A diverse team, a variety of expertise, united by the same ambition.
Meet the partnership – a group of inspiring actors dedicated to guiding and empowering the next generation of young women across Europe in the ICT sector
Countries
Partners
University
Women’s Association
Schools
Research Association
SME
Coordinator
INOVA+ is a leading Portuguese company in managing international projects within the fields of innovation, education, training, and research. With 27 years of experience, the company employs over 120 consultants across various offices in Portugal, Brussels, Heidelberg, and Warsaw. INOVA+ is a major player in EU-funded projects, coordinating more than 40, and has a strong focus on areas like pedagogical development, digital skills, green skills, and soft skills. INOVA+ provides a wide range of services, including project management, proposal writing, research, training program development, and event planning. It is also a member of several European networks and has coordinated more than 100 European projects, fostering collaboration across research centers, universities, municipalities, and businesses.
AEJE has around 3000 students, 128 classes, 5 schools. Regarding teachers and staff, we have around 280 teachers and 100 staff AEJE has students from kindergarten up to Secondary Level. It also has adult education. AEJE develops the national curriculum with special emphasis on Science, Arts, Sports, and disable students, as well as Professional Vet courses focused on ICT, Programming, Sports, wooden furniture and construction design, photography, and communication, digital service and creative ceramics amongst others. Several projects related to Technology, Human Rights, Future Careers, Science and Experiencing, bullying, Steam, transition between kindergarten and primary school, Empowering Teachers, Building Robots, (…) inside classrooms; The Best experiences of teaching and Learning; developing soft skills for VET courses students were developed. Also Learning English in the Primary School as a first Language and an Innovative Plan approved by the Portuguese Ministry of Education. AEJE has been certificate as Certificate Centre for VET Courses for students and teachers, with eTwinning-School Label.
Basque International Research Association (BIRA) is a non-profit, interdisciplinary organization that promotes scientific research and training with direct societal impact. It fosters national and international partnerships, conducts studies across social, educational, techn ological, and scientific domains, and develops evidence-based educational programs and materials. BIRA’s members are experts in research methodologies, educational technologies, and professional training in vulnerable contexts, with extensive experience leading international projects and publishing on inclusion, innovation, and ICT.
Operating locally and globally, BIRA engages diverse communities across gender, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic backgrounds, with a focus on those facing structural disadvantages. Its work spans research, education, mediation, impact analysis, and dissemination. BIRA also organizes two annual international conferences—CIISE and CINTE—which attract hundreds of experts and facilitate broad access to cutting-edge knowledge in social inclusion and educational technologies.
Haaga-Helia is a strongly business orientated university of applied sciences in Finland with five campuses. Through education, research and development, we prepare professionals for business and services. We focus on co-operation, entrepreneurship, innovation and internationality. We are a community of 11 000 students, 700 specialists and 47 000 alumni.
Haaga-Helia School of Professional Teacher Education provides professional teacher, special needs teacher, and guidance counselor education with a strong link between theory and practice. Our work combines teaching, development, and research in pedagogy, digitalization, and the future of education. In LeadHER, we are responsible for the needs assessment and resource mapping work package.
Centro San Viator, located in Sopuerta (Bizkaia, Spain), is a diocesan educational institution founded in 1952 that serves over 1,000 students. It offers a full academic pathway from early childhood through high school, as well as a wide range of vocational education and training (VET) degrees at basic, intermediate, and higher levels in fields such as electronics, automation, mechanics, and vehicle maintenance. Recognized as a reference center in the Basque Country, it emphasizes innovation, environmental responsibility, entrepreneurship, and cooperation, while maintaining strong links with industry and international projects.
Know and Can Ltd, established in 2013, is a licensed Center for Career Guidance in Bulgaria and accredited in adult education. It offers training for teachers, trainers, youths, and adults, participating in national and European educational projects. Certified with ISO 9001:2015, Know and Can Ltd provides formal and non-formal training, career counselling, vocational guidance, and educational consulting. The organization emphasizes equal opportunities and diversity, promoting female participation in ICT and engineering. The experienced staff engaged in various projects on citizenship, leadership, entrepreneurship, and equal opportunities. Dedicated to social and civil skill development, non-formal education, and career counselling, Know and Can Ltd also enhances educational staff qualifications. Since 2023, it has been part of the European Alliance for Micro-credentials within the MicroVET project, promoting micro-credentials across the EU, enhancing its role in education and workforce development.
93rd school was established in 1963. Later the school was transformed into a secondary school, in 1992 adopted the name of our prominent linguist – academician Alexander Teodorov-Balan. Today 93 SU is a school with traditions, oriented to make its graduates worthy members of the pan-European family. We strive for positivity and creative scope. This means breaking traditions through the prism of a new way of thinking, which implies the creation of a new consciousness. Each one is a part of the whole! The direction in which we must go is towards uniting the efforts of everyone in order to realize projects. In recent years, we have emphasized STEM subjects, including ICT. By developing the LeadHER project, we aim to increase interest in ICT among girls, motivate them to train and develop in this field in the hope that some of them will choose a career in ICT in future.
UMAR – Alternative and Response Women’s Association
Founded in 1976, UMAR is a feminist NGO dedicated to promoting gender equality and defending women’s rights in Portugal. With a strong national presence, UMAR has support centres for women survivors of domestic violence and manages shelters that provide safety and empowerment. Since 2004, it has also been implementing pioneering school-based prevention programmes on gender-based violence and since 2018, developing Erasmus+ projects. The organisation provides certified training to professionals on gender equality, education, women’s health, social work and justice. Actively contributes to public policy at national and international levels.
In the LeadHER project, UMAR brings decades of experience in feminist advocacy, prevention of gender based violence and empowerment, ensuring that project actions are rooted in community practice, social justice, and the promotion of women’s leadership.