University of Bologna
Local/regional/EU, inside the partnership: all partners shared the materials produced and contributed to their development and implementation. In particular, partner schools have designed both an informative game on NPS-related risks and attitudes and teaching/learning strategies for involving students in collecting and disseminating information on the topic. All partners are now deploying the collected materials and texts to expand and adapt them to different situations.
Local/regional/EU, outside the partnership: A Winter School (Blended Intensive Programme, BIP) has taken place in 2024, where university students from Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic and Italy, not previously involved in the project, came into contact with it, and had the chance to evaluate it, to give suggestions on further development, and bring back home news of the results to colleagues, relatives and authorities. As the name implies, part of the activities took place online, and part in presence, during a full-immersion experience in Italy, April 15-19, 2024
Activity: Information on the project and availability of all open materials, survey, syllabus, textbook; Channel: project’s webpage, https://ines.unibo.it/.
Activity: Information on NPS and teaching strategies and learning paths, application in practice; Channel: direct teaching activity within the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programmes in Pharmacy (international programme, Drug Analysis I, Monitoring of Pharmacological Drugs and Doping Agents, Medicinal and Toxicological Chemistry); Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology (Drug Analysis I, Analytical-Toxicological Approach to Drugs of Abuse); Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences (Chemical-Toxicological Analysis, Analysis of Phytoderivatives); Resource Economics and Sustainable Development (Environmental and Toxicological Chemistry). Total, about 300 students.
Activity: Dissemination to the international scientific community; Channel: Scientific communications to symposia; Details:
1. Roberto Mandrioli, Michele Protti, Stefano Girotti, Camelia L. Draghici, Fernando Remiao, Ana I. Morales, Premysl Mladenka, Luca Ferrari, Laura Mercolini, CANNABIS CHEMISTRY IN THE EUROPEAN SCENARIO OF HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES: A DIVERSIFIED NETWORK OF OPPORTUNITIES. ACS Fall 2022 Congress – Sustainability in a changing world. Chicago, IL, USA & Hybrid, 21-25 August 2022.
2. Stefano Girotti, Michele Protti, Laura Mercolini, Luca Ferrari, NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES (NPS): EDUCATION AND RISK PREVENTION THROUGH INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGICAL MODELS FOR STUDENTS. Chimia 2024 Congress - New trends in applied chemistry. Constanta, Romania, 30 May - 1 June 2024.
Activity: Information to the general public, civil society, high-school students; Channel: “ParliamoneOra” (“LetsSpeakAboutItNow”) association, lectures and seminars on NPS and how the project can help schools, families and authorities tackle the problem.
International seminar to share the result of the Survey on the perception of NPS from students and teachers, 25 May 2023, 10:00 - 12:00 (CET TIME), Sala Riunioni, Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, or via Teams.
SIPED 2023, La formazione degli insegnanti: problemi, prospettive e proposte per una scuola di qualità e aperta a tutti e tutte, INES. Proposte didattiche per la prevenzione dall’abuso di nuove droghe nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado – Luca Ferrari (Università degli Studi di Bologna), https://www.siped.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-01-25-Siped-Convegno-Nazionale-Bologna-Sesioni-Parallele-Programma.pdf
Aifref 2022, International conference, Inclusion in the Cities of Education Challenges, Cultures and Resources. JUNE 30 - JULY 2, 2022 (Venezia, Italy) - Presentation of INES project
Sirem 2022, Apprendere con le tecnologie tra presenza e distanza, Roma, 31/08/2022 - 02/09/2022, Book of abstract, https://www.sirem.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/boa-2022-08-12.pdf - L. Ferrari, L. Mercolini, R. Mandrioli, E. Pacetti, R. Biolcati, A. Soriani, M. Nenzioni, S. D’Ambrosio, INES. Risorse e strategie didattiche, mediate dal digitale, per la prevenzione dall’abuso di nuove droghe nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado.
