HumAct is a 3-year project funded by the Erasmus + Program Capacity Building for Higher Education and is coordinated by ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa., with partners: the National and Kapodistriana University of Athens, the University of Cape Verde and the University of Santiago, Cape Verde and the Pedagogical University, University of Pungué and University of Rovuma, Mozambique. The main objective of the project is to increase the capacity of higher education institutions in the area of ​​Humanitarian Action (HA) in relation to climate change and displacement in partner countries, specifically in Cape Verde and Mozambique, in collaboration with institutions in program countries, such as Greece and Portugal. The specific objectives are: • Increase the response of higher education with regard to content relevant to HA • Promoting research by teachers and students regarding HA • Develop teachers' pedagogical strategies • Strengthen community involvement

Population growth, increased prosperity and rapid urbanization are bringing global demand for natural resources to a point increasingly beyond the Earth’s carrying capacity. Together with climate change, those pressures are causing significant environmental degradation in many parts of the planet. Latin America is particularly vulnerable. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute urgent calls and drivers for higher education to be part of future generations of engaged citizens aware of their role in creating fair and healthy societies. The Change the Climate project addresses three main needs: environmental management at all levels of higher education activities, integration of environmental management with sustainability strategies and institutional quality management, and customized strategies for sustainability in education. The project’s main goal is to increase Latin-American University’s contribution to Sustainable Development, through the implementation of environmental systematic practices and quality processes in alignment with the UN SDGs, improving the management and operations of higher education institutions.  The project will deliver tools and guides for environmental impact analysis and SDGs mapping in campus operations and educational activities. An environmental management system will be implemented in each partner university decreasing their environmental impact; sustainability awareness will be assessed thoughout the academic communities; strategies for sustainability in higher education will be developed for curricula improvement; and a common open online course on sustainability will be created in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The project’s impact will reach stakeholders beyond the project partnership at local, regional and national levels contributing to behavioural change for sustainable futures.

This project, supported by Portugal 2020 funds, aims to support BRU-Iscte institutional capacities in submitting applications to European competitive funding, namely within the Horizon 2020 programme. With this support, BRU-Iscte has drafted a strategic plan for 2019-2022 with regards to the submission of applications to competitive European funding schemes in areas of key interest for BRU research activities.