The growing demand for skilled employees within the European Software Sector cannot be met by current education and training programmes. Europe needs an innovative new Software Skills Strategy that can fast-track the upskilling and reskilling of Europe’s workforce to address this ever-increasing skills gap. Technology innovation has changed the paradigm of the way software and IT infrastructure are being designed, delivered and managed (vide: automation, instant availability of services, growing software support functions), allowing for shorter and more efficient education cycles. Vocational education is considered as an applicable format, which enables better alignment with industry and employers real time needs and more flexible learning pathways.The European Software Skills Alliance led by DIGITALEUROPE brings together key Industry and Education stakeholders from across the domain to design and implement a highly innovative, effective and sustainable Software Skills Strategy for Europe that will ensure the skills needs of the rapidly expanding and evolving Software Sector can be met in the short, medium and long term. The Alliance will work together to develop, implement and disseminate a new Software Skills Strategy that will tackle the current and future skills shortages in the European Software Sector, enabling continuous development, innovation and competitiveness within the industry.The project includes:- the establishment of a long-term partnership between The European Software Skills Alliance members; - the design of an innovative and sustainable Software Skills Strategy;- development, testing and roll-out of VET training curricula for VET and higher VET;- VET training programmes and qualifications in line with latest market needs and consistently linked with EU instruments and tools enabling professional skills and career development in general and empowering ICT Professionalism and digital competences in particular.

The Modelling the European Data Economy (EuDEco) project will assist European sci-ence and industry in understanding and exploiting the potentials of data reuse in the context of Big and Open Data big data. The aim isto establish a self sustaining data market and thereby increase the competitiveness of Europe. To be able to extract the benefits of data reuse, it is crucial to know how to understand the underlying economic, societal, legal, and technological framework conditions and challenges to build useful applications and services. Despite the amount of activities in this domain, an effort is missing to develop use cases and business models that are economic viable, legally certain and taking societal needs and concerns into account. EuDEco will accomplish this by leveraging the engagement of other projects conducting pilots on data reuse as well as by the engagement of external experts and stakeholders. EuDEco moves beyond the classical approaches by applying the approach of complex adaptive systems to model the data economy in order to indentify value networks, use cases and business models for data reuse. In the course of the project will develop and refine the data economy model in several steps further by case studies on previous pilots on data reuse, by in-depth analysis from legal, socioeconomic and technological point of view, and by extensive tests of use cases and business models with other projects. Therefore it will analyse framework conditions relevant and challenges related to data reuse and the emergence of a self-sustaining data market. Finally, EuDEco will deliver a model of the data economy including viable use cases and business models as well as suggestions and recommendations addressing the main legal, contractual, societal, and technological concerns and challenges such as contractual framework or data protection. Above that EuDEco will develop an observatory for policy makers enabling them to track the development of the data economy.

The long term strategic objective of HubIT is to contribute to the high level of European research and innovation and ensure that H2020 funded and further ICT related innovation is responsible, inclusive and aimed at reversing inequalities. The direct objective of HubIT is to build a hub that will activate and improve constructive and co-creating interactions between SSH and ICT disciplines in developing and implementing a shared vision of inclusive HubIT will activate constructive interactions between the stakeholders forming the RRI-SSH eco-system via various network and engagement activities embedded intro the WP structure, that have the overall goal of developing a tangible European Framework Model for implementing responsible and inclusive ICT research and innovation. The Framework Model is a comprehensive set of jointly developed and used definitions, guidelines and tools for enforcing RRI and SSH issues in ICT research and innovation: • The concept of responsible R&I • Matrix of the key challenges • Tool for assessment of RRI and SSH perspectives in ICT within an organisation • Guidelines for responsible ICT R&I informed by SSH • Best Practice Repository • Fact Sheets and Policy briefs • Key measurable success indicators • Policy Recommendations • Virtual Matching Catalogue • HubIT exploitation plan The mechanisms for network building, engagement and awareness rising embedded in the WP structure are: • Advisory Board workshops • Expert Group workshops • Community building and knowledge sharing – national network events, thematic workshops, policy, SSH researchers and ICT industries workshops • Practical collaborations and experimentation - Common Ground Camps, Interactive ICT Labs, Inclusive Hackathons In total 35 network activities are implemented and in total 1140 participants. HubIT online platform will be the interactive environment, where the project tools and services can be accessed in modular, visually attractive and dynamic way.