In today's rapidly evolving world, the need for continuous learning has never been more critical. The ContinueUP project is at the forefront of this educational revolution, integrating cutting-edge digital technologies to transform lifelong learning. Aligned with the ECER 2025 theme, "Charting the Way Forward: Education, Research, Potentials, and Perspectives, ContinueUP explores how digital tools can elevate educational outcomes and support ongoing personal and professional growth. Teachers are key drivers of change in Europe’s education and society, playing a pivotal role in successfully implementing the European Commission’s Digital Education Action Plan. 

This requires teachers to adopt a mindset of self-directed professional development, seeking out learning opportunities and collaboration with peers. A strong continuum between initial teacher education (ITE) and continuous professional development (CPD) initiatives is crucial for teachers to develop this mindset. This continuum remains underdeveloped in most European countries, with limited links between ITE and CPD initiatives.

To help teachers succeed in an ever-changing environment, ITE needs to prepare them for continuous learning and collaboration. However, most ITE programs still focus on subject content and general and subject-related pedagogy with little attention to developing teachers’ capacity for professional learning and collaboration. Similarly, CPD activities are often delivered as isolated events with few links to ITE and without a sense of progression across a teacher’s career and learning journey.

A stronger continuum between ITE and CPD is vital, as it empowers teachers to grow personally and professionally throughout their careers. The combination of initial preparation and ongoing development ensures that educators are equipped to meet the evolving demands of the education landscape, deliver innovative teaching practices, and ultimately, positively impact the lives of their students, thus creating a thriving and dynamic educational environment that benefits both teachers and learners alike.

To achieve these objectives, ContinueUP establishes a network of ITE and CPD providers, coming together to co-construct and deliver an education and training program. This program comprises a blended ITE module and a CPD Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). By fostering collaboration between these providers, the project aims to strengthen the bridge between initial education and continuous development for teachers.

The ContinueUP project sets forth a comprehensive approach to address the challenges faced by teachers across the ITE and CPD continuum. Its key objectives are:

· Develop teachers' capacity for professional engagement using digital tools.

· Facilitate continuity and clear connections between ITE and CPD provision.

· Cultivate mobility experiences and collaborative cultures among teacher educators.

· Enhance the quality and cost-efficiencies in the development of new ITE and CPD solutions.

· Offer policy recommendations for better recognition of international teachers' CPD.

With ContinueUP, three universities (University of Zagreb, University of Lisbon, and University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid), two Ministries of Education from Croatia and Spain (INTEF), two regional CPD providers from Portugal (Regional Department for Education, Science and Technology of the Autonomous Region of Madeira & CFAE Póvoa de Varzim) and European Schoolnet (as coordinator of the project) are paving the way for the continuous professional development of teachers across Europe. By bridging the gap between ITE and CPD, fostering collaboration among education providers, and investing in teachers' professional growth, the project not only enriches the lives of both teachers and students but also cultivates a thriving educational ecosystem that fosters innovation, resilience, and progress. Together, as a collaborative network, ContinueUP is empowering European teachers to create a brighter and more enlightened future for generations to come.

By working together, initial teacher education (ITE) and continuous professional development (CPD) providers can learn a lot and complement each other. The ContinueUP project encourages ITE and CPD providers to engage in a process of working together to co-create and co-deliver a continuous teacher education program. The program consists of two parts: 1. an ITE Module aiming to develop professional engagement using digital resources, taught as an elective course at the university. 2. a CPD MOOC that picks up professional engagement, where the ITE Module has left off. The co-creation and co-delivery will achieve three things: 1. By working together, the ITE content will be better linked to the CPD content, promoting the continuity of teachers’ professional development journey. 2. The program will be cost-effective because ITE and CPD providers from different countries will benefit from each other’s expertise. 3. ITE and CPD providers will develop collaborative cultures. They will draw lessons from their co-creation and set an example for other educators, encouraging them to start similar collaborations. As soon as the project started in 2023, partners understood the need to operationalise co-creation, co-delivery, and continuity. This was achieved by organizing the collaboration across different dimensions: 1) internal institutional collaboration (e.g. collaboration between colleagues inside a university) 2) national collaboration across the divide of ITE and CPD providers, 3) international collaboration between the same type of provider profile (e.g. ITE providers), and 4) international collaboration across the divide of ITE and CPD providers. To organise the work in the most meaningful and efficient way, partners started the process by agreeing on a list of common principles for co-creation, co-delivery and continuity. If partners conclude in these meetings that it is necessary, their benchmark will be updated. At the end of the project, partners will develop a co-creation guide, based on the final form of the benchmark and the insights they obtain by reflecting on their co-creation work.

ContinueUP offers a promising model for redesigning teacher education across the continuum of ITE and CPD. By building a collaborative network of ITE and CPD providers, the project facilitates the joint development and delivery of a blended ITE module and a CPD MOOC focusing on digital skills development. The project outputs, including the curriculum for the ITE module and the MOOC curriculum, represent the culmination of an ongoing co-construction process involving ITE and CET providers from Croatia, Spain, and Portugal. These documents will serve as valuable resources for other institutions wishing to implement similar digital literacy programmes for teachers. The presentation will focus on analysing the perspectives, views, and points of view of those involved. The curriculum for the ITE modules, developed jointly by the Universities of Zagreb, Madrid and Lisbon, provides a framework for ITE institutions to integrate the development of digital competences into their programmes. Similarly, the MOOC curriculum, jointly developed by training providers, including ministries of education and regional training centres, provides a template for training institutions to offer high-quality professional development in this area. ContinueUP's collaborative approach and focus on digital literacy are critical to equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the 21st century classroom. By fostering a stronger link between ITE and CPD, the project contributes to a more dynamic and responsive teacher education landscape, ultimately improving the quality of education for all learners Teachers are the main drivers of change in European education and society as a whole. They play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the European Commission’s Digital Agenda That’s why the project ContinueUP supports the effective continued development of European teachers throughout their entire career to boost the attractiveness of the teaching profession.

- Anna, P., Arancibia, V., Breeding, E., David, E. (2022). Breeding, E., Teacher Professional Development around the World: The Gap between Evidence and Practice. The World Bank Research Observer, Volume 37, Issue 1, February 2022, Pages 107-136, https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkab006 - Srinivasacharlu, A. “Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of Teacher Educators in 21st Century.” Shanlax International Journal of Education, vol. 7, no. 4, 2019, pp. 29–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34293/ education.v7i4.624. - Tyagi, Chanchal. “Continuing Professional Development of Teacher Educators: Challenges and Initiatives.” Shanlax International Journal of Education, vol. 9, no. 2, 2021, pp. 117-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34293/ education.v9i2.3634 .