Introduction of the INTERREG Cross-border Cooperation Programme

 The choirs of Pécs University Choir and the Josip Strossmayer University Academy of Arts (Osijek) perform a joint art program. They get to know each other's choir culture and create a joint concert, which performs twice in both countries (in Osijek, Rijeka, Pécs and Szeged). They will learn works in the form of workshops, by Zoltán Kodály and some Croatian choral composers’ works based on typical folk music, and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The university students of the two institutions form the target group who gain experience for their studies by getting acquainted with each other's musical culture. 

Talent, like all other phenomena, requires to be managed. Many programs are designed to manage manpower talents in business and service sectors, but not a clear program exists for managing students’ talents in schools. It is not an overstatement that the most valuable “natural treasure” is human talent. Schools on both sides of the border don’t have any unified talent development methodologies, the basis of handling the talented children needs should be developed both in content and in equipment. According to the latest researches a successful talent management program must be complex, with high emphasis on the development of the gifted children’s personality. This concept is currently missing from the existing programs and practices. 

The aim of the project is to elaborate joint talent management and personality development program and promote flexible learning pathways including career guidance.

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.

There is a constant challenge for higher education institutions to cope with social-economical changes and provide education programs that prepare new professionals for knowledge and skills the society and the labour market both require and can place in their systems. The community organiser (BA), cultural heritage studies (MA) and cultural mediation (MA) education programs run by the Department of Cultural Science, Institute of Human Development and Cultural Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pécs aim exactly to educate people for this reason. Cultural associations that aim to preserve folk culture by continuous artistic representation, need to recruit committed and competent members who have the desperate desire to do something for maintaining cultural institutions and associations and also are capable for background activities like organisation, fund raising, financial monitoring. The project on Cultural Heritage and Profession enhances and also examines the net of civil organisations which aim to preserve Croatian folk music and folk dance. The project brings together people from both sides of the borderline between Croatia and Hungary. These people are members of Croatian civil organisations with decades long histories as well as Croatians and Hungarians who are fond of traditional music and dance.
The leading partner, the College of Advanced Studies on Social Inclusion is responsible for the design and monitor of inquiry of the professional background of the four traditional Croatian folk music and dance events and also for the preparation of research studies, their evaluation and publication. Project partners VIZIN Culture and Tradition Association, MOHÁCSI SOKACOK OLVASÓKÖRE Association, HKUD VALPOVO 1905, Dance Ensemble and HKUD OSIJEK 1862 Dance Ensemble are responsible for the organisation of four different events during the project where they invite the other three project partners as guest performers and enable the leading partner to get full access to their documentations related to the organisations of their events.

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.
 

Our major aim in this joint project between the University of Pécs, Department of Immunology and Biotechnology, and the Department of Public Health Service Baranja County, Osijek – is to earn a clear and evidence based status report of immunity protection of cross-border populations in both countries against vaccine prevented communicable diseases (vpcds). A simple, fast, high throughput and cost effective laboratory method for analysing the individual immunity status against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) has been developed and published by the Hungarian partner. The classical vpcds have been eradicated in both countries according to the well-organized public health, but unfortunately, once eradicated highly infectious diseases, including measles have re-appeared worldwide including Europe recently.

The challenge is most stressful in the common border region of Croatia and Hungary because of the intensified traffic through the border. To prevent residents, it is of principal importance in both border regions to identify groups-at-risk and to define the protocol for re-vaccination. To implement this task our laboratory method for assessing the protection status against MMR– after standardization and ISO accreditation – is applicable. This project is ideal to expand the geographic coverage of survey over the borders and to develop a statistical algorithm to gain accurate knowledge of the immunologically protected status of population groups of different ages in the border region (and beyond, if possible).

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.

The idea of the project was traced few years back after the closure of ‘V-educa’ (Vocational education) project, which was financed by the Hungary-Croatia IPA Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013. V-educa has supported designers and architects with information on planning and constructing nearly zero energy buildings. Based on the successful implementation of V-educa, positive feedbacks from the target groups and the needs identified by the participants the development of follow-up project V-educa 2 has started.
In V-educa 2 project we focused on new target groups: university students, university professors and three cities' employees engaged in construction activities of cities' properties); we intended to support their work and studies.

