3Economy+ Project (Erasmus+ programme) to develop and implement innovative teaching and learning practices

Seven students and two members of staff of the University of MaltaInstitute for Tourism, Travel & Culture, together with other students and members of staff of the University of Granada and the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, have attended the first intensive programme of the 3Economy+ Project which took place in Melilla, Spain recently.

The Project 3Economy+, coordinated by the University of Granada, has been selected by the European Union as an Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership Project for Higher Education under the 2017 call for proposals. The Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre and the University of Malta are participating as project partners.

The main objective of this project is to develop and implement innovative teaching and learning practices, with a view to improving the academic training of students in the areas of Economics, Tourism and Marketing. It focuses on three disadvantaged regions: Melilla, Portalegre (Portugal) and Malta, and it also offers complementary international training designed to improve employment prospects and foster the acquisition of core competencies for effective professional development.

The 3economy+ Project aims to tackle rising unemployment rates and particularly youth unemployment − one of the major challenges facing European governments at present. Addressing these challenges is central to the success of the Erasmus+ programme and is one of the primary goals of the 2020 Europe Strategy. The 3economy+ Project also aims to become a driving force for socioeconomic transformation and development, fostering growth, employment opportunities and social equality and inclusion.

The programme promotes open access to materials, documents and media for improving learning, teaching and work opportu- nities within the fields of business, marketing and tourism and within multilingual environments. By fostering multilingual- ism and interculturality among the participants, through the use of English, Spanish and Portuguese, important international geographical areas will be covered, these being areas which are a prime example of emerging economies.