Industry-oriented hackathon to drive SME involvement in master programme design
Best practices Industry-oriented hackathon to drive SME involvement in master programme design Users: Training providers (public), Industry, SMEs | Theme: Industry engagement | Action: Stakeholder collaboration | Beneficiaries: Learners (STEM background), Learners (non-STEM background, Labour force (employed), Labour force (unemployed) Simona Ramanauskaite https://digitalmerit.eu/merithon/ MERIT is developing master’s degrees and short-term courses in AI, cybersecurity and IoT, with the participation of NGOs, non-profits, research organisations, companies and SMEs. These are delivered by technical universities across Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Italy and Spain. Having consistent, hands-on engagement from industry is fundamental to the project’s operational model and objectives. The challenge? A key challenge in the MERIT project was accurately identifying potential industry collaboration opportunities. As many study programmes were still in development by the time the project had to initiate outreach, persuading companies to comit in the initiative proved challenging.SMEs often faced limited human and time resources, making it difficult for them to participate in surveys, provide input for curriculum design, or test different concepts.Additionally, study programme flexibility was constrained by national accreditation requirements, limiting the ability to tailor courses to SMEs’ needs. Our solution MERIThon: The project created the annual MERIThon event, where SMEs proposed challenges, mentored participants, and explored innovative solutions relevant to their business needs. This initiative provided SMEs with a low-commitment way to engage with the programme while benefiting from fresh ideas. Established SME-University Partnerships: They Developed collaborations between SMEs and study programmes, leading to joint activities such as guest lectures, employee recruitment, internships, and research projects. Outcomes The design of the courses around real market needs and with direct industry engagement, has made the programmes highly attractive. 1,000 participants have been trained through the initiative. Key takeaways Introductory Meetings with Leading Enterprises: Regularly organise meetings between SMEs and large enterprises to highlight the benefits of collaboration and encourage SME participation. Engaging SMEs through Personal Contacts & EDIHs: Strengthen engagement by reaching out to SMEs via personal networks and European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs),developing trust and participation. Step-by-Step Programme Development: Implement an approach where the study programme is broken down into phases and targeted feedback is gathered at each stage to ensure SME needs are fulfilled. Learn more here Case Summary– Context: Fit4internet is a non-profit initiative aimed at enhancing digital literacy across Austria. By using the Digital Competence Framework (DigComp AT), which identifies key components of digital competencies and aligns with European standards, Fit4internet helps individuals showcase their digital skills. The Fit4internet platform offers a way to track and prove digital competencies, helping with employability and ensuring that the Austrian workforce has the necessary ICT skills to meet market demands. Through the digital skills profile platform, the initiative supports both individual growth and the development of a digitally capable society. Challenge: The challenge faced is managing proof of competencies acquired through various learning methods, including formal education, non-formal training, and informal certifications, which can lead to inconsistent records. Securing sustainable funding to support the continuous development of new digital competencies, ensuring that programs remain up-to-date with evolving market needs. The second main challenge was fostering broad participation and engagement, especially among groups who may lack access to digital tools or education. Identified Approach / Solution: The Fit4internet platform provides a centralised, user-friendly system to manage and showcase digital competencies, aligning with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Through this platform, individuals can track and showcase their digital skills, making it easier for employers, educators, and organisations to assess their talent. The platform allows users to create an e-portfolio that showcases their digital skills, with the option to share it through a link or as a PDF. This portfolio highlights the digital competencies that a user has acquired, linked to their certificates. These certificates can be formal, non-formal, or informal. The platform also supports the generation of a digital skills profile that showcases the user’s acquired skills. Users earn digital badges as a visual representation of their skills. This allows them to continue with their learning journey, while showing off their competencies to others. Outcomes: Key takeaways: Fit4internet engage multiple stakeholders from academia, industry, and policy to develop holistic and relevant digital competency frameworks. They also use widely applied frameworks to measure skills gaps, enabling better planning for individuals and institutions. By doing this they improve reinsertion rates into the labor force by addressing individuals digital skill gaps and aligning them with market needs. This benefits companies by providing clear insights into the skillsets that are being developed and that are available in the workforce.