Universities of the Future is official ON!

UoF will generate a paradigmatic change in the way universities, businesses and governments will cooperate in the upcoming framework of Industry 4.0, promoting closer, strongest, meaningful and reciprocally valuable links between and within the helix stakeholders built-on an innovative approach to the Universities of the Future.

These universities will move away from traditional high education degrees as the only form of credential they offer and move toward a mixed-offering of degrees plus shorter cycle qualifications and credentials. This shift will allow them and their business partners to co-create shorter cycle qualifications that respond to industry changes and move rapidly with re/upskilling needs of the current and future workforce towards the digitalization era. In fact, Universities of the Future are expected to have a much stronger focus on career management for students, both while they’re at university completing their studies and after they leave to the world of work. This will go beyond traditional career advice and may include offers of continuous training and post-graduation courses to “top up” their skills with short cycle degrees. This would help flesh-out graduates’ resumes based on industry demand and offer new skills which might not have been taught in the student’s core degree.

At the end of this project and afterwards, universities will be more aware, prompt and able to effectively respond to the demands of industry/education 4.0, positioning themselves as “first movers”, which in turn will allowed them to be more competitive and attractive not only for students and teachers but also for strategic partners, such as companies and regional actors, with whom these organisations will have stronger and meaningful links. These responsiveness level and improved cooperation within the key stakeholders will be increased and supported by the project resources, such as the Blueprint, Open Partnerships, Guiding Tools and Virtual Factory developed, tested/validated by end-users and fine-tuned within the project.