Abstracts
Keynotes
E-skills and e-leadership for the digital scenario
Bruno Lamborghini
The digital scenario of which we see now only the tip of the iceberg is driven by new forms of social and human evolution based on wide diffusion in all activities and people life of global communication networks, machines to machines environments, Big (Open) Data systems, knowledge sharing, open innovation, virtualization of exchanges.
To avoid disruptive change with risks of losing control, we need, from now on, to deeply invest in new e-skills and e-leadership competences, preparing young and senior people through lifelong education and training based on the right technology use, but more and more on social consciousness, security issues, ethics and self responsibility.
Even if the digital scenario is a global scenario where many cultures and approaches are converging more every day, I believe that the European countries have a major role to play and a major responsibility to define some of the rules of the new digital game following the European cultural heritage and our specific human values to promote humanistic informatics and shaping a more favorable digital living environment.
We expect and we have to do any effort in order that the European Union can take the lead in driving the new conditions and the route of what will happen in the digital scenario of the next future.
The European Computer Associations have to represent the core of this effort and we should commit ourselves in promoting lifelong education for preparing the right e-skills and e-leadership competences for managing companies and public institutions towards a social and humanistic digital scenario.
From Smart Items to successful business models – value adding applications with the Internet of Things
Martin Przewloka
There is hardly anyone who still doubts: the Internet of Things will change our lives radically. In this context, we are bombarded with countless trends and concepts, such as Industry 4.0 or Advanced Manufacturing, Tele-Medicine, Cyber Physical Systems, etc. And moreover, everything becomes smart: Smart Items, Smart Grids, Smart Buildings, just to name a few. Technology is advancing rapidly and seems to know no bounds, but why do we see so few disruptive innovations that really change the things? Why is it so hard to establish new applications and business models and what we must do to achieve this?
In this keynote, paths are presented how new application areas were developed faster and how they can be successfully brought to the market. Using concrete examples and projects, the methods and experience of SAP, as a global industrial company, are described to develop new market segments in the Internet of Things. Attention is paid both on technological aspects as well as to new types of business models in the next generation Internet.
Digital competencies – do we appreciate their role and importance?
Włodzimierz Marciński
Digital technologies form a natural symbiosis with a number of realms of our activities. We develop them and they in turn change our lives. These relationships are stable and no doubt will be deepened. We are still at the beginning of even greater social change, which will become the result of constant development of digital technology.
E-skills, especially most advanced ones, have become in high demand worldwide, even in industries seemingly not directly related to the IT sector. Effective implementation of digital technology directly translates into an increase of the GDP level. However, you can be a passive consumer of the achievements of the digital world but you can also be their creator.
How effectively and rationally this potential of this world will be used depends on us, on our knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Today in Poland digital literacy is very polarized. We have quite a big group of programmers winning the highest awards in international contests and competitions. Giants of the digital market such as IBM, HP, Motorola, Intel, Samsung, Google, Huawei and Accenture opened development centers in our country employing large number of Polish specialists.
But at the same time the European and global digital literacy studies for our society are not impressive. To change this the Broad Alliance for Digital Skills Development was established. It operates under the patronage of the President and aims to inspire and support activities leading to digital education, effective use of digital technology and the acceptance of change caused by the constant development.
Topic I – National Strategies, Policies and Action Plans
Bulgarian ICT National Policy and Strategy
Kiril Boyanov, Ivan Dimov, Blagovest Sendov
In some of the key scientific fields Bulgarian science has a solid position in the global scientific community. Bulgarian science sector is a part of the European Research Area. Bulgarian higher education reform, according to the requirements of the Bologna Declaration, to become part of the European Higher Education Area. Bulgaria through its membership in the European Union can rely on the European scientific solidarity, which so far has given results mainly through the Framework Programs of the European Union for research and EU structural and social funds, and now – through Horizon 2020 and the Operational Programs innovation, competitiveness, scientific excellence and education.
