BACKGROUNDRapid technological change means we face a very real digital competence gap in the coming years—a period in which technological capabilities accelerate so swiftly that talent and knowledge can’t keep up. The competence gap will create friction, slowing realization of the benefits of digital transformation. Almost all EU countries are introducing schemes, offers, services aimed at reducing the competence gap but despite the EU goal of creating a common Digital Single Market, most of them are not connected, don’t know each other or have never thought about establishing any kind of cooperation scheme.OBJECTIVEThe DITA project wants to strengthen transnational cooperation among synergic training organizations and increase the mobility opportunities of trainees in the European digital industry scene by a) providing a transparent and useful overview of available training opportunities in the field of Digital Transformation, b) supporting trainees in identifying which available training opportunities may best fit to their needs and expectations, c) establishing permanent cooperation schemes among the identified training, programs and facilities, d) delivering and permanently maintaining an open but supervised tool (The Digital Industry Training Atlas) that will collect, connect and display synergic available training opportunities in Europe on digital transformation.TARGET GROUPSThe project has 2 main target groups: 1) it responds to the needs of todays and tomorrows professionals or graduates working for (or being potential candidates to work for) European small and medium sized enterprises, specifically the project addresses the needs of current or future managers and staff of almost all operational departments of a typical European SME; 2) vocational training organizations that would highly benefit from connecting to complementary organizations in their country as well as in other countries.The project will involve at least 100 end users (learners) during the teat phase and 160 during multiplier events plus 110 training organizations.NEEDS ADDRESSEDUnder this perspective the project allows a) learners to 1) have full and transparent access to available training paths in the field of digital transformation; 2) be facilitated and supported in identifying and choosing the most appropriate training path that would increase their competences and skills in the field of digital transformation;b) training organizations to increase the quality of their training offer by establishing international formal connections with complementary training organizations.EXPECTED RESULTSThe project’s expected results are to increase: 1) the general awareness level of the current and future European workforce about available training opportunities in the field of Digital Transformation; 2) the understanding of potential synergies among the identified training opportunities in the field of Digital Transformation; 3) learners’ mobility throughout Europe to benefit from the different and complementary offer of training programs in the field of Digital Transformation; 4) the internationalization strategies of life-long learning training organizations in the field of Digital Transformation.INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS7 synergic and complementary project partners from 6 EU countries (IT, AT, DE, BE, PT and ES) representing the most relevant running European Industry 4.0 initiatives will cooperate to achieve these results by delivering 4 synergic IOs, namely 1) Digital Transformation & Competences in Europe: Available Training Facilities & Approaches; 2) Digital Transformation & Competences in Europe: Industry Relevant Training Case Studies and ideal synergies; 3) The Interactive EU Map of Digital Transformation Training Providers; 4) Cooperation Framework for a common Digital Transformation Training Arena.LONG TERM BENEFITAt the end of the project an interactive EU Map of available training options and their potential interconnections will be available for European exploitation via the Training Atlas. A long-term action plan, describing strategy and concrete action lines until the end of 2024, and concrete synergies with EU digitalization-oriented initiatives will guarantee its availability after the end of the project. European Learners and Training Organizations will benefit from it as well as all those programs and action lines foreseen and anchored to the Digital Single Market initiative..

Astropreneurs: turning space-related ideas into viable businesses and promoting opportunities for entrepreneurs coming from space and non-space sectors. We will support entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs, coming from space and non-space sectors, to create viable business cases and have faster markets approaches by mentoring them on businesses and technical needs, helping them to access private and public funding, but also to overcome the financial, administrative and networking barriers that are now preventing them from more success in the commercial phases. Astropreneurs consortium is solid and sustainable, even at its constitution level. All partners, led by Instituto Pedro Nunes – Portugal, are spread across Europe and represent different types of stakeholders: Verhaert (BE), Brimatech Services GmbH (AT), Science and Technology Facilities Council – STFC (UK), Aerospace Valley (FR), Centrum für Satellitennavigation Hessen – CESAH (DE), CzechInvest (UK), and Knowledge Innovation Market – KIM (SP). The complementarity of skills and expertise gathered in the CSA, aligned with the unmatched geographical reach is a powerful differentiating characteristic of the consortium, together with the direct participation of the ESA BIC Network & ESA Brokers Network.

