PROGRAMA IMPULSO JOVENS STEAM E IMPULSO ADULTOS

PROGRAMA IMPULSO JOVENS STEAM E IMPULSO ADULTOS

CONTRATO-PROGRAMA DE FINANCIAMENTO no âmbito do Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência (PRR) para 2021-2026

ENTRE:

A Direção Geral do Ensino superior - DGES, com sede em Lisboa, representada neste ato pela diretora geral Xxxxx xx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx xx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx, portadora do Cartão de Cidadão nº 04464043, válido até 05/03/2022, que outorga na qualidade de Diretora-geral, cargo para o qual foi nomeada pelo despacho 7754/2021 de 9 de agosto, do Ministro da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, adiante designada por “Beneficiário Intermediário" ou "Primeiro Outorgante";

E

A Universidade Aberta (UAb), com sede no Palácio Ceia, Rua da Escola Politécnica nº 147, 0000-000 Xxxxxx, número de identificação fiscal 502110660, neste ato representada pela Professora Doutora Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxxx, na qualidade de reitora, portadora do cartão de cidadão nº 00000000 0XX0, válido até 25/06/2029, que outorga na qualidade de Beneficiário Final, adiante também designado por "Segundo Outorgante".

E, CONJUNTAMENTE, DESIGNADOS POR "Partes".

Considerando o apoio financeiro para a realização do projeto UAb Impulso2025, aprovado nos termos do Aviso 01/PRR/2021 e do Convite para Proposta de Contrato-programa (Aviso N.º 002/C06- i03.03/2021 e N.º 002/C06-i04.01/2021), aprovado pelo Beneficiário Intermediário em 09 de dezembro de 2021.

É acordado e reciprocamente aceite o presente contrato de financiamento para a realização do projeto designado por XXx Xxxxxxx0000, enquadrado no Convite nº N.º 002/C06-i03.03/2021 e N.º 002/C06-i04.01/2021, que se rege pela legislação nacional e comunitária aplicável, assim como pelas seguintes cláusulas:

Cláusula 1ª (OBJETO DO CONTRATO)

1. O presente contrato tem por objeto a concessão de um apoio financeiro destinado a financiar a realização do projeto coordenado pela Universidade Aberta, designado por XXx Xxxxxxx0000, enquadrado no Convite nº 002/C06-i03.03/2021 e N.º 002/C06-i04.01/2021, em que o Segundo Outorgante é o Beneficiário Final, entidade líder da candidatura aprovada e globalmente responsável pela execução do projeto de investimento ora contratualizado.

2. Fazem parte integrante do presente contrato os seguintes cinco anexos:

a) Projeto para a realização de um contrato-programa com a DGES para o Projeto XXx Xxxxxxx0000, coordenado pela Universidade Aberta, no sequencia e nos termos da avaliação da manifestação de interesse submetida aos programas: i) Investimento RE-C06-i03 - Incentivo Adultos; e ii) Investimento RE-C06-i04 - Impulso Jovens STEAM (até 30 páginas).

b) Plano de Financiamento e Cronograma do Projeto;

c) Principais Indicadores e Metas do Projeto;

d) Súmula do projeto, com breve descrição das principais iniciativas, para divulgação pública;

e) Declaração de Conformidade do “Painel de Alto Nível de Avaliação” sobre o projeto

apresentado.

CLÁUSULA 2.ª (OBJETIVOS DO INVESTIMENTO)

1. Os objetivos do projeto de investimento contratualizado a que se refere a cláusula primeira estão descritos na Proposta anexa ao presente contrato, visando contribuir para a formação e qualificação de Jovens de Adultos e a concretização dos indicadores e metas constantes da Proposta.

2. A concretização e a operacionalização do projeto são da responsabilidade do Segundo Outorgante, na qualidade de Beneficiário Final, em tudo o que essa qualidade e função obriga nos termos da regulamentação comunitário e nacional aplicável

CLÁUSULA 3.ª

(CUSTO TOTAL DO INVESTIMENTO E O SEU FINANCIAMENTO)

1. Pela execução do contrato, o Segundo Outorgante, enquanto líder da candidatura aprovada, receberá um montante de 4,340 milhões de euros (quatro milhões e trezentos e quarenta mil euros), correspondente ao Impulso Adultos;

2. Os pagamentos serão efetuados ao Segundo Outorgante, nos termos do previsto no Convite nº 002/C06-i03.03/2021 e N.º 002/C06-i04.01/2021 e em função de:

a) Concretização dos indicadores e metas anuais que constam no anexo c) deste Contrato, e que são reproduzidos na Cláusula 5ª deste Contrato.

b) Validação, pela DGES, das condições legais e processuais da despesa realizada, de acordo com o previsto da Proposta em anexo.

c) Disponibilidade financeira por parte da DGES e cumprimento de todos os requisitos e procedimentos legais necessários à transferência de verbas para o Segundo Outorgante.

CLÁUSULA 4.ª

(PRAZO E CRONOGRAMA DE EXECUÇÃO)

O projeto de investimento tem como data limite de conclusão 30 de junho de 2026, obrigando-se o Segundo Outorgante ao seu integral cumprimento nos termos do cronograma incluído no anexo b) do presente contrato, que dele faz parte integrante.

As despesas a realizar podem ser contratualizadas até final de 2025, com exceção da tipologia de despesa “Construção, recuperação, modernização de infraestruturas, instalações”, cujas despesas terão de ser contratualizadas até final de 2023.

CLÁUSULA 5.ª (INDICADORES E RESULTADOS)

Constitui obrigação do Segundo Outorgante tomar as medidas que se revelem necessárias para assegurar o cumprimento dos resultados a alcançar no âmbito do projeto, nos termos dos indicadores e das metas incluídas no anexo c) do presente contrato, que dele faz parte integrante.

CLÁUSULA 6.ª (PAGAMENTOS AO SEGUNDO OUTORGANTE)

1. O processamento de pagamentos é feito a título de reembolso de despesas incorridas com a realização dos investimentos, na sequência da confirmação da realização dos indicadores anuais de resultado previstos nos contratos de financiamento a assinar entre os promotores e a DGES e da informação relativa à execução financeira das operações. Os pedidos de pagamento deverão ser feitos pelo Segundo Outorgante, através da plataforma PAS (em caso de indisponibilidade a PAS, a DGES indicará procedimento alternativo a seguir).

2. Nas candidaturas onde há IES copromotoras, cabe ao Segundo Outorgante, enquanto líder da candidatura, garantir que as verbas que lhe são transferidas são executadas pelos copromotores de acordo com o projeto aprovado, e que é parte integrante do presente contrato;

3. No caso de haver IES com Unidades Orgânicas com autonomia financeira, a realização das despesas poderá ser realizada pelas mesmas, desde que estejam previstas na candidatura aprovada.

4. Os apoios a conceder no âmbito destas medidas revestem a forma de incentivo não reembolsável, com pagamento a 100% das despesas ocorridas, nas seguintes condições:

1. Após assinatura do contrato:

a. Adiantamento de um montante até 12,3% correspondente ao Impulso Jovens STEAM e até 9,2% correspondente ao Impulso Adultos, do total do financiamento contratualizado entre o promotor da candidatura e a DGES;

b. Este adiantamento será efetuado após a assinatura do contrato entre a DGES e a entidade promotora da candidatura aprovada, desde que cumpridos todos os requisitos legais e processuais necessários a este adiantamento.

c. Este adiantamento, bem como todos os pagamentos a realizar pela DGES, será feito exclusivamente através de transferência bancária, para o IBAN XX00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0 indicado pelo Segundo Outorgante.

d. O adiantamento recebido será regularizado através da dedução, em cada pedido de pagamento a título de reembolso (PTR), de um valor calculado pela percentagem resultante do rácio entre o valor apurado dos PTR e o total do financiamento contratado.

