Cluster4Smart, an innovative cooperation among clusters, universities and intermediaries from around Europe has held its kick-off workhop in Sophia Antipolis on 20 September. The project, financed by the ERASMUS+ programme of the European Union aims to develop the management and thematic competences cluster organisations need in order to successfully tackle the challenges, and exploit the opportunities of the global trends linked to Industry 4.0: automatization, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and a greater than ever need for efficient networks. The final result is to be a free and comprehensive online course usable by cluster managers, policymakers, university students and any relevant stakeholders – the first such endeavour in Europe, and a blueprint for further similar courses.
SCS Pôle cluster, as the Lead Beneficiary of Cluster4Smart hosted the event. The partners started down the path of 30 months of joint work and research with an efficient discussion of assumptions and tasks for the upcoming times, and drew up the detailed project plan for the first phase of the project: an in-depth research into the existing and the necessary high-performance cluster management competences and skills – and the gaps between the two groups. This study is to be complemented by an Europe-wide survey, and is going to act as the basis for the curriculum of the final course.
