University of Niš is one of the eight public universities in Serbia. It was founded in 1965 and consists of 14 faculties. The contributing unit is the Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics. Faculty of Science and Mathematics, a renowned educational and scientific institution, is one of the faculties of the
University of Niš, which was founded in 1999. It is organized into 6 Departments: The Department of Chemistry, the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Physics, the Department of Biology and Ecology, the Department of Geography, and the Department of Computer Science. Departments of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry were founded in 1971 as part of the Faculty of Philosophy. Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is an educational and scientific institution that implements academic study programs and develops scientific research and professional work in all areas of the natural sciences and mathematics.

Team members:

Prof. Dr. Vesna Jovanovic – vesna.stankov-jovanovic@pmf.edu.rs

Trakya University was established on July 20, 1982. The University continues its education and training with 12 Faculties, Institutes, 10 Vocational Schools, 1 Conservatory and 28 Research Centres. Celebrating its
40th anniversary and its motto “Student-Centered University”, the University provides education to 42,000 students through its qualified and well-equipped staff of 1,868 people. The mission is to conduct research and academic activities through the principle of establishing the future by evaluating scientific, cultural heritage and foreseeing contemporary facts. As project experiences, the university has implemented the “Cross-Border Cooperation for Blue Growth: Blue GrowthLaboratories” project with a budget of 3.3 million Euros, conducting studies on risk assessment and risk analysis in the cross-border region, aiming to share experiences, knowledge, and best practices. Significant area of activity in STEM education, such as the examination of soil resources and soil conditions in the Meriç region, have been conducted. Regardingly, under the “Partnerships for cooperation and exchanges of practices” key action project titled “Green STEM model for teachers education,”

Objectives: What do you want to achieve by implementing the project?
• Develop a holistic Master’s curriculum and courses, integrating innovative STEM teaching strategies.
• Foster global STEM cooperation through partnerships, facilitating diverse learning experiences.
• Enhance educator competencies with specialized workshops for advanced STEM teaching skills.
• Integrate inclusivity, ensuring diverse student representation and outreach for underrepresented groups.
• Infuse emerging technologies, collaborating with industry for real-world STEM applications.

Implementation: What activities are you going to implement?
• Develop Master’s curriculum and courses collaboratively with faculty from the four university partners.
• Execute faculty training with workshops, integrating emerging technologies.
• Establish global partnerships, facilitating faculty and international exchanges.
• Establish innovation hubs for hands-on learning.
• Adopt practical methodology with regular feedback.
• Anticipated results: robust curriculum, empowered educators, strengthened collaborations and increased inclusivity.

Results: What project results and other outcomes do you expect your project to have?
• Develop a dynamic Master’s curriculum and courses aligned with industry demands.
• Empower educators with diverse teaching methods, fostering innovation.
• Establish a global network, enhancing visibility and attracting a diverse student community.
• Focus on inclusivity, making STEM education more accessible for underrepresented groups.
• Envision an Innovation Showcase as a catalyst for increased academia-industry collaboration.

In the course of 20 years the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) has made its mark as a successful national structure for the management of European educational programmes. Back since 1999, the Centre has been actively involved in administering and steering European educational programmes and initiatives.

The Centre has gradually made its mark in the national educational community at all levels not only as a readily recognisable administrator of EU-funded programmes but above all as a platform for sharing innovative educational methods and good practices to address the challenges emerging in the education and training system.

The end of 2013 saw the completion of the programming and financing period of Lifelong Learning (a European education and training programme managed by the HRDC as Bulgaria’s National Agency for Lifelong Learning).

As an acknowledgment of and follow-up to the significant results achieved by the programme, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport Erasmus+ kicked off as early as 1 January 2014. Apart from managing Erasmus+, the Centre is systematically engaged in the attainment of horizontal strategic objectives, such as information and communication technology (ICT) in education (eTwinning), recognition and validation of skills (Europass and ECVET), development of a national career guidance system (Euroguidance), practice-based analysis of the education and training systems (Eurydice), and language learning (European Language Label).

The Human Resource Development Centre is the Erasmus+ Bulgarian National Agency for the period 2014–2020 and the European Solidarity Corps Bulgarian National Agency for the period 2018–2020.

Contacts:
erasmus@hrdc.bg