The ongoing digital evolution is impacting every sector of our society, changing work requirements, people’s mindsets as well as behavioural and social attitudes, creating both significant opportunities and threats that need to be managed and guided properly. If we specifically refer to new emerging technologies it is largely recognized the need to strategically drive them, indeed the EC has created policy and actions to support it. Among EU Policy for HEIs, there is: encouraging creativity, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit at all training and education levels. In a near future, there will be a strong demand for Digital Creative Abilities which include both digital skills (e.g. information skills, programming and app development) along with human skills (e.g problem solving, strategic and creative thinking, emotional intelligence, relationship and network building abilities, etc). Their development allows managing the digital transition achieving a Digital Maturity that means enabling people to continuously adapt to a changing digital landscape, learning how to collaborate with digital technologies and how to use them to serve the human needs in any field Main objectives The proposed project aims to implement, apply, and spread within a EU network of HEIs, SMEs and Startups, Business Incubators, a human-centred design model to facilitate and strategically guide the ongoing process of digital evolution for achieving Digital Maturity through people creative enhancement. The Digital Creativity4Digital Maturity (DC4DM) model will empower Digital Creative Abilities through the (i) exchange of knowledge; (ii) co-creation of interdisciplinary methods and tools; and (iii) project-based experiments to understand and possibly anticipate the foreseeable opportunities and threats offered by the digital evolution developing a strategic approach to the adoption and application of such technology. During the project, the model will be implemented with methods, tools and cross-functional competencies of the whole consortium fostering sharing of cross-cultural knowledge from academia to industry and viceversa. Training digital wise professionals able to drive the digital transformation has become a mission which requires a European Alliance from all the relevant stakeholders Activities The concrete outputs we will develop include the making of a ‘Digital Maturity Vocabulary’ to build a shared knowledge for working with emerging digital technologies, supported by a set of ‘Digital Maturity Pills’ with best practice cases to share with Universities, SMEs and startups in Europe. We will develop learner-centred, project-based approaches called ‘Learning Lab training format’ to support development and empower skills to manage challenges through DC4DM model and increase their abilities in those learning interdisciplinary environments. A "Design Maturity Toolkit' of innovative tools and methods to nurture and connect design curricula with design digital tech-driven activities. Our ‘DC4DM Edu BOX' and the educational MOOC draws together content and experiences providing tools, guidelines and paths to work with other HEIs, SME's and startup, and EC strategies and programmes. We will deliver 2 short term design staff training events (co-design workshop and Bootcamp), 6 events (Digital Maturity Day) open to the general public, start-ups and SMEs to spread knowledge about the strategic potential of creativity and design to guide the technological application, 3 intensive study programmes (Learning Lab) with Master’s students. Participants Our consortium draws on leading design-educator-researchers from 5 reliable institutions, in 3 countries representing different parts of Europe, that provide useful competencies for the project in design and creativity, IT and engineering, business management and entrepreneurship. They are Politecnico di Milano (IT), Institut Mines-Télécom (FR), Télécom Saint-Etienne (FR), Universidade da Madeira (PO) and Startup Madeira (PO). We will work with design and engineering teachers and Master’s students, professionals from tech-driven Startups and SME’s, business and tech experts. Impacts The application of the model focus on the relationship between HEIs and Tech-driven SME’s / Startups, aiming at strengthening the collaboration between higher education, research and business with the focus of training talents with the right abilities and knowledge needed to facilitate and guide SME’s and organizations in achieving a Digital Maturity. Learners will be able to shift strategically the given process and tools to address the development of Digital Creative Abilities. Teachers will apply the educational guidelines and best practices for the replication of the DC4DM model to meet the challenges of teaching in the digital evolution era. A key impact will be connecting Design Education and the cross-functional open innovative teaching method and curricula based on the evolving needs of students and industry.
The primary goal was to facilitate the digital transformation of SMEs by empowering them with essential skills and mindsets to reach Digital Maturity. The project aimed to achieve these objectives: - Educational Empowerment: equipping talents with the digital creativity skills to drive progressive change, fostering the responsible, sustainable, and innovative use of new digital tech and steering organizations toward digital maturity. - Competitive Edge: giving to Digital Maturity Enabler, the new professional, the role of interpreting the digital scenario, understanding social, technological, economic, environmental, and political trends and, finally, suggesting strategic paths for innovative and sustainable solutions. - Innovation: inspiring innovation by encouraging the adoption of a new design process and creative strategies, enabling organizations to envision and create preferable future scenarios. - Proactive Adaptation: prepare individuals and organizations to navigate digital transformations successfully using the human-centred educational model implemented and validated. -Strategic Opportunities: help individuals strategically unlock multiple opportunities arising from digital advancements by emphasizing human creativity.
The decision to apply for this project arose from recognizing the essential role of digital transformation in today's business landscape for companies to survive and stay competitive. SMEs often struggle due to resistance to change or lack of awareness about the potential of digital techs. It becomes necessary to re-educate and empower them to shape their digital strategies and vision by investing in digital creativity and digital talents. To address these challenges, the need is to train professionals with specific creative digital skills capable of leading organizations towards their digital maturity. The ability to proactively anticipate changes, harness opportunities brought by new techs and ease the transition towards desirable futures becomes paramount for individuals. The project introduces a new educational model and a design process tailored for the digital age, to empower young professionals with future-proof skills. It aimed to help individuals harness new opportunities presented by emerging digital techs and navigate transitions towards desirable futures. The project addressed the pressing need for digital transformation in organizations by equipping individuals with the skills necessary to thrive in the digital age.