2. Entre 2022-2026:

a. O promotor da candidatura deve enviar para a DGES, para efeito de pedido de pagamento, os comprovativos de realização de despesa efetuada relacionada com a execução do programa contratualizado (faturas ou documentos

equivalentes) relativas à realização do investimento, instruídos dos respetivos procedimentos que deram origem a essas despesas.

b. Este envio deverá ser feito duas vezes por ano: entre 2022 e 2025, até 1 de junho e até 1 de novembro; em 2026, o último pedido de pagamento deverá ser feito até 1 de junho.

c. No prazo de 40 dias úteis, a contar da data da receção do pedido de pagamento (reembolso), a DGES analisa o pedido, delibera e emite a correspondente ordem de pagamento ou comunica os motivos da recusa, salvo quando a DGES solicite esclarecimentos adicionais relativos ao pedido de reembolso em análise, caso em que se suspende aquele prazo;

d. Após a verificação e validação da despesa realizada, a DGES seguirá os procedimentos estabelecidos com a Estrutura de Missão Recuperar Portugal para que os pagamentos das despesas validadas ocorram com celeridade.

e. Os pagamentos aos promotores são processados na medida das disponibilidades da DGES, sendo efetuados até ao limite de 95 % do montante da decisão de financiamento, ficando o pagamento do respetivo saldo (5 %) condicionado pela apresentação pelos promotores do pedido de pagamento de saldo final e relatório final, confirmando a execução da operação nos termos aprovados.

f. No final de cada ano civil, será verificado pela DGES o cumprimento dos indicadores de execução anuais contratualizados (KPI); caso haja incumprimentos dos KPI, serão averiguadas pela DGES as razões desse incumprimento junto do promotor da candidatura podendo, em caso de não justificação adequada ou de colocação em risco da execução global do programa contratado, condicionar ou impedir os pagamentos seguintes.

g. Os pedidos de pagamento poderão ser objeto de verificação administrativa e/ou verificação no local.

CLÁUSULA 7.ª

(OBRIGAÇÕES DO SEGUNDO OUTORGANTE)

O Segundo Outorgante, na qualidade de responsável global pela implementação física e financeira do projeto de investimento identificado na Cláusula 1.ª, obriga-se perante o Primeiro Outorgante a:

a) Executar as operações nos termos e condições aprovadas, previstos no presente Convite e contratualizadas com a DGES;

b) Permitir o acesso aos locais de realização das operações e àqueles onde se encontrem os elementos e documentos necessários ao acompanhamento e controlo do projeto aprovado;

c) Conservar a totalidade dos dados relativos à realização do Investimento, em suporte digital, durante o prazo fixado na legislação nacional e comunitária aplicáveis;

d) Proceder à publicitação dos apoios, em conformidade com o disposto na legislação europeia e nacional aplicável;

e) Manter as condições legais necessárias ao exercício da atividade;

f) Repor os montantes indevidamente recebidos e cumprir as sanções administrativas aplicadas;

g) Xxxxxx a sua situação tributária e contributiva regularizada perante, respetivamente, a administração fiscal e a segurança social;

h) Adotar comportamentos que respeitem os princípios da transparência, da concorrência e da boa gestão dos dinheiros públicos, de modo a prevenir situações suscetíveis de configurar conflito de interesses, designadamente nas relações estabelecidas entre os beneficiários e os seus fornecedores ou prestadores de serviços;

i) Disponibilizar, nos prazos estabelecidos, os elementos que lhe forem solicitados pelas entidades com competências para o acompanhamento, avaliação de resultados, controlo e auditoria;

j) Comunicar as alterações ou ocorrências relevantes que ponham em causa os pressupostos relativos à aprovação do projeto;

k) Não afetar a outras finalidades, locar, alienar ou por qualquer outro modo onerar, os bens e serviços adquiridos no âmbito dos projetos apoiados, sem prévia autorização do Beneficiário Intermediário (DGES);

l) Apresentar os relatórios de progresso desenvolvidos em modelo a definir pelo Primeiro Outorgante, com uma periodicidade anual ou sempre que tal seja solicitado pelo Primeiro Outorgante;

m) Quando aplicável, cumprir os normativos em matéria de contratação pública relativamente à execução do projeto;

n) Com a assinatura do presente termo de aceitação, os titulares dos órgãos de direção, de administração ou de gestão e outras pessoas que exerçam funções de administração ou de

gestão, ficam subsidiariamente responsáveis pelo cumprimento das obrigações referidas na presente Cláusula.

CLÁUSULA 8.ª

(Acompanhamento e Controlo)

1. O acompanhamento e a verificação dos projetos são efetuados nos seguintes termos:

a. O promotor deve enviar, até 30 de novembro de cada ano, o relatório de progresso físico e financeiro do projeto, englobando a execução global e a execução anual do projeto, mediante template a disponibilizar pela DGES;

b. O relatório mencionado na alínea anterior (a.) deve incluir, entre outros: a identificação (nome; NIF; contacto) de todos os participantes nas ações de formação apoiadas pelo PRR; a evidência do cumprimento dos procedimentos legais adotados para a realização das despesas elegíveis;

c. Verificações administrativas relativamente à documentação do projeto, aos relatórios de progresso físicos e financeiros e a cada pedido de pagamento apresentado pelos promotores;

d. Verificação dos projetos no local, visando garantir a confirmação real do investimento.

2. As verificações referidas podem ser efetuadas em qualquer fase de execução dos projetos, bem como após a respetiva conclusão da operação.

3. A DGES poderá recorrer ao apoio do “Painel de Alto Nível de seleção e acompanhamento dos programas Impulso Jovens STEAM e Impulso Adultos” para as ações de acompanhamento e monitorização que considerar convenientes.

CLÁUSULA 9.ª (RECUPERAÇÃO DO APOIO FINANCEIRO)

1. Os montantes indevidamente recebidos pelo beneficiário final, nomeadamente por incumprimento das obrigações legais ou contratuais, pela ocorrência de qualquer irregularidade, bem como pela

inexistência ou perda de qualquer requisito de concessão do apoio, constituem-se como dívida, sendo recuperados pela DGES.

2. A responsabilidade subsidiária pela reposição dos montantes por parte do Beneficiário Final, cabe aos titulares dos órgãos de direção, de administração ou de gestão e outras pessoas que exerçam funções de administração ou de gestão, em exercício de funções à data da prática dos factos que a determinem.

CLÁUSULA 10.ª (REGRAS DE COMUNICAÇÃO)

1. As obrigações de informação e comunicação dos financiamentos PRR seguem as orientações previstas na legislação da UE e nacional e devem ser cumpridas pelos promotores das candidaturas após assinatura do contrato.

2. O incumprimento das obrigações, em matéria de comunicação e transparência dos projetos ou iniciativas apoiadas pelo PRR, poderá suscitar a aplicação de medidas penalizadoras no acesso aos fundos para a operação em causa.

3. O conceito de comunicação externa abrange todos os materiais informativos produzidos entre os parceiros e todos os materiais utilizados como suporte de comunicação com os cidadãos, seja em ações diretas ou através dos media.

4. Todas as ações de informação e comunicação realizadas pelos promotores devem reconhecer o apoio dos fundos, apresentando a insígnia da UE com uma referência por extenso à União Europeia e ao mecanismo de referência (Next Generation EU).

5. Tanto, o símbolo do PRR como o símbolo da UE devem ser utilizados de preferência a cores e de forma bem visível nos documentos ou materiais utilizados, não devendo nunca ter uma dimensão inferior em relação a outros logotipos. Esta orientação aplica-se aos logotipos que compõem a barra de cofinanciamento (marca PRR e insígnia UE) e a todos os outros cujo envolvimento no projeto ou ação determinem a sua presença.

6. Os promotores devem garantir que os participantes nos projetos ou nas ações financiadas são informados dos apoios da UE, quer pela utilização de barras de cofinanciamento em documentos e outros suportes quer pela aposição de cartazes e painéis no local onde decorrem as atividades.

7. Nos casos em que as ações se tenham desenvolvido, total ou parcialmente, antes da assinatura do presente contrato, recomenda-se como boa prática que os promotores assegurem, de forma diferida, sempre que possível, a informação/comunicação dos apoios.

