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The IM-PRO-IN-DE pilot trainings continued with another group of 70 teachers on 23rd and 28th of July 2025 as part of PANIO Academy of Bulgarian Teachers’ Union in Hisarya, Bulgaria. The training was led by the project coordinator – Prof. Dora Levterova-Gadjalova.

Prof. PhD Cristina Sanchez Romero from UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE EDUCACION A DISTANCIA, Spain (project partner), presented the project and its results during a Radio Interview of UNED Radio Broadcast.

She invited more than 10 000 listeners to join the Spanish Community of practice and to take part in the further qualification training developed under the IM-PRO-IN-DE project.

More you can listen at the files below:

Canal UNED: https://canal.uned.es/video/665ecdb5aef0254b4509fb62

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76pTyCzBEbM

The three Bulgarian partners – Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team, Bulgarian Teachers’ Union and Plovdiv university “Paisii Hilendarski” are organising series of training sessions with teachers from all over Bulgaria, who took part in the 2-semester course further qualification course for teachers in design for digital learning and use of educational technology as a foundation for creative thinking and inclusion.

They took part in the e-learning course, as well as received guidance and information how to elaborate on the seven modules. Several case studies and practical activities were also conducted.

As part of these trainings, each teachers made a scenario for the development of accessible inclusive digital resource following the instructions of the IM-PRO-IN-DE course and the Universal design of learning pedagogical principles.

World innovative sustainable solutions – WINSS as part of the IM-PRO-IN-DE project organised series of training sessions with teachers from Istanbul region. The main purpose was to present to them the Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs and to start the 2-semester course further qualification course for teachers in design for digital learning and use of educational technology as a foundation for creative thinking and inclusion.

In May and June 2025, the INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DE BRAGANCA, Portugal as project partner of IM-PRO-IN-DE project organised series of training sessions for Master degree level students in pedagogical subjects, who will become teachers upon graduation as well as with recent teachers from schools in the area of Braganca.

These trainings session were conducted in hybrid format to ensure more involvement of participants, who wished to join the free of charge further qualification course developed in the project.

During the sessions, the participants worked in groups on the development of accessible digital learning resources for students especially for those with special needs and learning difficulties. They plan to embed them immediately into their practices.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union presented the project and its results during the Sectoral Council for Tripartite Cooperation in the System of Preschool and School Education. The Minister of education and science Mr. Krasimir Valchev and his team get acquinted with the project status. Dr. Takeva discussed that the instructional design of digital learning must become a key priority for the further teachers’ qualification and she suggested this to be amended in the state educational standard for inclusive education. This was an important pilar towards the project’ sustainability beyond the project lifetime.

Representatives of the project consortium took part in the International Staff Week on Diversity and Inclusion at University Milano Biccoca, which was held in the period 3-6 June 2025. The purpose of the event was each participant to share insides from Erasmus+ teachers’ training projects, where inclusion and diversity horizontal priority is addressed.

The IM-PRO-IN-DE curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs was entirely presented and the participants were invited to join the European Community of practice under Result 3.

On 05.06.2025, the pedagogical specialists from the Regional Center for Support of the Inclusive Education Process – Montana were informed about the importance of the project, its activities and expected results.

On 31 May 2025, the concept of the project was presented to students-future teachers from the master’s program “Communicative Developmental Disorders” of Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, 1st year. They have been invited to join the further qualification course.

On 21st May 2025, the resource teachers, psychologists and speech therapists from the Regional Center for Support of the Inclusive Education Process – Shoumen were introduced to the goals, activities and expected results of the project by Prof. Zhana Atanasova. Exploitation opportunities have been negotiated.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union presented the project and its results during the National Conference “Preparation of the Future Teachers”. The event took place in the period of 12-13 May 2025 and was organised by Pedagogical Faculty of Sofia University. The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Emiliya Lazarova and by the Chief Director of Regional Educational Inspectorate for Sofia region – Dr. Vanya Kastreva-Moneva. More than 200 teachers and university students in pedagogical subjects were able to get acquinted with the project and to join the Community of practice under project result 3.

