Project EAGLE Cyprus Summit: Bridging the digital skills gap in European SMEs
On September 13, 2024, Vernian RTI (www.vernian.eu) hosted the Cyprus Summit of project EAGLE (www.projecteagle.eu), a project which received funding from the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme (grant agreement No 101100660).
The Summit was hosted at the premises of the European University Cyprus (Start-up center powered by Microsoft) and brought together experts from various sectors who discussed how education, innovation, and policy can equip European SMEs and their workforce to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.
The event opened with a focus on the impact of technological advancements on the job market, highlighting how automation is both creating and eliminating jobs and the importance of a political narrative that will promote social inclusion and human rights.
Project EAGLE was introduced as one of the initiatives of the EU’s DIGITAL Europe programme aimed to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities, in crucial areas such as blockchain, AI, cybersecurity, and data analytics.
The role of financial policies in fostering educational growth and aligning private sector initiatives with broader EU goals was then discussed, along with the need for investing in education to ensure economic growth.
At the same time, the need for continuous innovation was underscored, with blockchain identified as a transformative tool with wide-ranging applications across various industries.
Finally, the importance and positive effect of large-scale cross-country initiatives such as the VISA innovation programme, a fintech pilot-centred collaboration platform designed to help companies scale and engage with Visa, its clients and partners was presented.
The panel discussion followed the keynote speeches, with panellists representing large organisations, SMEs and the sports sector, giving a cross sectoral angle.
The panel discussed the challenges faced by SMEs to digitalise their operations and develop the skills of their workforce. This demonstrated that many SMEs struggle with limited resources and the risk of losing employees after they train them, with mentorship and better awareness of funding opportunities identified as some of the means that can help them address these challenges.
The importance of certifications was also discussed as a means to ensure the workforce remains competitive and capable of adapting to new technologies.
The event concluded with examples of how SMEs can leverage digital tools and platforms to enhance their competitiveness.
Overall, project EAGLE was identified as one of the initiatives in closing the digital skills gap by fostering collaboration between education and industry, and building a more resilient and competitive European economy.
About the speakers & panellists – The Summit featured insightful contributions from the following experts:
- Harris Georgiades, Chairman of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee of the Cyprus House of Representatives,
- Pambos Pantziaros, Director, Vernian RTI,
- George Panteli, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance,
- Prof. Andreas Efstathiou, Rector of the European University Cyprus,
- Dr. Ivan Sedliačik, Associated Professor of Matej Bel University,
- Michael Ioannides, Cyprus country manager (Visa Europe).
- Marios Lazarou Board Member, Head of Advisory, KPMG Cyprus,
- Mary Charalambous Papamiltiades a sports industry academic expert,
- Yiannos Gregoriou, Director ETE Faros.
- Panel moderator: Emily Tsikkou, Research Projects Coordinator, Vernian RTI.