8. Na página da Estrutura de Missão “Recuperar Portugal” (xxxxx://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx/xxxxxxxxxxx/) encontra-se disponível a seguinte informação, de apoio à comunicação das várias iniciativas:

a. Manual de Normas do PRR (xxxxx://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx/xx- content/uploads/2021/10/PRR_manual-de-normas-graficas_completo.pdf)

b. Guia de Comunicação (xxxxx://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx/xx- content/uploads/2021/10/GuiaComunicacao.pdf)

c. Logotipos (xxxxx://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx/xx- content/uploads/2021/10/logotipos.zip)

CLÁUSULA 11.ª (VIGÊNCIA)

O presente contrato produz efeitos a partir da data da sua assinatura e mantém-se em vigor até ao integral cumprimento de todas as obrigações dele emergentes.

CLÁUSULA 12.ª (DISPOSIÇÕES FINAIS)

1. Em tudo o que não esteja expressamente regulado no presente contrato, são aplicadas as disposições legais europeias e nacionais vigentes.

2. O presente contrato será assinado em dois exemplares, a entregar a cada um dos Outorgantes, valendo ambos como originais.

O Beneficiário Intermediário (Primeiro Outorgante)

Xxxxx xx Xxxxxxxxx Bento

Assinado de forma digital por Xxxxx xx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx: 2021.12.13 19:23:50 Z

O Beneficiário Final (Segundo Outorgante)

[Assinatura Qualificada] Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxxx

Assinado de forma digital por [Assinatura Qualificada] Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxxx

DN: c=PT, o=Universidade Aberta, 2.5.4.97=VATPT-502110660, ou=Certificado para pessoa singular - Assinatura Qualificada, title=Reitora com os poderes indicados nos estatutos da entidade - Informação confirmada pela Entidade de Certificação apenas na data de emissão e que não foi confirmada posteriormente a essa data, serialNumber=IDCPT-06285848, cn=[Assinatura Qualificada] Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxxx

Dados: 2021.12.14 09:22:29 Z

(assinaturas reconhecidas na qualidade e com poderes para o ato ou através do Cartão do Cidadão (CC) ou Chave Móvel Digital (CDM), com recurso ao Sistema de Certificação de Atributos Profissionais (SCAP).

011

Anexo A, B e D

AVISO N.º 01/PRR/2021

Convite à Manifestação de Interesse: Programa Impulso Jovens STEAM Programa Impulso Adultos

Project Description | Memória Descritiva

UAb IMPULSO2025

“

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Name of the application UAb Impulso2025

HEI Leader of the project/application Universidade Aberta

Budget summary

Total budget requested: € 4 340 000

of which:

“Impulso Adultos” Budget € 4 340 000

Budget by project promoters (only IES):

IES/HEI Lider of the project € 4 340 000

KPI Summary / Resumo dos Indicadores

Nº students (valores acumulados)
Graduates Youth STEAM (Nº Jovens STEAM Diplomados em cada ano civil)				Adults (Nº participantes em formações curtas e pós-graduação de âmbito superior)
Q4 2022	Q4 2023	Q4 2024	Q4 2025	Q3 2023	Q3 2025
NA	NA	NA	NA	2083	5470

Students benefit every year from the modernization of infrastructure and equipment (Estudantes beneficiados todos os anos pela modernização de infraestruturas e de equipamentos)
Q4 2022	Q4 2023	Q4 2024	Q4 2025
All students of UAb Currently 9 932	All students of UAb	All students of UAb	All students of UAb

Nº “schools” and / or “alliances” for postgraduate training in collaboration with employers, for short postgraduate courses – Q3 2023 / Nº “escolas” e/ou “alianças” para a formação pós-graduada em colaboração com empregadores, para cursos de curta duração de pós-graduação, até 3ºT de 2023
Total: 1	No “interior”:

BACKGROUND

Universities all over the world are in a process of intense transformation emerging from structural changes in society. In a digital society, in which digital media play a structuring role, as is the case of today's society, it is natural that universities are becoming more digital. Universidade Aberta (UAb) was the first Portuguese university to affirm itself as a digital university, an expression of which was the adoption of a virtual pedagogical model in 2007. Fourteen years later, in the middle of the pandemic crisis, UAb proved to be the only Portuguese university fully prepared to face the situation in its teaching, learning and assessment.

UAb's mission of training and promoting science is materialised differently from other Portuguese universities: the campus, the teaching modality and pedagogical practices are virtual, student-centred and collaborative. Given the specificity of its teaching model, UAb promotes and leads research in distance and online education, as well as in other disciplinary areas, in articulation with similar institutions, actively contributing to innovation and the development of more inclusive and sustainable pedagogical models and disciplinary practices, with a view to cultural and social integration. UAb's mission is to train, empower and open the doors to knowledge to geographically dispersed adult populations, freeing them

from the limits imposed by space and time, through the promotion and intensive use of digital technologies and networks, in a spirit of openness and innovation, transparency and credibility.

It is this particularity of the UAb's identity and strategy that allows it to be at the forefront of the digital transformation of the Portuguese higher education system and to respond to the invitation to implement the Impulso Adultos program, within the framework of the Regulation 2021/241 of the European Parliament and Council of February 12th, 2021, and Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan in its component 6 - Qualifications and Skills.

UAb leads and is the sole applicant of this project. The project will be driven by Universidade Aberta's Interface Unit for Distance and Digital Learning Competencies (UNICEaD) and is based on a technological alliance for the development and application of re-skilling and up-skilling actions.

THE TECHNOLOGICAL ALLIANCE:

Universidade Aberta Microsoft Portugal Porto Editora

LE@D - Distance Education and eLearning Lab, a research centre funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology

THIS ALLIANCE WILL ENSURE TO OTHER ORGANISATIONS:

Technical support (integration and parameterisation, functionalities, applications, authentication, data protection, certification and architecture, learning analytics);

Pedagogical support (instructional design, accessibility, usability, Templates/themes structure); Scientific support (development of training modules; content production);

Institutional and organisational consulting (policies, regulations, vision and pedagogical model, support areas);

Promotion of cutting-edge research in the areas of Distance and Digital Education.

PARTNERS:

ANAFRE – Associação Nacional de Freguesias

ANQEP – Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna

Instituto Politécnico de Viseu Polícia de Segurança Pública Turismo de Portugal

THE INVOLVMENT OF THESE PARTNERS WILL ENSURE:

co-definition and co-conception of the training programmes described below; making human resources available for specialised training;

attracting trainees (within the scope of Impulso Adulto); and reallocating trainees according to the new competencies they acquire.

1. DESCRIPTION

i. institutional strategy

The training proposals included in this application are designed and developed for distance learning. This option is justified, on the one hand, by the skills and experience acquired by the UAb over the last two decades, also in lifelong learning, and, on the other hand, by the possibility that this modality offers to reach the capillarity of the national territory and the islands, which enables a more inclusive and diverse offer in comparison with other proposals. Furthermore, the UAb has defined its own space in Lifelong Learning and in the development of competencies for non-traditional students in accessing higher education. With a student population whose average age is 40 and with the strategic plan for lifelong learning over the past 15 years during which it was possible to train 40,000 trainees of the so-called adult population, UAb has strategically anticipated the need for reskilling and upskilling this population, contributing significantly to the indicators now presented in the national context. Those are the reason UAb's partners under this project, which are widespread throughout the national territory, decided to join the institution in this application.

Universidade Aberta is the only public distance education university in Portugal and has been contributing to the development of this teaching and learning modality in the Portuguese context and the CPLP countries. This contribution has been given not only from the perspective of the development, in association, of study cycles and training offers, but also for capacity building for distance and digital learning. This context, as well as the role that the UAb has in promoting and building capacity for distance and digital learning, is duly justified and defined in DL133/2019. This is an important role as it will ensure the sustainability of the courses designed under the scope of this project as all relevant partners will be trained in distance learning and will extend their capacity to deliver distance learning courses. The development of this alliance of partners will enrich the existing competencies, namely those regarding the development of resources, capacity building for distance and digital learning, the transformation of practices and digital strategies and the development of research and development in this field.

The majority of courses within this application will be designed and developed as Micro- credentials with credits that will range between 1 to 6 ECTS. UAb has developed and delivered short learning programmes targeting specific industries or employers for over a decade albeit without calling it micro-credentials. We have established know-how and a suite of competencies

that will enable us to confidently incorporate our micro-credentials strategy within this project scope. UAb´s micro-credentials strategy is based on the experience developed by the institution in short learning skilled based courses complemented by the knowledge acquired from decades of experience and that enables us to state that in the case of the adult population the daily time available for involvement in training is very small. Thus, it is part of our strategic approach to developing micro-credentials of shorter duration and corresponding to the acquisition of micro-competences and skills; in this way, there is greater flexibility in the adoption of micro-credentials allowing trainees to undertake training according to their availability and responding to more specific and targeted skills.