The project concept and results have been disseminated and presented during Regional seminar “Innovations in education and training under Erasmus+ programme”. The event was organised by the Bulgarian National Agency – Human resources development centre. Representatives of the project consortium presented the main project results – Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs as well as invited the teachers to take part in the Community of practice and in to register for the 2-semester course further qualification course for teachers in design for digital learning and use of educational technology as a foundation for creative thinking and inclusion.

The initiative was attended by 70 participants, including teachers, research associates, cultural and community center activists from Varna and the region. The participants in the seminar were welcomed by the Deputy Mayor Mr. Pavel Popov with the portfolios of “Education and Youth Activities” and “Culture and Spiritual Development” in the Municipality of Varna. The project team received an invitation from the Varna Municipality to hold other events for students and teachers.

As part of the exploitation of the project and guaranteeing the future realisation of trainings for teachers, based on the IM-PRO-IN-DE results, Dr. Yanka Takeva – the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union and leader of WP3, organised a meeting with the Minister of finance to discuss possibilities for additional funding beyond the project lifetime. The Minister said that she will make necessarily arrangements to organise this as part of the National funding schemes for further qualification.

94 School “Dimitar Strashimirov” is a key partner of the Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team and Bulgarian Teachers’ Union. 65 teachers received guidance and information about the project and its Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs. They have been registered on project platform and applied for the training session planned to be organised in July at PANIO Academy with regards to project pilot implementation.

On 24 April 2025, a National Event on the topic: “Panorama of Skills” was held in Sofia. The organizers of the event are the Human Resource Development Centre, the National Expert Team for Vocational Education and Training, together with accompanying activities Europass Bulgaria, Euroguidance Bulgaria and Eurodesk.

The event brought together over 140 participants – including directors of vocational high schools, teachers, students from all over Bulgaria, as well as representatives of academia, NAVET, RDO and the Sofia Municipality.

This was a nice opportunity to invite teachers and school principals to join the Community of practice in Bulgaria as well as to present the project results to them.

The project results were disseminated during the First International congress of educational technology for improvement of teaching quality (CITEM) which was realised on 22-23 April 2025, in Madrid, Spain. The event was organised by the Autonomous university of Madrid. Representatives by the Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team and ASOCIACIÓN MADRILEÑA DE PROFESIONALES DE LA ATENCIÓN TEMPRANA, Madrid, Spain presented the project concept and its results.

More than 50 recent and future teachers participated in the event which allows the partnership to extend the Community of practice in Spain. They will further continue their qualification extension during planned course in Madrid organised by AMPAT and UNED.

The team of our Spanish partner ASOCIACIÓN MADRILEÑA DE PROFESIONALES DE LA ATENCIÓN TEMPRANA, Madrid, Spain presented the project during “II International Congress for Education and Diversity – Education science for all, and with all” which was held on 4th and 5th April 2025 in Zaragoza, Spain. The event was relevant to meet with teachers and methodologists from all over Spain and to invite them to joing the Community of practice. Contacts have been made for the forthcoming training organisation.

The team of AMPAT was invited to deliver special training for future teachers (recent students at Pedagogical and Social studies programmes) at the Catholic University of Paraguay. The training event was held on 4th and 5th of April and was delivered by Prof. PhD Pilar Gutiez Cuevas, Prof. PhD Paloma Anton and Prof. PhD Castellar Lopez Guinea from AMPAT. They have presented the IM-PRO-IN-DE course and invited students to join the elearning platform. Exploitation agreement was signed between AMPAT and the organisers.

On 21 March 2025, a public council and round table on the topic “Partnerships for Success” was held at the Faculty of Pedagogy at Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”. The event brought together university professors, experts, directors, representatives of institutions and NGOs to discuss visions, practices and opportunities for sustainable education.

