Education Exchanges Support Foundation announced the results of the Erasmus+ 2023 Strategic Partnerships Call for Proposals, and the “Personal Green Skills in Higher Education” (PeGSinHe) application submitted by Kauno kolegija HEI – is in the list of funded projects. This marks the fifth Erasmus+ project that Kauno kolegija HEI will coordinate in the last four years, a commendable achievement.

With each passing year, the number of project applications continues to rise, intensifying competition and elevating the standards. Lina Kuraitienė, head of the Project Management Unit, expresses her delight: “the application was of the highest quality – it was evaluated with 24 points out of 25 possible, which is already a notable achievement for our institution.”

The importance of possessing green skills in combating climate change cannot be overstated. The higher education sector plays a pivotal role in addressing the climate crisis. As we transition toward a green economy and sustainable development, higher education institutions should promote a new paradigm that combines value orientations with the cultivation of green skills. Personal values and attitudes, which are revealed in each person’s green mindset, are the essential basis for the development of green skills. Consequently the main aim of the project is to develop students’ green skills and promote their personal behavioural changes in favour of sustainable development goals. In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary to provide higher education teachers with innovative tools that will allow them to become active players in imparting green skills to the students.

This two-year project has secured 250,000 Euros in funding and will involve collaborative efforts with partners from Finland (Tampere University of Applied Sciences), Germany (Technical University of Applied Sciences Wurzburg-Schweinfurt), Austria (University College for Agrarian and Environmental Pedagogy), and Spain (University of Malaga).

The selection of project partners was a deliberate choice. Kauno kolegija HEI is purposefully striving to become a European University and has applied to form the “UNINOVIS” alliance. To ensure ongoing cooperation built on shared activities, many alliance partners were actively involved in the preparation of PeGSinHE. Thus, this achievement holds particular significance in strengthening the bonds among participating institutions in the alliance.

The project is financed by the European Commission, with the funds of the Erasmus+ program. This work reflects the views of the author only and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.