For UAb, micro-credentials development is a shared endeavour of both UAb and employers. That is, we believe that they should respond to sector needs and requirements. In principle, they should not be part of existing courses or programmes as those were planned to meet other objectives. However, in particular cases, opportunities for developing micro-credentials from existing courses and short learning programmes may be possible always in conjunction with employers. For the UAb a micro-credential should provide specific knowledge, skills or competencies to the student that respond to social, personal, cultural or labour market needs.

Besides the Micro-credential proposed, UAb will develop a new Post-Graduation in Digital Transition and Transformation of Organisations. This will be a strategic training offer for senior managers of organisations (e.g., in tourism and hospitality) and public administration that aims, through a training and mentoring context, to develop digital transition and transformation projects in organisations. Co- developed with Microsoft, this program will use a package of Microsoft resources and Microsoft and UAb trainers, and students may be recognised in their skills through Microsoft Imagine Academy Credentials.

All content will be developed in collaboration between UAb´s instructional designers, our academic staff and our project partners. Course content may also be enriched through the involvement of Porto Editora, the most experienced and larger educational publisher in the country. Porto Editora is a key partner as it will help to ensure that content is the best we can offer and will help to develop new solutions and interactive content.

Finally, we highlight the partnership with the Laboratory of Distance Education and Elearning (LE@D), with the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and with the European Association for Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) to develop shared, safe, robust and reliable solutions for assessment and monitoring in the context of Distance and Digital Learning, as well as for the development of technological solutions to support students within the scope of artificial intelligence applied to Distance and Digital Learning. This partnership will undoubtedly create knowledge and robust practices to assess the acquisition of skills at scale, something innovative in the national context and that will become strategic for the successful achievement of this programme. In the scope of this application, it is the UAb's objective to involve FCT/FCCN as a consulting and support entity in the development of these processes and applications. The outputs of this work will be later shared with the national and international scientific community.

ii. training programs

The project will be divided into four strategic areas. Distance and Digital Learning, Digital Transition and Transformation, Sustainable Development Goals; and Languages and Communication. Within those, we will develop 24 new Microcredencials as well as one new Post-Graduation in Digital Transition and Transformation of Organisations. These four strategic sub-programmes are presented in the Impulso Adultos intervention area of this programme that will reinforce both the technological reskilling and upskilling of trainers for Distance and Digital Learning, as well as the reskilling and upskilling in several strategic areas of the society, namely through partnerships with 4 stakeholders that reveal themselves as pillars in four distinct areas: tourism, local administration, security forces and vocational training.

In general terms, with the involvement of Turismo de Portugal, we intend to develop joint training offers, already existing face-to-face, in distance education, as well as to co-design and implement new training offers within the scope of lifelong learning. Teachers from the 12 Schools Associated to Turismo de Portugal and pedagogical teams will participate as trainees in the 4ECTS Distance and Digital Education training programme (recognised with micro-credentials) aimed at building capacity for Distance and Digital Education.

With the association of XXXXXX as a partner, we intend to ensure the promotion of training actions and development of skills on the themes of Digital Transition and Sustainable Development Goals, delimited according to the conveniences and training needs identified by the partners. Some of these trainees may participate in the post-graduate diploma in Digital Transition and Transformation of Organisations.

The Public Security Police intends, through the association to this application, to ensure the Digital Transition and Transformation of its agents and district commands. It also intends to modernise the skills of its employees, through the participation in courses aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals. ISCPCI will align these training actions and act as a privileged liaison with this organisation as well as jointly develop new training courses.

The association of ANQEP to this application intends to promote the capacity building for Distance and Digital Education of the trainers who train within the National Qualifications System.

Distance and Digital Education

The Universidade Aberta will introduce a training plan on Distance and Digital Education, whose main objective is to foster the development of pedagogical skills for this education modality. This proposal results from the experience acquired during other courses for instructors in distance education, delivered by UAb over the last decade, for diverse audiences adapted to technological changes. This training plan aims to provide specialised knowledge in the field of training for digital teaching, including the design, delivery, and evaluation of activities for the digital teaching-learning process, communication and moderation, assessment and feedback, time management and organisation of educational paths, as well

as familiarisation with technological tools and ways to interact online. This course also aims to integrate in the teaching practice both pedagogical reflection and research developed within the scope of Distance Education, adding to the digital teaching components previously mentioned a theoretical-analytical dimension, which constitutes an important context for the future teaching performance of the trainer in Distance and Digital Education.

This programme will be organised in short duration modules, thematic, in which trainees will be able to develop specific competencies necessary for their pedagogical practice. The acquisition of these competencies will be proven with recognition through a micro-credential scheme. The recommended foundation programme of training is made up of 4 ECTS. The training is intended for adult education teachers and trainers who need to acquire knowledge and develop pedagogical skills to teach in distance learning or to perform functions within this context. Enrolled in this training programme will be teachers from the project partners Tourism Schools of Portugal (Turismo de Portugal) and ANQEP, in addition to higher education teachers from IPV, ISCPSI. By participating in this programme will ensure that all partners will be trained in Distance and Digital Education and will be able to deliver the micro- credentials developed during this project both within and after its scope.

Sub-modules within the training plan

Introduction to Distance and Digital Learning (1ECTS) - part of the foundation programme Designing e-Activities (1ECTS) - part of the foundation programme

Module/UI Design in Digital Environment (2ECTS) - part of the foundation programme Introduction to Digital Assessment (1ECTS)

Digital Accessibility (1ECTS)

Digital Transition and Transformation

Digital transformation can be defined as the integration of digital technology in all areas of an institution, public or private, regardless of the sector of activity, fundamentally changing the way it operates and delivers value to customers/public. It is simultaneously a cultural change that requires organisations to continuously challenge the status quo, continuously experiment, innovate and be comfortable with the organisational paradigm shift. Before the transformation process, it is necessary to go through a transition process that refers to the acquisition, by the various agents of the organisations, of the digital skills needed to perform their work effectively with the use of digital concepts and practices.

In the scope of this application, we endeavour to develop a training programme targeting digital transition and digital transformation. If in the first one the training actions are specific according to the intervention areas of the target audience, for the digital transformation a post-graduation will be created, aimed at training the leaders of the transformation, enabling them with the necessary tools to plan and monitor the implementation of the transition, until its culmination in real digital transformation.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Transition and Transformation of Organisations ir organised in two paths:

Leadership and Management of Digital Transformation Digital Transformation of Organisations

The contents and training activities are developed jointly by UAb and Microsoft. The trainees will develop a project applied to a real case for their organisation, whose development is accompanied by an academic mentor. The target audience of these training actions is the directors of companies and organisations as well as people responsible for digital transformation in the organisations.

Aside from the diploma, the trainees may also receive Microsoft recognition in some of the skills developed through curricular alignment with Microsoft Imagine Academy.

During the project scope, there will be four editions of the post-graduation with cohorts of 50 students per edition.

In the scope of the digital transition, Micro-credentials will be offered to three specific target audiences, the Tourism and Hospitality sector, the Local Authorities, and the Public Security Police.

Languages and communication

The Tourism and Hospitality sector was arguably one of the most heavily hit sectors as a result of the covid pandemic. The sector has strategic importance in the country as it contributes to a significant and rising percentage of the country´s GDP. Due to the pandemic, the unemployment rate in the sector increased; the need for reskilling and upskilling workers is seen strategically by the sector as a way to overcome this unemployment rate. The sector wants to build a more resilient and multifaceted workforce. The areas of languages and communication are seen as transversal to the sector and therefore of strategic importance.

This training plan, developed in partnership with the Turismo de Portugal and the Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, seeks to develop language and communication skills applied to the tourism sector. It should be noted that communication is seen not only from a textual and verbal perspective but also from the perspective of web communication, such as the development of web content, e-marketing or knowledge of digital platforms.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, are a set of 17 interconnected global goals designed to promote a better and more sustainable future for all.

