Topic: EQ-WOOD curriculum

(as part of the InnovaWood General Assembly meeting)

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During the general assembly of Innovawood, there was talk of the EQWOOD project and its curriculum for the innovation advisor.

 

InnovaWood, based in Belgium, is a major European network in the forestry, woodworking and furniture sector. The network has 60+ member organizations from 28 countries in Europe and overseas in the field of research, education, training and knowledge transfer.

 

During the event there were 70 persons from 58 organizations representing 25 countries, mainly in the field of research, education, training and knowledge transfer.

Topic: EQ-WOOD online learning platform 

Target participants:  6 persons from 3 organizations representing higher education institutions in wood and furniture in Europe

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The EQ-WOOD curriculum was presented to leading academic and technical universities, VET centres and cluster organizations in wood and furniture in Europe. Contents and formats of a new vocational profile for the woodworking and furniture industrywere discussed.

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Towards the final phase of the EQ-WOOD project, when the project team has completed the e-learning platform and it was accessible online, we have organized a specific discussion with the interested VETs and higher educational institutions to discuss to what extent they think the course is suited for their students, but also managers and employees in companies.

 

The EQ-WOOD curriculum and training platform were very well received, confirming that the teaching methodologies, the formats and contents are coherent and consistent with market needs. In particular during the second dissemination event, potential synergies with the existing training contents of the VET providers were discussed

On the event 29 ‘quality’ participants representing educational centres, local companies, wood and furniture regional networks, and individuals (self)employed in the wood and furniture industries were present. 

 

The webinar was opened by presidents of the CCIELyon and MEDEF AURA. They both spoke about the situation of the wood and furniture industry in the region and the cooperation of two sectors between France and Italy. They underlined that we shall work together to encourage the young generation, especially women, to choose this path of career.

 

During the webinar (1h) we presented the results of the EQWOOD project – training content (Malgorzata WOCH). 

Then Madame Sophie PRINA from Pôle emploi (the French public employment service) talked about the situation of the labour market in the wood and furniture industries, and underlined the necessity of offering more and more of similar professional trainings, as they are very popular among unemployed woodworkers and those thinking about a professional reorientation. 

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The last speaker, Mr Dario DALGO, CEO of Studio 27, shared with us a story of his long-term experience of working in the furniture industry in France. He shared his observations and reflections on the constant need for professional trainings and the open attitude that shall be always developed by manuals, specialist and managers working in the sector furniture sector. 

The event held in Italy on November 6 had the title: BIOMIMICRY: INNOVATE BY CONSULTING THE GENIUS OF NATURE

 

Speakers:

Alessandro Bianciardi- Co-Founder BIOMIMICRY Italia; Co-founder and Education and product innovation advisor PLANET sas

Sara Nill - Head of Federlegno Arredo Eventi Training Office

Chiara Terraneo - Project Manager FederlegnoArredo

 

We talked about EQWOOD and the importance of innovation in the Wood and Furniture sector.

An in-depth study was made on the topic covered in Unit 1 of the Innovation advisor curriculum: DESIGN THINKING, CONCEPTING, PROTOTYPING

 

About 50 people participated in the event, coming from different realities in the world of Wood and Furniture sector.

On 18 and 19 February 2021 BBCWFI and ITPIO conducted an online events for presenting the training platform and courses that were developed during the project EQ_WOOD.

 

40 representatives from different furniture companies, professors, students and freelancers participated in the events.

 

Their impressions from the events are very promising and motivating. They are looking forward for the final conference.

Online conference "Wood industry in the 21st century - training, digitalization, innovation"  on the 4th of February. 

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Its aim was to introduce the EQWood project to our members and followers with the contribution of our students and teacher of the Hungarian pilot workshop.

 

They discussed their experiences, opinions on the course and shared what skills and knowledge they had gained by entering the pilot.

 

Besides the roundtable, we had other interesting speakers presenting such as Andrea Bánátfy (director-general of BKSZC) who talked about today's challenges in vocational education, Ágnes Radványi, who introduced the digitalization processes in their company and Rita Halasi, who presented the innovative process of designing the company image of our renewed Union.

Organised by AIDIMME, last Wednesday 24th February 2021 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., took place the national event in Spain "Innovation in the Wood-Furniture Sector. Situation, Training and Opportunities", with the participation of speakers from the University of Valencia, the Valencian Innovation Agency, the Integrated Public Vocational Training Centre of Catarroja (Valencia) and AIDIMME staff who have participated in the EQWOOD project.

 

PROGRAMME

- Presentation of the conference. Vicente Sales. Head of Market Analysis and Strategy Section of AIDIMME.

- Innovative public procurement, as a business incentive towards innovation. Yolanda Cárcel, Head of the Public Sector Innovation and Public Procurement of Innovation Service.

 

Agency

Valencian Innovation Agency.

- Diagnosis of business innovation: BIDIN tool. Isidre March, Professor at the University of Valencia, co-director of the Master in Creation and Management of Innovative Companies.

Innovative Companies.

- The EQWOOD project. The figure of the innovation advisor in wood furniture companies. Carlos Soriano. R&D Projects Technician of AIDIMME.

- Educational innovation. Training in innovation for future workers. Rafael Navarro. Director of the Integrated Public Vocational Training Centre of Catarroja. Valencia.

- Conclusions.

 

During the event, speakers addressed the topic of business innovation from different perspectives. The Valencian Innovation Agency offered the point of view of the administration and the role that innovative public procurement can offer to encourage business innovation. From a more academic point of view, Dr. Isidre March offered a vision of the system developed to help companies manage innovation. The Director of the Integrated Public Vocational Training Centre of Catarroja, highlighted the role of training centres for companies, as suppliers of qualified personnel or in the professional retraining of active workers. As a central point, the results obtained in the framework of the EQWOOD project were discussed, mainly the training material developed and the key aspects of the figure of the innovation advisor.