Special guests at the event were Dr. Yanka Takeva – Chairperson of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union and Prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova – Head of Department of educational management and pedagogy and Department for further teachers’ qualification at the university.

Dr. Takeva emphasised on the importance of the common collaboration with the university, which is thanks to the above mentioned departments and invited the participants to join the project Community of practice as well as in the forthcoming pilot trainings.

Prof. Dsc Levterova-Gajdalova (the project coordinator) in her keynote speech emphasized on the power of the interdisciplinary approach – education, psychology, arts and social sciences as a support for human capital. She presented the recent results of the project – the curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs and invited the students to join the further qualification course for teachers in design for digital learning and use of educational technology as a foundation for creative thinking and inclusion.

In the afternoon, Dr. Takeva, prof. Levterova-Gadjalova, prof. Alexandrova and Andrean Lazarov from Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team participated in an workshop dedicated to the challenges into further teachers’ qualification.

A presentation of the project was done by Assoc. Prof. Diana Dimitrova to students – future teachers from Charles University Prague in the presence of Prof. Yuri Prokop on 27.03. 2025. This was an important opportunity to extend the European community of practice among recent and future teachers as well as to ensure the further exploitation of the project deliverables and training materials.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union mentioned in her speech the project and its results during the 35th anniversary of the BTU at the National palace of culture on 24 March 2025, in Sofia, Bulgaria. More than 4000 teachers were able to get acquinted with the project and to join the Community of practice under project result 3.

The event was attended by the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Mrs. Iliyana Yotova, by the Minister of education and science – Mr. Krasimir Valchev and several key figures in the policy level in Bulgaria.

The project was presented by Mr. Andrean Lazarov – CEO of Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team during International conference organised by National agency of Republic of North Macedonia. The conference was held in the period 5-7.03.2025 in Ohrid. The aim of the event was to bring together teachers and psychologists from across the educational spectrum — from primary education to universities — who are actively working on issues of digitalisation, inclusive education and support of vulnerable groups in the educational process.

Possible exploitation of the project results and potential training seminars can be organised with teachers from Skopie, Shtip, Prilep, Tetovo and Bitola.

D.Sc. Yanka Takeva, the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Students’ Union and Eng. Dr. Plamen Dimitrov, the President of the Bulgarian Union of Trade Unions were able to chair the Anniversary forum of 35 years of the Bulgarian Union of Trade Unions on 18 February 2025.

More than 800 teachers from different regions in Bulgaria were able to receive information about the project and they have been invited to join the Community of practice.

On 20-21 January 2025, the second physical transnational partners meeting was successfully held in Madrid, Spain. It was hosted by the 2 Spanish partners – UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE EDUCACION A DISTANCIA and ASOCIACIÓN MADRILEÑA DE PROFESIONALES DE LA ATENCIÓN TEMPRANA.

The meeting was chaired by prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova – project coordinator on behalf of Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Representatives from all 7 partners actively participated during the meeting. Special honour for the partnership was the participation of Dr.Yanka Takeva – Chairperson of Bulgarian Teachers’ Union, who introduced the latest enlargement of the project’ Community of practice.

Main discussion were dedicated to the finalisation of the modular content of R1: Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs and planning the R2: 2-semester course further qualification course for teachers in design for digital learning and use of educational technology as a foundation for creative thinking and inclusion.

The partnership will be ready to start the pilot trainings since April 2025. The pilot course will last for 8 months and will involve 450 recent and future teachers from Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal and Turkiye.

MONE (Ministry of National Education) in Turkiye has organised a meeting with EU delegation and during this meeting WINSS team talked about the Erasmus Programme and the opportunities, which IM-PRO-IN-DE project offers.

On 03.02.2025, the Human Resources Development Centre (the Bulgarian Erasmus+ National Agency), together with the National Expert Team on Vocational Education and Training (VET)  and the Europass activity, held another successful seminar on the current topic “Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Benefits and Challenges in the Development of Professional Knowledge and Skills”. Teachers, trainers, directors of vocational high schools and vocational education and training centers, representatives of the business and non-governmental sectors, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science and NAVET, actively participated in it.

