On November 24 of this year, as part of the Erasmus+ project “Transnational cooperation initiative fostering developing forward thinking skills of students, teachers and workforce in sustainability-relevant sectors posed by Business 4.0 trends through innovation in Business & Engineering education and training”, a multiplier event was organized to exchange knowledge between education, training and local stakeholders accelerating the circulation of good practices and results.
The project addresses the problem of the lack of complex skills and the mismatch of horizontal skills. The first relates to the ability to think autonomously and creatively, manage complex information, skillfully use resources, including digital ones, communicate effectively and innovate by integrating digital advances into new Business 4.0 models. The second, horizontal skills mismatch, addresses the skills of students, teachers and workforce (i.e. a combination of digital, cognitive and social skills) in sustainability-relevant sectors posed by Business 4.0 which further enable their fully engagement in society as responsible and productive citizens working in a technology-rich environment.
The event therefore shared insights on learning tools to develop transversal skills, discussed the competences needed for today's worker and/or young people who intend to enter the labor market, the new European Skills Agenda, sustainable strategies to promote Business 4.0 models (green business, resource efficiency and circular economy, resource use, sustainable employment, green jobs, sustainable lifestyles and education, etc.). It was emphasized that the ever-changing situation (globalisation, digitalisation, demographic changes, climate change, etc.) is changing workplaces, the way societies operate and the way people interact. Therefore, new goals are formulated, future competences are considered, questions are raised about what skills are important for creating a competitive advantage through innovation and responsibility for products, for the development of a circular economy, etc. It is noted that to overcome the emerging challenges, a complex of transversal skills is required, consisting of foundational, cognitive and metacognitive, social and emotional, as well as professional, technical and special skills and knowledge. Modules are being developed that will help ensure greater synergy between different directions and specializations, develop complex skills for a changing technological environment, etc.
The event was aimed at higher education students and lecturers and practitioners from sectors relevant to sustainability. The event aimed to stimulate positive changes in teaching and learning, making the most of the various digital development highlights and sustainability-related challenges needed to meet the complex demands of the new Business 4.0 trends.
More about project SMART skills 4.0: https://www.smartskills4.com/
Grant Agreement: 2020-1-RO01-KA203-080019
Assoc. prof. Dr Ilona Kiaušienė and Assoc. prof. Dr Ingrida Šarkiūnaitė
Institute of Social Sciences and Applied Informatics
