EIT DeepTech Talent Initiative 

Navigator Consulting supported the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) in the development of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative, a flagship of the New European Innovation Agenda established to support the upskilling and reskilling of one million people in DeepTech fields between 2023 and 2025.

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The assignment combined innovation and skills strategy, programme development, training criteria, financial modelling, data requirements and digital platform design within one of the European Union's major initiatives for developing the future DeepTech talent base.

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What We Did

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Philip Ammerman was recruited by EIT in summer 2022 to support the development of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative prior to its formal launch.

Working with EIT, EIT Manufacturing and other European innovation stakeholders, Navigator contributed to several aspects of the development of the Initiative, including:

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• Development of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative Pledge;

• Definition of data requirements for organisational registration;

• Definition of data requirements for training course registration;

• Definition of requirements for talent registration;

• Definition of requirements for employment opportunity listings;

• Development of financial scenarios for the Initiative;

• Definition of criteria for training courses hosted through the Initiative;

• Development of the proposed structure and functionality of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative website; and

• Drafting of a Deep Tech definitions document identifying and defining technologies falling within the wider DeepTech concept.

 

The assignment therefore extended beyond training and skills development. It incorporated elements of strategy, programme design, financial modelling, technology classification, data architecture and digital platform development.

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European Innovation & Skills Context

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DeepTech describes emerging and transformative technologies that typically require substantial scientific or engineering development and frequently combine multiple technological disciplines.

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These include areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Internet of Things, sensing and data fusion, quantum technologies, edge computing, cloud technologies, biotechnology, robotics and immersive technologies.

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The European Commission identified DeepTech as an important component of Europe's future competitiveness through the New European Innovation Agenda, adopted in 2022. The Agenda sought to strengthen Europe's position as a global centre for innovation, including the development of the talent required to research, commercialise, deploy and scale new technologies.

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One of its flagship actions was the Deep Tech Talent Initiative, which established the objective of upskilling and reskilling one million people in DeepTech fields between 2023 and 2025. Responsibility for implementing the Initiative was assigned to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

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The Deep Tech Talent Initiative

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EIT operates one of Europe's largest innovation ecosystems, bringing together universities, research organisations, companies, entrepreneurs, investors and other innovation stakeholders through its Knowledge and Innovation Communities.

The Deep Tech Talent Initiative was designed to mobilise this wider ecosystem around a common European skills objective.

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A central mechanism was the Deep Tech Talent Initiative Pledge, through which organisations could commit to developing and delivering DeepTech training and contribute towards the overall one-million-talent objective.

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This required more than establishing a numerical target. An operational framework was needed through which organisations, training programmes and talents could participate in the Initiative and through which progress towards the wider European objective could be monitored. Navigator's work supported the development of this framework.

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DeepTech Skills & Training Framework

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A major challenge was establishing what constituted relevant DeepTech training.

DeepTech is not a single technology or academic discipline. It encompasses a broad and evolving range of technologies and applications, many of which overlap or converge.

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Navigator contributed to the development of a DeepTech definitions document designed to provide a structured description of the technologies falling within the wider DeepTech concept.

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The assignment also included work on the criteria used to determine the types of training programmes that could be incorporated within the Initiative. This required consideration of both the technological scope of DeepTech and the training and skills-development objectives of the wider programme.

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The resulting framework supported the Initiative's ability to incorporate training delivered by different types of organisations while maintaining coherence around its overall DeepTech mission.

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Pledge & Programme Development

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Navigator contributed to the development of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative Pledge, through which participating organisations could commit to training and developing DeepTech talent.

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The Pledge provided an important mechanism for transforming a European policy objective into measurable commitments from organisations operating within the innovation and education ecosystem.

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Development of the Initiative therefore required consideration of:

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• Participating organisations;

• Training commitments;

• Training programmes;

• Individual talents;

• Employment opportunities;

• Data collection;

• Monitoring and reporting; and

• Progress towards the overall Initiative target.

 

This work illustrates the importance of translating strategic and policy objectives into operational programme structures capable of implementation and measurement.

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Data Requirements & Digital Platform

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The Deep Tech Talent Initiative required a digital platform capable of supporting organisations, training providers, individual talents and other stakeholders. Navigator contributed to the definition of data requirements covering:

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• Organisational registration;

• Training course registration;

• Talent registration; and

• Employment opportunity listings.

 

Navigator also contributed to the proposed structure and functionality of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative website as a central component of Pledge operations. This required consideration of the information needed from different stakeholder groups, how participation would be structured and how the digital platform could support implementation of the wider Initiative.

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The assignment therefore connected programme strategy with practical digital implementation and data architecture.

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Financial & Implementation Planning

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Navigator also developed financial scenarios for the Deep Tech Talent Initiative.

The financial work formed part of the wider process of translating the Initiative from a European strategic objective into an operational programme capable of supporting participation, training and programme growth.

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Together with the work on the Pledge, training criteria, data requirements and digital platform, this provided a multidimensional perspective on implementation:

Policy Objective → Programme Design → Stakeholder Commitment → Training Framework → Data → Digital Platform → Financial Planning → Implementation

 

This approach reflects Navigator's wider methodology of connecting strategy with the organisational, financial and technological requirements needed for practical implementation.

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Launch & Development

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The Deep Tech Talent Initiative was formally announced at the EIT INNOVEIT Summit in Brussels in October 2022 and opened in January 2023. By January 2024, the Initiative had already attracted 111 organisations pledging to train 768,004 people, while 84 training courses had been reviewed and uploaded to the Deep Tech Talent Initiative platform. These figures represent the position reported at that stage of the Initiative's development and demonstrate the scale of mobilisation achieved during its early implementation.

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Outcomes & Impact

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The Deep Tech Talent Initiative represented an ambitious attempt to coordinate training and skills development across Europe's rapidly developing technology ecosystem. Navigator's contribution supported the transformation of the Initiative from a strategic policy objective into an operational programme.

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The assignment contributed to:

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• Establishing a framework for organisational participation;

• Developing the Deep Tech Talent Initiative Pledge;

• Defining relevant DeepTech technology areas;

• Establishing criteria for participating training programmes;

• Structuring data collection from organisations, courses and talents;

• Developing requirements for employment opportunity listings;

• Defining elements of the Initiative's digital platform; and

• Developing financial scenarios supporting implementation.

 

The project demonstrates Navigator's ability to work at the intersection of technology, innovation, skills development, programme design, financial analysis and digital transformation. It also illustrates the application of these capabilities at ecosystem level: not simply developing an individual training programme or organisational intervention, but contributing to the design of a multinational initiative intended to mobilise companies, universities, research institutions, training providers and other stakeholders around a common European technology and talent objective.

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Areas of Expertise

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DeepTech · Deep Technology · Technology Strategy · Innovation Strategy · Innovation Policy · European Innovation Policy · New European Innovation Agenda · Talent Development · Skills Development · Training Strategy · Training Programme Design · Upskilling · Reskilling · Curriculum Criteria · Programme Development · Programme Design · Programme Implementation · Digital Transformation · Digital Platform Design · Data Requirements · Data Architecture · Financial Modelling · Scenario Development · Stakeholder Management · Innovation Ecosystems · Artificial Intelligence · Machine Learning · Big Data · Internet of Things (IoT) · Sensing & Data Fusion · Quantum Computing · Edge Computing · Cloud Technologies · Biotechnology · Robotics · Virtual Reality · Emerging Technologies