Проекти

(year started and completed)

The Covid-19 pandemic has not stopped the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) from cracking down on financial fraud, but there is still a need for more professionals. To meet this need, a joint master’s degree program has been established to provide students with comprehensive education in forensic accounting and fraud examination. The program aims to improve knowledge and skills in the field of financial analysis, leading to improved prevention and combating of criminal threats in the EU. Relevant organizations will be involved in the implementation of the project.

The need for forensic accounting expertise is growing in the EU with the emergence of online financial activities and FinTech, leading to new forms of financial fraud. This has led to an increased need for knowledge of legal processes and digital skills, as well as a multidisciplinary university program to improve the capacity of forensic accounting professionals.

Graduates of a master’s program in forensic accounting bring valuable expertise, including the ability to analyze complex financial data, identify fraud patterns, and testify as expert witnesses in civil litigation. Demand for forensic accounting professionals will remain high in the EU as regulatory and compliance requirements increase.

The implementation of COEXE establishes a comprehensive objective for the project: to develop practices and research infrastructure that contributes to the greening of business practices and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through co-creation and experimental research involving multiple actors. The project implementation is based on an inclusive approach with practice feedback.

Main activities:

• Co-development of experimental research knowledge backpack (concept, protocol, evaluation, e-tool)
• Development of greening practices
• Application of co-creation experimental research in business settings

Expected results:

• State-of-the-art analysis
• COEXE e-tool
• Greening practices information kit
• Pilot studies
• Sustainability network

Through careful partner selection, BENEFIT fuses experience and structural competencies. All partners bring relevant practice in projects promoting digitalization and ICT-based inclusive methodologies.
By introducing innovative models of collaboration and co-creation for novel education, the consortium shares experience in dual learning programmes.
As they are rooted in traditional teaching, integrating an e-learning platform into the educational process and ensuring its effective implementation is a key activity of the project.

Modern policy implementation and organisational frameworks fail to create sustainable approaches for resolving wicked problems—issues that are hard to define, difficult to solve, and require multiple approaches (poverty, climate change, health, gender equality, justice, etc.), all part of the SDG Agenda.

SCORE aims to build cooperation structures and develop a model for tackling these problems through wider transnational capacities and a bottom-up approach in social-planning processes. The project demonstrates that higher education institutions (HEIs) can play a critical role in addressing such challenges.

SCORE promotes and strengthens European cooperation by piloting novel research in tackling climate change and related issues.
Specific topics addressed include: environment and climate change, inter-regional cooperation, and research & innovation.

The consortium benefits from active participation, enabling partners to demonstrate capability in solving complex issues while setting the foundation for other organisations to replicate such approaches.
Moreover, through project implementation and follow-up phases, a new generation of scholars will gain the knowledge, tools, and methods for solving wicked problems.

The project also emphasizes sharing good practices and building inter-connected higher education systems supported through sustainability networks, models, e-tools, and guidelines generated by SCORE.

The objectives we want to achieve through the SHIELD project are:

1. Improve cyber security skills: Enhance the cyber security skills of secondary school teachers, principals, and psychologists to address the challenges posed by increasing cyber threats effectively.
2. Bridge knowledge gaps: Address the lack of knowledge and resources in schools regarding cyber security by providing targeted training, tools and support services.
3. Develop cyber security policies: Assist high school staff in developing and implementing cyber security policies that align with best practices and protocols for handling sensitive information and responding to incidents.

Concrete Results:

• Increased Awareness and Preparedness: A higher level of cyber security awareness and preparedness among secondary school staff, enabling them to better protect students in the digital realm.
• Enhanced Digital Environment: A safer digital environment for students, with reduced risks of cyber threats such as cyberbullying, invasion of privacy, and exposure to harmful content.
• Scalable and Replicable Model: The SHIELD project serves as a blueprint for similar initiatives across the European Union, promoting scalability and replicability in addressing cyber security challenges in educational settings.

