"The 24-month ELEVATE project proposes a hybrid training and certification environment, which integrates the application software to be taught in the pedagogical-documented educational process, allowing the software development SMEs to deliver innovative e-training services and to address (more than adequately) the needs of their business partners and customers. Thus, the ELEVATE project addresses the business needs of the software development SMEs participating in the project in the field of application software training through their business partners and customers networks. As the software development SMEs have restricted resources to allocate in research and development (R&D) activities with regard to secondary corporate objectives, including e-training in the produced application software products, the proposed ELEVATE project provides participating SMEs with potentials and financial support to outsource a critical mass of research and technological development (RTD) activities to industrial companies and universities with larger research capacity and proved, successful experience in R&D, European-wide initiatives. The ELEVATE RTD performers will undertake significant research activities on behalf of the participating SMEs and deliver technology know-how in the fields of e-learning, educational content aggregation and material creation, learning management system and application software integration, and pedagogic standards and models. Led by CAS Software AG, the consortium consists of 8 partners from 7 EC member and associated countries (Germany, Belgium, Swiss, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Turkey), including software development SMEs, industrial companies and universities."