The Institute for Applied Research for Business is coordinator of the 24-month project titled: Empathy in the Digital Age: Harnessing Technology for Understanding and Connection (DigiEmpathy). The project runs from 1 November 2024 to 1 November 2026 and is implemented within the framework of the Erasmus + program, Key Action 2 in the field of school education. The direct target group of the project is children aged 8-16 and teachers and educators.
Project Goals
The project is structured around several key goals:
- - Stimulate empathy skills among students in the digital age through innovative strategies
- - Enhancing teacher’s skills and competences in stimulating empathy skills among students through digital education and using digital tools
- - Strengthen student's social-emotional learning by development empathy skills in digital era, ensuring they can navigate online and offline interactions with understanding, respect, and kindness
- - Raising awareness for the importance of cultivating student's empathy
Planned Activities and Expected Outcomes
The project includes a broad spectrum of activities, involving at least 600 students and 75 teachers from 5 countries.
During the project the empathy skills of teachers and students will be enhanced through capacity building diverse activities:
- - Empathy Excellence: Best Practices Integration and Strategies Formulation
- - Empathy Strategy Pilot Testing
- - Teachers training and capacity building
- - Empathy Boosting Activities for Students
- - Empathy Enrichment Hub - Empathy Skill-Building Toolkit
- - Inclusive Classroom Strategies
- - Engaging Empathy Exercises
- - Empathy Impact Assessment Lab
Long-Term Vision and Sustainability
DigiEmpathy is an innovative initiative that brings together education, digital innovation, and international collaboration to strengthen empathy skills among students. At its core, the project focuses on enhancing the capacities of teachers, educators, and all those involved in the educational process, recognizing them as key drivers in fostering empathetic behavior in the digital age.
Beyond its immediate impact, DigiEmpathy aims to develop sustainable resources that will be continuously used in both formal and informal education. These tools and strategies are designed to nurture emotionally intelligent and empathetic generations—young people who show understanding, support, and compassion toward each other and the broader community.
The project highlights the importance of embracing the digital era as an integral part of children’s lives and leverages its advantages to positively influence their emotional development.
Partners:
- Institute for Applied Research for Business, North Macedonia (coordinator)
- Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences Greece
- SAMSUN İL MİLLİ EĞİTİM MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ Türkiye
- Střední zdravotnická škola a Vyšší odborná škola zdravotnická, Plzeň, Karlovarská 99 Czechia
- Kizilcahamam Anadolu Lisesi Türkiye
- APLICAPROPOST A LDA Portugal
The project is co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme.