The European Commission has disbursed today €9 billion to seven EU Member States in the fifth instalment of financial support to Member States under the SURE instrument.

18 March 2021

MEPs adopted the new InvestEU programme, which aims to attract public and private investments of about €400 billion.

17 March 2021

What are the main challenges and opportunities for European regions and rural areas in particular when it comes to fostering innovation? These two events will provide an opportunity to share regional experiences and hear about support initiatives at EU level.

The events are part of the Skillnet webinar series AER is organising, which provides an opportunity for mutual learning around topics identified by AER members.

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies:
A territorial Approach

25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET

In the context of regional innovation strategies rural areas should play an essential role, not just as a source of raw material and places to locate space-intensive activities, but as genuine partners. Place-based approaches call for cooperation at all levels and in particular between rural and urban territories or between disconnected territories.

The first webinar, which will take place on 25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET, will offer the opportunity to learn and exchange about regional policies and practices for ambitious skills and innovation strategies through territorial approaches.

This webinar will look at:

• why innovation strategies aimed at developing Advanced manufacturing need to be based on territorial approaches and why it is so important to consider and involve rural areas from the start
• strategies to attract innovation and skills in rural areas 
• the role of TVET to achieve more cohesive regional development

 Registration

16 March 2021

It will offer regions and stakeholders engaged with the agri-food sector the opportunity to learn and share experiences about how regions, companies, and Vocational Education & Training centers can identify common information communications technology (ICT) and advanced manufacturing solutions in driving the change in the food processing and supply chain, in order to foster regional cooperation based on the shared goals and values of the Smart Specialisation Strategies.

A new approach to food production

The agricultural sector, as in the case of other industries, is impacted by global trends related to demographics, economics, and climate change. Therefore the question is how to jointly address the societal and economic challenges in the food sector?

The agri-food sector contributes significantly to the support of the Sustainable Development Goals, from the Zero Hunger to the Decent Work & Economic Growth. Hence, the production of sustainable food is a key priority to ensure both societal and environmental wellbeing across regions. Yet, this poses a set of challenges to the producers when it comes to their capacity to remain competitive in the market. To overcome these challenges, the need to investigate and design innovative approaches involving Advanced Manufacturing techniques and digital tools becomes crucial to unlocking new solutions that can help farmers to work more efficiently and sustainably and, in turn, revolutionise the agriculture sector. 

The webinar will look at

• How agriculture is making use of data mobility, industry 4.0, and new technologies
• Regional examples of innovation and skills strategies in food tech and value chain
• The role of TVET in helping sustain innovation in the agrifood sector

How to join the webinar

Click on “register here” 

15 March 2021