What potential does Upper Lusatia already have with regard to digital change and what educational opportunities are necessary to be fit for the modern working world?

The structural change in a region is firmly linked to the people who are supposed to produce innovations. In this context, the professional development of experts is an inseparable part of innovative technological developments and has a significant positive impact on economic innovation. The new research project, which is part of the large structural change project and alliance "Lausitz - Life and Technology", aims to design and test a training academy in Upper Lusatia, the "Europe Open Academy" ("EurOpA"), and to establish it in the future. The team led by project manager Professor Sophia Keil is currently asking itself the following key questions: What educational opportunities are needed for the promising digital technologies in the context of the digital transformation of the economy? Which regional potentials are already available for this in Upper Lusatia? How can education and innovation be promoted even more, especially in our region?

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First of all, the needs of the large companies in Upper Lusatia as well as small and medium-sized companies are determined, an evidence-based and needs-based program concept is derived, concrete teaching scenarios are developed, a video workshop is set up, the further training program is tested and evaluated with partner companies on the basis of criteria and a well-founded sustainability strategy is developed.

Large companies such as Siemens and SMEs such as Arnell and ULT from Upper Lusatia have already been identified as test providers for this training academy.
This contributes to increasing the global competitiveness of companies in Upper Lusatia by empowering employees, for example, to design digital business processes and train them in the use of digital technologies.

The project for the conception and testing of the further training academy "European Open Academy" (EurOpA) in the innovation region of Oberlausitz is supported by the specialist working group on digitization and student-centred approaches in competence-oriented university teaching (Diskoh) and the Science Center Oberlausitz - Technologie-Transfer-Innovativ (SCO-TTi).