Being able to understand, express, and communicate emotions is widely recognized as a fundamental competence. For the younger generation entering the professional market, this is particularly relevant as, in this context, emotions are managed and communicated in ways (and channels) that are different from what they are used to and that can easily lead to misunderstandings. Therefore, it is important to analyze how young people deal with, understand, and interpret emotions, particularly in the context of a professional career where the ability to dialogue with different people and how to get around problems in a healthy and resilient way is essential. This analysis will allow one to design and create tools that allow the younger generation to improve their emotional intelligence and competence. This article introduces the League of Emotions Learners (LoEL) project, an innovative initiative that, through a game app, develops the emotional competence and intelligence of young people. The article then presents the results obtained in the initial validation that led to the positive understanding of its impact.

Sustainable natural resource management is a high priority in the 21st century as it plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change and preventing some of its consequences like loss of biodiversity, land degradation, desertification, and the exhaustion of natural resources. This concern is reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which emphasize, among other factors, sustainable cities and communities, responsible production and consumption, and climate action. Achieving sustainable natural resource management begins with raising awareness and educating the next generation. Therefore, it is essential to develop educational initiatives that prepare young people to become responsible and proactive adults in promoting environmental sustainability across industries and communities. Additionally, these initiatives should develop critical and analytical thinking skills, nurture innovative mindsets for creating environmentally sound solutions, and enhance the ability to collaborate within multidisciplinary teams. The NATURE project addressed these needs by designing and developing a serious educational game that fosters this set of skills. The results of the pilot testing show that the game is an effective tool and contributes to the education and awareness of the younger generation.

The adoption of games in the classroom has been studied from different angles, such as the readiness of teachers to use games or the barriers encountered. However, actual classroom practices with regard to the use of games have not been examined on a larger scale. With this research, we gave teachers a voice to report on their actual practices. We examined the current practices of a large sample of Estonian teachers (N = 1258, which constitutes almost 9% of the total Estonian teacher population) in primary and secondary education in 2017. We found that most of the teachers use games on a regular basis. Mainly, they use the games for motivation and alternation, but they also use them to consolidate and teach new skills. While awareness and motivation are high and experimentation on using games is widespread, practices appear fragmentary and not widely sustained. As a result of this study, we suggest the creation of an evidence base and a better integration of social support structures into teacher education. This is the first large-scale study to look into Estonian teacher’s actual practices, and although Estonian teachers have relatively high autonomy and technical skills, we believe that these results and further investigations are applicable in other contexts as well.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the sustainability of higher education as millions of students were forced out of school, shifting to online learning instead of in-class education. In the Erasmus+ project, Virtual Presence in Higher Education Hybrid Learning Delivery (VIE), we were concerned with the level of readiness and the ability of higher-education students and teachers to face this changing situation. This paper reports the results of a survey which assessed the experiences that students and teachers had during the pandemic and, in particular, the development of soft skills through active learning methodologies. The project results show that there are still some unmet needs, but existing digital technologies, tools, and platforms already provide valuable solutions both for students and teachers that ensure a continuation of high-quality learning experiences.