Specialised Education Programmes in Key Capacity Areas

Expected Outcome

• Consortia of higher education institutions, research organisations and businesses and other stakeholders design and deliver education programmes and self-standing modules in the area of advanced digital skills for developers and users of advanced digital technologies.
• Higher education institutions are upgraded with digital solutions, equipment and infrastructure, with a special focus on interoperability of IT systems.
• Students are supported with scholarships (for participating in education programmes and internships), or via other financial and support measures.
• Structural and sustainable partnerships between members of the consortium are established.

Objective

This topic aims at contributing to the target of reaching 20 million ICT specialists in the EU by 2030, while promoting gender convergence, as set in the Digital Decade Policy Programme. Gains from major breakthroughs in key capacity digital technological areas (e.g. artificial intelligence, data analytics, virtual worlds, photonics, quantum, cloud and edge computing, and others) cannot materialise if there are not enough people with adequate knowledge to develop, deploy and use those digital technologies and their related applications. Evidence from the Structured Dialogue on digital education and skills with Member States shows that a majority of Member States expressed concerns about the shortage of ICT specialists¹.

Even in EU countries that are digital frontrunners, there is a persistent shortage of people able to develop and deploy key digital technologies². There also is a significant increase in the demand for professionals combining sectoral knowledge with digital skills enabling the use of digital solutions for specific business cases. This is for example the case of employees in the manufacturing sector able to use augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) tools to repair engines remotely, software developers and engineers with specific automotive expertise, or professionals in industrial sectors that are key to the green transition who are increasingly relying on advanced digital technologies in the development of renewable energy or clean and smart mobility solutions. These profiles can be referred to as users of advanced digital technologies and they are crucial to enable and support the digitalisation of traditional industrial sectors from agriculture and finance to manufacturing, automotive and medicine, and are key to achieve the twin green and digital transition.

Looking at the related education offer, the 2022 JRC report shows that the offer of specialised education programme in AI, cybersecurity, HPC and data science has slightly improved in the EU 27, in particular in AI, where the number of Master programmes has increased by 20% compared to the previous year. However, it remains lower than in the United States. For cybersecurity the United Kingdom alone continue to offer as many programmes as all EU Member States together³.

The actions in the skills pillar therefore aim at tackling this challenge, while triggering a new way of delivering these programmes, building partnerships between academia, businesses and research across the EU.

_{¹ SWD (2023) 205 final: COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT accompanying the documents: Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the key enabling factors for successful digital education and training and Proposal for a Council Recommendation on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training {COM(2023) 205 final}}

_{² For example, over 70% of enterprises looking for ICT specialists in the Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg found it extremely difficult to recruit ICT specialists. DESI 2022, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/digital-economy-and-so….}

_{³ https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC128844/JR…}