The Sustainable Development Goals come as a call to the international community to end poverty, protect the environment and climate, and ensure that people can enjoy peace and prosperity. This theme will be

offered as a training programme in a stand-alone course unit format and as several separate modules contextualised to partners’ needs.

This is intended to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals and, simultaneously, develop diverse skills in trainees to enable them to develop strategies and initiatives in their work context that lead to outcomes aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Examples are training modules on the sustainable exploitation of agriculture, water resource management, climate action or the promotion of equal and inclusive justice.

This theme will be developed in Micro-credentials offered to local authorities (ANAFRE), with organisations in the areas of tourism and hospitality and with the PSP.

Summary

Number of trainees/students	2022	2023	2024	2025	Total
Distance and Digital Education (4ECTS)	450	520	400	350	1720
Microcredenciais (1 to 6 ECTS)	500	875	1540	980	3895
Postgraduate Digital Transformation (30ECTS)	50	50	50	50	200
Total	1000	1445	1990	1380	5815

iii. interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity

The Technological Alliance will develop experimental projects in the field of Digital Transition and Transformation. Particularly in the field of skills assessment, this will lead to clear progress concerning the state of the art existing in the Portuguese higher and further education sectors aiming at enabling shorter and more targeted learning experiences.

Using Micro-credentials to recognise skills acquisition will support training programmes that can be tailored to personal or sector needs enabling the possibility of interdisciplinarity with triangulation of modules from different disciplines or with cohorts with participants from different fields and sectors.

This can be seen by the target audience(s) of this consortium, which involves entities from different areas of activity and sectors, thus being possible to train in the same project receptionists from a hotel, technicians from a parish or the security forces. The project is also consequently transdisciplinary as it promotes the acquisition of skills in various sectors of society and professions.

Another example of this transdisciplinarity is the postgraduate diploma in digital transition and transformation that, being open to participants from various sectors, organisations, services and places, in a single cohort and on the common denominator of the digital transition and transformation, the

possibility to reflect various contexts, problems, sectors and areas of intervention, such as public administration, the distribution sector, retail or the banking sector. This transdisciplinarity will enable understanding the digital transition and transformation phenomenon in a holistic and contextualised way, empowering participants to better respond to the societal problems we are facing, particularly in the post-pandemic phase.

On the other hand, the design of some of the training modules is in itself oriented in an interdisciplinary logic. We refer, for example, to the modules on sustainable development goals, which refer to areas such as the environment, law, education and/or health.

It is also worthwhile mentioning the characteristic and distinctive approach of UAb, which in the context of this project is extended with other partners, and which is based on the capillarity of Digital and Distance Education that enables training participants throughout the Portuguese territory, namely outside urban centres, covering areas that otherwise would hardly be contemplated. Moreover, in the context of establishing links to the diaspora, this is also a way to empower Portuguese descendent communities and contribute to the dissemination of the Portuguese language and culture.

iv. coordination with R&D units

This application is strongly based on the search for new solutions - technological and pedagogical - for quality distance and digital education. In the scope of this project, and associated with the Technological Alliance (one of the pillars of the project), the objectives are:

a. to develop a new technological solution for digital assessment that allows the learner to be identified and ensures the robustness of the assessment process;

b. to develop a student and course quality monitoring mechanisms through learning analytics solutions supported by PowerBI;

c. to develop chatbots to increase student feedback and support during their training;

d. to develop the accessibility of learning content and activities.

All of these projects will have the direct involvement of researchers from LE@D (Distance Education and Elearning Laboratory), which is a research centre based at UAb. LE@D is a research centre dedicated to fundamental and applied research in Open and Distance Education and eLearning in the Networked Society and develops interdisciplinary research integrating researchers from various disciplinary areas and several higher education institutions.

It is also worth mentioning that projects developed within the scope of the Post-Graduation in Digital Transition and Transformation may be directly followed by INESC-TEC (also funded by FCT) researchers through UAb academics who are involved in a group of this Research Centre, within the

Information Systems and Computer Graphics Centre and the Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Laboratory.

The Interface Unit for Distance and Digital Education Competencies (UNICEaD) is responsible, on the one hand, for being the promoter of a framework of competencies and quality recognition for distance and digital education and, on the other hand, a hub of expertise in the area that can be used by other HEi to improve their policies and practices in the field. An additional purpose of the project is to provide a Knowledge Hub in the field of distance and digital education, promoting synergies between the aforementioned research centres, Porto Editora and Microsoft.

v. academic offer and micro-accreditations

Although there is not yet a national definition for micro-credentials, it is pointed out in the European context that a micro-credential should be composed of: (i) ECTS units that represent a workload estimated in hours, (ii) develop the acquisition of competencies that should be formulated in learning outcomes and

(iii) that the acquisition of such competencies must be assessed during training. This logic highlights the importance of training supported by a significant commitment from the trainee and the employer, which is not always adequate to the needs/constraints of organisations. Thus, in the context of UAb, the micro- credentials assume variable duration between 26 and 150 hours of work, which corresponds to modules of 1 to 6 ECTS; in exceptional circumstances, they may have 12 ECTS (300 hours of work).

For the UAb, a micro-credential development is a shared endeavour of both UAb and employers. That is, we believe that they should respond to sector needs and requirements. In principle, they should not be part of existing courses or programmes as those were planned to meet other objectives. However, in particular cases, opportunities for developing micro-credentials from existing courses and short learning programmes may be possible always in conjunction with employers.

For the UAb a micro-credential should provide specific knowledge, skills or competencies to the student that respond to social, personal, cultural, or labour market needs. Micro- credentials diplomas should indicate the workload, in line with the ECTS system and with the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA), the learning outcome that has been acquired and how the assessment was carried out and should be subject to our internal quality assurance system. They should also present the main topics covered as well as the scientific coordinator that developed the micro-credential. The UAb has already developed five micro-credentials in the field of distance and digital education and is currently developing further two micro-credentials.

The UAb is seeking to develop mechanisms for certification and archiving of micro-credentials that allow transparent and easy access to the informative elements of the certification, which should be verifiable and exported by the trainee free of charge. Transparency tools and processes are related to transparency of qualifications (European Qualifications Framework and Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area); quality assurance in higher education; credit for learning achieved; recognition of prior learning and validation of non-formal and informal learning; lifelong learning and career

management. The Europass Digital Credentials Infrastructure (EDCI) could eventually facilitate the issuing, sharing and storage of all forms of learning in a digital format, including micro-credentials. We will therefore seek to develop a technological solution that allows interoperability between our internal system and the EDCI.

The UAb is also exploring agreements on micro-credentials between universities. We are currently piloting the Model Credit Recognition Agreement (MCRA) with UNED which aims at establishing faster and more direct agreements on micro-credentials between universities.

vi. internationalisation

Cooperation and scientific, technical and cultural exchange with international counterparts is one of Universidade Aberta's strategic areas. Its focus on external relations has resulted in numerous protocols and partnerships with national and foreign entities, in the active participation in training projects in the fields of distance and digital education, as well as in mobility activities, both conventional and virtual, of staff and students.

As the inclusion of international partnerships in the scope of this project is not foreseen in the first phase, it is important to highlight the active membership of the UAb in EADTU, as this involvement ensures access to the most advanced technological solutions in the field of distance and digital education. EADTU has 200 members covering 25 countries and more than 3 million students and is an organisation dedicated to developing and sharing solutions for distance and digital education. UAb is an active member of this organisation and is currently participating in a set of projects supported by EADTU in the area of micro-credentials and short duration programmes funded by the European Union. The application aims to internationalise the capacity building course for distance and digital education abovementioned through a recent joint application for European funding (SLP NEXT II) as part of the call ERASMUS-EDU-2021-PCOOP-ENGO-Partnership for Cooperation in the field of Education and Training European NGOs.

