DG CNECT is dividing its work across two large strands. Next Generation EU (NGEU) is going to host the “hard tech” stuff: supercomputing, AI, quantum computing, what used to be called LEIT (Leadership in European IT, competitiveness, digital sovereignty). DEP is going to host its “softer” work (digital skills, social innovation).
Here are the draft orientations, supposedly to inspire the calls in 2021 and 2022. The first calls are expected for… now.
Your methodology for semantic data analysis (human :human) you could look for space into destination 6: ‘a human-centred ethical etc’, or in ‘data verticals’ .
Also good for @nadia and @bojanbobic, there might be opportunities for the remote work thing:
Digital skills are more important than AI, because training humans is more expensive than programming robots. These calls are in DEP, not in NGEU.
The Digital Europe programme is structured around two main types of activities:
A) Building essential digital capacities for the three key digital technology areas identified (HPC, AI and cybersecurity) as well as the advanced digital skills needed to “operate” them. This is related to:
supercomputing, ensuring access to HPC infrastructure and widening its use;
developing capacity in AI, establishing EU-wide common data spaces, developing experimentation and testing facilities and scaling up European AI platform;
deploying the cybersecurity competence centre network with Member States…
In terms of capacity building, it is related to the same areas (HPC, AI and cybersecurity). The goals are to:
develop Master’s programs or modules in those areas;
short-term training courses;
job placements;
maintain and populate the platform for Skills and Jobs.
B) Accelerating the adoption and best use of digital technologies, including the latest digital capacities, across the economy and society. This is related to:
setting up the Network of EU Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH is a single entity or a coordinated group of entities with complementary expertise and a not-for-profit objective to support the digital transformation of companies and/or public sector organisations on a large scale. This support includes access to services such as technology-testing, financing advice, and market intelligence).
aiming for high impact deployments (user-centricity principles). Initial list of actions in the first two years:
deployments addressing climate and environment. Actions: Digital for Clean Planet (use environmental and other data for creating solutions and applications to achieve environmental and climate goals); Clean, sustainable and smart Communities and Mobility (Deployment of Open Cross-sectorial Urban Digital Platforms and Cross-border Mobility as a Service solutions & Smart City and Smart Mobility applications…); Agri Food (increase farm efficiency and to make farming systems more sustainable).
modernisation of public services. Actions: Digital Transformation for better and sustainable Health and Care; Citizen-centric digital public services; Justice; Security; Digital Cultural Heritage;
deployment of technologies underpinning digital services. Actions: Blockchain; Cloud Federation as a Service.
widening the best use of digital technologies. Includes: Building trust for the digital transformation (focus on children); Language technologies; Digital Transformation of Learning and Education (targeting primary, secondary and vocational schools).
From all this (and maybe I’m not reading between the lines) but I’m having hard time finding space for the SSNA. It seems to me the focus, even in capacity building, is very much on the three key areas HPC, AI and cybersecurity, leaving little space for things such as training on remote work…Maybe once the actual calls are published finding the match with what we do will be easier.
deployments addressing climate and environment. Actions: Digital for Clean Planet (use environmental and other data for creating solutions and applications to achieve environmental and climate goals); Clean, sustainable and smart Communities and Mobility (Deployment of Open Cross-sectorial Urban Digital Platforms and Cross-border Mobility as a Service solutions & Smart City and Smart Mobility applications…); Agri Food (increase farm efficiency and to make farming systems more sustainable).
Maybe these two could be a good match for the remote work, albeit from different angles:
Digital for clean planet (use environmental and other data for creating solutions and applications to achieve environmental and climate goals. Here the connection between carbon consumption and new ways of working/things to work on is easy to demonstrate and relevant to our current line of work Bojan, Matt and I are doing modernisation of public services . Actions: Digital Transformation for better and sustainable Health and Care; Citizen-centric digital public services; Justice; Security. Here we actually have data from NGI on the links between distributed work future - and need to better adapt/ develop new models of providing care, welfare and justice/security.