EU-SIDE - EUropean Social Innovation & Democratic Education

Social innovation and its interrelation with democratic education, through critical thinking and civic engagement serves as a driving force for delivering progress on societal challenges in areas such as inclusion, integration, health and well-being, sustainable living and digitalisation for society. Thus, the need for social innovation in the EU, especially in peripheral regions, is undeniable in the current context. The development and putting into practice of democracy and social innovation competencies at Primary school level through to Secondary and VET school levels, cultivating an educational environment, should be a powerful catalyst to improve our regional development capacity and the ability to address future challenges.The EU-SIDE EUropean Social Innovation & Democratic Education Teacher Academy, proposes a training programme incorporating networking and international mobility opportunities for in-service and pre-service teachers, from Primary to VET Education, based on blended learning opportunities (SAPs Short Advanced Programmes, BIPs Blended Intensives Programmes and MOOCs Massive Open Online Courses) at regional, national, and international level, scientifically tested and validated in real school settings though the use of a Design-Based Research methodology. Its mission is to provide educators with pedagogical principles as well as social innovation competencies and democratic values, through a continuous, multidisciplinary, and international learning process, leading to the creation of an international community of practice that fosters transnational collaboration among teachers and education stakeholders.The EU-SIDE project is engined by the European University RUN-EU Regional University Network, bringing together 9 partners and 30 associated schools from EU 6 countries, is expected to directly reach more than 975 in-service and pre-service teachers.