Education and skills development to promote competitiveness were in the focus of the international conference “Skills Development for Smart Specialisation”, organised on 2-3 December 2024 by the NRDI Office and Ludovika University of Public Service under the auspices of the Hungarian EU Presidency and funded by the European Commission.
The event, held on the Ludovika Campus, brough together experts in smart specialisation strategies, academics, policy makers, project managers and regional actors to discuss current issues in smart specialisation and related skills development and to share good practices in various forms of sessions.
“This conference is about building bridges between regions, disciplines and institutions.” underlined Dr. Gábor Kemény, Vice Rector for Development of Ludovika University of Public Service. The highly popular event attracted over 120 registrations from 16 countries but, in addition to attending in person, participants could also follow the presentations online.
“Skills have become a currency of the modern world. The better our skills, the more opportunities we can explore.” said Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, in her welcome speech. The conference featured expert discussions on topical and key issues such as digitalisation, space research, green transition and industrial transformation. Among a number of intriguing presentations, Dr. Gergely Pálmai, Head of the Department of Vocational Education and Training Regulation and Institutional Management of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, gave a detailed presentation on successful Hungarian practices in the field of sectoral skills development, dual vocational education, degree courses and certification within the framework of the VET 4.0 Strategy. The conference also explored methods for effective implementation of S3 practices, the challenges in skills development, success stories and lessons learned from different strategies, experiences in vocational training, the gap between labour supply and demand, and opportunities to increase the competitiveness of SMEs. On behalf of the NRDI Office, Krisztina Sóvágó, Head of S3 Project Management Office, drew attention to the intersectional elements of the Hungarian Smart Specialisation Strategy, which specifically support research and development, innovation and SME development. In a panel discussion on the challenges of developing S3 strategies, Péter Racskó, Head of the Department for Strategy and Monitoring, spoke about the importance of creating national and international regional innovation platforms that strengthen the competences of local actors in a customised way.
Through high quality panel sessions and plenary presentations, participants were given a comprehensive overview of the smart specialisation strategies of each Member State and the current state of EU policy. To conclude the first day, participants worked in interactive groups to develop skills development frameworks in three different fields under the guidance of Simone Rosini, Socio-Economic Analyst in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. On behalf of the NRDI Office, Dr. Borbála Schenk, Head of Department for International Affairs, pointed out in her closing presentation that the S3 conference was closely aligned with one of the main priorities of the Hungarian EU Presidency, which is about enhancing Europe’s competitiveness through RDI. By involving stakeholders from relevant fields, the event contributed to shaping the international dialogue on European competitiveness.
Event reports and other interesting information can be followed on the conference’s LinkedIn channel at https://www.linkedin.com/company/skills-2024-conference/?viewAsMember=true
Both days of the event, including all the presentations, can be viewed on the website: https://s3conference.nkfih.gov.hu/livestreaming
