Partners

Helsinki Business College (HBC) was founded in 1881 to answer the needs of the business life. It’s owned by the Helsinki region Chamber of Commerce (more than 7000 member enterprises) and SLK-Foundation that represents Finnish business life in many respects. The college has over 130 years of experience as a provider of high quality vocational education.

HBC is the biggest vocational education provider in Finland on the fields of Business Management and Information and Communication Technology. HBC’s mission is to educate professionals and thereby support the development of working life. The EQF levels of our qualifications are at levels 4, 5 and 6. The college has 135 employees, 70 of whom are teachers and approximately 2800 students, of whom some 2000 are young students. The college has own IT department, that provides the whole ICT infrastructure. There does not exist such a development environment what has been described as an outcome of this project. In teaching ICT one of the focus areas is software development and programming and this project relies heavily on coding as a core tool.

www.bc.fi

Contact persons:

Jouni Hytönen, jouni.hytonen@bc.fi
Helena Miettinen, helena.miettinen@bc.fi

INOVA+, created in 1997, is the leading company in Portugal in promotion and management of international projects of Innovation, Education and Training and Research and Technological Development.  With offices in Belgium, Portugal, Germany and Poland, INOVA+ delivers highly specialized services in research exploitation, technology transfer and innovation management to clients in public administration, research and private businesses, as well as training solutions.
The International Cooperation Unit at INOVA+ is specialised in the management of international projects, development of innovative methodologies, promotion of work-based learning (WBL) and apprenticeships at national and European level. Our services and activities include monitoring of opportunities, partner search, proposal writing, project management and coordination, research and needs analysis, policy analysis, curricula design, networking, evaluation, event planning and organization, communication and dissemination, exploitation and transfer of results. A highly experienced certified training unit assures the capacity to respond to specific challenges in at national and EU level. Specific competences in the field of education and training include: needs assessment and skills mismatch; design and development of training solutions, competences profiles, training courses, training materials; assessment and evaluation of training courses.

www.inova.business

Contact person:

Ana Ribeiro (ana.ribeiro@inova.business)

KNOW AND CAN ASSOCIATION is a non-governmental organization, founded in 2007 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It works on national and European projects, career counseling, personal and professional development, soft skills trainings, programs, courses and activities in the sphere of non-formal and informal education and trainings.

It has a ISO 9001: 2015 certificate in the field of education: organizing and conducting educational activities, trainings, seminars, courses, practums, conferences and qualification forums. The Association is also a member of IVETA – International Vocational Education and Training Association. The network includes vocational skills training organizations, business and industrial firms, and other individuals and groups interested or involved in vocational education and training worldwide. The Association is a member of a European NGO group – L.E.M.O.N. – Learning Mobility Network which is a network of 13 European NGOs, from 12 different countries.

The Association has a licensed Center for Career Guidance and Information (Licence number 201614045).

The main goals of the Association are: to elaborate and apply specialized programs aiming to develop social and civil skills of children, youths and adults; to apply modern methods and technologies for development of non-formal education; to train specialists in the sphere of non-formal education; to stimulate and guarantee participation of people in national and international programs and projects

www.knowandcan.com

Contact person:

Rumyana Shalamanova (rumy6@abv.bg)

BRCCI was founded in 2003 with the main objective to support the economic development and EU integration of Bulgaria and Romania as well as the cooperation among local businesses and partners from EU. Since then the Chamber is providing various information and consultancy services to the business community of both countries to raise their competitiveness and support their sustainable growth. BRCCI is also an active player in regional economic development, working on topics of EU-importance among which employment and labour market; education, training and skills; SMEs, entrepreneurship and innovation, circular economy, young people and the society.

