Alma Mater Europaea – European Center Maribor (AMEU) is an accredited private higher education institution, which is organized as a non-profit organization and which offers 18 study programs at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. AMEU offers career-oriented higher education, especially in deficit areas of society, and strives to develop and maintain modern, interdisciplinary, interactive and student-centered learning environments. AMEU implements study programs in the field of health sciences, environmental issues, aging and intergenerational dialogue, technological development and digitalization, communication, management and business, and humanities. AMEU is recognized for its knowledge and experience in the development of programs in cooperation with economic and other entities, as well as national and international integration with educational, research and economic organizations. AMEU has more than 1400 students. Since its establishment in 2007, more than 1,200 graduates have graduated from the institution at all three levels of study. AMEU has the highest graduate employability rate among Slovenian higher education institutions and, due to its commitment to internationalization and diversity in teaching and learning, is also popular among foreign students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Under the patronage of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, AMEU implements a comprehensive approach to the learning and development of students by responding to the needs of the global market and society and adapting the guidelines and practices of high-quality international educational institutions.

AMEU is actively involved in research and application projects aimed at improving education and developing solutions related to health, social, environmental, cultural and economic challenges, and integrates knowledge and experience from research, projects and scientific activities into all forms of formal and informal learning processes. AMEU strives to provide high-quality, active learning environments that enable students to acquire knowledge and skills for the 21st century and prepare them for quality work and life after graduation. Due to the participation and the role of coordinator in the proposed project, the central purpose of which is to empower individuals and institutions in higher education to actively respond to the needs of modern society and prepare students for work and life in the 21st century, AMEU will strengthen the pursuit and realization of this mission. Through mutual learning and institutional cooperation and partnership with the selected and recognized Norwegian higher education institution KUC and other stakeholders in the field of modernization of education and promotion of learning and competences in higher education, AMEU will expand and deepen its inter-institutional and inter-sectoral relations in Slovenia and abroad, which will increase and improve its role, responsibility and contribution to education and society at the national and international level. New sustainably designed teaching tools and resources from the project (e.g. guidelines with an active learning model, an instrument for measuring the use of active learning guidelines, the UPUVI didactic program and the SOPI digital center) will provide teachers and other interested parties at the institution with a permanent knowledge base which they will be able to use and test to improve existing and develop new, advanced pedagogical practices in all forms of formal and informal learning at AMEU (e.g. lectures, exercises, mentoring, extracurricular courses, study practice and all other forms of learning). These new pedagogical practices designed according to the guidelines of active learning and the demands of the 21st century (including the role of higher education institutions to generate new knowledge) will enable AMEU to empower its students with the knowledge and skills necessary for both their professional and personal development and which promote lifelong learning, innovation and active participation in society.

The Pedagogical Institute (PI) is a public research institute and the only one in Slovenia that conducts basic, developmental and applied research in education. It develops educational sciences and promotes their interdisciplinary integration. The main activities are: connecting with related domestic and international institutions; fulfilling the status, personnel and infrastructure conditions for inclusion in permanent networks of international educational research (OECD, European Union, Council of Europe, etc.); dissemination of results; organization and execution of seminars, professional meetings and international conferences; inclusion in international research activity. The proposed project, with its interdisciplinary nature and emphasis on applied and sustainable approaches to the development of higher education pedagogy, is extremely important for PI, as the members of the project will bring important new knowledge to PI through mutual learning in the international context, as well as within the framework of newly established connections with national project partners . The Pedagogical Institute (PI) is a public research institute and the only one in Slovenia that conducts basic, developmental and applied research in education. It develops educational sciences and promotes their interdisciplinary integration. The main activities are: connecting with related domestic and international institutions; fulfilling the status, personnel and infrastructure conditions for inclusion in permanent networks of international educational research (OECD, European Union, Council of Europe, etc.); dissemination of results; organization and execution of seminars, professional meetings and international conferences; inclusion in international research activity. The proposed project, with its interdisciplinary nature and emphasis on applied and sustainable approaches to the development of higher education pedagogy, is extremely important for PI, as the members of the project will bring important new knowledge to PI through mutual learning in the international context, as well as within the framework of newly established connections with national project partners.

At the content level, with the active participation of the PI in all work groups, its activity in the entire educational vertical (from preschool education, primary, secondary to tertiary education) will be even more clearly consolidated. Concretely, this means that in the context of higher education at PI, it will be possible to upgrade (theoretical and applied) thematically diverse research on the professional development of professionals in the field of education and its methodology, as well as special topics that are directly related to the understanding of active learning and teaching and its promotion in higher education (e.g. the relationship between knowledge and competences, digitization of education and training, gender equality, communication and language use, multilingualism and multiculturalism). At the same time, the PI will be able to evaluate his own long-term experience with curriculum planning and pedagogical work in the higher education environment in new practices, both at the level of individual national and international, public and private universities, as well as at the level of national expert bodies that shape higher education policies. At the content level, with the active participation of the PI in all work groups, its activity in the entire educational vertical (from preschool education, primary, secondary to tertiary education) will be even more clearly consolidated. Concretely, this means that in the context of higher education at PI, it will be possible to upgrade (theoretical and applied) thematically diverse research on the professional development of professionals in the field of education and its methodology, as well as special topics that are directly related to the understanding of active learning and teaching and its promotion in higher education (e.g. the relationship between knowledge and competences, digitization of education and training, gender equality, communication and language use, multilingualism and multiculturalism). At the same time, the PI will be able to evaluate his own long-term experience with curriculum planning and pedagogical work in the higher education environment in new practices, both at the level of individual national and international, public and private universities, as well as at the level of national expert bodies that shape higher education policies.

