Day: 23 October 2023

• The forum was attended by Dr. Rafael Escamilla, Director of External Relations of the Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial (Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness).

• The event covered topics such as the work of development agencies, the promotion of innovation and the challenges faced by SMEs.

13/10/2023, Brussels. Yesterday, Thursday October 12th, Finnova’s offices in Brussels hosted the V. Next Talent Generation Forum, with the participation of Dr. Rafael Escamilla Domínguez, Director of External Relations of the Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial (IVACE). This space was used to explain the work of development agencies and to put his experience at the service of our team in Brussels.

The first part of the forum focused on the role of the regions within the European Union and the internationalization and innovation as a factor of European development. Rafael Escamilla highlighted the importance of regional development agencies, regional programs to support business competitiveness and business incubators, the implementation of technology center networks, the digitization of SMEs, and business sustainability policies, among others.

On development agencies, the speaker drew on his extensive experience as a member of the executive committee of EURADA (European Association of Development Agencies) and secretary general of the ADR forum (Spanish Association of Regional Development Agencies) to explain the work of these large networks of development agencies and their importance for the competitiveness and growth of SMEs. “We are in charge of coordinating the participation of companies, we guide regional policies that support business support programs in R&D&I, sustainability or entrepreneurship. We provide interlocutors to entities and companies when embarking on projects, we look for research centers to create consortiums,… in short, we are dynamizers”.

In the second part of the forum, our team put on the table several issues that were discussed in this space. The first of the issues to be addressed was the textile sector and its adaptation to the 2030 Agenda and the European Union’s sustainability objectives. Rafael Escamilla stressed the importance of this sector, as well as mature industrial sectors, being able to adapt to these new guidelines, remarking that beyond the speed at which they meet the objectives, “the importance is to be on the way”. He also added the need to show SMEs in the sector the tools they have to be more competitive, such as technology centers or the use of European funds.

Precisely, European funds were the next topic on the table. Escamilla took the opportunity to highlight some of the problems that are occurring in order for this aid to reach the real economy, given the sometimes overly complex regulatory situation.

The last topic of the forum focused on the business skills most in demand when it comes to entrepreneurship, and Escamilla drew on his experience in the sector to advise our team in this area. First, he stressed the importance of knowing the context in which one intends to undertake (knowing the state of the situation, the real needs of the market, market niches, ways to differentiate oneself from competitors, etc.). Secondly, he emphasized the interest that the entrepreneur must put in structuring an adequate, realistic financial plan that is adjusted to the company’s capabilities. As a last piece of advice on this area, Rafael Escamilla added that the most recent SMEs are adapting to the spaces where their activity is located, implementing local raw materials and linking innovation to the territories. “This is a very important step, taking into account the territorial imbalance that Spain has in innovation. The new economy marks us stronger poles focused on cities, and we must bet on innovation in uninhabited areas to curb depopulation, using the new environments of digitization or sustainability through proximity economies,” concluded Escamilla.

About Finnova:

Finnova is a Brussels-based organization dedicated to promoting innovation, research and investment in Europe. Its commitment to collaboration and training of young researchers fits perfectly with the EDGE project and its employability objectives.

• The GIVE project aims to reduce the environmental impact of digital learning by supporting VET providers’ green digital competences
• Finnova attended the event as a partner of the Erasmus + DESTINE project, to keep up to date with the latest trends in the field of VET

19/10/2023, Brussels. On Tuesday, September 17, the offices of the European Vocational Training Association (EVTA) in Brussels hosted the final event of the European GIVE project, in order to disseminate and extend among stakeholders the scope of the results of this Erasmus+ project. The event marked the completion of two years of fruitful cooperation between the partners and the implementation of the GIVE project, which helps VET providers to participate in the green and digital transitions. Finnova attended the event as a partner of the DESTINE project to keep abreast of the latest developments in VET.

The introductory speech was given by Tatjana Babrauskiené, member of the European Economic and Social Committee, who stressed the importance of these initiatives to support VET and education. “The latest crisis has shown us that education is always one of the hardest hit sectors when resources are cut,” concluded Babrauskiené. Another of the facts that Babrauskiené emphasized from the event was the link that this project was making between digital skills and green skills, as the digital transition will be “a value that all sectors will have to incorporate”.

Susanne Nielsen, leader of the European Training Foundation’s (ETF) GRETA (Greening Responses to Excellence Through Thematic Actions) project, then took the floor. Nielsen explained the ETF’s main tasks, which focus on helping the EU’s neighboring countries to reform their education and training systems, contributing to the social and economic development and long-term stability of these territories. Nielsen also gave some hints about GRETA, which addresses the challenges related to the delivery of green skills as a response to the dual challenge of ecological and digital transformations, achieved by incorporating green principles into VET.

The next part of the event consisted of a panel discussion on the importance of promoting digital and green habits in schools, companies and institutions and ways to do so. Giovanni Manisi (ENAIP FVG) agreed on the fact of the new paradigm raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. “After COVID, we worked on sustainability and digitization and ways to achieve a greener digitization.”

The next panelist was Léa Ichikawa, project manager at The Digital Collective, who introduced the Digital Competence Development System Methodology (DCDS). The methodology was part of an Erasmus + pilot project tested in 5 countries, in which the learning outcomes consisted in the identification of places to deposit obsolete and/or worn out ICT elements and measures to save energy and environmental resources).

Mathieu Rama, programme manager at ECOS, took the floor to talk about the work of this international NGO with a network of members and experts who advocate for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies and laws. In this case, Maza insisted on the need to use sustainable electronic products and batteries, as this is the fastest growing waste stream in the world, in addition to the possibility of triggering conflicts, human rights violations, chemical contamination and environmental degradation.

The event concluded with a presentation of the context, results and challenges of the GIVE project by the partners. Melisa Özdilek, project manager at My Green Training Box, presented the platform launched by the consortium, a digital training course to introduce sustainable ITIs to VET providers.

David Ekchajzer, co-founder of Hubblo, pointed out the main findings of the project, focusing on the impact of education on the carbon footprint. In this case, the project concludes that, for vocational education and training, travel to attend a course has a greater impact than course-related household energy, even though this increases household energy consumption. Other important findings were the impact of equipment lifetime and the value of reducing the energy consumption of educational buildings.

Diogo Morais, researcher and professor at Universidade Lusófona, highlighted some of the recommendations made by GIVE, such as avoiding duplication, extending the useful life of objects, promoting low-carbon modes of transport and controlling energy use.

Finnova attended the event as a partner of the Erasmus + DESTINE project, to keep abreast of the latest trends in the VET environment. Finnova celebrates the advances that are taking place in distance VET, advances that are aligned with values that the foundation champions such as access to education or sustainable development.

About DESTINE

The Erasmus + DESTINE (DivErSity and Tolerance IN E-Environment) project was created with the aim of promoting online vocational training that ensures support for diversity, inclusion and tolerance, providing the necessary tools for all professionals and students to adapt to the e-learning methodology. DESTINE focuses especially on those vocational training students who need a learning environment adapted to their needs.

About FINNOVA

Finnova is the Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels and Spain, working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU. Finnova’s experience in leading communication and dissemination activities of European projects is combined with a solid proven track record in business creation and entrepreneurship support programs, such as accelerators, incubators and events, as well as its commitment to training and employability of young people.