Mr. Andrean Lazarov (CEO of BIST) moderated the event and he mad analyzing the challenges facing the wider implementation of artificial intelligence in vocational education and training in Bulgaria. He presented as best practice the IM-PRO-IN-DE project and its outcomes, who are coordinated by University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”.

The team of World Innovative Sustainable Solutions – WINSS entroduced the Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs to the Ministry of education in Turkiye.

They have discussed the opportunity this training to be nationally accreditated as compulsory training course for recent and future teachers.

The WINSS team participated during event, organised by the Sisli Municipality in Istanbul, Turkiye, where the IM-PRO-IN-DE curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs were presented.

This was an important step to extend the Community of practice in Turkiye and to invite participating more than 200 teachers to the forthcoming piloting phase.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – a Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union presented the project and its results during the 43-rd Congress of the union. More than 800 teachers were able to get acquinted with the project and to join the Community of practice under project result 3.

On 22 November 2024, the Faculty of Pedagogy of the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv celebrated its 40th anniversary with a Jubilee conference under the motto “Traditions and Innovation”. The event took place at the university and brought together lecturers, researchers and guests from all over the country, who discussed contemporary challenges and prospects for education.

The conference program included plenary reports by established experts and young scientists on various thematic areas in the field of pedagogy, psychology and the artistic and creative sphere. The aim of the event was not only to present significant results of scientific research at the Faculty of Pedagogy, but also to strengthen ties between defenders of traditional approaches and admirers of modern methods in education.

Prof. Dsc. Dora Levterova Gadjalova – Project coordinator and chair of the Deparment of Pedagogy and Educational Management as well as chair of the Deparment of Further Teachers’ Qualification and Career centre at the university (and formal Dean of the Faculty) together with Dr. Yanka Takeva – Chairperson of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union (the largest sindicate of teachers in Bulgaria having more than 86 000 members) presented the project and its concept. They invited also participants to join the Community of practice established in the project.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union presented the project and its results during her keynote speech during National conference on “Strategies, models and methods of social and emotional learning in modern education”. The event was organised by the Ministry of Education and Science and Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski” in the period of 14-16 November 2024 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. More than 200 teachers were able to get acquinted with the project and to join the Community of practice under project result 3.

The project and its results were presented during the Annual Conference of the Ministry of Educaiton and Science with the topic “Social and emotional learning – strategies, models and practice”, which was hosted by Plovdiv University “Paissi Hilendarski” in the period 15-17 November 2024.

Official host of the event was prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova – IM-PRO-IN-DE Project coordinator as well as Chair of the Deparment for further teacher’s qualification and Department of Pedagogy and Educational management at the Plovdiv University.

The project consortium was represented also by Mr. Andrean Lazarov from Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team and Dr. Yanka Takeva – Chairperson of Bulgarian Teachers’ Union, who also presented the project’ Community of practice and invited the participants to join it.

Social-emotional learning is one of the most important elements of successful modern education. It helps to build individuals who are resilient and able to cope with the challenges of the new era. This was stated by the Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Galin Tsokov. According to the Minister, artificial intelligence and technologies will increasingly enter our lives, but they will not be able to build the human personality – to develop the skills we need to work and live successfully. It is socio-emotional learning that develops these skills and helps to build a positive educational environment. Prof. Tsokov cited a number of studies that show how the climate in educational institutions improves when children build teamwork skills, learn social resilience and manage emotions.

