Tag: Skills

Pioneering policy leadership in a transformative era

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With the European Parliament and U.S. elections looming, Europe is facing policy uncertainties on both sides of the Atlantic. Persistent geopolitical turmoil in Ukraine and the Middle East, and threats to democracy — coupled with concerns over slow economic recovery, demographic shifts, climate hazards and the rapid evolution of powerful AI — all add to the complex global political and economic landscape. Europe’s present and future demands leaders who are capable of effectively navigating multifaceted challenges.

At the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, we are committed to developing a groundbreaking executive program that prepares professionals for multilevel policymaking of the 21st century. Our new EUI Global Executive Master (GEM) aims to transform policy professionals into agents of change and enhance their skills as effective managers and leaders who inspire and drive sustainable change.

Listening and responding to the needs of policy professionals is at the core of our new program.

New leaders wanted

George Papaconstantinou is dean of executive education of the European University Institute, and a former Minister of Finance and Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece. | via European University Institute

Just as public policy has changed in the past 20 years, so has executive education for public policy professionals. Listening and responding to the needs of policy professionals is at the core of our new program. The new GEM takes our commitment to training professionals to respond to today’s cross-border issues to the next level; it stands out from other executive master programs through its dedication to providing a personalized career development journey.

Launching in September 2024, the GEM has a two-year, part-time format, with three week-long study periods in Florence, and two additional visits to global policy hubs. This format, combined with online modules, allows policy professionals to integrate full-time work commitments with professional growth and peer exchange, building their knowledge, skills, and networks in a structured way.

This allows policy professionals to integrate full-time work commitments with professional growth and peer exchange.

During the first year, EUI GEM participants take four core modules that will set the basis for a comprehensive understanding of the complex task of policymaking, and its interaction with government, the economy and global trends. In the second year, they have the possibility to select courses in one or more of four specializations: energy and climate; economy and finance; tech and governance; and geopolitics and security.

These core and elective courses are complemented by intensive professional development modules and workshops aimed at enhancing skills in the critical areas of change management, project management, strategic foresight, leadership, negotiations, policy communications, and media relations.

Through the final capstone project, EUI GEM participants will address real policy challenges faced by organizations, including their own, proposing solutions based on original research under the guidance of both the organizations concerned and EUI faculty.

In addition, the program includes thematic executive study visits for in-depth insights and first-hand practical experience.

In addition, the program includes thematic executive study visits for in-depth insights and first-hand practical experience. Participants attend the EUI State of the Union Conference in Florence, a flagship event that brings together global leaders to reflect on the most pressing issues of the European agenda. They explore the role of strategic foresight in EU institutions’ policy planning through an executive study visit to Brussels, complemented by dedicated training sessions and networking opportunities. A final Global Challenge study visit aims to encourage participants to engage with local policy stakeholders.

Bridging academia and practice

Since its inaugural executive training course in 2004, the EUI has successfully trained over 23,000 professionals of approximately 160 nationalities, in almost 600 courses. The EUI GEM leverages this expertise by merging the academic and practical policy expertise from our Florence School of Transnational Governance and the Robert Schuman Centre, as well as the academic excellence in the EUI departments.

The EUI GEM’s aspiration to bridge the gap between academia and practice is also reflected in the faculty line-up, featuring leading academics, private-sector experts, and policymakers who bring invaluable expertise into a peer-learning environment that fosters both learning and exchange with policy professionals.

Effective, agile and inclusive governance involves interaction and mutual learning between the public sector, the private sector and civil society actors, all acting as change agents. That is why our program is designed to bring innovative perspectives on public policy from all three: the public and the private sector, as well as civil society, and we welcome applications from all three sectors. 

An inspiring environment

EUI GEM participants spend 25 days in residence at the magnificent Palazzo Buontalenti, headquarters of our Florence School of Transnational Governance. The former Medici palace harbors art-historical treasures in the heart of Florence. In September 2024, a dedicated executive education center will be inaugurated at Palazzo Buontalenti, coinciding with the arrival of the participants of the first GEM cohort.

