The Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) has received a grant of 250,000 euros under the 2025 Erasmus+ call for proposals from Key Action 2 (KA220-ADU) to advance the European project, “Prevention of Technology-assisted Child Sexual Abuse through Digital Education” (ProtectED), which is co-funded by the European Commission through the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE).

This project is being coordinated by the UMH and directed by Dr. David Pineda, who is the principal investigator and also director of the Unit of Forensic Psychology at the Center for Applied Psychology. Other individuals on the project’s investigative team include Dr. José Antonio Piqueras Rodríguez, Director of the Center for Applied Psychology; and Dr. Victoria Soto Sanz, both of whom are members of the PSYKE-UMH Research Group.

This initiative places the UMH at the helm of an international consortium committed to the protection of children within digital environments. Other participants include Knowledge Dimension S.L. (Spain); Paidagogiko Institouto Kyprou (Greece); Reményt a Gyermekeknek Közhasznú Egyesület (Hungary); Uclan Cyprus Limited (Cyprus); and Xenios Polis (Greece).

Along these lines, the UMH is hosting the project’s kick-off meeting on March 11 and 12, with representatives from the six partner entities participating. During this meeting, the first phases of implementation are going to be coordinated, including the advancement of training materials, technological architecture of the platform, the design of the intelligent user classification system, and the piloting and transfer strategies at European levels.

ProtectED aims to develop the first European adaptive e-learning platform focused on preventing technology-facilitated child sexual abuse. This project is integrating scientific evidence, advanced instructional design, and artificial intelligence to afford specialized training to parents, teachers—both active and in training—as well as professionals who work with minors. Through an intelligent personalization system, this platform adapts content to user characteristics, prior knowledge, and professional profiles to strengthen their preventive skills and ability to detect and respond to online risks.

The project commits to an approach based on scientific evidence and the use of smart technologies to improve preventive digital literacy and strengthen European capabilities of responding to online risks affecting children. The awarding of this funding and the kick-meeting at the UMH reinforce the university’s commitment to applied research with social impact, international cooperation, and the protection of children’s well-being in digital environments.