It also seeks to offer some of the training modules through existing partnerships with CPLP countries, namely in the area of SDGs and digital transition with the Angola Police, with Universities of Angola and Cape Verde and with the UNIREDE consortium, which brings together 82 public higher education institutions in Brazil. This internationalisation strategy will allow the sustainability of some of the training modules developed under this application beyond the lifetime of this project. The network collaboration is therefore not only European but also African and with Brazil.

vii. articulation with collaborative innovation centres and networks

In the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Transition and Transformation, trainees will aim to develop a digital transition and transformation project in their organisations. These projects will be accompanied by a UAb mentor/researcher who will seek to establish links with INESC-TEC to promote collaborative actions of technological innovation. These partnerships will certainly promote the incubation of new

business projects and ideas that will have a direct impact on the digital transition and transformation of organisations.

The UAb mentors/researchers are members of INESC-TEC at UAb, being integrated into the Information Systems and Computer Graphics Centre or in the Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Laboratory, two fundamental areas in the digital transition and transformation. In parallel, and when it is considered relevant, there is also the possibility of collaboration with other UAb research centres and groups aiming to incubate projects and initiatives when the digital transition and transformation focus on distance and digital education (LE@D); or on the functioning of ecosystems (Centre for Functional Ecology).

viii. articulation with secondary schools

Through ANQEP's involvement, there will be articulation with vocational schools since we are ensuring that all ANQEP's certified trainers will be trained in distance and digital education, providing therefore a cascade effect that will involve the associated vocational schools. A similar approach will be taken with the 10 Schools of Tourism associated with Turismo de Portugal.

ix. strategy for organizing learning / teaching / research spaces

Distance and Digital Education and the implementation of the project underlying this application is strongly dependent on technological developments. It is natural, therefore, that there is a frequent need for the development of new solutions, new investments in upgrading software, hardware, recording studios and conducting remote actions and other similar situations.

In line with this, the UAb needs to modernise its Production Studio, providing it with the best technical solutions, but also with the space and security conditions that are indispensable for its daily work. The Ceia Palace building, where the Production Studio is situated, has had, over the years, structural problems that jeopardise the safety of all those who work there daily. In this vein, it is paramount that we take this opportunity to fix some of these structural problems and ensure that the investment made in the Production Studio is sustainable in a long term. The project will support the development of an Architectural Design plan to rebuild the scaffolding and structure of the palace as well as to help integrate the new studio into the landscape. The rebuilding will be funded by other projects and own capital.

2. CONDITIONS FOR THE RECEPTION / INSTALLATION OF THE PROPOSED TRAINING PROGRAM

(S) AND THE FINANCING EXECUTION PLAN

I. INFRASTRUCTURES AND EQUIPMENT Modernisation and strengthening of host conditions

A new production studio will be built to support all production activities. Those are key to supporting the development of new learning content created with video and audio. The new production studio for digital content will be used by all the institutions participating in this project.

The headquarters of the Universidade Aberta is located in the Ceia Palace. Built-in in the 18th century, the Palace is listed by IPARR as a national heritage building although it is currently in a high state of degradation and, in some places, at risk of ruin. The archive, the existing recording studio and all the University's distance learning infrastructures are in this building. In a perspective of the sustainability of the conditions offered by UAb and the new interface centre proposed in this application, restoring, and renovating the site is paramount to enable the development of a new studio for digital content production that can be used by the institutions participating in this project as it is foreseen in this application. On the other hand, it is proposed, within the architectural project, a more sustainable structure from a cost and environmental point of view.

As this is a listed building, any intervention and restoration of the space must be subject to a detailed engineering and architectural project.

Development of a new studio for digital content production and creation of a virtual recording studio (Innovation and Technology)

For the realisation of this project, it is imperative to modernise the Production Studio with the installation of a new virtual studio. The current studio is located in the basement of the Ceia Palace building in technical and capacity conditions that are not compatible with both the technical and technological needs arising from technological evolution and the technical requirements of this project. With the creation of a virtual studio, it will be possible to adapt the background to specific needs tailoring the learning content to different contexts.

II. HUMAN RESOURCES

In the field of Human Resources recruitment, the need for which is imposed by this project and consortium, the UAb intends to distinguish between Fixed Human Resources and Variable Human Resources. The former considers those who, by virtue of the sustainable increase in the UAb's activity, even after the project has ended, the University must keep on its staff, reinforcing their number and

qualifications. The latter include those who are indispensable for the full implementation of the project and the consortium, but with whom it is not sustainable to maintain their employment relationship with the UAb. Regarding the latter, the UAb will have the following concerns/initiatives:

Reinforce their skills so that they can more easily continue their work activity, although in a different organisation.

-Reinforce the connection to existing and recognised "bolsas de emprego" so they can more quickly find a new job.

For the success of this project, the UAb will need to make the following recruitment:

Project manager within the scope of the application. To be later integrated into the UAb structure. Two administrative assistants to support the activities of the project

Technician to provide virtual helpdesk support to trainees. This technician will be associated with the Teaching Technological Support Services for four years.

Integration in the project of 3 senior technicians (instructional designers) already recruited by the UAb.

Other project members such as UAb Scientific Coordinator (the project lead), Team Leads and Scientific Coordinators as well as Digital Production and further administrative support will be part of UAb resources so they will not be added recruitment.

III. OTHER EXPENSES

Development of Training Content and Activities

This includes:

Production of Content and Scientific Resources – this work will be developed by an existing department from the UAb, the Digital Production Service.

Design of Training Modules – this work will be carried out by UNICEaD through the instructional designers recruited for this project.

Technological Support and Assessment Parameterisation - this work will be mainly carried out by our existing Teaching Technological Support Services who have vast experience in assessment parameterisation and technological support. The team will be strengthening during the project timeline.

Innovation and Technologies

Development of a Micro-credentials management solution

The upskilling and reskilling training actions within the scope of this application are entirely conducive to the acquisition of micro-credentials. This means that an integral part of this proposal involves the certification, portability, and transferability of each trainee's micro-credentials so that they may be later identified and recognised by companies and other higher education institutions. This is, therefore, a fundamental step that will have as immediate partners, and in the scope of this proposal, the entities that offer, in association, with UAb the training programmes. However, it is UAb's ambition to share the solution obtained with other higher education institutions, and, eventually, to cede its management to FCCN/FCT.

Development of an electronic web application system that enables storing academic data and micro-credentials certification enabling the recognition, portability, and transferability of micro-credentials. This is to be developed in discussions with FCCN who have similar interests.

Modernisation of the UAb's academic management system to enable the of the abovementioned web application system.

Development of students´ monitoring system

Considering the dimension of the trainees proposed in the application, it is essential to develop a process of monitoring and tracking students that enable them to understand their involvement in the training, identify situations of risk of dropping out and develop tracking systems. It is foreseen, in this application, the development of student and course dashboards to allow this monitoring to be done in a sustained and timely manner. The dashboards will be developed in partnership with Microsoft Portugal. It is also planned the creation of chatbots to enable sending automatic messages of feedback to the student, in particular, to promote greater monitoring during the training course.

Acquisition of Power BI professional licenses for four years Development of dashboards (per course and per student) Development of a chatbot solution to support students

Digital assessment

One of the key steps for the success of this project is to ensure that the assessment processes are robust and reliable. This project foresees hundreds of training actions and thousands of trainees and, consequently, thousands of assessment elements that will have to be assessed. The assessment process, which is carried out entirely at a distance, will have to rely on technological solutions that guarantee the robustness and integrity of the assessment.

The development of a technological solution that enables transparent and effective assessment of the trainee is, therefore, a crucial element of this project. The UAb already has the foundations of this technological solution that supports its training offer, through the Moodle platform. Thus, the infrastructures below seek to support upgrading and resizing on top of a structure already validated and supported in initial and post-graduate training courses at UAb. In addition, the need to train teachers and trainers within the scope of the various projects associated with this application is highlighted.

Development of a reliable and fully accessible solution to support methodologies and processes of digital and online assessment in strategic collaboration with FCCN and the Open University of Catalonia.

Development and/or acquisition and implementation of a solution for an e-proctoring system, authorship through voice/sound/image recognition, and writing standards for 4 years. The project will use existing technologies already used by the UAb including, for example, our existing solution for plagiarism detection.

Development and/or acquisition and implementation of a solution for plagiarism detection with a licence for at least 4 years.