The event was attended also by key guests such as Prof. PhD. Vladimira Angelova, Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy of the Plovdiv University, Prof. PhD. Milen Zamfirov, Dean of the Faculty of Education of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Assoc. Prof. PhD. Gencho Velchev, Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy of the Thracian University, the Director of the Directorate for Inclusive Education at the Ministry of Education and Science Greta Gancheva, Prof. Dr. Zhelyazka Raykova and Prof. Dr. Yuri Yanakiev from Plovdiv University, Prof. Dr. Siika Chavdarova – Kostova from Sofia University, Col. Rumyan Rusev, Dr. Katya Stoilova from PCPPPO – Plovdiv, Kaloyan Damyanov – coordinator of the European Association for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Dimitar Asenov, director of the National Center for Special Needs Education.

Dr. Yanka Takeva, the Chairwoman of Bulgarian Teachers’ Union presented the project concept during “Green Education for a Sustainable Future forum” which was held on 11-12 November 2024 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

This was a good opportunity to extend the national and Balkan Community of practice.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union (partner of the project) presented the project in front of 4 past and recent ministers of education in Bulgaria as well as to more than 400 teachers in the audience.

The event was an unique opportunity to invite teachers to join the Community of practice and forthcoming trainings.

The University of Thessaly (UTH) organised the INVEST Digitalization Conference, which took place from November 6-8, 2024, in Athens, Greece. This event was attended by academicians, researchers and PhD students from across Europe to explore the latest advancements in digital tools for education, networking, and collaborative learning.

The Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team presented the project concept as well as R1: Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs.

Special attention was given to the module 6 related to the Leadership in the educational innovations. Participants were invited to join the European Community of Practice. Potential exploitation negotiations were also discussed with universities from Slovak Republic, Greece, Finland, France and Spain.

On 26 September 2024 a webinar on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Benefits and Challenges in Developing Professional Skills” was held. It was organized by the Bulgarian National Agency of Erasmus+ programme – the Human Resources Development Center and the National VET team in partnership with the Europas – Bulgaria and Euroguidance – Bulgaria teams.

More than 140 representatives of schools, regional administrations of education, centers for vocational education and training, centers for personal development support, centers for information and professional guidance, as well as representatives of academic circles, Ministry of education and science, National agency for vocational education and training, etc. took part in the event.

Within the framework of the webinar, the IM-PRO-IN-DE project was presented as good practice and participants were invited to join our Community of practice as well as the planned pilot trainings, which will start from the beginning of 2025.

Another series of events were towards establishment of the Community of practice in Bulgaria were held during annual qualifications days at the Permanent Academy of Sciences and Education at SBU, which were held in August 2024. With special participation of the Minister of Education and Science – prof. PhD Galin Tzokov, the head of the cabinet of the Minister of Education and Science – Mrs. Nataliya Mihaylevska, prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova – IM-PRO-IN-DE project coordinator and head of Department for further teachers’ qualification at Plovdiv University “P. Hilendarski” and more than 200 teachers from all over Bulgaria.

Participants were recent teachers’ who experessed their wish to participate in the forthcoming pilot phase of the IM-PRO-IN-DE project. The Minister of Education and Science prof. Tzokov also expressed the support which the Ministry will provide for the popularisation of the course and the project activities.

During the 11th international competition of the SBU for extracurricular activities on the topic “Development of critical thinking of children and students in the information society – electronic devices, media and fake news”, which was held in the period August 25-28 2024, the Community of practice of the IM-PRO-IN-DE project was established.

Dr. Yanka Takeva – Chairperson of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union (SBU) presented the project concept and the draft curriculum about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles to enable also full inclusion of students with special needs.

The session was joined also by the Project coordinator – prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova.

More than 300 teachers from all over Bulgaria joined the network and will be beneficiaries during the piloting phase, which will be held in 2025.

The IM-PRO-IN-DE project was presented at the award ceremony of the 11th SBU international competition on the topic “Development of critical thinking of children and students in the information society – electronic devices, media and fake news”.

It was held in the period August 25-28, 2024, with the personal presence of the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Dr. Galin Tsokov, the head of the office Mrs. Nataliya Michalevska, directors of Directorates from the Ministry of Education and Culture and the heads of Regional inspectorates of education in Bulgaria.

