Unlocking the Future

In this episode, four experts explore the role of networking organisations – industry clusters, trade associations, SME and innovation hubs, and the Enterprise Europe Network – in helping Europe recover from the pandemic and bolster resilience.With:Mantas Villys, Director of the Lithuanian Innovation CentreRezső Kádár, Cluster Manager at Pro Wood, a regional wood cluster in RomaniaMatteo Carlo Borsani, Managing Director of the Confindustria Delegation to the EUFreya Lemcke, Head of Division Deutsches Industrie- und Hammelskammertag, Brussels

Universities educate but also prepare young people for the job market through initiatives like hackathons, career and networking sessions, sponsorships and internship programmes. Drawing on real-life examples, the panel in this podcast episode shed some light on how universities can seize opportunities emerging from the green and digital transformation, to promote entrepreneurship and improve access to great job opportunities.With:Nicola Doppio, Innovation Officer at Hub InnovazioneKristina Dimova, Bachelor Student at Sofia University and Aspiring Journalist, winner of the SME Assembly 2021 Youth Essay CompetitionKoen De Bosschere, Founder & Academic coordinator of DO! Centre for Student Entrepreneurship at Ghent University

Giving young people opportunities now is a vote of confidence. They will pay that back as skilled workers, cashed-up consumers and, eventually future leaders. But how can businesses fully engage them in this process? This is the question that the three guests of this episode are keen to answer, by reflecting on the mutual benefits of businesses and students coming together through youth panels.With:Peter Mogensen, CEO at Kraka in DenmarkGiulia Carpineti, IMF Youth Fellow 2021 programme

Parts of the social economy supply sustainable goods and services and bridge the digital divide. Their participatory business models, which take into account the needs of citizens, employees and other stakeholders, help to ensure that the green and digital transition is fair. With this in mind, the guests of this episode share some success stories and best practices, bearing witness to a growing social economy.With:Ibrahim Ouassari, Founder of Molengeek, Belgium,Anna Rodon, representing Som EnergiaAlexandra Debaisieux, Delegated Director-General of RailcoopAlyssa Jade McDonald-Bärtl, Board Member of CGIAR System

In the face of supply shortages and severe disruptions caused by Covid-19, many European companies reinvented themselves in truly inspiring ways. That’s why three company and industry representatives have been invited to share their stories, rich with examples of product diversification, digitalization, and transformed business models!With:Cesar Araujo, Owner of Calvelex, and president of the National Association of Clothing Manufactures of PortugalAriadna Prats Armengol, Sant Aniol Mineral Water in SpainPierre Diebolt, General Director at NUVISAN pharmaceuticals in France

Facing disruption in strategic value chains, unstable geopolitical balance, and the ongoing health crisis, the EU has issued an updated industrial policy strategy in March 2021 to adapt to a COVID-19 world, and of course: many other actors around the globe are responding as well with new strategies to support their economic and industrial sectors. That is why, in this episode of the podcast series “Unlocking the Future”, the EU industrial policy correspondents based in the European Union Delegations in Beijing, Washington DC, London, Tokyo, and Singapore have been invited to shed light on how their host countries and regions are adapting their industrial policies.With:Frank Schmiedel, International Relations Officer, ChinaPhilippe de Taxis du Poet, Programme Manager, Co-manager of the EU-Japan Centre for industrial cooperation, JapanEike Klapper, Policy and International Relations Officer, USAJustyna Lawkniczak, DG GROW Counsellor, EU Delegation to the UKIsabella Pirolo, International Relations Officer, Singapore