The Project WAMDIA (We All Make Digital Information Accessible)  with focus on promoting digital accessibility in Europe, also supporting the implementation of the directive 2016/2002. After an analysis of the situation in the participating countries (Spain, Italy, Hungary, Ireland and Sweden), we now need to know how the main target groups (namely non-ICT VET teachers and managers, public employees and managers and SME employees and managers) perceive the topic of the implementation of digital accessibility in their daily activities.

ith new materials and new types of printers being added to the processes in combination with enhanced software for design - one crucial key is the availability of skilled individuals that can manage the challenge of this quick development.

To build new teams will require a combination of new knowledge mixed with experience in the business and manufacturing processes.

In the SME Medical AM3DP Annual Report 2018 there are three new jobs pointed out for the medical section of AM and 3DP:

• Medical 3D Printing Engineer
  
• Medical AM Engineer
• Medical AM/3D Printing Technologist

But the list of new job titles will be much longer than this and new educational programs and courses will be required to meet the needs of organizations working in the field.

Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing in general are growing domains in both public organizations and in business. Not at least does it open for Small Businesses to Contract Manufacturing and other Subcontract services. In the area of Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing there are so many different stages in a complete process that we can see new types of clusters popping up - providing flexible teams, working for a number of end user domains.
The merge of traditional industries and new types is a very interesting process - and there is definitely room for entrepreneurs and innovators in this market and what it will cover along the emerging technologies and tools used in the processes of 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing.

Friday 9th March 2018 - the SME Academy Network arranged an online workshop with Robotics and 3D printing in focus and ROTENA as a key speaker. Participants from several European countries and Mauritius made the workshop an inspiring experience and many topics were discussed, based on the findings in the ROTENA report and the input from all participants.

During the workshop Dr. Paul Quantock, EU 15 ltd,  presented the project ROTENA and the results from the research made in the first stage of the project. In the second part of the workshop the curriculum and the training modules were presented by Lino Ferreira, CEPROF, and Rafaele Silva , Ovar Forma, our Portuguese partners and leaders of the training module IO.

On the SME Academy web you can find the Workshop and the two videos from it - part 1 and part 2 - and as they are uploaded to Youtube you can share or embed them if you want to share the information and the dialogue with your colleagues.

Do you want to learn the basics about 3D printing, Technical Drawing, Computer Aided Design, Electronics and Micro controller programming ? Registration is now open for Pilot testers of our new short video modules.
5 short and easy to use video modules - register today and you will get login credentials to the training package.

We also need feedback from professionals - already teaching these topics. Check the modules - and maybe you can find something useful to introduce into your own courses.
Register to have a look at the training modules.

Did you participate in our Survey? Check the results here.

The results from countries all over Europe is coming in and the results is very interesting.
It already looks like many are convinced that using AR in Business is a good idea and that AR also is a good tool for training and education.

Are Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality good tools to use in Vocational Education & Training? In the AROMA project, SMEBOX together with  partners from all around Europe are performing a study to find out about the needs and experiences in the use of AR/VR, before developing a package for teachers and trainers on how to use the tools in their daily work. 
Help SMEBOX and AROMA by taking a few minutes to answer a quick survey.

Digital accessibility in Europe is now the spotlight after the approval in 2016 of the New EU directive 2016/2102.
Traditionally, ICT users think that digital accessibility is only a task for ICT professionals when designing and implementing websites and mobile apps. They also think this is something for very specific people with disability.

A clear majority of small and medium-sized enterprises plans on implementing robotics in their work processes in the future, which emphasizes the need for workers who are skilled in these fields.

Dr Paul Quantock, Coordinator and Promoter of the ROTENA project stated that “..it confirms our view that the outputs of the project will contribute to the needs of the labour market as well as the training sector by developing appropriate training modules for use by training institutions, with the expectation that they will adapt/modify modules to their required needs and add to existing training programmes…"

A Thursday in November 2017 - in Malta - the AROMA project was kicked off by a team of partners from 8 organizations in 7 European countries. A day full of inspiration in both content and networking between committed and skilled individuals. A real boost of energy and a promising start for the project.
Aroma will run for 28 month and there are definitely some challenges to be mastered during the way forward and before reaching the final outcomes and closing down in early 2020.