Specific objectives are:
•    To upgrade university curriculums and educational processes in the field of energy efficient construction;
•    To educate designers and workers that are employable and competent to respond to modern world’s construction needs;
•    To raise awareness on nZEB as inevitable standard for both sectors, public and private.

Main project activities include:
•    Analysis of energy efficient construction in the cross-border area;
•    Case study of „the best“ energy efficient construction project on each side of the border;
•    Development of curriculum and nZEB content for summer school;
•    Organising two one-week summer schools;
•    Study tours to introduce energy efficient buildings on both sides of the border; 
•    Practical education of students, delivering a building desing;
•    Guide to cost-optimum nZEB construction.

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.

The overall objective of the project was to increase the capacity of Koprivnica and Pecs communities to develop and conduct electromobility measures in order to ease their implementation. This process was supported by Regional Energy Agency North that possess the necessary technical capacities in order to conduct such activities. The specific objectives were the following:
1.) Increase the capacity of the expert personnel of beneficiaries, the technical experts, spatial planers and other experts. Two employees from each partner took part in the learning process.
2.) Increase the awareness of sustainable mobility options- particularly electromobility - among the woder public in order to speed up the introduction process.
3.) Develop a joint document on electromobility, which is available for any other interested stakeholders as well.
4.) Set up of informal competence and experience centres to spread the acquired knowledge. In total two EV competence and experience centres will be developed, one in each country. The EV competence and experience centres will be responsible for the organisation of info days and workshops for experts.
5.) Purchase of two electric vehicles and  charging stations. The vehicles and the infrastructure was used for demonstration activities at 12 info days (6 in Hungary and 6 in Croatia).
6.) Set up a joint team of experts that  consists of the representatives of each partner. One joint expert team was established, in total 8 experts, 2 from each organisation.
 

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.

In the past decades in the European Union those social enterprises got into the focus of attention that combine business and social aspects in their operation, contribute to social cohesion, integration and solidarity as well as local employment. 
While in 2010 in the European Union 6,5% of the economically active population worked in social economy, in Hungary 4,7% and in Croatia only 0,6% of the employees found a job in the sector. This is partly caused by the fact that managers and employees of the social enterprises lack the necessary skills, competences and special knowledge necessary for effective operation in social economy. Furthermore there are no domestic or cross-border relations and knowledge transfer between the different organizations operating in the field of social economy and they do not have international perspective either. The partnership engaged in adult education and organization development has designed the project proposal as a resolution for these problems
Their objective is to identify the resources and potentials of social economy sector in the border region, get a general idea about the operation and development needs of social enterprises and following a situation analysis to jointly develop the training curriculum for ‘Managing social enterprises’ training.

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.

Despite the EU sets integrated settlement development (ISD) as guiding principle in settlement/urban developments, there is no higher education course in ISD in the cross border area. Whilst the practicing profession has relevant and expanding experiences and knowlegde based on a place-based particularities of the border region, the right ISD implementation endeavours are not supported by the knowledge centres of border zone higher education organisations.
As joint research activities and educational course from the backbone of the project, it promotes enlargement of specific local knowledge base as regards ISD, based on built architecture values of border region.
Overall objective of ISD Uni project is jointly developing and delivering an ISD pilot course for increasing the educational offer of concerned local higher education institutions and strengthening their competences/knowledge centres. The project therefore fosters improvement of communication between higher educational institutions by improving the role of educational institutions as intellectural centres for increasing the specific knowledge base in the region. By doing so it contributes to overall and specific objectives of the programme.

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.

ImproveMEd project proposal is educational extension of Health Impulse in terms of preparing and performing joined educational postgraduate specialistic training program in basic medical sciences, providing theoretical and practical knowledge in laboratory environment for health care professionals who are in direct contact with patients but also working in clinical laboratories.
The aim of the project is to develop online interacitve course materials for the future joint postgraduate specialistic programme in basic medical sciences and provide practical skills training in the frame of pilot course at both partner institutions. At the end of the program we will have 9 educational materials developed in joint efforts (9 courses in 3 languages).

This project has been implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg V-A Co-operation Programme.