Mircea Cristea
At the High School Fair organized by the Brasov County School Inspectorate on the occasion of the presentation of the educational offer of the county high schools the visitors to the stand allocated to the school (eight graders and their parents) were presented the partnerships of our educational unit as well as the INES project, the role of this project in educating young people in order to prevent new drugs NPS correlated with the proposed objectives, activities and expected results of the project. The event took place on May 8-9-10, 2024. Also at the county level, on May 13, the Made for Europe 2024 County Stage Competition was organized by the Brașov School Inspectorate, were our project was presented by our students involved in the project. The students of our school were the ones who presented the project, but also the management of the school and the project implementation team. The people involved in the Contest and the ones that came to our school for Multiplier Event showed a lot of interest in the project due to the subject and due to the impact that NPS could have on young people.
SwingTree
The project was disseminated mainly in Belgian schools and universities, and among associations active in the field of NPS prevention. Dissemination activities were mainly carried out via mailing campaigns to schools and associations invited to the multiplyer event. We have not yet obtained any quantifiable feedback. But we are planning a follow-up campaign in the first half of 2025
University of Porto
There were many activities of dissemination of the project results, namely the below audiences. Higher Education Students and Teachers to assure the awareness of the audience for the problem related to the use of these drugs of abuse and to assure that this information would be applied in the future activities of the higher education students:
· Oral presentation in National Congress: “New Psychoactive Substances: How and Why Do They Emerge? Challenges and Approaches” in “III Jornadas Científicas de Ciências Forenses Explorando As Fronteiras Das Ciências Forenses: Um Olhar Sobre O Estado Atual”, Porto (Portugal), 10 April 2024: https://jornadasiucs.cespu.pt/programa-das-iii-jornadas-de-ciencias-forenses/
· Online-class “Principles of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics applied to drugs of abuse” in “INES Winter School (Blended Intensive Programme)”, on-line, 25 January 2024: https://ines.unibo.it/course/view.php?id=15
· Online-class “New Psychoactive Substances, Toxic Effects and Risk Assessment” in “INES Winter School (Blended Intensive Programme)”, 15 April 2024: https://ines.unibo.it/course/view.php?id=15
· Theoretical and Practical classes in these courses of University of Porto: “Integrated Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences”, “Master in Analytical, Clinical and Forensic Toxicology”, “Master in Forensic Sciences”, “PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences”, “PhD in Forensic Sciences” and “PhD Experimental and clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology”
· Oral presentation in National Congress: Veiga, A., & Remião, F. (2024). Combinando recursos abertos e livres e investigação-ação: relato de dois estudos em Toxicologia. In E. Esteves, D. Estêvão, J. Monteiro, & M. Correia (Eds.), Livro de Atas do 9.o Congresso Nacional de Práticas Pedagógicas no Ensino Superior (CNaPPES 2023) (pp. 21–26). Universidade do Algarve. https://doi.org/10.34623/kf51-wf33
· Poster in International Congress, “Pharmacy Education by using open educational resources produced in collaborative erasmus+ projects”, in “European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy”, Malta, 11-13 May: https://eafponline.eu/conferences/past-meetings/eafp-annual-conference-2022-valletta-malta/
High School students and teachers to assure the awareness of the audience for the problem related to the use of these drugs of abuse and to prevent their use for this target group.
· Talk to students and teachers in High School: “Innovative teaching and learning paths for the prevention of new drugs abuse (INES)”, High School “Rodrigues de Freitas”, Porto, 17 May 2024
We utilized extensively all the material produced in the INES Project not only in the classes of the Higher Education Courses where the Teachers work but also in talks at high schools, as well as at National and International Congresses related to educational resources and Toxicology. Most of the feedback highlighted interest in the subject, accompanied by surprise at the real challenges associated with the use of NPS. Indeed, not only was the majority of the audience unaware of these substances, but they were also uninformed about their growing prevalence among youth and the associated health problems.
