Invest more in digital skills and innovation

In Europe, we lack an enormous amount of people with digital skills. In particular, the share of women in ICT-related studies and working in the digital sector is disconcerting. I can only echo European Commission Director General Themis Christophidou, who warned at our annual conferencethat most people entering primary school today are likely to work in jobs that now don’t exist. Yet if we don’t overcome the current skills mismatch in Europe, thousands of vacancies will remain unfilled (and many may be unemployed!).

Europe is at risk of lagging behind global competitorsif it does not bridge the funding gap that exists with the rest of the world. We have excellent universities, but we are way behind other regions when it comes to the number of graduates in STEM subjects. Much more has to be done to ensure that students choose a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Initiatives such as Scientix, which promotes and supports a Europe-wide collaboration among STEM teachers, education researchers, policymakers and other STEM education professionals, deserve all support needed.

In the EIT Digital Academy, we believe in "blended" Innovation and Entrepreneurship education. We provide – onlineand offline – technical excellence bundled with entrepreneurial skills and mindset to digital engineers and entrepreneurs at all stages of their careers. These T-shaped entrepreneurial digital talents – having both depth and breadth in their skills – will form the backbone of Europe’s digital transformation.