EIT Community fosters next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs in Europe

High school students from across three countries participated in the Skills for the Future Summit.

Skills for the Future initiative

Sixty Students from the cross Innovation Community 'Skills for the Future' Initiative gathered in Brussels to showcase their innovations in an event organised by EIT RawMaterials in collaboration with EIT Food and EIT Climate-KIC.

On 28 November 2019, 60 students and 15 teachers from Slovenia, Hungary and southern Italy convened in Brussels for the inaugural Skills for the Future Summit. The Summit is a unique venue for cross-cultural exchange, where students working towards sustainability in different thematic and geographical contexts can come together to exchange ideas. The students who gathered at the Summit were selected by their peers and juries of industry and academic experts for their outstanding innovations developed during intensive Idea Camps in their home countries.

To begin the day, students moved through the beautiful Solvay Library while undertaking dynamic activities to identify their core qualities and skills, as well as how best to deploy them as part of a team. Meanwhile, their teachers took part in a workshop on challenge-based learning techniques for the classroom.

Tackling challenges

Agriculture 4.0, sustainable schools, reducing waste, designing for the future; these were just some of the challenges that students tackled with their innovations on the theme of the circular economy. The jury was impressed with the outcomes, which ranged from an energy-neutral heating system to an ink extracted from food waste to a table produced using a by-product of steel production.

The students and teachers will return with new perspectives to share with their peers and colleagues, broadening the impact of Skills for the Future in their schools and communities.

Regarding Skills for the Future initiative