Salvemini
We have disseminated the results of the project first internally to our scholastic community and in particular to the science department for the construction of new and future routes. We also shared the project with a school in our territory. The organization of the Multiplier event at our institute has allowed us to spread the project also to local law enforcement and the municipality of our town. The international scope of the project will be further ensured by sharing all material produced as final output. Our partnership has carried out several outreach activities during the completion of the project and plans other activities to ensure the sustainability and broad impact of our work. We have created digital resources shared by the department. The project will be carried out by the Institute’s scientific and technical staff, who are responsible for the project. The Multiplier event (April 2024) was a dissemination modality for the project. Webinars and online workshops for teachers may be organised to disseminate further the knowledge gained from the project. We intend to integrate the project resources into our Institute’s regular Health Education curriculum to ensure long-term impact. Feedback from teachers and students was extremely positive for the interdisciplinary and interactive nature of the activities and increased awareness of NPS risks.
Zarco
We started by disseminating the project results inside our school community, showing them the research done, the survey results, the promotional video, the final products created by students and teachers and the outcomes to be used whenever needed (QR-Code with the INES MOODLE path taken, Handbook and INES Game). We have had in mind all subjects but gave special attention to the Physics & Chemistry as well as the Citizenship Development teachers. The Project outcomes were also shared among the School Community through teachers, school social media and shared physically with INES QR-Code.
We also disseminated the project results with local/regional entities that deal with youngsters and that through our INES results could address the topic with a concrete, truthful, fun, informative and scientific approach. We are talking about Sports, Cultural and Social Associations in Matosinhos. The local MEDIA was also invited to come to Zarco and do some reports on INES Project.
This was how we disseminated INES:
- 12th October 22 – Presenting INES to Parents and Zarco Teachers & Staff (ca 80 people);
- Sharing INES in Zarco social media and Local newspapers;
- March 23 - making the Promotional Film on INES and sharing it with the local /regional community.
- 13th December 22 – INES activities balance report seminar at Zarco Auditorium (Teachers and Students involved (ca 70 people);
- 14th to 19th October 23 – Zarco participated at Erasmus Days activities with INES at European level;
- 29th February 24 – Outcomes dissemination Seminar at Zarco for Parents, Teachers, Staff & Students (ca 80 people);
- 8th May 24 – Visit promoted by INES to the University of Porto (Pharmacy Faculty) with the students involved (ca 30 students);
- 17th May 24 – Disseminating INES at Escola Secundária Rodrigues de Freitas in Porto (ca 100 students);
- 3rd June 24 – Disseminating INES with 4 neighbouring secondary schools at Zarco (ca 60 people-teachers & students);
- 19th November 24 – Multiplier Event at Zarco (ca 90 people);
- December 24 – Sharing all the above-mentioned outcomes with Matosinhos Town Hall, the Municipality Youth Department, Educational Health Local Unit, Regional and National Councils of Portuguese Public Schools Directors/Headmasters, AFS Portugal, Local Cultural and Recreative Associations and Local Sports Associations.
-January 25 – Dissemination of all the INES outcomes with Zarco Citizenship and Development Coordinator to be shared among all Zarco secondary students and the Zarco students involved in INES in order “to spread the word” among family and friends.
We disseminated INES activities through seminars and conferences, inside and outside our school. We visited other secondary schools nearby and showed them the process and the results. We shared the Final Handbook and Game among our teachers with no subject restriction. We published at our School social media all the information and outcomes. We also shared the Handbook and Game with the Local Health Unit so that they could use it in their future interactions with all the schools in Matosinhos. The Town Hall also had access to these final products, and they can be one of the disseminating entities among younger and older people. We are also planning to disseminate all the results mentioned above with the National Ministry of Education Office.
The feedback that we have had, so far, is very positive, encouraging and rewarding. People say that this topic (NPS) is something that had to be tackled and that INES has surely helped to build bridges and work on the prevention that everyone desires. An informed mind is the best way to attack this terrible growing problem, and we do feel that we are making a difference. The students involved will be the best “ambassadors” of our common message – a scientifically proven message that raises awareness. Prevention is the way!
All in all, it was really “a win-win situation” for everyone involved.