On this basis, the priority areas of the Strategy for Development of Science in Bulgaria until 2020 are:
1. Energy, energy efficiency and transport. Development of green and environmental technologies;
2. Health and quality of life, biotechnology and organic food;
3. New materials and technologies;
4. Cultural heritage and socio-economic development and management;
5. Information and communication technologies.
In this study we present and critically analyze the Bulgarian ICT national policy, activities and instruments. More precisely, we analyze the following two activities:
Activity 1. Creating an environment for introducing information and communication technologies.
Activity 2. Introduction of Open Access to scientific information and research data.
These activities speed-up the process of scientific discovery and create an opportunity for new forms of research-intensive data and allow research results to be systematically deployed by European business and industry. In 2014-2020 – program „Horizon 2020“ – the European Commission has planned a budget of 45 million EUR. Infrastructures for data and research related to electronic storage of data and results. In the process of implementation, the principle of open access to scientific information resulting from public funding has been taken at national level to develop a vision and action plan.
In this study we also analyze various tools in the area of education focusing on creation of environment for long-life education. Another important tool is the innovative niche of development nano-technologies in medicine, ecological systems and other areas through ICT.
Smart City strategy in Hungary
Kálmán Kovács
For the last decade the smart city concept became reality by the accelerated development of new technologies (especially the development of infocommunication technologies, intelligent systems, micro-sensing technologies, smart energy support, green housing systems, etc.) and the increasing need of society for establishing sustainable, cost effective, green and safe living environment. Therefore Smart City initiatives of the EU are supposed to accelerate investment and the rate of innovation in European cities with the aim of achieving social, economic and environmental objectives. The most important components of smart cities are smart economy, environment, government, living, mobility and people.
The Hungarian Smart City strategy aligns to the Digital Nation Development Program (DNFP) approved by the Hungarian government. DNFP, on the other hand, closely aligns to the EU Digital Agenda for Europe and the objectives of the National (Hungarian) Infocommunication Strategy 2014-2020.
As a first step of strategy development, the SC Professional Platform and Planning Environment were formed. Then followed the definition and categorization (state, community, business) of relevant intelligent city services, the establishment of the joint technological platform; and the elaboration of complex business models (economies of scale, local characteristics, financing). Parallel to this, the establishment of supportive environment (calls for proposals and regulation) to integrated solutions and continuous monitoring and application development environment takes place. The key player of the professional background is the Future Internet National Technology Platform established in 2011, its Smart City Section with membership including government, university and business representatives.
Lithuanian National Digital Coalition: Purposes, Possibilities and Opportunities for Digital Jobs
Renata Danielienė, Eugenijus Telešius
Following the EU Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs initiative the Memorandum of the National Digital Coalition for the Promotion of Digital Skills for Jobs (in Lithuanian – Nacionalinė skaitmeninėkoalicija/NSK) was signed on 7th November 2013 in Vilnius. The activities of the National Coalition are coordinated and the relationship with other organizations is maintained by the association “Langas į ateitį“. The mission of NSK is to increase youth employment by promoting ICT knowledge and achieve more effective use of the digital potential by cooperation in implementing information society development program Digital Agenda for Lithuania 2014-2020.
3 ministries, 2 universities and 6 NGO sector representatives agreed to form National Digital Coalition in order to cooperate in implementing information society development program Digital Agenda for Lithuania 2014–2020. The variety of coalition stakeholders and partners will effectively help executing coalitions’ activities.
In order to achieve the goals of the coalition, stakeholders are coordinating their own activities related to ICT – participating in national ICT campaigns (such as Get Online Week, Safer Internet Day, e-Skills for Jobs, Code week etc.), as well as discussing the best use of new EU Structural funding for the implementation of the information society development programme Digital Agenda for Lithuania 2014–2020.
Topic II – Industry, Innovation and Take-up
GoSwift Queue Management Service
Jaan Oruaas, Madis Sassiad, Sébastien Mure
Innovative queue management service (QMS) was developed in order to answer the problems created by traffic jams of vehicles waiting to cross the EU border from Estonia into Russia.
