18 February 2010
Eurescom starts discussion on e-skills in ICT research
Heidelberg. Eurescom has started a discussion on
e-skills in European ICT research. David Kennedy, director of Eurescom, sees the
risk that human resources in European ICT research may not be sufficient in the
mid-term to keep the EU at the leading edge of innovation, if industry and
public institutions do not address the issue now.
“The main issue in European ICT research in the near future is to have enough
highly qualified researchers and project managers to drive innovation in areas
like the Future Internet,” said Kennedy. In order to address the issue, he
suggests an interdisciplinary discussion between industry, academia, and public
institutions on the type of e-skills needed in future research activities and
how to create an e-skills-friendly environment, which motivates young people to
build the skills that are needed for outstanding research.
“The European e-Competence Framework is a good basis for discussing the e-skills
required. However, we need to get more specific. It is not enough to have
researchers with a narrow, specialised expert knowledge, we need more versatile
researchers, who combine technical expertise with interdisciplinary thinking and
project management skills,” said Kennedy.
In order to kick off the discussion, Eurescom has launched a mailing-list
through which stakeholders in the field of ICT research can exchange their views
and discuss a roadmap towards building the e-skills needed to ensure that
European ICT research stays at the top worldwide. Representatives of relevant
stakeholders are invited to join the Eurescom e-Skills Forum and subscribe to
the Eurescom e-skills mailing-list via the form at
www.eurescom.eu/activities/e-skills.asp. Based on the discussion, Eurescom
plans to write a White Paper on e-skills in ICT research, together with active
stakeholders from the community.
About Eurescom
Eurescom is a leading European organisation for collaborative R&D in
telecommunications. The Heidelberg-based institute manages and supports European
research projects as well as international ICT initiatives and runs the office
of the CELTIC Cluster for telecommunications within EUREKA.
Eurescom support the EU's e-Skills Week as a
European Stakeholder.
Press release
for download in PDF format (37 KB)
Journalists who require further information should
contact:
Milon Gupta
Marketing and PR Manager
Phone: +49 6221 989121
E-mail: gupta@eurescom.eu
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