BRCCI is heavily involved in actions and projects aimed at providing information, consultancy and advice to the designated target groups in view of fostering their sustainable development, growth, improved performance and responsibility. Key partners are employer and branch associations from Bulgaria and Romania, as well as public and private entities from all Danube countries, Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, Estonia, etc. Most of the projects focus at transfer of know-how, exchange of ideas and are always implemented in cooperation with other partners, from Bulgaria and abroad. The topics are carefully picked-up to be of benefit and clear interest to target groups, but to also introduce new practices, know-how, skills and focus the attention to issues of EU and international importance. All projects have sustainable results.

www.brcci.eu

Contact person:

Magdalena Simeonova ( m.simeonova@brcci.eu)

TICE.PT was established in 2008 in Aveiro and engages relevant actors throughout the whole country, covering the entire value chain in ICT. It was formally recognized in August 2009 by the Portuguese Government in the context of Collective Efficiency strategies of QREN – the Portuguese Strategic Reference Framework – and renewed the Competitiveness Cluster status for a period of 6 years (in February 2017) within the framework of INTERFACE national program. Internationally, TICE.PT was awarded with the Gold Label for Cluster Management Excellence by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA). This recognition if a proof of quality of our work quality, accomplished over the last 10 years.

TICE.PT ambition is to “Build a cooperation platform involving and mobilizing main ICT actors in innovation processes, R&D, knowledge transfer, advanced training, development, production and marketing of products and services, marketing and internationalization”. TICE.PT aims creating a decisive impact in the Portuguese economy through the knowledge transfer, advanced training, development, production and marketing of products and services, marketing and internationalization as a result of fostering interaction among key actors. The clustering process assumes the creation of a symbiotic dynamic generating a virtuous cycle of growth, with clear benefits for the economy.

TICE.PT adopts a clear inter and intra-cluster strategy and takes an active role in promoting national and international partnerships, involving different actors and promoting liaisons between Research and Technology Organizations and companies, allowing the generation of products and solutions with higher potential in the national and international markets.

www.tice.pt

Contact person:

Pedro Roseiro (pedro.roseiro@tice.pt)

Haaga-Helia is the second biggest university of applied sciences in Finland. Through education, research and development, Haaga-Helia prepares professionals in business and services offering students a versatile choice of studies, opportunities for specialization, high quality education in Finnish and English and wide business networks. The 10 000 students and 600 employees at Haaga-Helia base their activities on highly advanced national and international expertise.

Haaga-Helia’s profile and core competences are in the areas of business development, entrepreneurship, sales and service innovations, emerging technologies, and pedagogy.

Offered fields of education are business management, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, ICT, journalism, modern languages and management assistant training, sports management and VET teacher education for undergraduate programmes. Haaga-Helia offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as a wide offering of complementary training, including the Vocational Teacher Programme and training tailored for companies’ needs.

Haaga-Helia is a trusted partner in research and development activities. Haaga-Helia also has extensive experience in international project development and implementation. Examples of its current project in the fields of ICT and business development include: RePack (H2020), IoT Rapid Proto Labs (Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances) and Big Data – Big Business (Finnish Innovation Fund Tekes).

www.haaga-helia.fi

Contact person:

Lili Aunimo, lili.aunimo@haaga-helia.fi

Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce (HRCC) is one of the largest chambers of commerce in Europe, based on voluntary membership. With over 7,000 members, including all the leading companies in the region, HRCC works seamlessly with local stakeholders and interest groups. HRCC supplies high-standard services to its members, represents the business community and promotes for its interests. Free advisory services are a benefit of HRCC membership. The Chamber also provides a wide variety of training courses on topics of current interest.

HRCC can strengthen the industry and business relations needed in the project. HRCC can also act as a link between the project and companies and it provides its communication channels at use of the project and its outcomes.

www.helsinki.chamber.fi

Contact person:

Riikka Vataja (riikka.vataja@chamber.fi)

Algebra University College (AUC) is a part of Algebra educational group, employing more than 150 full time and more than 600 part time employees. Algebra group is the biggest private educational organization in Croatia and strong market leader with share of app. 50% in IT end user education, 80 % in IT professional education and 60% in e-learning and e-services that supports training and assessment. In 2014 it has been voted by Microsoft as the best educational organization in the world.