Today, under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Dr. Galin Tsokov, the National Conference “Actual Challenges and Good Practices in Inclusive Education” was held at Plovdiv University “Paisiy Hilendarski”.

The forum is organized by the Faculty of Pedagogy of the University of Plovdiv “Paisiy Hilendarski”, the Union of Bulgarian Teachers and RCPPPO – Plovdiv. The conference was opened by Dr. Yanka Takeva – Chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Teachers.

The Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Dr. Galin Tsokov, welcomed the participants; Prof. Dr. Boryan Yanev – Deputy Rector of “Paisiy Hilendarski” PU on behalf of the Rector of the Higher School, Prof. Dr. Rumen Mladenov; Prof. Ph.D. Nataliya Vitanova – Marinova – Rector of the “Ep. Konstantin Preslavski”; Prof. Dr. Vladimira Angelova – Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy of PU “Paisiy Hilendarski” and vice-rector of the university; Dr. Maria Yankova – Program Director “Education” UNICEF – Bulgaria; Dr. Katya Stoilova – Director of the RCPPPO Plovdiv.

The guests of the National Conference were: Nataliya Michalevska – head of the Minister’s office; Ivanka Kirkova – head of the Plovdiv Regional Police Department; Dimitar Asenov – director of the National Center for the Advancement of the Qualification of Pedagogical Specialists (NCPCPS); Antoinette Al-Husari – Deputy Director of the National Center for the Protection of Civil Aviation; Dr. Irena Dushkova – director of SU “St. Paisius of Hilendar”; Plamen Stoilov – director of SU “P.K. Yavorov”; Andrean Lazarov – national consultant on vocational education and training and Executive Director of Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team”; Dr. Irena Sokolova; Michele Santorelli – Chairman of the Foundation “Creators of Hope”; teachers, students and doctoral students from the Faculty of Education.

The national conference was held in a hybrid format: face-to-face and remote, with over 250 participants and presented a symbiosis of academic theory and good practices of inclusive education.

Reports on current topics and challenges to inclusive education were presented by Prof. Ph.D. Dora Levterova – Gadzhalova from PU “Paisiy Hilendarski”, where she focused also on the IM-PRO-IN-DE project and its results.

Directors and resource teachers from 20 RCPPPO from the country and directors and resource teachers from schools with their own Teams to support the process of inclusive education presented good practices in inclusive education.

Students from the “Inclusive Education” student club, the team from the University Center for Career Development, the team from the Department for Qualification and Professional Development of Pedagogical Specialists, the team from the administrative staff of the Faculty of Pedagogy at the PU were actively involved in the process of organizing the conference.

In lively discussions, significant current and prospective issues facing inclusive education were discussed, with an emphasis on inclusive digital education in secondary and higher education in the country.

On 22 and 23 May 2024, in Sankt Pölten, Austria, the 33rd Annual conference by EURASHE on the theme: “Stronger together: Promoting transnational cooperation” took place. The representatives of the Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team were among the key panelists together with Mrs. Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot – the General Director for Youth, Education and Erasmus+ at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture as well as representatives of Šiauliai State UAS, Thomas More UAS, Burgenland UAS, under the moderation of Mr. Michal Karpišek – member of the European Alliance E³UDRES².

During our speech, we have presented the advantages of the Erasmus+ programme towards transnational cooperation and gave particular examples with IM-PRO-IN-DE project.

As part of the establishment of the Community of practice among recent and future teachers and also in line with the IM-PRO-IN-DE Dissemination Strategy, prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova – project coordinator and head of the Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management presented the project to students from 3rd and 4th year.

The representatives of the project team from Univerisity of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” were able to talk individually with students from Pedagogical faculty about the project while the Project coordinator Prof. Dsc. Dora Levterova-Gadjalova presented the project and its concept during the dedicated session.

