MAKERS project, started in January 2016 and funded under Horizon 2020 program – Marie-Curie action, will bring together leaders from business, academia and policy to study issues related to the drivers and dynamics of sustaining the competitiveness of EU manufacturing sectors. The project’s innovative research, training and mobility activities will address key concerns related to the historic opportunity for the EU to lead a manufacturing renaissance that not only upgrades existing manufacturing competences but, more importantly, develops new technological capabilities across EU regions to support regional industrial resilience for more distributed and sustainable socio-economic growth and prosperity.
MAKERS will create a multi-stakeholder platform to discuss the current understanding of issues related to manufacturing renaissance, including (1) the role of small, medium and large manufacturing firms and local production systems plugged into local-global value chains; (2) what are the drivers and processes for innovation, technological capabilities and technology transfer from research intuitions to firms; (3) trends in reshoring and nearshoring and the potentials for re- industrialisation and shorter value chains; (4) the impact of the socio-economic-environmental sustainability agenda on EU competitiveness; (5) skills requirements and training; and finally (6) how policy can ensure the competitiveness of EU manufacturing sectors for more distributed and sustainable socio-economic growth and prosperity.
MAKERS’ training programme comprises:
- 1) annual summer schools that will cover the breadth of the issues above and address methodological requirements;
- 2) work package-specific Business/Academia/Policy (BAP) workshops;
- 3) dissemination activities within the network in conjunction with mobility, such as presentations at faculty seminar series, and doctoral level guest lectures;
- 4) dissemination activities at events outside the network, such as presentations at international conferences, policy for a and multi-media engagement.
Foundation for Research and Innovation attends to the research activities with three secondees and a fellowship:
- Dr. Santini is doing her research activities to the University of Nuechatel, in Switzerland, from Dicember 2016
- In November 2017 Miss Ciappei has moved for an year in the UK to the University of Birmingham, project leader
- In May 2018 Miss Guiggiani joined the team of the University of Birmingham
- Fellowship activities are carried on by Professor Bellandi from University of Florence to the University of Birmingham.
As written in the Workin Plan of the project (WP3), the Foundation organized in May 2018 an international workshop (a Business-Academia-Policy forum) in Florence. Read our news here.
In December 2018 Makers final event was held in Bruxelles. On 31st of December 2018 the project was officially closed.
