Call for Learning Factories Network Development is NOW OPEN!

What is a Learning Factory?

Learning Factories represent a realistic manufacturing environment suitable for education, training, and research. They are a physical learning environment containing educational instruments and equipment, effectively creating the working conditions of a real industrial site for didactic and training purposes. 

Together with the community of EIT Manufacturing Members, during 2020 several Learning Factory Networks were established, in order to create a shared framework, model and processes, with the overall aim to build an international ecosystem able to foster research and technology transfer between academia and industry. In 2021, the Learning Factories Networks were encouraged to use the framework created in 2020 to start structuring and delivering real training experiences. 

With the Learning Factories Networks Development initiative, we aim to create an EIT Manufacturing Marketplace for the offer of all the Learning Factories’ education programmes. Its participants can choose between different levels of involvement and integration, as detailed in the following sections. The initiative will establish an international online promotion and commercial channel for the Learning Factories, with the aim of generating impact and revenues by leveraging both the physical assets within the Learning Factories and the digital learning content developed within EIT Manufacturing funded activities. 

What is this initiative about?

The Learning Factories Network Development is a strategic activity to increase the visibility and uptake of EIT Manufacturing’s unique education approach based on the co-creation and network collaboration among manufacturing companies, Research Technology Organisations (RTOs) and universities.  

The Networks Development initiative has the purpose of creating an EIT Manufacturing Marketplace that offers all the Learning Factories’ education programmes and activities. Thereby increasing the outreach and access to the Learning Factories training offer, as well as incrementing the availability of equipment suitable for testing and piloting. 

The initiative will also provide easier access to Learning Factories’ facilities and related education activities integrating with Skills.move, the EIT Manufacturing digital learning platform.  

EIT Manufacturing will fund the Learning Factories participating in the initiative.

General conditions and options of participation can be found in the Call document, as well as funding available and evaluation criteria for the selection. 

What does this collaboration framework aims at?

– Helping companies in training, re-skilling and upskilling their workforce to be on the forefront of Industry 4.0 competences, skills and trends 

– Allowing enterprises to experience a state-of-the-art learning environment, familiarize their workforce with machinery and equipment without the costs associated to purchase or direct lease, extending an exposed and wide network among them 

-Allowing universities and training institutions to complement their programs with hands-on and entrepreneurship-oriented experiences, fostering collaboration between industry and academia by relying on real-life problems to train students 

-Allowing students and recent graduates to be ready to play a role in the manufacturing industry