The GEM is poised to redefine the standards for executive education and empower a new generation of policy practitioners. We are ambitious and bold, and trust that our first cohort will be, too. After all, they are the first to embark on this adventure of a new program. We can’t wait to welcome them here in Florence, where the journey to shape the future begins. Will you join us?

Learn more about the EUI Global Executive Master.

The EUI Global Executive Master | via European University Institute



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AWS digital sovereignty pledge: A new, independent sovereign cloud in Europe

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From day one, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has believed it is essential that customers have control over their data, and choices for how they secure and manage that data in the cloud. Last year, we introduced the AWS Digital Sovereignty Pledge, our commitment to offering AWS customers the most advanced set of sovereignty controls and features available in the cloud.

AWS offers the largest and most comprehensive cloud infrastructure globally. Our approach from the beginning has been to make AWS sovereign-by-design. We built data protection features and controls in the AWS cloud with input from financial services, health care and government customers — who are among the most security- and data privacy-conscious organizations in the world. This has led to innovations like the AWS Nitro System, which powers all our modern Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances and provides a strong physical and logical security boundary to enforce access restrictions so that nobody, including AWS employees, can access customer data running in Amazon EC2. The security design of the Nitro System has also been independently validated by the NCC Group in a public report.

With AWS, customers have always had control over the location of their data. In Europe, customers who need to comply with European data residency requirements have the choice to deploy their data to any of our eight existing AWS Regions (Ireland, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Stockholm, Milan, Zurich and Spain) to keep their data securely in Europe. To run their sensitive workloads, European customers can leverage the broadest and deepest portfolio of services, including AI, analytics, compute, database, internet of things, machine learning, mobile services and storage. To further support customers, we’ve innovated to offer more control and choice over their data. For example, we announced further transparency and assurances, and new dedicated infrastructure options with AWS ‘Dedicated Local Zones’.

To deliver enhanced operational resilience within the EU, only EU residents who are located in the EU will have control of the operations and support.

Announcing the AWS European Sovereign Cloud

When we speak to public-sector and regulated-industry customers in Europe, they share how they are facing incredible complexity with an evolving sovereignty landscape. Customers tell us they want to adopt the cloud, but are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny over data location, European operational autonomy and resilience. We’ve learned that these customers are concerned that they will have to choose between the full power of AWS or feature-limited sovereign cloud solutions. We’ve had deep engagements with European regulators, national cybersecurity authorities, and customers to understand how the sovereignty needs of customers can vary based on multiple factors, like location, sensitivity of workloads, and industry. We recently announced our plans to launch the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, a new, independent cloud for Europe, designed to help public sector organizations and customers in highly-regulated industries meet their evolving sovereignty needs. We’re designing the AWS European Sovereign Cloud to be separate and independent from our existing ‘regions’, with infrastructure located wholly within the European Union, with the same security, availability and performance our customers get from existing regions today. To deliver enhanced operational resilience within the EU, only EU residents who are located in the EU will have control of the operations and support for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will launch its first AWS Region in Germany available to all European customers.

Built on more than a decade of experience operating multiple independent clouds for the most critical and restricted workloads.

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be sovereign-by-design, and will be built on more than a decade of experience operating multiple independent clouds for the most critical and restricted workloads. Like existing regions, the AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be built for high availability and resiliency, and powered by the AWS Nitro System, to help ensure the confidentiality and integrity of customer data. Customers will have the control and assurance that AWS will not access or use customer data for any purpose without their agreement. AWS gives customers the strongest sovereignty controls among leading cloud providers. For customers with enhanced data residency needs, the AWS European Sovereign cloud is designed to go further and will allow customers to keep all metadata they create (such as the roles, permissions, resource labels and configurations they use to run AWS) in the EU. The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will also be built with separate, in-region billing and usage metering systems.

