Towards MERIT Mastery: Project meeting in Riga

After almost 8 months since the meeting in Tallinn, the MERIT project is coming together again this time in the Latvian city of Riga from May 13–15, 2024. Situated in the heart of Riga, Riga Technological University (RTU), was the host of the project meeting and the campus offered an ideal setting for a meeting of ideas and thoughts.

Project overview

MERIT has significant progress in advancing digital empowerment, with concrete achievements of the proposed objectives from which we will list just a few. The project has established an Advisory Board of three members, bringing diverse expertise, strategic guidance, and networking opportunities, ensuring the project’s success and quality assurance. Engaging events have drawn the participation of 1,948 individuals (students, experts, and staff from various fields of interest) facilitating fruitful discussions and knowledge exchange. Over 50 companies contributed to study programme development, ensuring the alignment of master’s programs with industry needs. In terms of visibility, MERIT has engaged with 90 companies and conducted skill needs surveys with 39 companies to inform program development. Additionally, outreach to nine European Digital Innovation Hub members has facilitated broader dissemination of project outcomes. These achievements show MERIT’s commitment to collaboration, skill enhancement, and digital innovation.

All these achievements lead to a development of four new study programs and one updated to meet the current and future market need in advanced digital skills. Everyone interested to upskill can apply to MERIT study programs from our 4 locations:

• Estonia: Master program in Industry Engineering and Management.
• Spain: Master program in Machine Learning and Cybersecurity for Internet-Connected Systems.
• Lithuania: (1) Master program in Engineering of Artificial Intelligence and (2) Master program in Management of Artificial Intelligence Solutions.
• Latvia: Master program in Management of Smart, Resilient and Interconnected Systems.

Follow us to know when we accept students to our master programs. Close to the master’s degree studies, everyone will have a chance to take short-term courses, rather than take the full study program. The option is open to everyone. The courses start at June 2024.

Project meeting

The agenda included discussions, training sessions, and exhibits designed to improve the project’s results and influence. Sessions addressing best practices in a range of technological areas, including the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI), were attended by project partners. The main goal of the project meeting was to use the combined knowledge and resources to improve the results and influence of the MERIT project. Participants unite to expedite the path to digital skills excellence and diversity by creating a collaborative atmosphere and promoting knowledge sharing. It is more important than ever to develop digital skills and knowledge as the digital landscape changes. Partners had the chance to gather, exchange insights, and together promote the agenda for digital empowerment at the project meeting in Riga.

In addition to the project meeting, we had the Review Meeting, a moment very important for us where we assessed our results and were reviewed by two experts, that offered valuable recommendations and recognition of some significant achievements in the project which could contribute to other projects as well.

Join us on this journey of innovation and discovery as we share updates and thoughts of project results on our website and social media channels.