By fostering a proactive and predictive model of career guidance and educational design, SMILE stands out as an innovative effort to prepare students for future challenges, ensuring they possess the digital, green, and entrepreneurial skills vital for the sustainability and competitiveness of European SMEs.

Project objective: The wider objective of the project is to improve managers’ and leaders’ performance and sustainability actions by enhancing their leadership skills and their ability to innovate, collaborate, and manage change.
The major aim is to jointly develop and implement a program for sustainability leadership that addresses key issues in sustainability, enhances leaders’ ability to catalyze change, and fosters the creation of sustainable organizations and societies.

The program will be built on the needs of managers and leaders, research evidence, principles of sustainability leadership, sustainability standards, and SDG requirements.
Through the program, participants will develop advanced leadership skills, ground theoretical approaches in practice with the support of distinguished affiliates, receive professional orientation for applying learning in their organizations, and network with peers internationally by working together on sustainability projects.

Target group:

• Managers in local, national, and governmental bodies, as well as the private and non-profit sectors, motivated to integrate sustainability strategies in their organizations.
• Students aspiring to become key players in project management and organizational development, particularly in contexts where societal development issues are crucial.

Our project, “Bridging the Gap: Non-Traditional Majors and the Future of Internal Auditing Sustainability”, aims to broaden the reach of internal auditing education to non-traditional majors, promoting awareness and inclusivity through collaborative efforts.
It will unite the expertise of the Accounting and Auditing Department, the Yunus Social Business Center, IIA North Macedonia, and practitioners from various sectors, including finance, business, and the public domain.

To accomplish this goal, we will arrange a series of meticulously crafted workshops led by renowned professors specializing in auditing and corporate governance, representatives from IIA North Macedonia, and seasoned internal auditor practitioners.
These workshops will serve as incubators of knowledge, emphasizing the significant role of internal auditing within the intricate fabric of corporate management.
Our project will comprise a series of four workshops, each addressing distinct facets of the internal auditing profession.

Во рамки на проектот беа реализирани две истражувачки студии, а резултатите беа презентирани на два научни собири – конференции, соодветни на научноистражувачкото подрачје:

1. “Adapting the Audit Profession to the “New Normal” in Post-Covid Period – A Case Study of The Republic of North Macedonia”, презентиран на
   The 11th International Conference „Financial reporting and auditing: challenges of a transformation era”,
   одржана во периодот од 11-12 декември 2023 година во Краков, Полска.
   
   Научноистражувачко подрачје: Општествени науки, Економски науки – Сметководство.
   
   🔗 Пристапи до истражувањето
2. “Мemorable Experiences: Building Loyal Visitors to Cultural Institutions”, презентиран на
   XIV BUSINESS AND SCIENCE CONFERENCE SPIN ’23,
   одржана во периодот од 6-7 ноември 2023 година во Белград, Србија.
   
   Научноистражувачко подрачје: Општествени науки, Економски науки – Маркетинг.
   
   🔗 Пристапи до истражувањето

This project aims to develop systemic analysis of skills shortages in the 5 EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Lithuania)
and 6 non-EU countries (Turkiye, UK, Norway, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Ethiopia) in the context of the global workforce migration
by providing research-based evidence on the nature and development of skill shortages as well as on the potential of different
skills partnerships to tackle these shortages in the countries of origin and destination of migrants.

Main objectives (Work Packages):

1. Designing of the shortage model: Recruitment of skilled workers in destination countries (1st group) and transition countries (2nd group) by analyzing the agency of existing skill partnerships.
2. Labour market evaluation: Analysing matching needs and shortages of skilled workforce in origin countries compared to destination and transition countries.
3. Surveying skilled migrant workers: Gathering perspectives of migrants in destination and origin countries (including returned migrants) regarding research questions.
4. Analysis of local development conditions: Identifying factors that positively or negatively influence development processes in destination countries and assessing how origin countries’ institutions can benefit from migration for skill development.
5. Toolkit preparation: Creating tools for implementation and development of skill partnerships between origin and destination countries to enable sustainable and fair investment in skills, prevent skill losses, and mitigate brain drain.

