The chemical industry is currently undergoing a quadruple or double twin transition. It encompasses green and digital transformation alongside circularity and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS). The initiative “ChemSkills: enabling the green and digital skills transformation of the chemical industry” is to respond to these challenges and to identify and develop green and digital skills, in addition to skills to produce “safe and sustainable chemicals by design” within the low-carbon energy intensive ecosystem. The project will cover several sub-sectors of the chemical industry:-plastics-consumer chemicals-fertilisers-rubber-pharmaceuticals-petrochemicals.It will map the already existing skills and develop emerging occupational profiles and related qualifications covering upper and post-secondary VET levels (EQF levels 3 to 5) and tertiary levels (EQF levels 6 to 8). The project will bring together stakeholders to jointly implement strategies to address skills gaps in the above mentioned sub-sectors. The key stakeholders include social partners, business representations, research institutes, education and training providers, universities and public authorities, amongst others.

The European Union (EU) has insisted on the need to adapt training systems to the requirements of a constantly changing labour market, in which, as a result of globalisation and technological development, professional skills must be adapted to the new times. The adaptation of qualifications is particularly important in the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET), in which two main lines of action have been identified: 1) Boosting the quality of the dual system 2) Reinforcing collaboration between the actors involved.In this context, the iidVET project has aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of the systems and institutions involved in the development of dual VET, as well as its implementation mechanisms and tools, through an exchange of knowledge and good practices between European countries with consolidated systems of dual Vocational Education and Training and others in which this type of training is not yet sufficiently well developed. Countries such as Germany and Austria have a long experience in the development of dual VET, based on a fluid relationship with companies, while in other states such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, collaboration between training centres and companies needs of an impulse to facilitate a horizontal adjustment of competences. The iidVET project has been designed to establish a collaborative space for mutual learning, development and innovation in the implementation of dual VET between the five countries mentioned above, which are committed to improving its quality and effectiveness.To this end, throughout iidVET, the main factors featuring consolidated and successful dual VET systems have been identified and analysed through the analysis of the German and Austrian cases through joint reflections, study visits and analysis of good practices, with the aim of applying the main strengths to overcome the weaknesses identified and analysed during the project in the participating countries where dual VET is less developed: Spain, Portugal and Italy.Approximately 300 participants related to the design, implementation and evaluation of dual VET took part in iidVET, including policy makers, administrative technicians, managers and teachers of training centres providing dual VET - including centres for students with special needs -, representatives of the areas of training and/or human resources of companies, universities, chambers of commerce, employers' organisations and trade unions, company tutors and dual VET students, among others.In terms of results and impact obtained, all of them with a long-term perspective of permanence, the objectives related to the transfer of knowledge and experience and the successful factors of the dual VET systems in Austria and Germany to the other countries have been achieved to a large extent. Thus, it is worth highlighting the introduction by the Ministry of Education of Castilla y León, already initiated for the 2019-2020 academic year, of the role of the Prospector of Learning Positions in Companies for the Development of dual VET projects in Castilla y León, releasing at least one teacher from each of the publicly owned centers that have authorized dual FP projects or have requested authorization, in order to foster the search for companies for the development of dual projects.Also, the feasibility analysis that the IFEP of Portugal is currently carrying out on the possibility of modifying the contracting system of its dual VET training model, based until now on an agreement between the centre and the student, to move to one based on the agreement between the company and the student, once they have verified through the project that this is the system that operates in all the countries of the project and that it is more effective than their own. In addition, the objective set for the five participating countries of establishing and strengthening networks of contacts that will remain in the future and that will lead to an increase in the number of mobilities in dual VET between partner countries/regions has been achieved. This has already led, among other things, to the collaboration between partners and their international networks in new Erasmus+ projects to further increase the quality of dual VET and to foster international mobilities in this field, such as the one launched on 1 December 2019 under the name 'doALLVET' (Strategic Alliances for Quality Dual VET and International Mobilities), coordinated by the iidVET Project Leader and again with the Portuguese partner IEFP.In addition, a 'Key Findings, Recommendations and Inspiring Experiences' guide has been produced in the languages of all project partners, which will serve as a basis for further reforms and projects.