University of Transilvania (UNITBV)
International Conference Dissemination dissemination to the scientific community and PhD students at (inter)national level
VESA International Scientific Conference (4th edition) – Ethical Values in Nowaday Society Brasov, 4-6 May 2023,
Presentation: Ethical Dilemmas In Approaching The New Psychoactive Substances Subject In Educational Projects; Authors: D. Perniu, C. Salca-Rotaru, M.E. Cocuz, C. Draghici (Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania); https://drept.unitbv.ro/images/VESA/BROSURA_VESA_2023_FINAL_2_mai_2023_FINAL_V2.pdf
International Conference ‘The culture of sustainable green urban development - technical, social and environmental challenges’ 25th of May, 2023, Timisoara, Romania
Presentation: Urban sustainability from the perspective of new psychoactive substances abuse prevention education; Authors: D. Perniu, C. Salca Rotaru, M. E. Cocuz, C. Draghici (Transilvania University of Brasov),
CHIMIA 2024 – New trends in Applied Chemistry, May 30 – June 1, 2024, Constanta, Romania
Poster presentation: New Psychoactive Substance Use: Perception by Students and Teachers; Authors: C. Bogatu, M. Covei, C. Salca Rotaru, M. E. Cocuz, C. Draghici, D. Perniu (Transilvania University of Brasov); https://fsai.univ-ovidius.ro/chimia2024/images/Program_Chimia2024.pdf
International project meetings:
29 – 30 August 2024, Velenje, Slovenia: project meeting - “Education for Plastic in a Circular and Climate Neutral Economy - Preventing Waste Ending Up into the Environment” participants from EU partner universities (not involved in INES project) and Slovenian company
16-20 September 2024, Sofia, Bulgaria: Training course “Multicultural Classrooms: Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Higher Education” participants from EU partner universities (not involved in INES project)
Punctual Dissemination activities dissemination to different actors:
24 March 2022, meeting of UTBV project team members with representative form National Antidrug Agency (location: UTBv)
24 September 2024 – Researchers’ Night, Transilvania University of Brasov Research Institute (dissemination towards high-school students and educators, as well as parents, at local/regional level)
Dissemination to students from Transilvania University of Brasov
March 2024 and April 2024 - Participation of 6 students to the BIP program
Specific subject in courses/ seminars (Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Monitoring, Communication, Didactics)
Visits of high school students and their teachers in Transilvania University (Product Design and Environment Faculty, in particular):
25 April 2024 – students from Emil Racovita College
22 November 2024 – students from Gheorghe Sincai Technological College, Targu Mures, Mures County
17 December 2024 – students from College for Agriculture and Food Industry, Prejmer, Brasov county (game presentation)
On-line dissemination:
At University level, the project was disseminated via the university website (https://unitbv.ro/cercetare/rezultatele-cercetarii/competitii-internationale, https://unitbv.ro/en/research/research-outputs/international-competitions).
Article in BRASOVUL METROPOLITAN (published in January 2025)
Book publication: An interdisciplinary and collaborative research-action experience to integrate the New Psychoactive Substances topic into upper secondary school curricula
Dissemination activities/ channels:
Poster presentation of some of the main results of the project
Short oral presentation of the project and its results followed by discussion
Poster presentation and face to face discussion with interested parties
Project presentation
Game play (walkthrough of the game that was developed in the frame of the project)
On line dissemination of the project itself and of the book
The dissemination activities were mainly performed face-to-face in order to maximize the impact. The feedback has been varied: there is a certain amount of interest in the subject of NPS (as different from illicit drugs), especially from the students. Those involved in teaching (at preuniversity or university level) expressed their interest in the new didactical approach in educational activities. The game and gamification introduction in regular teaching practice were extremely well received by students, teachers, and future teachers. Best feedback from the students has been when they were actively involved in the creation of materials about NPS prevention (e.g. during the final stage of the BIP) or when they were presented the info about NPS / INES project in an interactive way (e.g. high-school students who played the INES game on their phone during the visit in UTBv).
The participation of the Master students in the BIP has been a resounding success as the (MSc and PhD) students involved contributed to the creation of dissemination materials not only during the BIP, but also afterwards.
