Bridging the gap between education and bioeconomy needs

It employs around 18 million people and generates over €2 trillion a year, with the potential to create a further 1 million jobs by 2030. It also has huge potential to enhance biodiversity and fight climate change by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Mapping and reporting 

To enable the bioeconomy to fulfil this potential, UrBIOfuture worked with stakeholders across Europe to foster interaction between educational and research institutions and industry to bring educational offers into line with industry needs.

We asked the bio-based sector to think about what its skill needs would be in the near future.

Aleix Barrera, UrBIOfuture project coordinator

‘We asked the bio-based sector to think about what its skill needs would be in the near future and analysed current programmes in universities and vocational training centres. This allowed us to identify the skill needs of the industry and map educational programmes. More than 1,200 programmes were analysed during the project. We then made a report where we pinpointed the gaps between industrial needs and educational offering’ says UrBIOfuture project co-coordinator, Aleix Barrera from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. 

The map of educational programmes provides a comprehensive overview of completed and ongoing programmes related to bio-based activities at undergraduate, Master’s, doctoral and vocational levels across Europe. To convey a good understanding of the current educational supply, the findings are presented according to academic and industrial fields and competencies.

More than 1,200 programmes were analysed during the project.

Aleix Barrera, UrBIOfuture project coordinator

Along with the mapping, findings from a focus group, workshops and a questionnaire fed into the report, which analyses educational gaps in different regional contexts and fields of activity and makes recommendations regarding competencies that need to be reinforced in education. These include general competencies like management, entrepreneurship, research and innovation and marketing, and specialist competencies such as technical expertise in biomass production, conversion processes, materials and products.

Highlighting opportunities 

Through the organisation of open-access events, the project got interested parties, especially young people. The UrBIOfuture Experience, a process for attracting talent, provided career advice and fostered entrepreneurship and creative thinking.

 We pinpointed the gaps between industrial needs and educational offering.

Aleix Barrera, UrBIOfuture project coordinator

UrBIOfuture has developed a website for communication between industry, research and academia, and materials to enable educational organisations and the private sector to promote careers in bio-based industries and train professionals. 

It has also produced a best-practice guide for academia-industry cooperation setting out 10 guidelines for improving cooperation and knowledge transfer, including supporting the creation of technology-based spin-offs and start-ups, living labs and permanent fora. For each guideline, the guide provides successful examples from around Europe and details of requirements for implementation.

We engaged with students, unemployed people and citizens.

Aleix Barrera, UrBIOfuture project coordinator

'We engaged students, unemployed people and other citizens in a programme where we made them aware of the importance of the bio-based sector and showed them the possibilities it offers for finding good jobs and building good careers' explains Aleix Barrera.

Another key output is a train-the-trainer booklet which is aimed at turning educators into UrBIOfuture Experience ambassadors. The booklet highlights the importance of the bio-based industry and the opportunities that it offers for young people and contains educational activities and materials that can be used in classes.

Thanks to UrBIOfuture, new career opportunities in Europe’s fast-growing bioeconomy are opening up for students, the unemployed and existing workers in the sector, thereby helping to make the bioeconomy even more competitive.