Delivering operational autonomy

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will provide customers with the capability to meet stringent operational autonomy and data residency requirements. To deliver enhanced data residency and operational resilience within the EU, the AWS European Sovereign Cloud infrastructure will be operated independently from existing AWS Regions. To assure independent operation of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, only personnel who are EU residents, located in the EU, will have control of day-to-day operations, including access to data centers, technical support and customer service.

Control without compromise

Though separate, the AWS European Sovereign Cloud will offer the same industry-leading architecture built for security and availability as other AWS Regions. This will include multiple ‘Availability Zones’, infrastructure that is placed in separate and distinct geographic locations, with enough distance to significantly reduce the risk of a single event impacting customers’ business continuity.

Continued AWS investment in Europe

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud represents continued AWS investment in Europe. AWS is committed to innovating to support European values and Europe’s digital future. We drive economic development through investing in infrastructure, jobs and skills in communities and countries across Europe. We are creating thousands of high-quality jobs and investing billions of euros in European economies. Amazon has created more than 100,000 permanent jobs across the EU. Some of our largest AWS development teams are located in Europe, with key centers in Dublin, Dresden and Berlin. As part of our continued commitment to contribute to the development of digital skills, we will hire and develop additional local personnel to operate and support the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.

Our commitments to our customers

We remain committed to giving our customers control and choices to help meet their evolving digital sovereignty needs. We continue to innovate sovereignty features, controls and assurances globally with AWS, without compromising on the full power of AWS.



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Atopic dermatitis: Timely access is needed now

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Moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) is not just an itch and may not just go away on its own.

It is neither a small rash nor just some dry skin, and it doesn’t only impact children.

The fact of the matter is that one in three pediatric AD patients have moderate-to-severe disease. Not all will outgrow their AD; those that don’t face a lifetime of disruptive symptoms. A lifetime of intense itching, redness, inflammation and discomfort can have a profound impact on an individual’s physical and emotional well-being.

Misunderstandings about the complex nature of the condition means that AD is often managed with less-than-optimal outcomes. However, too many people require more than just topical and anti-inflammatory treatment. In fact, millions who live with moderate-to-severe AD without the necessary treatment experience lifelong implications, impacting life events such as education, career, marriage and personal family decisions.

Furthermore, AD has implications beyond the individuals living with it. Being a caregiver for someone living with AD can have substantial mental, physical and financial consequences. For example, research has shown that parents can spend approximately 22 hours a week applying any treatment they can find for their children – including moisturizers, wet wraps or bleach baths – to alleviate painful, chronic, debilitating flare-ups of inflamed, raw and bleeding skin.

Ensuring children with AD and their caregivers have appropriate access to effective treatment can be vital to address the frustrating, inefficient and recurring cycle of time-consuming visits to general practitioners.

Ensuring children with AD and their caregivers have appropriate access to effective treatment can be vital to address the frustrating, inefficient and recurring cycle of time-consuming visits to general practitioners to try and manage symptoms and stop chronic flare-ups. Importantly, this approach would not only improve health outcomes, but it could also positively impact AD patients and their families.

Impact of AD is beyond the visible and the individual

While it is easy to think of AD as a skin disease, the lifetime impact of the condition on a person is more than what people see.

While it is easy to think of AD as a skin disease, the lifetime impact of the condition on a person is more than what people see.

For instance, missing school and social activities can become a normal occurrence for children with severe AD. Their daily routine is frequently overshadowed by appointments, treatments and flare-ups, as well as the emotional burden of shame and low self-confidence about their physical appearance. This burden results in some children struggling to keep up with their peers, which has a bearing on their quality of life and their educational and social development. A study has shown that 12.5% of children under three who have severe AD experience developmental delays in motor skills, communication, relationships and play.

An often-overlooked aspect of living with AD is that the condition can lead to significant sleep disturbances, often caused by persistent itching.

“Sleep is a huge factor that’s affected by AD and lack of sleep affects every aspect of your life. It doesn’t allow you to concentrate in school if you’re sleep deprived [and] you’re definitely more moody,” explained Dr. Patrick Finklea, a pediatrician and parent of a child living with AD.