AUC organizes the currently best-assessed professional study programs in Republic of Croatia according to the the National Agency for Science and Higher Education. Dutch-Flemish accreditation agency NVAO, one of European authorities in the field of quality assurance in higher education, evaluated the AUC with high marks in all segments, particularly emphasizing the quality of its studies and cooperation with the industry. AUC is a vocational education provider. It is offering undergraduate and graduate studies in digital technologies (SW engineering, system engineering, data science, game development, digital art, digital marketing). On EU’s Smart Specialization Platform, the AUC has been listed as a fully functional Digital Innovation Hub. Being a horizontal VET, the AUC has a strong record of collaborating successfully with SMEs, MidCaps, and large companies in the region, delivering for them digitally enhanced solutions for challenges their businesses are facing.

www.algebra.university

Contact person:

Mislav  Balkovic (mislav.balkovic@algebra.hr)

Croatian Employers’ Association (CEA) was established in 1993 as a voluntary, non- profit and independent employers’ association that represents, promotes and advocates for the interests of its members. Founded on the principles of voluntary membership and democracy in representation of all their members’ interest, the Association promotes entrepreneurial spirit, rights and freedom.

Since 1994 the CEA is the only employers’ representative within the national Social-Economic Council, the highest tripartite social body for social dialogue in Croatia. The Council was established to determine, defend and promote the economic and social rights of entrepreneurs and workers, to maintain harmonized economic, social and development policy, to encourage collective bargaining as well as the application of Collective Agreements but also its harmonization with the economic, social and development policy.

Pursuant to the Labor Act from 1996, the CEA was given the legitimate right to negotiate in the process of collective bargaining and to sign Collective Agreements on behalf of employers.

The CEA is a strong and independent voice of employers and entrepreneurs. It has regional offices in Rijeka, Osijek and Split and 29 branch associations that advocate for specific interests of different sectors.

Since 2012, CEA is the headquarter center/representative of the UN’s initiative Global Compact for Croatia, thus promoting the principle of corporate social responsibility among its members.

www.hup.hr

Contact person:

Jasminka Martinovic (jasminka.martinovic@hup.hr)

Tartu Kutsehariduskeskus (Tartu Vocational Education Centre) is the leading and biggest vocational education and training centre in Estonia with about 3000 students in vocational training, plus circa 3000 adult learners attending various courses annually. It means that around 12% of all Estonian VET students are studying it Tartu VEC. Our goal is to offer versatile learning opportunities in the following areas where students can study on the bases on more than 50 different curricula: ICT, business and commerce, beauty services, tourism, hospitality and catering, food processing technology, industrial technology, car maintenance, construction and woodwork.

Tartu VEC is open for versatile collaboration having signed co-operation contracts with major enterprises and work closely with our enterprise partners in internship and apprenticeship programs. All VET curricula are based on achieving learning outcomes, are designed to be practical and flexible. Tartu VEC is a recognised partner in Europe for international cooperation projects having 51 partner schools in 19 EU countries.

www.khk.ee

Contact person:Tartu Kutsehariduskeskus has good modern facilities (renovated in 2010) and is located in Tartu city, which is “educational and cultural capital” of Estonia.

Raini Joks (raini.joks@khk.ee)

BCS Koolitus AS is the oldest and largest ICT training and consulting company in Estonia. BCS Koolitus offers training and consulting services to ICT users, ICT specialists and business managers since 1993. BCS Koolitus offers a full training process, starting from assessment of training needs, till assessing the business results. Our selection of services is varied: different refresher trainings, consultations, certifications, development seminars and events related to ICT development, implementation and use. Our mission is to be a long-term partner to our clients through seminars, consultations, trainings and certifications to put ICT into effective use for the organisation.

The number of our full-time employees is 18 (including 8 lecturers), plus more than 100 partner lecturers. BCS Koolitus is the official Microsoft Silver Learning partner. In addition to the title of a training center, the school carries the titles of Pearson Vue and ECDL worldwide certification center.

www.bcskoolitus.ee

Contact person:

Egert Mitt ( Egert.Mitt@bcs.ee)