AMW - Partners

The consortium consists of five partners: Two from Iceland and one from each of the following countries: Greece (Athens), Italy (Palermo) and United Kingdom (Sheffeld).

Bifröst University

Bifröst University was founded in Reykjavík Iceland in 1918 on the model of Ruskin College, Oxford, under the name Samvinnuskólinn or the Cooperative College. From the start its role was to educate leaders for business and society at large. The school was moved to Borgarfjörður in 1955, situated 110km north of the capital. Bifröst is the only Liberal Arts campus school in the country, it was accredited university in 1988, first only in Business, then also offering degrees in Law since 2002 and in Social Science since 2005. Bifröst University is an active member of the Icelandic and international research communities and prides itself for recruiting faculty with broad research profiles in the social sciences. The university has in recent years been an active participant in several bilateral partnerships under the umbrella of the EEA Grants. Bifröst University has also participated in many academic networks of the COST and ERASMUS programs, as well as the Northern Periphery program.

Bifröst University is a school of social sciences that educates socially responsible leaders. From the beginning, the focus at Bifröst University has been education and social affairs. Bifröst university relies on modern and innovative teaching methods for both blended and distance learning in order to create an engaging learning environment for its students. The students’ experience is further enhanced through project driven learning methods, practical assignments and online communication in teaching and learning.

For over 30 years, Bifröst has offered courses and programs that aim to increase the participation of women in society and working life. Since 2004, Bifröst has successfully run a vocational educational program called Women Power, where women who are looking to start their own business or acquire new skills in business and company operations, come together for networking and studying. Women Power Tanzania is a similar program held once a year in Bashay village in N-Tanzania, where it has been adjusted to the conditions of the underprivileged women in the village.

Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci

CENTRO PER LO SVILUPPO CREATIVO “DANILO DOLCI” is a non-profit organisation located in Palermo, born in 1958 from the experience and work of Danilo Dolci, a social activist, sociologist, pacifist and pedagogue.

Following his path, CSC works at local and European levels, focusing on two main pillars:

  • Local Development, starting from the needs of the community and paying special attention to the most disadvantaged target groups;
  • Creativity, promoting innovation in education and using new methodologies to empower young, adults and professionals.

Particularly, the work of the Centre is based on the Reciprocal Maieutic Approach, a methodology of research and self-analysis useful to develop creativity, communication, cooperation and active participation.

CSC has a long- lasting experience in projects and initiatives on the following topics:

  • Education
  • Social inclusion & Active citizenship
  • Empowerment of youth
  • Entrepreneurship & Mobility

Hellenic American College

Hellenic American Education Center (HAEC) is a leading private education provider in Greece. It operates Hellenic American College, a post secondary education institution offering in Athens, Greece, the undergraduate and graduate degree programs of Hellenic American University (Manchester, New Hampshire, USA) with which it is affiliated, through a cooperation agreement between the two institutions. The undergraduate students of HAEC attend a four-year degree program leading to a Bachelor degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, Psychology, English Language and Literature, and Music. Postgraduate students attend one or two-year programs in Business Administration, Information Technology, Applied Linguistics, Translation, Conference Interpretation, or Psychology.  Since 2014, Hellenic American College is a member of EURASHE (European Association of Institutions in Higher Education). Since its establishment it has gradually grown into an institution with a wide canvass of undergraduate and graduate programs for holders of the Greek high school Apolytirion, or equivalent, informing the disciplines of humanities, business and IT. It has established a PhD program in Applied Linguistics which is unique and innovative in structure as it combines residential core courses, research seminars and supervised PhD Thesis. In terms of research, the goal of the institution's community is to fashion a research agenda that not only promotes the creation of new knowledge, but also improves upon the current social and economic condition. To this end, the institution has participated, as a partner in EU funded projects (e.g. OPTIMALE, 2010) and has established partnerships with EU institutions to promote research. HAEC has been approved and licensed by the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.

As an educational institution, HAEC is not only responsible for the academic development of its students but equally for their career development and employability upon the completion of their studies. To this aim, it already implements several activities and initiatives (career counselling, employability workshops, networking with employers, entrepreneurship series) which can assist students in entering, remaining and advancing in the labor market. To be successful in their careers, students also need to develop an entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial mindset and skills which can support them in various roles, not only as entrepreneurs, but also as responsible and creative employees. To this aim, HAEC is motivated to participate in the project in order to create benefits for its student body in their career pathway and also for young people from among its wide network. Further, HAEC operates a lifelong learning center (KE.DI.VIM2) offering continuing professional education programs designed to meet current and emerging market needs and help participants start or advance their career. Specifically, it offers professional development programs in Teacher Education, Translation and Interpretation, Microsoft Technical Training, Microsoft Office. It is also an Apple Authorized Training Center and has long established cooperation with Cisco Networking Academy and Red Hat Academy.

HAEC can ensure project dissemination through its website and social media which appeal to a network of around 20,000 individuals at least. Also, the project can be disseminated throughout the lectures as well as other institutional events (such as Research Institute events, Young Entrepreneurs Series, etc.) to large internal and external audiences.

Inova Consultancy

Inova Consultancy is a female-owned SME which specialises in providing consultancy services and project work in the field of gender, professional development non-traditional fields and entrepreneurship. Inova has extensive experience in working on European Funded Projects in the field of enterprise and career support, both as a partner and contractor in LLP and Erasmus Plus projects. 

Inova has specialist experience in running workshops, training courses and mentoring programmes aimed at women starting up or developing their business. Inova has also produced several personal development/soft skills development workshops and developed the innovative training methodology of Mentoring Circles™ for women entrepreneurs in the UK and the EU. Inova has extensive networks of individuals and organisations committed to increasing the numbers of women in under-represented courses and careers (e.g. self-employment across Europe) and has vast experience in working on transnational projects, understanding transnational project management, dissemination, mainstreaming and evaluation requirements.

Inova has previously been involved in numerous projects promoting entrepreneurship and employability amongst (double disadvantaged) women in order to build their confidence and realise their full potential (WINGS, FREE, EMPOWER). Inova supports women who aspire to grow or set up their own business, aiming to improve the gender balance in the European business world. Inova furthermore has experience with the integration of migrants in the UK, through employability and entrepreneurship (Migrapreneurs, Youth2Work, BADGE). 

Símenntunarmiðstöð Vesturlands

Símenntunarmiðstöðin is a nonprofit organization and owned by municipalities in the area, the local labour unions, the local colleges, and some key companies. 
The main objective of Símenntunarmiðstöðin is to promote and assist with adult education in the West part of Iceland, with special attention to the increase of continuing education, increased qualification as well as well-being of the population. Símenntunarmiðstöðin provides courses for unemployed and/or unskilled employees, continuing education for skilled personnel and other educational and offers various leisure courses for adults. Courses are prepared in cooperation with other educational institutions and organizations. Furthermore Símenntunarmiðstöðin targets those who have not completed the upper secondary level of education. There are 6 people employed as 4,80 % staff value.