Best practices
Connecting with CEOs and Business Leaders to Promote Course Enrolment
Users: Training Providers (Public), Training Providers (Private), Communication officers, Micro-credential coordinators, Universities, SMEs | Theme: Education and Digital Skills, Communication and Engagement |
Action: Education Programmes / Courses | Beneficiaries: Students, Professionals, CEOs, SMEs
To encourage the adoption of digital and geospatial skills within SMEs, it is essential to involve not only technical staff but also those responsible for strategic decision-making within the companies. In many cases, CEOs and senior managers do not participate in technical training programmes, yet they do have a direct influence on decisions regarding investment in digital capabilities, innovation and technology adoption. For this reason, a complementary approach was developed within DIS4SME: to create specific sessions or courses aimed at CEOs, senior managers and innovation leads, focusing on the strategic value of these skills for competitiveness, organisational efficiency and business innovation. These courses are designed to explain how technical knowledge can be translated into business advantages and how to integrate it into the company’s strategy.
To facilitate this progression, the courses are organised as levels of depth within the same subject (basic, intermediate and advanced) and are structured as learning pathways. This approach allows students to be guided from a conceptual introduction to more advanced applications and practical case studies. At the same time, the process of recruiting students is reinforced across courses within the same subject area, so that each course acts as a gateway to other related courses, thereby increasing the continuity of learning and participation in the training programme.
The challenge?
One of the main challenges is to attract senior managers and business leaders, who often view technical training as an operational activity intended solely for specialists. Furthermore, many companies regard training as a cost rather than a strategic investment. This perception hinders both the participation of business leaders in training initiatives and the subsequent enrolment of technical staff on specialist courses.
Our solution
The solution involves designing specific training courses or sessions for CEOs and managers, focusing on the strategic dimension of digital and geospatial knowledge. These courses use business language and draw on practical examples that demonstrate how interoperability, geospatial data and digital technologies can enhance a company’s efficiency, innovation and competitiveness.
The approach also aims to generate a top-down recruitment effect: when executives understand the strategic value of these technologies, they tend to actively encourage their technical teams to participate in more specialised courses. In this way, courses aimed at business leaders become a gateway to increasing participation in technical courses.
Furthermore, this approach strengthens the relationship between companies and course designers, as it enables the identification of real needs within the business sector and allows for better tailoring of training content.
During the second cycle of institutional accreditation, a new concept was introduced to further reduce the amount of required documentation and the overall burden on HEIs. This approach aimed to streamline the accreditation process, making it more efficient while ensuring that institutions maintained high standards of quality and relevance in their programs.
Outcomes
5
courses endorsed by CEOs
Plus – higher participation in executive sessions.
Key takeaways
Communicate value in business language — focused on leadership rather than academic aspects.