The students were invited to join the Community of practice, which will allow them to participate in the forthcoming pilot trainings of the 2-semester course further qualification course for teachers in design for digital learning and use of educational technology as a foundation for creative thinking and inclusion.

Presentation of the project by Prof. Ph.D. Dora Levterova – Gadzhalova at the Master Class “Leaders make a difference” forum, organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of WEF Bulgaria in front of 160 directors of educational organizations, teachers and university professors from 90 settlements on 30.03.2024.
Guests at the forum were Paul Byrne, Secretary General of the European School Heads Association (ESHA), Richard Tallaron, Director of LFEE Europe and Dr. Maria Gaidarova, founder of the organization.

The IM-PRO-IN-DE project was presented by the Portuguese partners IPB and its representative Mr. Vitor Gonsalves at the II seminar on Neurodiversity and emerging technologies in Burgos, Spain – 05 March 2024. He presented the project concept and gathered feedback from the auidence in terms of possible content of the project results.

The IM-PRO-IN-DE project was presented during X Conferência Ibérica de Inovação na Educação com TIC (ieTIC2024), which was held on 15 and 16 February 2024 at Câmara de Lobos in Madeira, Portugal by Mr. Vitor Gonsalves from the Polytechnical institute in Braganca, Portugal (project partner).

He presented in detail the project concept and the expected results. He gathered initial feedback from the audience, which mainly represented the higher education sector from all over Europe and Latin America. Initial exploitation negotiations were established as well.

Online broadcasting from the event is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlGEf8m6Jjg

Co-creating Innovation have long been integral to the mission of Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, underpinning their commitment to fostering future-oriented higher education that addresses the complex challenges of the world of work. Within STARS EU, their Strategic Alliance for Regional Transition funded in the European Universities Initiative, they have adopted a pedagogical approach that places significant emphasis on fostering inherent collaboration with external stakeholders from all regions of our nine european partners. This commitment is driven by their understanding that the vitality of higher education institutions, professors, researchers, and students is profoundly intertwined with the benefits derived from these co-creation activities. Furthermore, their vision extends globally, as they proactively aim to facilitate the growth of a knowledge-driven regional economies through robust international cooperation.

In this spirit, the International Conference on Co-Creation Processes in Higher Education (In2CoP) serves as a crucial platform for reflection and the sharing of insights garnered from co-creation ecosystems. This event was designed to inspire and sustain the growth of a multidisciplinary and multicultural learning community, one that is fully equipped to navigate the evolving landscape of higher education and address the intricate challenges posed by the contemporary and the future employment landscape.

During the event, prof. Vitor Gonsalves on behalf of IPB team (partner of IM-PRO-IN-DE project) presented the project, its concept and expected results.

The IM-PRO-IN-DE project concept was presented during INVEST conference as part of the INVEST European University Alliance at University of Reims Champagne Ardenne. The event was held on 23 January 2024, at the Aula of the university in Reims, France.

The CEO of the Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team (project conceptor and partner) Mr. Andrean Lazarov was welcomed by the Rector of the University, who is also the Chairman of the University of France – the union of universities in France Prof. Guillaume Gelle.

The head of the “Higher Education” section of the General Directorate “Education, Youth, Sports and Culture” of the EC Mrs. Vanessa Debiais-Sainton addressed the participants via video and congratulated them. She emphasized the great importance of this initiative by presenting the main lines of work.

The IM-PRO-IN-DE project was disseminated by its coordinator prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova together with the Rector and the Pedagogical faculty team of University of Plovdiv at the final conference of the EU project “Embracing diversity in ASIA through the adoption of Inclusive Open Practices”. The event was held on 04th January 2024 organised by Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar. During the presentation, the key project outcomes concept was presented.

