and the Lifelong Learning Center with programmes for professional development and self-improvement. Finally, part of the Anatolia College family is Pinewood, the international school of the institution.

Anatolia, at all its levels of education and programs, educates about 4.000 students every year and aspires to academic excellence in all three of its educational divisions (elementary, secondary, and tertiary-level); it aims to serve as a role-model institution in its delivery of instruction, models of teaching, and resource management, and to act as a torch-bearer of humanitarian values bestowed upon it by its inclusive history and tradition. Anatolia provides rigorous, high-quality curricular and extra-curricular programs in a culturally-diverse educational environment to prepare students for success in their next levels of educational, personal, professional and social attainment by: - Challenging students to bring their highest level of preparation, focus, and effort to the educational process at all levels; - Fostering personal enlightenment and a lifetime of professional achievement for its graduates; - Combining innovative teaching and learning techniques. Anatolia College Anna Papageorgiou STEM Center innovative approach includes a great number of activities, projects, science fairs, outreach programs and summer programs that aim to culture STEM skills.

Most Anatolia College STEM activities have been documented as papers in International Conferences held both in Greece and abroad. Anatolia College STEM team participates in European research projects and develops STEM curriculum. Furthermore the center participated in two Erasmus KA2 projects. All STEM activities are run by qualified and trained teaching staff in an innovative environment. Anatolia College STEM Innovation Isle includes the Fabrication Lab, aiming to promote innovation and inventiveness by applying the principles of STEM and Robotics and, the Center for Green Education that aspires to cultivate the environmental awareness of tomorrow’s citizens. 

Scholé is a private school based in Matosinhos, Portugal, offering preschool and elementary school levels. Scholé follows a project based learning approach, supported by experiential learning, design thinking and playful learning methodologies. The learning projects are designed in a transversal way, covering all subjects and deploying the formal official curriculum through a design that ensures reflection, practice and theory and covers skills, knowledge, attitudes and values. Scholé offers a modern and adaptable learning space. Scholé staff is expert in pedagogy and learning communities, and namely in new and innovative pedagogies many times seen as alternatives to the traditional school system. Recently, Scholé was recognized as an Ashoka Changemaker School.