As children get older, AD-associated issues broaden the gap with their peers, leading to increased social difficulties, isolation and a significant mental health impact. According to a survey from the National Eczema Association, 20% of parents say that their child is bullied at school because of their eczema (including AD, the most common form of the condition) and 75% highlight that their child experienced lower self-esteem as a result.

In addition to the physical and emotional strain on caregivers, the financial burden of attempting to alleviate a child’s chronic symptoms, arising from lifestyle adjustments, lost wages and out-of-pocket costs, are substantial. Caregivers may also have to consider a career change or give up work altogether due to the demands of looking after someone with AD.

Act now to ensure a brighter future

It is vital to stop thinking about AD as a childhood issue – one that will be outgrown. Instead, it needs to be prioritized as a serious lifelong condition and recognized as a chronic and debilitating disease with lasting and profound impacts.

It is vital to stop thinking about AD as a childhood issue – one that will be outgrown. Instead, it needs to be prioritized as a serious lifelong condition and recognized as a chronic and debilitating disease with lasting and profound impacts; a disease that not only affects the individual but also the social ecosystem.

In Europe alone, the total direct cost to society associated with moderate-to-severe AD is estimated at €30B annually.

Given the substantial individual and societal costs of AD, decision-makers need to urgently implement an effective response to meet the needs of patients. In Europe alone, the total direct cost to society associated with moderate-to-severe AD is estimated at €30B annually. Therefore, prioritizing investment in early and effective AD interventions – including timely access to specialists and effective treatments – can have significant impacts on the overall cost and outcomes of disease management.

As MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland) said at a POLITICO Spotlight debate last year, “Countries always reimburse the cheapest drug on the market, then the next cheapest, then the next one. This ladder approach is wasting money and enabling the condition of the patient to deteriorate so much they can’t recuperate.”

We call on decision makers to implement evidence-based policies to improve access to care and prioritize timely intervention to manage AD – all with the aim to advance the health and well-being of individuals and contribute to the long-term economic and social prosperity of society.

MAT-GLB-2305184 V1.0 | October 2023



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Harnessing innovation in robotic-assisted surgery

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For nearly three decades, Intuitive has been developing innovative approaches in the field of minimally-invasive care. We are guided by the belief that minimally-invasive care can be life changing, that patient outcomes can be profoundly improved and that enhanced clinical outcomes can sustainably lower the total cost of comprehensive care.

Our focus is on helping customers in Europe and around the world achieve better outcomes, better surgeon and care team experiences, better patient experiences and lower cost of care. Positive impact in these areas requires a holistic effort that includes not only leading-edge, integrated systems and software, but also an ecosystem of education and support that extends across the patient care pathway and the broader health care system.

What is robotic-assisted surgery?

27 years ago, Intuitive launched the da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical system, transforming the field of minimally-invasive surgery.

Robotic-assisted surgery is a form of minimally-invasive surgery performed by a surgeon using a computer-assisted system to operate through small incisions using tiny, wristed instruments. Robotic-assisted surgical systems do not perform surgery on their own and they do not replace surgeons. Surgeons completely control da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical systems, while seated at an ergonomic console that uses high-definition, 3D vision to magnify the patient’s anatomy. The surgical system translates the surgeon’s hand movements in real time to bend and rotate the instruments with greater flexibility, precision and range of motion than the human hand. This approach can augment a surgeon’s skills and capabilities while allowing them to continue to apply their judgment and experience.

To date, more than 12 million da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical procedures have been performed worldwide — including more than 1.2 million in Europe — across a range of procedures including urology, gynecology, colorectal, thoracic, general surgery and more.

Robotic-assisted surgery is a form of minimally-invasive surgery performed by a surgeon using a computer-assisted system to operate through small incisions using tiny, wristed instruments.