A lack of innovation management capacity represents an important barrier to creating economic impact from innovation activities in SMEs. The H2020 Work Programme “Innovation in SMEs” foresees support services via the Enterprise Europe Network dealing with this issue. The Austrian consortium will support SMEs in addressing factors hindering successful innovation cycles. Activities will aim at (1) providing substantial consulting and support services in the form of Key Account Management (KAM) to beneficiaries of the EIC Pilot and at (2) enhancing the innovation management capacity (EIMC) of SMEs. Services will be provided in close cooperation and coordination with the National Contact Points and regional and national stakeholders. KAM and EIMC services will be carried out by experienced innovation experts that are all also involved in/closely connected to the provision of EEN services. This guarantees a seamless support via the services provided under H2020 and COSME, using synergies but avoiding the duplication of services. (1) Within the frame of the Key Account Management, partners will conduct company assessments, identify weaknesses in the SMEs’ innovation strategies and subsequently help SMEs to assign professional coaches. Coaches and SMEs will then develop a coaching plan and address these weaknesses. The process will be facilitated and accompanied by the EEN expert. Further support (e.g. the link to additional financial resources) will be provided and so the SME receives a vital service throughout the project. (2) EEN experts will also directly support a selected number of SMEs in improving their innovation management. This will be achieved through targeted innovation management consulting. SMEs in need of this specific type of consulting will be reached which show a high potential for successful market introduction of innovations and international growth..

"Universities are the main source of innovation and solutions to challenges that can be marketable. Many start ups and University spin offs are founded at European Universities, but when it comes at sustainability and growth capacity, after 3 years more than the 50 % of start ups fails. The main reasons are the lack of profitability and growth capacity. The origin of this failure come from the roots itself of the company founded: the entrepreneurial and business skills of the founders, the complementarity of skills of the founders and their teams, their ability to find supporting networks and effective, bottom up start ups support ecosystem and the capacity of going international and build international cooperation.Chambers and companies in this project have developed counselling, peer learning and mentoring programmes that have proven results in achieving between 75 % and 97 % survival rate of the mentored start ups and university spin-offs. after 3 years SPINTeams aims at improving entrepreneurial and business skills of the would be entrepreneurs at partners HEI, as well as their current and future Spin-offs and Start ups, to achieve more and more long lasting and growing businesses. The project will act with a bottom up approach acting twofold: impacting the practitioners and the HEIs.To achieve this, the consortium will undertake the following activities and products:- A collection of training webinars for creating the role of ""Entrepreneurship Coaches"" at partners HEIs "".- A complete training course for improving entrepreneurial and business skills adressed to advanced students, Phd students, researchers (would be entrepreneurs or spin-off/start ups founders).- A handbook ""Building entrepreneurial support ecosystems for HEIs"".- A guide ""mentoring and peer learning methods for new entrepreneurs support"".- A International entrepreneurs cooperation platform to foster the international cooperation, teamwork, networking and mentoring."

A lack of innovation management capacity represents an important barrier to creating economic impact from innovation activities in SMEs. The Horizon 2020 Work Programme “Innovation in SMEs” therefore foresees support services for SMEs via the Enterprise Europe Network addressing this specific issue. The Austrian consortium will support SMEs in addressing factors hindering successful innovation cycles. Activities will be targeted at (1) providing substantial consulting and support services in the form of key account management (KAM) to beneficiaries of the Horizon 2020 SME instrument and at (2) enhancing the innovation management capacity (EIMC) of SMEs. Services will be provided in close cooperation and coordination with the National Contact Points and major regional and national stakeholders, guaranteeing a holistic approach and a high quality of services. (1) Within the frame of the SME instrument, partners will conduct company assessments, identify weaknesses in the SMEs’ innovation strategies and subsequently help SMEs to assign professional coaches. These coaches will then jointly develop a coaching plan with the SME and address these weaknesses. This process will be facilitated and accompanied by the Enterprise Europe Network expert. Further support (e.g. the link to additional financial resources) will be provided and the SME thereby receives a vital consulting service free of charge throughout the SME instrument project. (2) In addition to the SME instrument, the partners will directly support a selected number of high-potential SMEs in improving their innovation management. This will be achieved through targeted innovation management consulting by senior staff members of the consortium. Thereby, SMEs in need of this specific type of consulting will be reached, which may not benefit from the H2020 SME instrument while still showing a high potential for successful market introduction of innovations and international growth.