Further dissemination activities
Agerpress (Press National Agency)
INES - Platforma europeană pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri, dezvoltată cu ajutorul cadrelor didactice și al studenților Universității Transilvania din Brașov (INES - European Platform for Drug Prevention, developed with the help of teachers and students of Transilvania University of Brașov) https://agerpres.ro/comunicate/2025/01/21/comunicat-de-presa---universitatea-transilvania-din-brasov--1414663
amosnews.ro (news agency, national level)
INES – Platforma europeană pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri (INES – European Platform for Drug Prevention) https://www.amosnews.ro/ines-platforma-europeana-pentru-prevenirea-consumului-de-droguri/
Educatieprivata.ro (news in the field of education, national level)
Resurse gratuite pentru profesori, dedicate prevenirii consumului de droguri în rândul tinerilor (Free resources for teachers dedicated to preventing drug use among young people) https://www.educatieprivata.ro/resurse-gratuite-pentru-profesori-dedicate-prevenirii-consumului-de-droguri-in-randul-tinerilor/
Monitorul Expres (national and local news)
INES – Platformă europeană pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri, dezvoltată cu ajutorul cadrelor didactice și al studenților Universității Transilvania din Brașov (INES – European Platform for Drug Prevention, developed with the help of teachers and students of Transilvania University of Brașov) https://www.monitorulexpres.ro/2025/01/21/ines-platforma-europeana-pentru-prevenirea-consumului-de-droguri-dezvoltata-cu-ajutorul-cadrelor-didactice-si-al-studentilor-universitatii-transilvania-din-brasov/#google_vignette
Newsbv.ro (Brasov news)
Platformă europeană pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri, dezvoltată cu ajutorul cadrelor didactice și al studenților Universității Transilvania din Brașov (European platform for drug prevention, developed with the help of teachers and students of Transilvania University of Brașov) https://newsbv.ro/platforma-europeana-prevenirea-consumului-droguri-dezvoltata-ajutorul-cadrelor-didactice-studentilor-universitatii-transilvania-brasov/
Bună Ziua Brașov (Brasov news)
INES, un joc, nu o joacă despre droguri (INES, a game not play about drugs) https://bzb.ro/stire/ines-un-joc-nu-o-joaca-despre-droguri-a205654
radiobrasovfm.ro (news and radio Brasov)
Platformă cu lecții gratuite pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri (Platform with free lessons for drug prevention) https://www.radiobrasovfm.ro/stiri-din-brasov/platforma-cu-lectii-gratuite-pentru-prevenirea-consumului-de-droguri-id204670.html
brasov.net (Brasov news)
Platformă europeană pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri, dezvoltată cu ajutorul cadrelor didactice și al studenților Universității Transilvania din Brașov (European platform for drug prevention, developed with the help of teachers and students of Transilvania University of Brașov) https://www.brasov.net/platforma-europeana-pentru-prevenirea-consumului-de-droguri-dezvoltata-cu-ajutorul-cadrelor-didactice-si-al-studentilor-universitatii-transilvania-din-brasov/
brasovmetropolitan.ro (Brasov region, news)
Universitatea Transilvania din Brașov și cinci instituții de învățământ din Europa au creat platforma de instrumente inovative pentru prevenția consumului de substanțe psihoactive noi (NPS) în rândul tinerilor (Transilvania University of Brașov and five educational institutions in Europe have created a platform of innovative tools for the prevention of the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) among young people) https://brasovme tropolitan.ro/2025/01/universitatea-transilvania-din-brasov-si-cinci-institutii-de-invatamant-din-europa-au-creat-cele-mai-noi-instrumente-de-preventie-a-consumului-de-droguri-sintetice-noi-nps-in-randul-tinerilor/
Transilvania Expres (news, Brasov region)
INES – Platforma europeană pentru prevenirea consumului de droguri, dezvoltată cu ajutorul cadrelor didactice și al studenților Universității Transilvania din Brașov (INES – European Platform for Drug Prevention, developed with the help of teachers and students of Transilvania University of Brașov) https://mytex.ro/expres/ines-platforma-europeana-pentru-prevenirea-consumului-de-droguri-dezvoltata-cu-ajutorul-cadrelor-didactice-si-al-studentilor-universitatii-transilvania-din-brasov/
Transilvania University facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BKFApXaWL/?mibextid=wwXIfr