The main objective of GETM4 is to research how entrepreneurs can deal with disruption to support not only economic development but also societal wellbeing in a digitized world.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic was widely predicted, the resulting government restrictions caused unprecedented disruption all over the world.
Since disruption has become the norm (e.g. wars, energy crises, climate change), we must be better prepared and learn how to respond appropriately to it.

GETM4 aims at identifying how entrepreneurial talent (of individuals, higher education, and industry) can play a crucial role in exploiting the opportunities and tackling the issues created by disruption.
Underpinned by cutting-edge digital innovation, entrepreneurship is often expected to promote physical and mental wellbeing, while at the same time entrepreneurs’ wellbeing is frequently threatened by the spread of technology itself.
To tackle this paradoxical situation, an innovative, multi-perspective approach is needed.

The research approach to tackle a global disruption needs to be global.
Backed by an 18-partner Consortium comprising of a transnational, transdisciplinary, transgenerational, trans-sectorial and gender-balanced research team, GETM4 will organize over 300 secondments across 9 countries and 4 continents, and a series of sandpits rotating between the partner institutions.
This global approach will allow researchers to gain first-hand and in-depth insights on relevant research topics and develop their skills through networking and trainings.

Our research will be underpinned by a “respectful impact” perspective, as we believe research and innovation should be transferred and translated respectfully between the Global South and North, and knowledge should be shared equitably and in all directions.

Public academic institutions are recognized as actors capable of energizing entrepreneurship ecosystems to transform the business sector and strengthen general welfare through sustainable entrepreneurship. As sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation gain attention, USE IPM aims to encourage entrepreneurship focused on sustainability and create innovative solutions that respect the three-norms framework: doing good, avoiding harm, and protecting society and the planet.

The project improves relationships between academic and non-academic sectors in widening countries by implementing practices with sustainability justification—enhancing competitiveness of both sectors and inspiring new business ideas. The primary goal is to up-skill talents from widening countries in research & innovation (R&I) and raise the capabilities of widening academic institutions for stronger sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystems.

USE IPM also enhances career prospects of participating and non-participating researchers through knowledge transfer after secondments to EU partners. Additionally, it boosts entrepreneurial and innovation process management skills of business representatives via trainings implemented through 4 EI centers (entrepreneurship & innovation centers) established and/or consolidated with expertise gained at EU institutions.

Main results (targets):

• 28 seconded talents to 5 EU partners (incl. 5 non-academic partners)
• 4 established/consolidated EI centers in 4 widening countries
• 200 young trainees educated on the acquired acquis
• 80 trained business representatives in entrepreneurship & innovation
• 40 innovative solutions created during internships by cross-sectoral teams
• 10 best practices for cross-sectoral talent circulation identified

Beyond reversing brain drain by increasing youth employability, the project strives to improve gender balance in the traditionally male-dominated entrepreneurship sector.

The project applied a structural model (CDM model) describing the link between R&D expenditure, innovation output, and productivity.
The aim was to determine the progress of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in increasing productivity and competitiveness of the EU, by comparing their performance with older EU members (Germany and Italy).

Objectives:

• To highlight the role of innovation in productivity growth across selected CEE EU member countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia).
• To estimate the progress of these CEE countries in productivity and innovation.
• To evaluate improvements and success in narrowing the productivity and innovation gap between CEE countries and stronger EU members (Germany and Italy).

The research project analysed the role of innovation in productivity growth across selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that are EU members (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia).
To assess progress towards productivity and competitiveness in the EU, their performance was compared with older EU members.

The project applied a structural CDM model (linking R&D expenditure, innovation output, and productivity) to evaluate:

• The progress of CEE countries in productivity and innovation.
• The extent to which innovation drives productivity growth in the region.
• The comparative performance of CEE countries against established EU members.

