The European Commission’s Erasmus+ Teacher Academies call aims to promote social innovation, digital and green transformation and European values by funding projects that promote education through the training of competent and motivated teachers.

The RUN-EU alliance submitted a proposal in the 2024 call, where only 14% of the proposals have been funded. Among them is this project: “EUropean Social Innovation & Democratic Education Teacher Academy (EU-SIDE)” which be developed in the period 2025–2027, with a budget of €1,470,825. 

The University of Burgos (Spain) coordinates this project, together with the following RUN-EU members: Häme University of Applied Sciences (Finland), NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences The Netherlands), Howest University of Applied Sciences (Belgium), Technological University of the Shannon (Ireland), Polytechnic University of Leiria, Polytechnic University of Cávado and Ave, and Agrupamento de Escolas Henrique Sommer (Portugal), and the Centre for Teacher Training and Educational Innovation of Burgos (Spain). Also in the consortium there are 21 Associated Partners from the educational field, adding up to a total of 31 institutions involved from six European countries.

The alliance has promoted this project to promote its regions through education and the direct impact of the training and work of 1,000 active teachers and new teachers of primary, secondary, and vocational training. By means of this project, RUN-EU has the opportunity to strengthen the European dimension and sustainable interregional collaboration in the education of pre-service and in-service teachers in Europe.

The European Commission has positively assessed the work to be carried out in these peripheral regions, the geographical cooperation, the number of entities involved and the pedagogical methodologies that will be used in this social innovation project interrelated with European values, critical thinking and commitment to society in the areas of inclusion, integration, well-being and health, sustainability and digitalisation.

This Teachers’ Academy will offer European training based on international learning opportunities (virtual, physical and hybrid) and face-to-face mobilities, with different formats: Short Advanced Programmes (SAPs), Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs), and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), following a Design-Based Research approach, that allow progress in pedagogical innovations to promote social innovation and European values ​​and create synergies and collaboration networks between participants and their stakeholders.