The European Social Innovation Campus (ESIC) Alliance, consisting of 15 partners from 10 European countries, recently held its kick-off meeting in the picturesque cities of Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. The ESIC Alliance, which is led by the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak), joined the Pact for Skills on Proximity and Social Economy to address the challenges of upskilling and reskilling 5% of the workforce and entrepreneurs in the social economy sector each year, while contributing to the ongoing green and digital transitions in Europe.
During the two-day event, higher education and vocational education and training, social economy organisations and enterprises, local and national authorities and European networks came together to unpack the work for the next four years, share ideas and build valuable connections.
Throughout the duration of the project, the ESIC Alliance will join forces to identify skills gaps in the social economy sector, develop competences at different levels of education in Europe as well as learning opportunities to match the needs of different occupational profiles in the sector.
But ESIC doesn’t stop there. The European Social Innovation Campus Platform, a central hub of knowledge where project results will be openly shared and easily accessible to all project stakeholders, will also be launched soon. Keep an eye on this space for more updates!
Read the main takeaways on the ESIC project below:
“Ambitious projects require ambitious people. Being surrounded by a group of highly-driven people inspires me and makes me believe we can realise an impactful and ambitious dream!”
“ESIC involves a dream team to improve training for the social economy”
“The project partners compensate each other with their extensive expertise and skills in social innovation, social impact, and sustainable development and education.”
“I look forward to unpacking the potential of the ESIC project together with an impact-driven and inspiring team.”