BEAD – Bridging Education Across the Danube

Project ROBG00271 is co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg VI-A Romania–Bulgaria Programme. The total project budget is 269 267 EUR, of which 215 413,59 EUR represents EU funding.

BEAD – Bridging Education Across the Danube is a cross-border initiative that tackles educational and economic disparities in the regions of Silistra (Bulgaria) and Călărași (Romania). The project’s main goal is to improve access to quality, inclusive, and practical education through modern infrastructure and hybrid learning opportunities. It aims to bridge gaps in essential skills like digital literacy, green competences, and languages, making education more relevant to the current job market.

In practical terms, BEAD delivers several key results:

• Two collaborative learning labs, one in Silistra and one in Călărași, equipped with modern technology and designed to support joint training, research, and real-time interaction.
• A shared cross-border educational programme focused on developing soft skills, digital literacy, and green competences, covering the topics of Erasmus+ and The New European Bauhaus and offered both in-person and online to ensure accessibility.
• A digital toolkit containing open-access resources on sustainable practices, innovation, and digital tools tailored for local learners and businesses.
• Pilot trainings and study visits for students to local enterprises, allowing learners to gain hands-on experience and build cross-border connections with peers, educators, and employers.

The project targets a broad group of beneficiaries: universities and research institutions, who will implement and scale the joint curriculum; schools and training centers, who will join trainings and events; SMEs, who will contribute to and benefit from practical exchanges; NGOs and business support organisations, who will help link the educational efforts with labour market needs. Ultimately, BEAD empowers learners and educators alike to build a more connected, skilled, and future-ready Danube region. 

BRCC is the lead partner of the project and, as such, is responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and control of the implementation of the project's planned activities, and organises the work of the consortium.

In addition, the Chamber will carry out the following activities:

• Organisation of the production of the digital toolkit with green, digital, innovative, and sustainable practices in rural areas.
• Organisation of three in-person pilot trainings (each for 15 participants) in three different locations in the cross-border region – one in Silistra and two in other remote rural areas.
• Organisation of a study visit for learners (10 people, mixed group of Romanians and Bulgarians) to Bulgarian companies in the cross-border region, aimed at conducting demonstrations and gaining practical experience.