In the project, eighty experts will train 1,500 pre-university teachers from all over the country to develop the competences that they need in order to create their own educational software applications and to improve their ability to use teaching-learning interactive methods.

The main beneficiary of the project is the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, in partnership with SIVECO Romania. The project is funded by European structural funds, and it contributes to achieving the specific objectives of the Priority Axis 1 from the Sectoral Operation Programme for Human Resources Development (SOP HRD) 2007-2013 by improving the access to education and training, as well as facilitating the delivery of a modern and qualitative continuous training.

The continuous training programme will likewise target psycho-pedagogical training, methodical training, as well as the development of ICT skills. The graduates will receive professional certificates with portable credits.

"Developing educational software applications and implementing them into the classroom will fit the teaching process to the individual needs and to the study habits of the pupils. At the teachers' level, the project contributes to professionalizing the teaching staff", said Radu Jugureanu, project implementation expert, SIVECO Romania.

All of Romania's 767,439 high school students, 284,412 pupils from the professional and technical education system, and 1,900,561 elementary school and gymnasium pupils will benefit from the project. Through applying the educational software applications developed by the teachers and enthusiastic pupils, better results will be achieved in the learning process by increasing the interest in study, developing computer skills, and by facilitating the understanding of the phenomena.

"These results will help pupils to achieve the competences needed to succeed in the present society, characterized by the transition process towards an information society. Besides teachers and pupils, the parents of the pupils and the local communities are indirect beneficiaries of the project, too, from the perspective of the positive impact of the project on the educational process", said Traian Saitan, project manager.

"Educational software is currently integrated into the structure of the traditional methods, but ICT facilitates the transition from focusing on the teaching/teacher's activity to focusing on the pupil, on learning, and on the knowledge built by pupils".

There are currently 144,489 teachers working in the elementary and gymnasium system in Romania, of whom 108,779 are women; another 61,914 are high school teachers, of which 40,595 are women. The project implementation will specifically consider the selection of young people and women for taking part in the continuous training programme, so that it will ensure the development of a "gender equality" culture.