Advisory Group on Higher Education for Smart Specialisation launched

News article |

The HESS advisory group is made up of seven selected external experts from across the EU who work as academics or practitioners in the field of education and skills and territorial development, and includes the OECD and EURASHE as observers.

On 11th February 2022 the JRC and DG EAC launched a new advisory group for the Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS) project. The HESS project seeks to engage and support regions and stakeholders from higher education in regional development processes and regional innovation ecosystems to ensure places contribute to local and broader European growth and transformation.

The HESS advisory group is made up of seven selected external experts from across the EU who work as academics or practitioners in the field of education and skills and territorial development, and includes the OECD and EURASHE as observers. The group aims to reflect on outcomes and provide direction to the HESS project, identifying relevant activities and broader policy implications.

In the first meeting of the group, held virtually, JRC staff and contracted experts presented some of the work being undertaken to date, specifically in relation to ERASMUS+ initiatives and European Structural and Investment Funds. The co-creation group will continue to meet at roughly six month intervals.

The group is comprised of:

MEMBERS:

  • Alessio Cavicchi, Full professor in Agribusiness, Rural Development and Branding - University of Pisa
  • Adina Fodor, HEInnovate expert and Head of the Office for International Cooperation, Babes-Bolyai University
  • John Goddard, Emeritus Professor of Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University and Professor of Universities and Cities at the University of Birmingham 
  • Ellen Hazelkorn, Emeritus Professor TU Dublin, and BH Associates
  • Henning Kroll, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research
  • Mikkel Trym, Director of the Copenhagen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, Entrepreneurship Lead EIT Climate-KIC
  • Elvira Uyarra, Professor of Innovation Studies, University of Manchester

OBSERVERS:

  • John Edwards, Secretary General EURASHE
  • Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer, OECD 

More information