Digital accessibility

Software Licensing for Digital Content Transformation and Compatibility and allocation of a technical human resource specifically allocated to Digital Accessibility Management. This is particularly important having in mind existing legislation for ensuring all content is fully accessible to learners.

Hardware and Software

Acquisition of computers and monitors Acquisition of specialised hardware

Acquisition of specific software licenses to produce e-learning courses for 4 years (e.g. Articulate, Adobe Creative Cloud; Stock Video Templates, etc.).

Training, Capacity Building, Support and Merit

As part of the project delivery, staff will be recruited to support the delivery and assessment of the courses, in particular those courses leading to micro-credentials. All of those staff will be paid according to the PayScale for Lifelong learning courses at UAb at an hourly pay rate.

Staff will be trained and equipped with all the skills necessary to take the activities of tutoring, monitoring and assessing the course delivery. They will be trained in our Distance and Digital Education programme which also leads to micro-credentials acquisition.

Within this rubric we include the following expenses:

Training the Trainers/tutors and Users

Moderation, Tutoring and Assessment, including paying course tutors Scholarships (including Microsoft Imagine Academy Fees and Certifications) Onboarding structure and diplomas

Dissemination

The work to be carried out within the context of this application is of interest to all HEIs which use, to a greater or lesser extent, Distance and Digital Education and therefore funds have been provided to enable, on the one hand, the dissemination of intermediate and final results achieved and the associated pedagogical, scientific and technological solutions and, on the other hand, to enable the dissemination of these good practices and solutions to HEIs interested in strengthening their capacities in the field of the project.

Coordination, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation

The following implementation components were considered:

Project management

In addition to the operational management to be carried out in accordance with the PMBOK best practices of the Project Management Institute (PMI), administrative and financial management is included, namely the provision of accounts, requests for payment and reimbursement and other usual activities in the management of the project and the application that will be approved.

Coordination of the Consortium

We know how difficult and sensitive it is to ensure as much as possible the capabilities and skills of a wide range of partners, with different organisational cultures. However, this is decisive for the success of the partnership and the project.

In this vein, the short courses offered under this application go through a rigorous workflow that involves components of: (i) scientific coordination;(ii) instructional design; and(iii)e-moderation and student evaluation. The scientific coordination work is the responsibility of the project promoter, in close articulation with the partners. The instructional design component is the responsibility of the UAb's Unit of Interface for EaD Competencies (UNICEaD), which incorporates human resources specialised in the area. Finally, the e-moderation and student evaluation component will be carried out by trainers of the area with academic experience in adult education, under the supervision of the course scientific coordinator. For each of the four themes associated with this application, there will be an implementation team coordinated by a designated person (see figure 1).

There will be three decision levels. A steering committee with the involvement of all partners representatives, the project lead, the university management, and the director of the lifelong

learning department. Those will meet every three months and will decide on structural project elements and decisions. They will also approve budget decisions and any specific project change.

A second level will be the governance office who will be responsible for taking operation decisions and taking to the steering committee any decisions that will need to be taken at a senior level. The governance office will be led by the project lead and will also involve the project manager and two external nominees from within the project.

For each sub-programme (topic) there will be an execution team. Each team will have a team lead, the project manager, micro-credentials scientific coordinators and the instructional designer. They will be responsible for managing the workflow of each sub-programme and ensuring that deadlines and KPIs are met.

Monitoring and evaluation

A project of this nature and content must necessarily be evaluated not only in terms of the results stated in the call that gave rise to it but also in a set of KPIs that are relevant and timely. Figure X presents the project KPIs. The number of trainees represents the number of micro-credentials delivered to each trainee per year of the project execution.

The number of courses represents the number of courses leading to micro-credentials that will be designed and taken to production per year of the project execution.

Nº of courses	2022	2023	2024	2025	Total
1-2 ECTS	1	2	0	0	3
3-4 ECTS	3	5	2	0	10
6 ECTS	2	2	1	0	5
Postgraduate Digital Transformation	1	0	0	0	1
Distance and Digital Education	6	0	0	0	6

KPIs monitoring will be done through a RAID analysis that will identify key project Risks (R), Assumptions (A), Issues (I), and Dependencies (D). A RAG (Red, Amber, Green) system method will be used for rating status reports.

Project Summary

UAb - OVERALL INVESTMENT PLAN							Unit Euros	%
Rubric 2021		2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	Total	%
1. Innovation and Technology	0	285,550	55,000	55,000	45,000	0	440,550	10.2%
2. Human Resources	0	140,000	140,000	140,000	139,500	0	559,500	12.9%
3. Development of Training Content and Activities	0	106,913	106,900	106,900	106,900	0	427,613	9.9%
4. Training, Capacity Building, Support and Merit	0	713,726	613,726	593,726	513,726	0	2,434,904	56.1%
5. Modernisation and strengthening of host conditions	0	350,000	0	0	0	0	350,000	8.1%
6. Dissemination	0	22,409	22,408	22,408	22,408	0	89,633	2.1%
7. Coordination, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation	0	9,450	9,450	9,450	9,450	0	37,800	0.9%
	0	1,628,048	947,484	927,484	836,984	0	4,340,000	100.0%

Indicators	Total
Relative Weight of Training and Capacity Building in the Total Cost of the Project	56.1%
Relative Weight of Improving Host Conditions in Total Project Cost	8.1%
Relative Weight of Innovation and Technology, HR and Content in Total Project Cost	10.2%

iv. support for students, merit grants and others

Microsoft Imagine Academy Fees and Certifications

The application will pay for the fees as well as Microsoft Imagine Academy certification for a selective number of students per edition of the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Transition and Transformation of Organisations based on their merit.

Tuition fees, on-boarding structure and diplomas

3. ESTIMATED IMPACT TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING GOALS

Regional and National Impact
Relative Contributions to the Expected Targets
Benchmark Indicator		PRR Target		Project Contribution		Observations
		Data	N.º	N.º	% da Meta
N1	Higher Education Programmes in the areas of STEAM	2nd Quarter 2025	25	NA	NA	NA (Not Applicable)

N2	Graduates increase in Courses/ Cycles of Study in Higher Education in the areas of STEAM	Final 2020	10000	NA	NA	NA (Not Applicable)
N3	Participants in Short Higher Education Courses	2nd Quarter 2023	15000	1729	12%
		3rd Quarter 2025	23000	2882	13%
N4	Network of “Schools” and/or “Alliances” for Postgraduate Training (Short Postgraduate Courses) in collaboration with employers	3rd Quarter 2023	10	1	10%

Given the nature of the training provided by the UAb, the regional, national, and international impact is already relevant.

4. LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT OF THE CONSORTIUM PARTNERS

Partners roles in this project are diverse ranging from developing technological solutions to support the project delivery to co-design training programmes. Partners were chosen based on what they can contribute to the success of this project.

In short, activities will range between the following: (i) co-defining and co-designing training modules; (ii) developing technological solutions; (iii) ensuring the availability of their employees for training; (iv) seeking prospective trainees within each sector; (v) and, if needed, co-funding activities to be promoted. Below we characterise each partner main contribution to the project.

Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (IPV)

The UAb will co-create, in partnership with the IPV, a set of training modules under the strategic themes of Languages and Communication and Sustainable Development Objectives. Some of these modules, initially designed to be available in face-to-face format, will be adapted to integrate the distance learning offer.

Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna

In the scope of this sub-programme UAb will develop a 4ECTS training programme (supported by microcredentials) for the EaD capacity building of 80 trainers and teachers of ISCPSI. In addition, a training plan will be created in association with 5 thematic axes, each one of modular short training with recognition through micro-credits in the area of digital transition for police and internal security. These will be designed for three levels of skills (initial, intermediate and advanced).

LE@D - Laboratório em Ensino a Distância e E-learning

LE@D´s role will be to collaborate and advise on shared, safe, robust and reliable solutions for assessment and monitoring in distance and digital education contexts, as well as to develop technological solutions to support students within the scope of artificial intelligence applied to Distance and Digital Learning. This partnership will undoubtedly allow creating knowledge and robust practices to assess the acquisition of skills at scale, something innovative in the national context and that will become strategic for the successful achievement of this program.

