2 December 2024 - Day 1

• Spain: Mikel Irujo, Regional Minister for Economic and Business Development for Navarra region  
• Belgium: Marie Suleau, La Recherche en Wallonie
  
• Poland:

DAY 1: DEFINING A FRAMEWORK OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR SMART SPECIALIZATION

What happened since the 2019 Report on Skills and Smart Specialization The role of Vocational Education and Training in Smart Specialization Strategies?
Vocational Education and Training (VET) can play a much bigger role in Smart Specialization Strategies than has so far been considered. This is because VET encompasses skill development as well as innovation diffusion and applied research – which together can have a more direct impact on sustainable economic growth, especially of less developed regions. VET also contributes to addressing the demographic challenges which Europe faces, responding to the needs for re-skilling and up-skilling through non-formal training and at different levels of formal VET.

Speaker: John Edwards, Secretary General, European Assosiation of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) 

Introducing the ETF Skills for Smart Specialization (S4S3) methodological approach
The ETF Skills for Smart Specialization (S4S3) methodological approach uses the national smart specialization process as its starting point. It enriches the analysis by exploring the implications of economic prioritization for VET and skills. The ETF methodology enables the identification of current, emerging and future skills needs and the ability of the education and training system to respond to those needs.

Speaker: Pirita Vuorinen, Senior Human Capital Development Expert, European Training Foundation  

• How S3 can contribute to accelerating the EU’s competitiveness 
• Presentation of MS/regional Smart Specialization Strategies (S3) 
• The role of stakeholder involvement

Moderator: Coen De Graaf, senior consultant, IDEA Consult 

Panelists:

• Richard Tuffs, Smart Specialization expert
• Krisztina Sóvágó, Head of S3 Project Management Office, National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDIO)
  

• gaps in skills development
• mismatches between labor supply and deman
• enhancing growth and competitiveness of SMEs though skills development

Moderator: Simone Rosini, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Speakers:

3 December 2024 - Day 2

DAY 2: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT FOR THE INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION OF EUROPE – IDENTIFYING ISSUES AND KEY MESSAGES

Recap and highlights of Day 1. Setting the scene for Day 2. Introducing the S3 CoP Observatory

Speaker: Coen De Graaf, senior consultant, IDEA Consult

• skills for Europe’s digitalization
• ESFRI strategies complement to SME strategies 
• skills development framework in European innovation that can be adopted in more and less developed regions 
• the role of deployment of research and innovation

• Simone Rosini, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
• Katalin Arany, project manager, Hungarian Center of Excellence for Molecular Medicine
• Lea Myyrylainen, Regional Director, EIT Digital

• Sectoral Skills Council
• Dual training
• Certified technician training
• Microcredentials

• Gergely Pálmai, Head of Department, Ministry of Culture and Innovation, Hungary

Breakout session 1. Identifying the challenges and bottlenecks (e.g.: green transition, industrial transition, digitalization) that may affect the directions and expected goals of skills development; identifying related target groups and other stakeholders.

Speakers:

• John Edwards, Secretary General, European Assosiation of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE)
• Péter Racskó, Head of Department for Strategy and Monitoring, National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDIO)
  

Breakout session 2. Identifying the types of skills that could support industrial transformation in Europe by providing adequate resources; identifying related target groups and other stakeholders

Speakers:

• Marko Hren, Head of Division, Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, Slovenia

Breakout session 3. Societal Challenge 6: Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies – How to valorize the outcomes of successful Cluster 2 projects in service of reaching S3 goals

Moderator: Mina Stareva, Deputy Head of Unit, DG RTD, European Commission

Speakers:

• Roberta Ricucci, Project Coordinator, project KIDS4ALLL
• Dr. Kimberly Couvson-Liebe, NCP, Scientific Officer, Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
  

The emerging needs for the fast-paced space sector call for competitive and up-to-date knowledge from professionals and policymakers.

Moderator: Maria Vittoria D’Inzeo, Policy Officer, DG for Defence Industry and Space, European Commission

Speakers:

• Dr. László Csurgai-Horváth, Chair of the space engineering education board at Budapest University of Technology and Economics
• Dr. Emmanuel Pajot, Secretary General, European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC)