USMED

The USMED consortium met for its third transnational project meeting at KUBI headquarters in Frankfurt, bringing together partners from Italy, Spain, Romania, Ireland, Germany, Turkey and Poland. 🎯There were many topics under discussion, including objectives achieved and strategies for the next important phase: the Digital Infrastructure, which will host the educational resources developed to improve digital skills in the Food & Accommodation sector. The digital platform is taking shape, with an integrated Registration tool and a certification system based on the European Digital Credentials. 🤝We are proud to be able to contribute to such a significant change for the sector and for digital education: thanks to the wonderful work of the consortium! DELab UW, Lascò, Grupo Femxa, KUBI Gesellschaft für Kultur und Bildung gGmbH Türkiye Aşçılar Federasyonu TAFED, Colegium Carol I, TUS Sustainable Development Research Institute (SDRI). Want to collaborate with the consortium or learn more about the project? Contact us https://lnkd.in/dc53-aze

A big thank you to everyone who joined the 2nd USMED Virtual Knowledge Café! 👏 The event brought together partners, educators, researchers and stakeholders from across Europe to exchange insights and explore the latest developments of the project. During the session, participants received an overview of the current progress of USMED, including the Digital Skills Assessment Tool (DSAT), developed by DELab UW at the University of Warsaw. Designed specifically for the Accommodation & Food sector, the DSAT is helping us better understand digital skills needs and build more targeted learning opportunities. We also shared updates on the development of the USMED Tailored Learning Pathways, which will soon be integrated into the project's new Digital Infrastructure, creating personalised and flexible learning journeys for professionals and SMEs seeking to strengthen their digital competences. ✔️A special thank you goes to our Romanian partner, Colegiul Comercial Carol I, for presenting the results of their school-based research activity involving VET teachers and students. Their valuable feedback on the educational resources developed within USMED is helping ensure that our learning materials remain practical, engaging and relevant for learners. We were also delighted to hear directly from one of the students, who showcased an interactive game created as part of the learning experience—an inspiring example of creativity, digital skills and learner engagement in action 🎮✨ Thank you once again to everyone who participated, shared ideas and contributed to the discussion. Together, we are building innovative pathways for digital upskilling in the Accommodation & Food sector across Europe.

🚀 Join us for the 2nd USMED Knowledge Cafè! 📆 On June 23 at 12 p.m. CEST, we’re bringing together experts from Italy, Spain, Poland, Turkey, Romania, Ireland, and Germany for an insightful discussion on digitalization in the accommodation and food sector. This event is designed to spark conversation, build connections, and drive innovation. Whether you want to share knowledge, explore new collaborations, or learn about the latest Open Call for VET providers and trainers, this is the place to be. Let’s shape the future of SMEs together. 👉 Register for free here: https://lnkd.in/d3N4je6s 📩 Need more info? Connect with us at: https://lnkd.in/dc53-aze Consortium: Lascò DELab UW Grupo Femxa KUBI Gesellschaft für Kultur und Bildung gGmbH TUS Sustainable Development Research Institute (SDRI) Türkiye Aşçılar Federasyonu TAFED #ColegiumCarolI

At USMED, we are currently finalising one of the most important milestones of the project: the methodology behind the design of our Learning Pathways, a structured approach that connects digital skills assessment, pedagogical design and real sector needs. Over the past months, we have been working intensively on: ✅ The development and integration of 62 high-quality Open Educational Resources (OERs) ✅ Their organisation into competence areas, thematic domains and proficiency levels (Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced) ✅ The design of 6 structured learning pathways, guiding learners from basic digital skills to advanced competencies such as AI, automation and digital transformation. 💡 This methodology is based on a data-driven approach, starting from the Digital Skills Assessment (DSAT), and translated into a complete learning ecosystem through competency mapping and instructional design (ADDIE). The result is a set of progressive, modular and sector-relevant learning journeys, aimed at supporting professionals and SMEs in the Accommodation & Food sector to: ✔ Strengthen their digital competences ✔ Improve daily operations and decision-making ✔ Advance towards digital transformation. 📢 The full methodological framework will be published soon, providing detailed insights into the approach, its structure and its potential for transferability. In parallel, all OERs and pathways will soon be available on the platform, offering flexible, practice-oriented and scalable learning resources for Accommodation and Food sector across Europe. 👉If you'd like to collaborate, contact us here: https://lnkd.in/dc53-aze

How can hospitality professionals protect customer data in an increasingly digital world? 📊 One of the OERs developed within the USMED project focuses on one of the most important challenges in the Accommodation & Food sector: data privacy and digital safety. 🔏From online bookings and digital payments to customer databases and communication platforms, hospitality businesses handle sensitive information every day. Our interactive learning experience helps learners recognise potential digital risks, understand safer online practices, and reflect on how to manage guest data more responsibly. Designed with real hospitality scenarios in mind, the resource transforms complex topics such as privacy protection and cybersecurity into practical, accessible and easy-to-understand learning experiences. 👉The Learning Experiences Catalogue will soon be online and open access! If you'd like more information about the project: https://lnkd.in/dc53-aze 

