The main objective of the project titled Green Education and Transition - A Higher Education Digital Buddy, known as GET-AHED, is to develop a digital platform to provide Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the EU with a range of accessible, user friendly, online tools to enable them to adapt to the green transition.

GET-AHED aims to make the following tools available:

• HE Green Assessment (online self-assessment tool) whose design will be based on the model and principals of the EU's HEInnovate self-assessment tool. The tool will allow HEIs to assess themselves in terms of the level of integration of sustainability within their organisation across a range of indicators and dimensions. The output of using the tool will assist HEIs in the design and implementation of institution sustainability plans by identifying weaknesses in current plans and activities and directing users towards best practice green transition approaches, systems and training opportunities.
• HE Green Champions (online training system) will boost the green transition capacity of internal stakeholders by providing learning initiatives for HEI leaders to help them embed sustainability into the operations of a HEI and Staff and students to support their involvement in sustainability initiatives both internally and externally. The HE Green Champions training system will promote and embed EU Green Transition and Sustainability priorities through its initiatives. The leader programme will provide training relevant to the sustainability dimensions and indicators of the self-assessment tool. For staff and students, the training system will offer components such as fact sheets, videos, quizzes, and training elements designed to increase awareness and drive change.
• HE Green Zero (online energy tool) dedicated to improving sustainable operations in the HEI relevant to energy and energy related systems focused on the goal of achieving net zero energy.

The Hincks Centre will lead work package 3 - HE Green Champions. This work package will focus on the creation of the HE Green Champions online training system. There are three main objectives to this work package:

Objective 1: The Discovery Phase will explore needs using surveys to establish dimensions to structure useful tools and programmes, effectively building a comprehensive HE Green Champions Training System Structure and develop templates for programme resource design.
 

Objective 2: The Design and Development Phase will gather and develop suitable training resources from all partners that support HEI leaders to embed sustainability into all aspects of the institutions’ operations and strategy with relevant training to address green transition gaps specific to the leader’s HEI.
 

Objective 3: Pilot and Launch the GET-AHED platform as open-source Green Transition resources.

MTU's Department of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) will lead work package 5 - the GET-AHED Platform & Resource Development. The aim of this work package is to advise on the design and development of the on-line content and to bring together the final output into one Green Transition online Digital-buddy platform (GET-AHED) which will support the implementation of the EU's sustainability agenda across its HEI community. 

The kick-off meeting for this Erasmus+ co-funded project is scheduled to take place in March 2023. The project will run for 36 months.

Get-ahed Project deliverables

• D2.1 GET-AHED HE Green Transition and Sustainability Mapping.pdf

• D3.1 GET-AHED Discovery Phase Structure and Repository.pdf

• D4.1 GET-AHED Good Practice Examples and Gap Analysis.pdf

Get ahed IN THE HINCKS CENTRE'S NEWS

Keep up to date with project developments, activities and events. Below are links to the Get Ahed articles as seen in the News section of our website.

• New Erasmus+ Project Pre Kick-Off Meeting - GET AHED: Green Education and Transition - A Higher Education Digital Buddy. 15 December, 2022.

• GET AHED Project Kicks Off - GET AHED: The Green Transition Digital Buddy for the HE Community Across the EU. 2 March, 2023.

• GET AHED Project - First Consortium Meeting Takes Place. 19 April, 2023.

• Hincks in Aveiro, Portugal - Get-Ahed Mid-Term Meeting. 27 March, 2024.

• GET-AHED Newsletter Launch - First Newsletter - Out Now! 21 May, 2024.

• GET-AHED Project Newsletter - Issue 2 Out Now! 21 August, 2024.

• Hincks Presents ... at the European Higher Education (EAIR) Society Conference 2024. 23 August, 2024

get-ahed project newsletters

• Issue 1: Learn about the Green Transition Digital Buddy, progress of the GET-AHED self-assessment tool - HE Green Assessment - the most central tool of the GET-AHED platform, meet the Partners, upcoming events and much more! 21 May, 2024.

• Issue 2: Learn about the GET-AHED platform tools, the initial results of the HE Green Assessment tool, an opportunity to become a pilot HEI, and details on upcoming events. 21 August, 2024.

• Issue 3: Presenting the initial results of our work package 4 led by FHV - Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences and focuses on the HE Green Zero tool.

Partner locations

The lead partner is WPZ Research GmbH, Vienna, Austria with other partners:

• Universidade De Aveiro UAVR, Portugal;
• Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland - represented by Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence and the Dept of Technology Enhanced Learning;
• University of Ruse Angel Kanchev, Ruse, Bulgaria and
• Fachhochschule Vorarlberg GmbH, Dornbirn, Austria.

https://www.get-ahed.eu/

Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.