Associação Nacional de Freguesias (ANAFRE)

XXXXXX will participate in the co-creation of the contents of the training actions in the field of Digital Transition and Transformation to accommodate specificities of local authorities, in this case the Parish Councils. Similar work will be carried out in the field of Sustainable Development in which the Parish Councils, either through their own competences or through delegated competences, are increasingly called upon to intervene.

The experience gained will be made available to the UAb so that the design meets present and future needs.

Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional (ANQEP)

In the scope of this sub-programme the UAb will develop a 4ECTS training programme for Distance and Digital Education capacity building for trainers of organisations and trainers associated with ANQEP.

Microsoft Portugal

The application proposes a set of actions of formative scope in upskilling for Transition and Digital Transformation. One proposal will be the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Transition and Transformation of Organisations with two types of specialisation: (i) Digital Transformation Leadership and Management and

(ii) Digital Transformation of Organisations. The contents and training activities are jointly developed by UAb and Microsoft. The trainees will develop a project applied to a real case of their organisation, and whose development is accompanied by a teacher in a tutorial regime.

Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP)

In close connection and under the guidance of ISCPSI, a training plan will be co-created under specific themes, each one of modular short training with recognition through micro-credits in the area of digital transition.

Porto Editora

Porto Editora will participate in the co-creation of solutions already presented in this document which will subsequently allow for the “Training of teachers”, the “Training graduates for professional conversion”, as well as the “Training and specialisation of professionals linked to the education process within the scope of active ageing”, thus enabling a total of 850 trainees/year to be involved.

Turismo de Portugal

Under this sub-programme, the UAb will develop a 4ECTS training programme (sustained in micro- credentials) for distance and digital education aimed at Tourism School trainers in addition to the pedagogical teams. Training modules for the digital transition (upskilling) will be designed for Turismo de Portugal employees. Training modules will be designed within the theme of Tourism and reskilling for employees of Turismo de Portugal (Digital Transition and Transformation; Sustainable Development Goals; Languages).

5. CAPACITY TO LEVERAGE OTHER SOURCES OF CO-FUNDING

The present application and the characteristics of the Consortium involved allow it to contribute to leverage other PRR Programmes, in particular

COMPONENT 19: DIGITAL TRANSITION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: CAPACITY BUILDING, DIGITALIZATION, INTEROPERABILITY AND CYBERSECURITY

In fact, the participation of the PSP, ANQEP, ANAFRE and Turismo de Portugal allows, directly, to contribute to the following measures:

Investment TD-C19-i03: Strengthening the general cybersecurity framework on the basis of trust for the adoption of electronic services

Investment TD-C19-i07: Capacity Building in Public Administration - training workers and managing the future

A COMPONENTE 20: ESCOLA DIGITAL

In the text that characterises this component, it is said that: “Por fim, importa assinalar a estreita articulação

entre a presente Componente e as demais linhas de ação do Programa de Recuperação e Resiliência, em particular no que diz respeito, à Componente 06 – Qualificações e Competências, …, à Componente 19 – Administração Pública Digital, e aos seus investimentos na aceleração dos processos de transição digital. A articulação destas componentes está alinhada com a estratégia digital europeia, propondo uma complementaridade entre as políticas de educação e formação profissional, focadas na capacitação e inclusão digital das pessoas, e as políticas de modernização tecnológica das instituições - escolas, empresas e administração pública”.

Therefore, there is no legitimate doubt about the advantage of articulating Component 6, in which this application to Impulso Adulto is included, with parts of Component 19 - Digital Public Administration and parts of Component 20: Digital School.

The implementation of the project presented by Universidade Aberta contributes directly to the implementation of Component 19 of the PRR (Digital transition of public administration: capacity building, digitalisation, interoperability and cybersecurity) both in investment TD-C19-i03: Strengthening of the general cybersecurity framework in the basis of trust for the adoption of electronic services, and investment TD-C19-i07: Capacity building of Public Administration - training of workers and management of the future, thus constituting a very powerful contribution to the achievement of the goals set out in the PRR.

It is also evident the project’s contribution to the achievement of component 20 of the RRP (digital school) and its goals by accelerating the digital transition processes and ensuring complementarity between education and vocational training policies, focused on the training and digital inclusion of people, and the technological modernisation policies of institutions - schools, companies and public administration, reinforcing the alignment with the European digital

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DEZEMBRO | 2021

1

01

AVISO N.º 01/PRR/2021

Convite à Manifestação de Interesse: Programa Impulso Jovens

STEAM Programa Impulso Adultos

Project Execution plan and indicators

UAb IMPULSO2025

“

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Name of the application UAb Impulso2025

HEI Leader of the project/application Universidade Aberta

Budget summary

Total budget requested: € 4 340 000

of which:

“Impulso Adultos” Budget € 4 340 000

Budget by project promoters (only IES):

IES/HEI Lider of the project € 4 340 000

Anexo B

1 PROJECT SUMMARY – EXECUTION PLAN

UAb - OVERALL INVESTMENT PLAN

Unit % Euros

Rubric

202

1

2022

0000 0000 0000

202

6

Total

%

1. Innovation and Technology	0	285,550	55,000	55,000	45,000	0	440,550	10.2%
2. Human Resources 0 140,000 140,00				140,00	139,50 0 559,500 12.9%
0				0	0
3. Development of Training Content and Activities 0 121,903 121,90				121,90	121,90 0 487,613 11.2%
3				3	3
4. Training, Capacity Building, Support and Merit 0 713,726 613,72				593,72	513,72 0 2,434,90 56.1%
			6	6	6		4
5. Modernisation and strengthening of host 0		350,000	0	0	0	0	350,000	8.1%
6. Dissemination 0		6,750	6,750	6,750	9,383	0	29,633	0.7%
7. Coordination, Management, Monitoring and 0		9,450	9,450	9,450	9,450	0	37,800	0.9%

conditions

Evaluation

0 1,627,37

9

946,82

9

926,82

9

838,96

2

0 4,340,00

0

100.0

%

Indicators	Total
Relative Weight of Training and Capacity Building in the Total Cost of the Project	56.1%
Relative Weight of Improving Host Conditions in Total Project Cost	8.1%
Relative Weight of Innovation and Technology, HR and Content in Total Project Cost	10.2%

2 PROJECT SUMMARY – INDICATORS

Nº of courses	2022	2023	2024	2025
1-2 ECTS	1	2	0	0
3-4 ECTS	3	5	2	0
6 ECTS	2	2	1
Postgraduate Digital Transformation	1	0	0	0
Educação a Distância e Digital	6	0	0	0

3. ESTIMATED IMPACT TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING GOALS

Regional and National Impact
Relative Contributions to the Expected Targets
Benchmark Indicator		PRR Target		Project Contribution		Observations
		Data	N.º	N.º	% da Meta
N1	Higher Education Programmes in the areas of STEAM	2nd Quarter 2025	25	NA	NA	NA (Not Applicable)

N2	Graduates increase in Courses/ Cycles of Study in Higher Education in the areas of STEAM	Final 2020	10000	NA	NA	NA (Not Applicable)
N3	Participants in Short Higher Education Courses	2nd Quarter 2023	15000	1729	12%
		3rd Quarter 2025	23000	2882	13%
N4	Network of “Schools” and/or “Alliances” for Postgraduate Training (Short Postgraduate Courses) in collaboration with employers	3rd Quarter 2023	10	1	10%

6

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Anexo C – Principais indicadores – Universidade Aberta

Anexo E

Declaração de Conformidade

Anexo E

No seguimento da submissão da candidatura de que é preponente a Universidade Aberta, projeto designado por “XXx Xxxxxxx0000”, correspondente ao Convite para Proposta de Contrato-programa (Aviso N.º 002/C06-i03.03/2021 e N.º 002/C06-i04.01/2021), no âmbito dos programas Impulso Jovens STEAM e Impulso Adultos, e após avaliação e verificação da Conformidade da mesma com os termos aprovados na fase anterior e as condições constantes no relatório global de avaliação do Painel de Alto Nível, considera-se que a candidatura é elegível para financiamento.

A Diretora-Geral do Ensino Superior

Assinado de forma digital por Xxxxx xx

Xxxxx da Conceição Bento Conceição Bento

Dados: 2021.12.13 19:27:43 Z