A growing body of research, including more than 34,000 peer-reviewed studies, suggests that minimally-invasive, robotic-assisted surgery can offer patients benefits in many cases, depending on the procedure, including one or more of these benefits: less blood loss, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, and less chance of hospital readmission.[i]

The added value of robotic-assisted surgery for European health care systems

Since the first robotic-assisted da Vinci prostatectomy was performed in Germany nearly 20 years ago, more than 1,500 da Vinci systems have been installed in Europe, highlighting Europe’s strong demand for this innovative technology. But, while Europe has helped drive this technology forward, more can be done to help hospitals in Europe become world leaders in the 21st century.

Similar to health care systems around the world, Europe faces challenges including rising health care costs, a pressured workforce, aging populations and increasing burdens of disease. At the same time, patients across Europe are seeking equitable access to innovative, high-quality care.

Using our more than two decades of experience working with hospitals and health care systems across Europe, we strive to offer solutions to these multifaceted challenges that are aligned with our customers’ clinical and economic capabilities and goals. A key insight from our experience is that we must provide more than a “robotic-assisted surgical system”; we must be a “technology-enabled solutions partner and provider”. Robotic-assisted surgery as a modality can help drive better patient outcomes; robotic-assisted surgical programs as a key part of a hospital’s care pathway can help optimize the cost and efficiency and advance the delivery and quality of care.

As one example, we collaborate with hospitals to examine opportunities to sustainably increase throughput and introduce efficiencies that can allow them to treat more patients and reduce patient backlogs. Solutions that our customers have enacted as a result of these engagements include improving operating room set up time, scheduling optimization, standardizing pre-operative planning for care teams, and starting surgical days earlier. 

In all cases, we work to assure that any effort is seamlessly integrated into the workflows of our hospital customers and their broader patient care pathways, and that our success is defined and measured in alignment with their goals.

Training

Central to our holistic approach is our technology training, which is essential to maximize patient safety and a vital part of any successful robotic-assisted surgery program. Our four-phase training pathway combines skills and technology training with opportunities for health care professionals around the world to learn from their peers. Our robust training offerings include a combination of simulation, virtual learning, in-person observation and hands-on training, with high-quality tissue models and peer-to-peer mentoring, proctoring and advanced learning opportunities. The training tools and technologies we offer are informed by our unique understanding of best practices and can help users build their skills by targeting individualized areas for improvement.

We believe that our robust training programs are contributing to the development of the next-generation health care workforce.

Last year, we became the largest provider of robotic-assisted surgical technology training to have our full global training portfolio accredited by The Royal College of Surgeons. And, our industry-leading offerings are more available than ever across both virtual and in-person opportunities; we now have more than 25 training centers and partnerships across Europe.

Looking forward, we believe that our robust training programs are contributing to the development of the next-generation health care workforce and motivating existing surgical staff to stay within our health care systems. We will continue to evolve and innovate our training offerings by listening to and learning from surgeons and teams to identify the practices that lead to better results and hone our efforts to offer meaningful interoperative guidance.

Total cost to treat

While there is an upfront investment in robotic-assisted technology, the experience of hospitals across Europe shows that da Vinci systems can help realize a return on this investment. The benefits of minimally-invasive care — fewer complications and readmissions, less blood loss, less pain — help to avoid higher ‘downstream’ costs and resource use associated with traditional, or “open” surgery, which typically requires longer hospital stays and presents a greater risk of post-operative complications.[ii] Robotic-assisted approaches, like the da Vinci system, can therefore help to reduce the costs and resources associated with a complete patient journey, or ‘episode of care’.

An important indicator of the economic value of this cost avoidance can be found in hospitals’ investment decisions in recent years. Based on their own medical records, financial data, and unique reimbursement and cost structures, hospitals are increasingly choosing to commit to robotic-assisted technology. Our own data shows that the number of hospital Integrated Delivery Networks, or IDN’s, with more than seven da Vinci systems has increased by more than 150 percent in the past five years.[iii] We believe this demonstrates a trend from cautious adoption to standardization based on recognized value. This trend brings the benefits of minimally-invasive care to an increasingly larger number of users, helping to accelerate and compound the potential savings to the health care system over time.