The project “Quality Management and Competitiveness” was dedicated to strengthening the application potential of Macedonian managers and SME owners.
It was established within the framework of the Japanese Government’s Western Balkans Cooperation Initiative program.

The initiative was fully committed to enhancing the capacities of Macedonian managers in line with the principles of the European Commission’s Sofia Declaration, which defines regional priorities for competitiveness and sustainable growth.

The main objective of this action was to develop a European network of actors (scholars, practitioners, communities, and policy makers) focusing on the development of collaborative economy models and platforms, and on the social and technological implications of the collaborative economy through a practice-focused approach.

Specific aims:

1. To develop a deeper understanding of the collaborative economy phenomenon in all its aspects by studying sociotechnical systems and human practices, and comparing local, regional, national, and international initiatives.
2. To critique elements of the current discourse on the collaborative economy and propose a richer definition and characterisation of the phenomenon.
3. To formulate a European research agenda for the socio-technical aspects of the collaborative economy, including the design of future platforms, infrastructures, and their legal, ethical, and financial implications.
4. To articulate a European research perspective on the collaborative economy, based on EU values of social innovation and aligned with the Europe 2020 strategy for a smart, sustainable, and inclusive economy.

The Action produced online resources, including publications that provide a comprehensive view of the European collaborative economy, along with socio-technical and policy recommendations for the future.

With the rapid advancement of technological innovations, modern societies increasingly depend on the proper functioning of complex networks (social, telecommunication, transportation).
Since these networks are driven by independent decision makers, understanding, controlling, and optimizing them represents a major societal challenge.

Game theory has become essential in analyzing such systems: from computing traffic equilibria in transportation networks, to predicting content popularity in social media, to analyzing epidemic spread.
Many applications share common network structures (biological, technological, social) yet differ in field-specific characteristics, making interdisciplinary collaboration crucial.

Key objective: Facilitate collaboration among game theorists across disciplines and provide expertise to industrial partners, while establishing a vibrant, interconnected European community of researchers in applied mathematics, algorithmic computer science, engineering, and economics.

This Action is the first European network uniting computer scientists, mathematicians, economists, and operations researchers to tackle problems with major technological and socio-economic impact.
Beyond research, its aim is to build a broad and inclusive community of game theorists across Europe at all career stages, and to enhance engagement with stakeholders.

This Action created a European-led multidisciplinary network among countries with higher rural NEET youth rates.
The Rural NEET Youth Network (RNYN) aims to develop a model of comprehension for rural NEETs’ social exclusion risks and protective factors, based on the bioecological model.

Specific goals:

1. Uphold future research capability, with emphasis on Early Career Investigators (ECI) and Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC).
2. Create a rural NEETs’ online observatory.
3. Foster knowledge use by policy makers and practitioners.

The RNYN work plan was produced by 3 working groups to define a coherent model for future research, surveying national and cross-national trends on rural NEETs’ profiles and support systems, as well as best practices in methodology and intervention.

Added value: An eclectic theoretical, disciplinary, institutional and international approach, while upskilling ECI in ITC most affected by high rural NEET rates.

Long-term impact: Establishment of a rural NEETs’ observatory, integration of ECI in a broad multidisciplinary community, strengthening the COST Inclusiveness Policy, and contributing to (inter)national legislation addressing rural NEETs’ needs. The Action also aimed at building platforms to connect critical mass, organize findings, and promote socio-economic innovation.

The aim of this COST Action is to build a network for the interdisciplinary study of the potential of interactive digital narrative (IDN) as a tool to represent, experience, and comprehend complex societal phenomena, and thus to address the challenge of misinformation and “fake news”.

The challenge is to shift IDNs from the current status of ‘singular achievements’ by a small group of practitioners into a general practice broadly adopted by media companies.

INDCOR (Interactive Narrative Design for COmplexity Representations) addresses this challenge by coordinating efforts to analyse and generalise the design and production methods of stand-out IDN works, with a particular focus on the representation of complex issues.