EIT Manufacturing is growing together with its leading partners of industries, academic and research institutions to offer a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities that include entrepreneurial education courses, business creation and acceleration services, and innovation-driven research projects. It performs a key way of transforming knowledge into valuable outcomes by overcoming the fragmented innovation networks. The EIT network helps innovators turn their ideas into cutting-edge products, services and jobs for Europe.
Europe’s largest manufacturing innovation network, EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Manufacturing is looking to better harness its human resources to address skills shortages and grow the innovation sector. As the manufacturing sector in Europe is facing multiple challenges after the pandemic and Ukraine war has also triggered various issues with the cost, and supply chain. With these problems, the manufacturing industry is encouraging their employees to adopt new digital technologies to boost their efficiency and flexibility to create a huge impact on the environment. Established in 2019, it envisions to lead Europe and become a global manufacturer.
EIT Manufacturing CEO Caroline Viarouge said “Even with the best technology in the world, without people, we cannot make the transformation happen.”
This summer, Caroline Viarouge was appointed as the CEO of EIT Manufacturing and brings a strong leadership and transformational track record of various management positions from larger industrial groups, such as Nissan and Munters. She was instrumental in growing and transforming these organisations, and in expanding their manufacturing footprints. Caroline beyond her corporate knowledge, also gained experience in consulting management at BearingPoint, and she continues to support innovative start-ups through X-HEC and angel investing. She holds a MIB degree from the University College Dublin and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris.
Ever since Caroline chaired as a CEO, she has been enabling and connecting European manufacturing SMEs, corporate players and entrepreneurs with innovation, research, learning and access-to-market opportunities. She wants Europe to lead in breakthrough innovation to support high-tech industries, such as biomanufacturing and semiconductors, within the next five to ten years, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. She also envisions women accounting to grow 40% from the current 32% of the workforce in the manufacturing sector.
CEO Caroline shared her message on the manufacturing industry in Europe and noted “EIT Manufacturing is committed to support its partners with a number of talent reskilling and upskilling initiatives. A noteworthy initiative led by the EIT and coordinated by EIT Manufacturing is the EIT’s Deep Tech Talent Initiative, which is part of the European Commission’s New European Innovation Agenda, promoting institutional change in higher education to increase the innovation capacity of the higher education sector. We are also committed to reinforce our financial support for innovative solutions with our Call for Proposals and start-up funding to foster the twin transition.”
Today, Europe may lack the talents and skilled labour force to leverage the new technologies for the green and digital transition. But with the Deep Tech Talent Initiative, the EIT will direct the talent gap by developing a strong deep tech talent pool across Europe. To achieve Deep Tech Talent Initiative goals, courses and funding will be offered by the EIT to develop and scale new or existing learning materials in deep tech until the end of 2025.
EIT Manufacturing’s Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) is also boosting innovation ecosystems across Europe and today, it is Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem with more than 2,400 partners. These programmes are aimed at bolstering local startups and SMEs, facilitating the acceleration of both green and digital transformations within the manufacturing sector. The Circular economy projects to develop smart technologies for green and circular manufacturing, that include achieving zero-defect manufacturing, zero-waste manufacturing, and virtualisation/dematerialisation. The AI integration into the activities of this Scheme presents opportunities undertaking projects aimed at bolstering innovative solutions centred around AI within the manufacturing sector.
Caroline as EIT Manufacturing CEO, aims to achieve net zero and empower diversity and inclusion to stimulate innovation in manufacturing, and foster collaboration to help European manufacturers to accelerate and play a key role in the transition to a future-proof industry.