BUSINESSMED too part to the Thematic University Business Forum that took place on 22 and 23 February 2022 in Italy on the topic of cooperation between academic and business sectors in a “time of recovery and resilience”. The two-day event was hosted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and by the Italian National Governmental Agency for Territorial Cohesion, with the support of the European Commission.

The focus was on knowledge as an engine of growth and on the crucial role of educational and academic institutions in supporting and promoting human capital, which is the basis for effective and sustainable initiatives.

The plenary session on university-business collaboration in the Mediterranean, in which BUSINESSMED participated, showed how innovation, regional cooperation and a multi-stakeholder approach can bring about a concrete commitment from the whole ecosystem to overcome the skills mismatch and improve access to the labour market.

The first day of the event covered the National Recovery and Resilience Plans, with initiatives dedicated to University-Business Cooperation, where Participants had the opportunity to discuss themes like innovation, research, green and digital transitions, regional development, and agribusiness in depth during parallel workshops. The key take-aways of the workshops were presented by a panel of PhD student rapporteurs during the start of the second day of the event. Finally, two panel sessions took place, one exploring UBC in the Mediterranean, and a second one that looked at sustainability issues through a range of UBC project examples.

The event was also an occasion to showcase best practices of various institutions, organisations, and projects. This exchange of knowledge and experience showed how higher education and business can effectively cooperate across different countries, through shared goals, namely increasing the employability of young people and BUSINESSMED gave practical examples of this.

BUSINESSMED also highlighted how we are working to bring the private sector closer to innovation and research activities, to strengthen knowledge transfer and to foster the correlation of skills in an ever-changing labour market, in order to maintain the socio-economic prosperity of the region. The organization also presented the business perspective, explaining that it is their responsibility to work with universities to provide internships and develop opportunities for young people who want to gain experience in the industry. Companies also have a lot to gain by investing in PhD students, for example, who can be trained in new niche sectors contributing to the green and digital transitions, as well as the circular economy.