GZS is the largest business association in Slovenia and is organized by industry (26 industries – industrial and non-industrial) and regionally (13 regional chambers). GZS has unique experience and knowledge in the field of challenges and opportunities for improving the Slovenian economy and society as a whole by increasing the competences of human capital, especially individuals/students who are preparing to enter the labor market. The GZS is a member of a number of government bodies, boards and committees and provides knowledge and professional training in various areas, for example in the field of education and learning, e.g. The Board of Directors of the University of Ljubljana, the Council of the Republic of Slovenia for Higher Education, the Council of the Republic of Slovenia for Adult Education, the Council of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training, the Council of the Public Fund for Personnel Development and Allocation of Grants. GZS is also a member of all regional committees for vocational training. Due to the support with professional knowledge and experience in these areas, GZS is a key actor at the national level in the field of lifelong learning and vocational education and training at all levels of formal and informal education in higher education. With its rich knowledge in the field of human resources development, the GZS will professionally contribute to the analysis of the needs for competences in the Slovenian environment, including the economy. With its experience and expertise, the GZS will significantly contribute to the achievement of all goals, effects and results from the project, especially in the activities and achievements of the development of guidelines and a model of active learning in higher education, as well as an instrument for measuring the use of the developed guidelines, which tools will be designed with the aim of strengthening innovation and key competencies for work and life in the 21st century. With its knowledge and experience in training for design thinking, GZS will significantly contribute to the development and strengthening of the skills and competences of professionals for creative collaboration and the creation of innovative solutions that are focused on the user.

Slovenian Student Union (ŠOS) is the union organization of all students in Slovenia and advocates for the realization and protection of their interests and needs at Slovenian faculties, academies, colleges and higher education institutions and higher education institutions abroad. ŠOS includes the Student Organization of the University of Ljubljana, the Student Organization of the University of Maribor, the Student Organization of the University of Primorska and the Council of Student Organizations of Local Communities. Each member organization of ŠOS co-shapes the functioning of the umbrella organization through the appointment and active participation of its representatives in the bodies of ŠOS, while at the same time ensuring the successful realization of student interests at their own university or local level. Univerze v Mariboru, Študentsko organizacijo Univerze na Primorskem in Svet študentskih organizacij lokalnih skupnosti. Vsaka organizacija članica ŠOS sooblikuje delovanje krovne organizacije skozi imenovanje in aktivno participacijo svojih predstavnikov v organih ŠOS, obenem pa skrbi za uspešno uresničevanje študentskih interesov na lastni univerzitetni oziroma lokalni ravni.

ŠOS, as an umbrella national student organization, strives to influence, in particular, the improvement of study conditions, learning environments and study opportunities, the social situation of students and the development of all extracurricular and interest activities. It achieves these goals primarily through active participation in the formulation of national policy and programs in the field of higher education, including the teaching-learning process and student work. He also pays a lot of attention to the issue of student social welfare and the employment of young graduates. Students cooperate with the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in solving student issues, mainly through the Council of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Student Issues, the Council of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth, their working groups, membership in the supervisory board of the Public Scholarship, Development, Disability and Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, the ZPIZ assembly, etc. When dealing with individual issues, cooperation is most active with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports and the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. At the same time, ŠOS also intensively connects with student councils of universities and other important student bodies and associations, also at the international level, e.g. Within the framework of the European Students' Union.

Founded in 1914, Høyskolen Kristiania – Ernst G. Mortensens Stiftelse (Kristiania University College / KUC) is a private educational institution with campuses in Oslo and Bergen, and online. KUC is an accredited faculty with more than 10,000 students, 600 employees and consists of four schools (colleges), which together offer more than 100 study programs. KUC's social responsibility is to offer study programs at different levels of education that are adapted to people with different qualifications, skills and abilities, and to educate individuals who will provide society with high expertise in both the public and private sectors. KUC has rich and recognized experience in the field of developing research-applied knowledge, competences and practical learning for innovation and value creation in the economy and society. With the aim of providing active learning environments, KUC has been implementing a program for the inclusion and development of student-centered teaching and learning for many years. Through an innovative and student-active learning environment, KUC offers practically oriented and student-centered learning activities that meet the needs of society and prepare students for work and life after studies. In addition to study programs in Norwegian, KUC also runs several study programs in English at both undergraduate and postgraduate study levels. In the present project, the KUC project group will be led by Professor Per Morten Fredriksen from the School of Health Sciences, which offers various undergraduate and master's programs in various fields such as biomedicine, psychology, pedagogy, public health, nutrition, physical activity and sports management.