The GELCLAD project aims at creating a novel cost-effective, durable, industrialised and easy to install composite insulation cladding system, based on a single multi-meso-structured panel with excellent insulation properties, made from functional bio-polymer composite (ecoWPC) as skin coupling with unique advanced foamable extrudable aerogel (FEA) as insulation core/layer. The GELCLAD is produced using a single co-extrusion procedure in which both ecoWPC framing skin and FEA core are simultaneously formed such that no discontinuity is formed between them. Using a multilayer effective continuous extrusion allows the benefits of high quality multi-meso-structured systems and productive production to be obtained without the traditional drawbacks of existing bonding lamination of extremely high embodied energy insulation materials, and high labouring and skilled installation of multi material layers. By combining also this biopolymer based ecoWPC/aerogel with passive pre-programed materials responding dynamically to ambient stimuli and control the air flow, GELCLAD wants to target the market as a novel environmentally friendly multi-functional smart cladding solution, to be used as an ecological alternative to the current cladding and ventilated façade systems. The foreseen impacts of the novel GELCLAD will be 20% lower embodied energy and carbon than traditional oil based panels, attain more than 40% reduction of energy savings due to GELCLAD refurbishment, reduce costs of 40% over traditional façade thanks to single panel systems, less installation and maintenance expenses, while providing functional building envelope solutions for a life span over 50 years. Full scale demonstration of the application of the novel cladding generation will be performed in demo and public building in Spain and Slovenia for ready uptake and spreading of new technologies, and many other building systems will follow after the success of GELCLAD.

SOLUTION will provide research and training program for 14 early stage researchers (ESR) pursuing their PhD in various disciplines covering the broadly defined area of solid lubricant coatings. The project combines theoretical approaches represented by advanced nanoscale simulations, laboratory design and fabrication of novel solid lubricants supported by simulations, and the up-scaling of promising solutions and their application in selected emerging engineering applications. SOLUTION will link industries from various areas dealing with similar issues through intensive training and knowledge sharing. Three topics driven by industrial partners have been selected to demonstrate the added value of simultaneous development and training. The use of modern solid lubricants underlines the transformation of industry towards smart design, which is based on predictive models and cross-communication throughout the entire production chain. Fellows supported by the project will have a unique opportunity to gain competence ranging from simulation, characterization and processing, to industrial processes and entrepreneurship. Highly individualized multidisciplinary training reflecting actual market needs, together with scientific excellence, will generate an open-mind generation able to harvest multidisciplinary knowledge and to successfully face challenges represented by the design of competitive solid lubricants.

The design and realization of age-friendly living and working environments is a huge challenge that we have just only started to address as the number of older citizens who are and want to continue being active members of society and live independently is constantly increasing. SmartWork builds a worker-centric AI system for work ability sustainability, integrating unobtrusive sensing and modelling of the worker state with a suite of novel services for context and worker-aware adaptive work support. The unobtrusive and pervasive monitoring of health, behaviour, cognitive and emotional status of the worker enables the functional and cognitive decline risk assessment. The holistic approach for work ability modelling captures the attitudes and abilities of the ageing worker and enables decision support for personalized interventions for maintenance/improvement of the work ability. The evolving work requirements are translated into required abilities and capabilities, and the adaptive work environment supports the older office worker with optimized services for on-the-fly work flexibility coordination, seamless transfer of the work environment between different devices and different environments (home, office, on the move), and on-demand personalized training. The SmartWork services and modules also empower the employer with AI decision support tools for efficient task completion and work team optimization through flexible work practices. Optimization of team formation, driven by the semantic modelling of the work tasks, along with training needs prioritization at team level to identify unmet needs, allow employers to optimize tasks (e.g. needed resources), shifting focus on increased job satisfaction for increased productivity. Formal and informal carers are able to continuously monitor the overall health status and risks of the people they care for, thus providing full support to the older office worker for sustainable, active and healthy ageing.