The aim of the conference was to bring together stakeholders at regional, national and transnational level with each other and with representatives of local innovation and ecosystems in various formats, thus actively contributing to shaping a greener and more sustainable future, with a focus on European professional excellence and initiatives to develop green skills. Lectures and workshops were offered on topics such as ‘Europe’s competitiveness through the qualification of the labour force in future topics such as sustainability and green skills’. The participants also visited the GREENOVET project partners HTL BULME, Wifi Steiermark Talent Center and TU Graz, among others.
Around 300 people participated in the two-day GREENOVET conference, including Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Regional Minister for Science and Research, Markus Hengstschläger, geneticist, MedUni Vienna, Doris Wagner, Head of Section at the Ministry of Education, Horst Bischof, Rector of Graz University of Technology, Bernhard Puttinger, CEO Green Tech Valley Cluster Graz, and Ernst Kreuzer, Head of Life Long Learning TU GRAZ & CEO of the Green Tech Academy Austria (GRETA). FH JOANNEUM was represented by Corinna Engelhardt-Nowitzki and Martin Payer, Managing Directors of FH JOANNEUM, and Doris Kiendl, Head of the Institute of International Management and Entrepreneurship and CEO of GRETA (GreenTech Academy Austria), among others. Numerous international players were also present, such as Friedrich Huebler, Head of Office, UNESCO-UNEVOC, and Virpi Stucki, Chief of Division for Fair Production, Sustainability Standards and Trade, UNIDO.
The conference is part of GREENOVET, an international project within the framework of ERASMUS+ KA3 with 18 project partners from four European countries, which supports the development of excellence in vocational education and training in the field of green innovation in Europe. This was achieved through the establishment of four ‘Centres for Vocational Excellence’ in Austria, Finland, North Macedonia and Portugal.