Abstract:

As Europe and other regions move toward greener and more digital economies, education is increasingly expected to prepare young people for the twin transition. This calls for the development of practical green competences, foundational AI literacy, digital skills, and critical thinking for responsible participation in a data-driven society. At the same time, schools need to strengthen their own capacity through updated pedagogy, accessible digital resources, and sustained teacher professional development.

This paper presents Erasmus+ project EAIEN, a digital learning intervention for secondary education that integrates environmental sustainability education with AI-enabled learning. The intervention supports student development in three connected areas: green skills, including sustainability awareness, systems thinking, resilience, and climate-responsible practices; digital skills, such as information literacy, data-informed decision-making, effective use of digital technologies, and safe engagement; and AI literacy, including understanding what AI is, where it is used, how it informs decisions, and what limitations, risks, and ethical issues it involves. Beyond student learning, EAIEN also strengthens school capacity by equipping teachers with competences in green-skills pedagogy, AI integration in teaching, digital learning delivery, and the pedagogical use and co-creation of Open Educational Resources (OERs).

Methodologically, EAIEN combines resource development, teacher training, community building, and classroom piloting. A central outcome is an OER hub dedicated to green skills and AI literacy, enriched with AI-supported learning activities and educator guidance. Designed for blended and online delivery, the hub promotes accessibility, adaptability, and reuse across school contexts. Its resources include teacher guidance on integrating AI into teaching, practical classroom activities, student training materials for meaningful and responsible AI use in learning, and examples of learner-created OERs developed with AI tools. In parallel, the project establishes a collaboration platform that connects educators and students across countries, supporting the exchange of learning designs, classroom practices, and good practices.

Project results are already being applied in schools in Romania and Turkey, with very positive feedback, while teacher exchanges further support cross-context learning. The intervention is piloted with students in both countries through activity-based learning scenarios that promote inquiry, reflection, exploration, and problem-solving around real-world sustainability challenges, while introducing AI concepts and digital tools in age-appropriate and pedagogically guided ways.

EAIEN’s innovation lies in its integrated focus on green competences and AI literacy at school level, supported by an ecosystem designed for scale through open resources, AI-enhanced pedagogy, structured teacher training, and transnational collaboration. Expected outcomes include improved student competences in sustainability, digital literacy, AI literacy, and critical thinking; increased teacher confidence and instructional capacity; and stronger school readiness for the green and digital transition. By linking high-quality open resources with practical pedagogy and sustained collaboration, EAIEN offers a transferable model for education systems seeking durable and scalable approaches to sustainability and AI education.

Keywords:

Green skills, digital skills, AI skills, twin transition.