The Role of Erasmus+ Project Leaders' Digital Competences in Sustaining European Transnational Cooperation During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the article is to answer the question whether digital competences can support Erasmus+ project leaders in sustaining their transnational cooperation, and if yes: to what extent? The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great threat to the implementation and sustainability of transnational cooperation projects, especially the ones based on international mobility of its participants. This is especially the case of Erasmus+ which is the flagship European program enhancing cooperation between leaders of educational, academic, vocational, industrial and business sectors. Consequently, there is an urgent need to determine what factors can contribute to sustaining this type of cooperation. For this purpose, this research concentrates on Erasmus+ project leaders from Poland who implement their transnational cooperation projects, and investigates how their digital competences and other contextual factors connected with these competences may influence their performance in the realization of projects during COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion on digital competences as remedial tools for international cooperation during COVID-19 pandemic is placed here in the broader context of competences 4.0, industry 4.0, and relational and network approach to management of modern organizations.