A vision for 2030: a future of European health care excellence

The next European Commission term will almost reach the end of this decade, serving as a useful marker for us to imagine where Europe could be in health care delivery by 2030.

Looking ahead, it will be essential that policymakers create an environment where advancements in robotic-assisted tools and technology, digital health and patient-focused innovation can be seamlessly integrated in a way that prioritizes patient safety and facilitates equitable access to and adoption of innovative technology.

The infrastructure and tools needed for future success are already present. Europe can lead the way in creating this environment, in part by avoiding policies which inhibit this kind of integration and innovation through duplicative or conflicting regulatory structures. We look forward to contributing to an ambitious agenda to bring cutting-edge health care, training, and innovations to European patients and health care professionals.

This material may contain estimates and forecasts from which actual results may differ.

[i] Bhama, A. R., et al. (2016). “Comparison of Risk Factors for Unplanned Conversion from Laparoscopic and Robotic to Open Colorectal Surgery Using the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC) Database.” Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery: 1-8

Oh, D. S., et al. (2017). “Robotic-Assisted, Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic and Open Lobectomy: Propensity-Matched Analysis of Recent Premier Data.” Annals of Thoracic Surgery 104(5): 1733-1740.

Ran, L., et al. (2014). “Comparison of robotic surgery with laparoscopy and laparotomy for treatment of endometrial cancer: a meta-analysis.” PLoS ONE 9(9): e108361.

Speicher, P. J., et al. (2014). “Robotic Low Anterior Resection for Rectal Cancer: A National Perspective on Short-term Oncologic Outcomes.” Annals of Surgery.

Tam, M. S., et al. (2015). “A population-based study comparing laparoscopic and robotic outcomes in colorectal surgery.” Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques.

Pilecki, M., et al. (2014). „National Multi-Institutional Comparison of 30-Day Postoperative Complication and Readmission Rates Between Open Retropubic Radical Prostatectomy and Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy Using NSQIP (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program)“ Journal of Endourology, 430 – 436.

Tewari A, et al. “Positive Surgical Margin and Perioperative Complication Rates of Primary Surgical Treatments for Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Comparing Retropubic, Laparoscopic, and Robotic Prostatectomy,” Eur Urol. 2012 Feb 24.7.

Carbonell, A. M., et al. (2017). “Reducing Length of Stay Using a Robotic-Assisted Approach for Retromuscular Ventral Hernia Repair: A Comparative Analysis from the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative,” Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Lim, P. C., et al. (2016). “Multicenter analysis comparing robotic, open, laparoscopic, and vaginal hysterectomies performed by high-volume surgeons for benign indications,” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

O’Neill, Michelle, et al. “Robot-assisted hysterectomy compared to open and laparoscopic approaches: systematic review and meta-analysis,” Archives of gynecology and obstetrics 287.5 (2013): 907-918.

Geppert B, Lönnerfors C, Persson J. “Robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy in obese and morbidly obese women: surgical technique and comparison with open surgery.”  Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 90.11 (2011): 1210-1217. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0412.2011.01253.x. Epub.

[ii] Id.

[iii] Intuitive internal data measuring from year end 2017 to year end 2022.



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Building Europe’s future, focusing on IT skills rather than degrees

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As the digital transformation of economy and society accelerates, the question of a just and inclusive transformation must be at the forefront of considerations for deciders in the public and private sector.

“The Digital Decade is about making digital technology work for people and businesses. It is about enabling everyone to have the skills to participate in the digital society. To be empowered. It is about empowering businesses. It is about the infrastructure that keeps us connected. It is about bringing government services closer to citizens. Europe’s digital transformation will give opportunities for everyone.” Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, July 2022.

The Digital Decade is about making digital technology work for people and businesses.

