SME Cluster Growth- empowered engineering

We are an ambitious collaborative force of higher education institutions (HEIs), future skills and business growth professionals and university-industry relationship experts working on a dynamic set of resources, learning and structures under an ERASMUS+ Knowledge Alliance project. WHY? Engineering, in all its guises, is absolutely crucial for SME innovation. It remains a dominant knowledge sector attracting a large share of the workforce and a steady yearly increase in the number of graduates. Various reports highlight a set of in-demand skillsets for the engineering sector, including relational intelligence, emotional intelligence, other transversal skills, and the ability to recognise future trends. 3 KEY AREAS (i) SME cluster growth training (ii) student business consulting, and (iii) a launch of cross-border facility sharing schemes. SIX KEY DELIVERABLES 1. Identify cluster growth needs of SMEs in 6 project regions and 65 good practices on successful SME growth strategies (Mapping); 2. Develop and implement SME growth mobility and training programmes for a group of 60 SMEs including workshops, peer learning and cross-border; hot desk schemes (Learning); 3. Launch cross-border network support structures in science parks and business organisations in the form of hot desks, university access points, and facility sharing for SMEs to explore growth opportunities (Facility sharing); 4. Match 24+ MA & PhD students with SMEs to conduct in-house research and 24 MBA students to take up business challenge projects in the areas facilitating cluster growth 5. Develop & pilot test the ‘Change of Perspective Programme’ where 6+ academics and 6+ business professionals exchange their workplaces for a day to experience a different environment (Learning); 6. Build 6 cluster growth networks through forming stakeholder councils and community and capacity building events in the partner regions and linking the project cluster SMEs to the European Cluster Collaboration.