Since August 2011, all vehicles crossing the border between Estonia and Russia are legally imposed to register through the GoSwift service and wait at the designated border waiting areas. The service is in place at the three border crossing points between Estonia and Russia, five points in Lithuania, one point in Finland and Russia.
The QMS allows users to choose an available crossing time or to see how many vehicles are in the queue. Crossing time can be booked via multiple channels – website, call center, self-service terminal. All available 24/7 in multiple languages.
The registration to the service allows the customs and border guards to receive information in advance, which in turn greatly improves their capacity to perform risk analysis.
The QMS can be used to relieve congestion wherever there is limited capacity. By combining a booking system and a virtual queue the service has been used for online booking, ticketing, access control and queuing visitors at the Tallinn TV Tower in Estonia and at Ostankino TV Tower in Moscow.
Topic III – Skills and e-Leadership
e-CFplus System
Roberto Bellini
European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) is a structured system of skills that describes high-level knowledge and skills required in the context of ICT processes of an organization. It can be used by all types of companies and organizations and is supported by the European Union. In Italy it is also supported by the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID) and became an Italian standard in September 2013. CEN has defined 40 skills compatible with the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and 23 “European ICT Professional Profiles” which outline some typical ICT roles in terms of mission, deliverables, key activities and KPI.
e-CFplus System starts from the e-CF framework to detail through different components the operational terms to assess the professional digital skills possessed by ICT specialists, to evaluate them and develop a suitable plan and actions to improve their value.
e-CFplus System provides an enriched and more detailed and structured Model of knowledge and operational skills, completed by well known methods and web tools to manage the assets of business skills in a simple and effective way. e-CFplus can also adapt and customize the entire system to the specific characteristics of the organization. The 40 e-CF skills are enriched with more than 2,200 building blocks grouped into 157 homogeneous sets of knowledge items and skills; these elementary components enrich the CEN and AgID profiles, with the possible methodological support of AICA.
e-CFplus is a modular, open and scalable System that defines the skills of an individual, a business unit or corporate department, an entire organization. The presentation of e-CFplus System will be centered on web tools and operational methods to improve the Human Resource Management Systems of ICT Specialists.
Coding for Children: an Initiative of the Austrian Computer Society (OCG)
Ronald Bieber
Creative innovative competences belong to one of the most important competences in the 21st Century. The Austrian Computer Society has made an effort in the last years in starting activities, which support such goals. Especially, projects aiming to increase the attractiveness of coding and informatics in preliminary schools and even in kindergarten show a fascinating effect on pupils and teachers.
The learning of algorithmic thinking is not necessarily connected with computers. Computer Science unplugged enables teachers, who are not so familiar with computers, and schools, which are not well equipped, the possibility to teach children in early stage core-competences for basic informatics knowledge. Further robotics as well as some elementary coding (as scratch junior for example) lectures are an important part of such an education.
The approach of the Austrian Computer Society emphasizes especially the involvement of the teachers involved. Such train-the-trainer workshops are essential for a bigger dissemination among schools and as an important multiplication factor. Learning materials and course programs must be easily understood in order to have a successful transfer into school lectures.
Procedural Reasoning and Programming for Kids: AICA’s „LOGIC“ initiative
Giuseppe Albano, Pierfranco Ravotto
AICA, in cooperation with ANFOR, is developing LOGIC so as to have it along with ECDL in its proposal to schools.
It consists of training and certifications for teachers – LOGIC Teacher & LOGIC Expert – and pupils – LOGIC Student – concerning Computational thinking, Algorithms, Coding and Robotics.
The LOGIC Program – through a gradual approach supported by pedagogical paradigms such as pedagogy of errors and Papert’s constructionism learning – adopts as an explicit reference the Learning to learn competence mentioned in the “Key Competences for Lifelong Learning European Framework“. It enhances the metacognitive and transversal value of Informatics to support, from early childhood, forms of self-conscious learning, and to encourage a gradual and targeted approach to Computational Thinking and Problem Solving.