In its role as the National Agency for the European Programs “Erasmus+” and “European Solidarity Corps”, the Human Resources Development Centre organise the Annual Valorisation Conference 2023 on the topic “Active Citizenship in Europe”. Special guests at the event were Acad. Prof. Nikolay Denkov (Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria), Prof. PhD Galin Tsokov (Minister of Education and Science) and Dr. Vanya Kastreva (Head of Regional Educational Directorate – Sofia).

During this year’s conference, five discussion panels were held, during which the reflection of European values and priorities in the two programs was discussed. Special attention was paid to the topic of inclusion of people with fewer opportunities and special needs and how they are included in the projects, and in this regard, the chair of the panel was representative of the project team, who is also an accredited National consultant in the vocational education and training area. In his summary, he highlighted the exceptional role of the Erasmus+ program in the formation of soft skills, a sense of belonging and the professional and social inclusion of this target group and presented as best practice current initiatives, which are managed with the participation by the Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team.

The project concept was presented by the project coordinator prof. DSc. Dora Levterova-Gadjalova from Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski” and by Dr. Yanka Takeva from Bulgarian Teachers’ Union during the pannel on Social and emotional learning and its role in further teachers’ qualification.

More than 300 teachers from different regions in Bulgaria expressed huge interest to join the projects’ Community of practice.

The innovative conference was held under the patronage of the Minister of Education Prof. Dr. Galin Tsokov and the Rector of Plovdiv University “Paisiy Hilendarski” Prof. Dr. Rumen Mladenov. Official guests of the National Conference were Greta Gancheva – Director of the Directorate “Inclusive Education” at the Ministry of Education and Culture, state experts and chief experts from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ivanka Kirkova – head of RUO Plovdiv, Prof. Dr. Temenuzka Yovcheva – deputy rector of PU “Paisiy” Hilendarski”, Prof. Dr. Vladimira Angelova – Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy at the “Paisii Hilendarski” PU, representatives of the “Lachezar Tsotsorkov” Foundation, university professors, students and doctoral students.

Opening by the Minister of Education and Science – prof. PhD Galin Tzokov

Key speech by the Rector of Plovdiv University “P. Hilendarski” – prof. PhD Rumen Mladenov

Prof. PhD Pilar Gutiez Cuevas, President of ASOCIACIÓN MADRILEÑA DE PROFESIONALES DE LA ATENCIÓN TEMPRANA, Spain (project partner) presented the project concept and expected results during VII Jornadas da Prática Pedagógica – an online event organised by the INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DE BRAGANCA, Portugal (project partner). The journal constitute an opportunity for broad reflection on pedagogy(ies) and intervention projects that have been developed by educators/teachers and researchers, putting perspectives and perspectives on educational praxis into debate. More than 240 students and teachers from the Escola Superior de Educação de Bragança, early childhood educators, primary and secondary school teachers and members of the community were interested in the topic.

“Improvement of digitalisation competences of recent and future teachers by development of advanced training on instructional design of digital training” project started successfully in the beginning of November 2023. It is coordinated by the reknowened project coordinator Prof. Dsc Dora Levterova-Gadjalova – Head of Further Teachers’ Qualification Department and Head of Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management of University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” – Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The partnership included UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE EDUCACION A DISTANCIA (UNED), Madrid, Spain, ASOCIACIÓN MADRILEÑA DE PROFESIONALES DE LA ATENCIÓN TEMPRANA, Madrid, Spain (AMPAT), BULGARIAN INCLUSION SUPPORT TEAM (BIST), Sofia, Bulgaria, WINSS: World Innovative Sustainable Solutions, Istanbul, Turkiye, EYUPSULTAN ILCE MILLI EGITIM MUDURLUGU, Istanbul, Turkiye, INSTITUTO POLITÉCNICO DE BRAGANÇA, Bragança, Portugal and the BULGARIAN TEACHERS’ UNION, Sofia, Bulgaria.

The main result of the project will be Curriculum and training course about Instructional design of digital learning by applying the Universal design of learning principles for existing teachers and those, that are studying to become techers to enable full inclusion of students with special needs in Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal and Turkiye.