Behind every digital resource in the Learning Experiences Catalogue we've developed is a collaborative effort between our partners, involving research, co-design, and shared expertise 🤝 Over 60 Open Educational Resources are the result of collaboration between 7 European partners, each with specific expertise to support the digital transformation of the Accommodation & Food sector 👩🍳 Each partner contributed to the development of practical, modular, and immediately usable content for daily work: ✔️The Technological University of the Shannon developed content on data protection, GDPR, and digital security ✔️DELab UW worked on data literacy, online reputation, and adapting to technological changes ✔️Colegiul Comercial “Carol I” and KUBI Gesellschaft für Kultur und Bildung gGmbH has created resources focused on team coordination through online collaborative tools and communication ✔️Türkiye Aşçılar Federasyonu TAFED created resources dedicated to social media, internal communications, and digital tools for the food sector ✔️Lascò explored AI, dynamic pricing, data analytics, and cybersecurity ✔️Grupo Femxa coordinated the catalog guidelines and developed OERs on digital marketing and digital communications. All resources follow a structured, learner-centered approach, with accessible, modular content that can be adapted to different levels of digital competence. 👉Digital transformation in the Hospitality & Food sector is not just a matter of large chains. It also applies to small businesses, restaurants, independent hotels, and professionals who manage reservations, customers, data, and digital tools every day, often without specific training. 🙌The Catalogue will soon be online and open access. If you'd like to collaborate, contact us here https://lnkd.in/dc53-aze 

How do you turn digital skills needs into meaningful learning journeys for Food and Accommodation SMEs? 🍴 In USMED, we are not only working to digitise all learning resources as quickly as possible, but also carrying out a strong pedagogical effort to design learning itineraries that genuinely support the digital transformation of SMEs in the Accommodation & Food (A&F) sector. The design of our six digital learning pathways is fully grounded in a solid methodological framework and a clear project logic: ✅Skills-first approach – learning pathways are structured around transversal digital competence domains, not around providers or isolated projects. ✅Modular & flexible design – the Learning Experiences Catalogue is conceived as a dynamic system of micro-learning OERs that can be combined according to roles, needs and proficiency levels. ✅Pedagogically driven itineraries – beyond content digitalisation, pathways are intentionally designed to help A&F SMEs improve their digital practices in real operational contexts. ✅Open & scalable – OERs come from consortium partners, Erasmus+ project results and VET providers, ensuring reuse, openness and transferability. ✅Coherent learning journeys – each pathway offers a balanced, standalone itinerary while remaining flexible and non-linear. Together, these pathways act as the bridge between methodology, content and digital infrastructure, supporting personalised learning, future credentialing and long-term impact for SMEs in hospitality and food services. A practical and pedagogically sound model for scalable digital upskilling in VET and beyond. 👉Follow us to stay updated on the next steps of USMED.

From development to digital transformation — the USMED OERs are taking shape! Following the completion of our Open Educational Resources, the consortium has now moved into the digitalisation phase — a crucial step in turning high-quality content into accessible, interactive and reusable learning tools. Within the project, this stage ensures that our resources are not only pedagogically sound, but also digitally engaging and easy to use for workers, trainers and SMEs in the Accommodation & Food sector across Europe. What makes these resources special? ✨ They are specifically designed for the Food & Accommodation sector, addressing real operational and digital challenges. 🎓 They are created by VET teachers and trainers, with a clear focus on practical use in real training contexts. 👀 They are highly visual, intuitive, and learner-friendly, making digital skills easier to understand and apply. 🌍 They combine original resources developed by the consortium with selected OERs extracted from the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform, as well as valuable contributions received through a European Open Call, where organisations shared their real experiences with our network.  And how are the resources looking right now? 👇Here you can see an example of how these resources are shaping now. They are interactive, hands-on learning experiences: clear visuals, simple navigation, real scenarios, and tools that invite exploration rather than explanation. These are not resources to “read and forget”, but to try, click, reflect, and apply. All these resources are being transformed into a digital, open, and accessible platform that will soon be available to learners, trainers, and VET providers across Europe. We truly believe this catalogue will surprise, inspire, and support those working on digital upskilling in two of Europe’s most important sectors. Stay tuned — the platform is coming soon.

The development of the USMED Learning Experiences Catalogue is entering its final stage! 🍴 The consortium has successfully completed the creation of the Open Educational Resources (OERs) that will power the catalogue. These resources have been carefully designed to respond to the real digital skills needs of professionals in the accommodation and food sector. 📖The Learning Experiences Catalogue will bring together structured, practical and sector-specific learning pathways aligned with industry demands - supporting data-driven decision-making, adaptability, problem-solving and the effective integration of digital tools into daily operations. The catalogue, soon available, will represent a concrete pathway for upskilling and reskilling, connecting assessment results with targeted learning opportunities. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us: https://lnkd.in/dc53-aze

Thank you to all participants who joined us at our first European Knowledge Café ☕ An open discussion between partners and stakeholders from seven countries partner: Italy, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Romania, Germany and Turkey, dedicated to exploring the digital needs of the Accommodation & Food sector and co-creating new directions for the next phases of the project 👨🍳 We gathered valuable insights, new perspectives and a strong collaborative energy that will guide the development of OERs and Learning Pathways. To know more, read the full recap: https://lnkd.in/eJpnPFCq