The European Union (EU) has grasped the urgency and importance of providing digital skills to citizens, declaring 2023 the European Year of Skills. Reaching the EU’s goal of 80 percent of Europeans with basic digital skills and 20 million ICT specialists by 2030 won’t happen in a snap. The opportunities here are immense: the World Economic Forum predicts 97 million new jobs related to technology. Many promise to be better jobs than the ones they will replace. Because skills in cybersecurity or the internet of things, for example, can lead to positions that offer opportunities for advancement and life-changing opportunities for people everywhere, including underprivileged or marginalized communities around the world.

The scale of the digital skills challenge and opportunity demands close collaboration with the tech industry, governments, and academia — to close the gap in technology skills that stood at 2 million unfilled tech jobs globally in 2022[1].

What’s more, those who have been displaced will in many cases be good candidates to upskill for the new roles. A high percentage of these jobs don’t necessarily require a high-level degree, for example. Many roles demand candidates have the right tech skills rather than degrees.

Accessibility and flexibility are key

If there is one glaring truth that surfaces from all my encounters throughout Europe it’s that for a training and upskilling program to work, learners must be empowered in ever more flexible ways, to learn where and when they want.

For a training and upskilling program to work, learners must be empowered in ever more flexible ways, to learn where and when they want.

A learner-centric approach is what will make a training program relevant to learners. I firmly believe that our focus on regularly offering new pathways and learning formats is one of the main reasons the Cisco Networking Academy has managed to empower over 17 million learners in 25 years.

Our new Skills For All offering, which proposes self-paced introductory and intermediary courses in cybersecurity, networking and data management, will continue to contribute to this success. It lowers the barriers to entry by allowing learners to dip their toes in the water on their own terms before deciding whether to take the plunge.

Jobs in IT can provide an accessible opportunity for people looking to change their lives and launch themselves into a new career. This is even more true for the underprivileged, underrepresented and underserved.

One obvious starting point is addressing the gender gap in tech. Historically, 26 percent of Networking Academy students over the past 25 years have been women. We’ve made strides forward, but we seek more to benefit from the wider perspective and fresh ideas that the strong inclusion brings of women in the IT sector. This flexibility, however, must be accompanied with a clear effort to remain accessible to as many stakeholders as possible. One of the secrets to the success of our program is the long-term collaboration with public-sector education, administrations, and even armed forces. A collaboration that rests on our focus on keeping our program free of charge and vendor agnostic, and on focusing on training learners in the skills required in the industry.

Reaching every sector with the right digital skills

The challenge we face is that the digital transformation in Europe is not exclusively the business of tech and IT. It impacts everything, from the average agricultural cooperative in Romania, Greece, France or Spain that needs to understand the impact that digital transformation can have on farming, to the local administrations needing to better protect the information of their citizens as increasing numbers of services digitize.

Each scenario requires skills-focused learning pathways so that learners can quickly and easily acquire the knowledge they need in a simplified format.

A responsibility to the future

Today, we are at a critical turning of the tide. I look forward to being able to touch down in any European city in 10 years and see the impact of the talent that we’ve nurtured and empowered. Talent that includes more women, minorities, people with disabilities, adult reskillers, school leavers… the list goes on.

Cisco stands ready to support Europe in its objectives to bring digital skills to more citizens to maximize the opportunity that technology offers, by developing the next generation of talent.

At Cisco, we feel we have a responsibility to make the digital transformation an inclusive one. And I’m incredibly excited to see how our incredible ecosystem of over 11,800 educational institutions and more than 29,000 instructors will strive to deliver on our goal of upskilling 25 million people in the next 10 years.

Cisco stands ready to support Europe in its objectives to bring digital skills to more citizens to maximize the opportunity that technology offers, by developing the next generation of talent who will push the capabilities of technology even further and to give people the skills to engage with technology more securely. Because when people are empowered to craft a more inclusive digital transformation journey, it becomes synonymous with a more prosperous society.

[1] https://technation.io/people-and-skills-report-2022/#key-statistics



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