University of Oulu, Finland

Oulun Yliopisto (University of Oulu) is an international science university which creates innovation for the future, well-being, and knowledge through research and education. Founded in 1958, our community, including 13 000 students and 2 900 employees, is strong and one of the biggest and most multidisciplinary universities in Finland. The University of Oulu’s special strength is bringing science and the different actors of society closer together. We want our research results and expertise to be in active use. We are pioneers in creating and understanding our digital future. We produce impactful, high-quality science as part of the international science community.

Learning and Educational Technology Research Lab (LET Lab), a coordinator of this project, focuses its research and teaching on the learning sciences and technology-enhanced learning. The members of this research group have particular expertise in the integration of theoretical perspectives on the social, cognitive and motivational processes of learning and utilizing it in research-based design. In practice the unit aims for understanding the “skill and will” of learning and design future innovations for learning. LET has more than 20 years of experience in arranging the research-based studies in learning and technology, conducting various international projects funded by European Union and the Academy of Finland.

University of Tartu, Estonia

Tartu Ulikool (University of Tartu) is a state university in Tartu, Estonia. It is the oldest and largest higher education institution in Estonia and has been the center of Estonian academic life for almost four centuries. Here, 13,000 students and 3,000 staff members study and work in four faculties (Art and Humanities, Social Sciences, Medicine, and Science and Technology). The Institute of Education is responsible for teacher education and runs 13 curricula of bachelor, master and doctoral studies.

The Institute of Education provides research-based and contemporary pre-service training for teachers, special education teachers, and social pedagogues. There is also an extensive in service training programme for teachers, heads of schools, and university teaching staff. The main fields of research include teacher’s professional development (e.g. teachers’ professional competence, teacher agency), students’ assessment and support in development (e.g. motivation, selfregulation, learning competence), and educational technology (e.g. digital competencies, virtual and augmented reality, inquiry-based learning and problem solving in web-based learning environments).

Saarland University, Germany

Universität des Saarlandes (USAAR – Saarland University) is a campus university located in Saarbrücken and in Homburg (Medical Faculty and University Teaching Hospital), Germany. It enrolls 17,600 students and employs 270 professors, 1,300 other academic staff, 1,500 student teaching and research assistants, 1,400 administrative and technical personnel. 884 persons are also employed through external funding. The Department of Educational Technology is internationally renowned for its strength in research as well as it is dedicated to excellent teaching in a multidisciplinary EduTech-Master program.

Building on theory and empirical analyses of conditions and processes of learning and instruction, the research focus is on the orchestration of open educational resources and technology- enhanced learning arrangements. Some of the main topics of research are:

• Computer-supported argumentative knowledge construction
• Adaptive and personalized learning through scripts and awareness tools
• Co-located learning with multi-touch interfaces
• Educational Technologies in the classroom
• Computer-mediated scenarios of learning in communities in social networking sites, with OER, and through MOOCs

Open University of the Netherlands

As a publicly funded distance education university, the Open Universiteit has been assigned a unique role within the higher education system of the Netherlands. Openness is ingrained within its DNA; it stands for the continuous study, improvement and development of new teaching methods and techniques, along with sharing knowledge and experience. In its teaching and research, the OU makes intensive use of the possibilities afforded by the internet. Personalised and interactive online education lies at the core of its educational model.

The Open University is the leading part-time university in the Netherlands and Flanders, offering high-quality, personalised and interactive online education, reinforced with socially relevant research, and contributing to the innovation of higher education. The university includes around 18 000 students and over 350 academic staff members.

University of Aveiro, Portugal

University of Aveiro (UAVR) is a young university, founded in 1973, with over 15000 full-time students (graduate and postgraduate). The University has a strong research profile, a unique model of governance (16 Departments, 4 Polytechnic Schools and various training centres), acting as a regional network for education and training while promoting strong links with the surrounding community, and is a pioneer in launching degrees in new subject areas. The BMD (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate) structure is fully implemented and learning outcomes are introduced. Recognition of prior learning is also implemented, for those who do not have the formal entrance requirements. The University has been a member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities, the ECIU, since 1998 as well as several other international university networks of excellence and, since 2019, a member of the ECIU University under the EU Universities initiative. UAVR also runs several joint doctoral programmes with other Portuguese Universities and is one of the Portuguese institutions participating in the programme of collaboration between Portugal and Carnegie Mellon University for the development of postgraduate programmes and research in the field of ICT. At the same time, the development of a Creative Science Park off campus is an example of the way in which the university has encouraged both innovation and commercialization linked to research. It has also provided resources for its research policy through funding and the provision of high-quality researchers and researcher mobility.

The Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers – CIDTFF (www.ua.pt/cidtff) is one of the 20 research centres hosted by UAVR. Created in 1994, CIDTFF has a diversified research team (69 integrated researchers with Ph.D., 91 integrated researchers without Ph.D. and 48 collaborators) whose mission is anchored in the responsibility of research in education: to produce knowledge able to contribute to educated, qualified and critical citizens, and to the creation of a better world. The Research Centre is located in the Department of Education and Psychology of the UAVR and is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, I.P.).