Newsletter N.5
Notes from Paolo Vercesi, eCF Alliance project coordinator
Our eCF Council experience is entering its ending phase. Our main challenge at this point of the project is to ensure that our experience is replicable, scalable and sustainable in the next years.
Third eCF Council transnational meeting
On 21 and 22 March, all partners of the eCF Alliance project got together in Bloemendaal, the Netherlands, hosted by bITa Center. All partners got the chance to update the consortium on their progress in implementing their responsibilities towards the project, and discuss the way forward.

WP4: Where we are and what is next
The partnership has completed the transposition of fifteen e-CF competences into Learning Units. The next step is the validation of a common procedure for finalising the ECVET point allocation to each e-competence at a given proficiency level.

Updates on the National Workshops
The eCF Alliance dissemination activities include the organisation of a number of national workshops, where relevant national stakeholders are gathered and introduced to the project.

Spanish testing pilot course
The three Spanish partners, UAH, DG “Formacion Comunidad de Madrid and CCOO Servicios organised a testing pilot course which ran from 31 October 2017 to 18 January 2018.

The eCF Alliance achieves outstanding outreach in Bulgaria
The eCF Alliance was presented at several conferences, workshops, roundtables and seminars and,as a results, attracted a lot of attention in Bulgaria.

How digital is the European Union?
The results of DESI 2018 are available. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is a composite index that summarises relevant indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness.

A Revised Europass Framework
The new, updated Europass will ensure a better understanding and more interoperability of skills and qualifications for job seekers and employers.

New sector skills alliance to deliver VET programmes to data science and IoT professionals
The SEnDIng project aims to address the skills’ gap of Data Scientists and Internet of Things professionals and provide them with knowledge, skills and competences that meet the labor market needs.

Supporting digital skills development in SMEs in Europe
Supporting specialised skills development: Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity for SMEs is a two-year initiative, initiated by the European Commission and managed by a consortium of Capgemini Consulting, Technopolis Group and the European DIGITAL SME Alliance.

Burgas is chosen as Bulgaria technological city of the year
The awards for achievements in innovation, high technology and the outsourcing of the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association (BOA) and the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM) were awarded for the third time at an official ceremony at the International Hotel in Varna. .

Digital Assembly
When: 25-26 June 2018
Where: Sofia, Bulgaria
Info: https://bit.ly/2ENVMFz
European Innovation Scoreboard - Launch event
When: 25 June 2018
Where: Brussels, Belgium
Info: https://bit.ly/2JY4aUK
Save the Date
European Week of Regions and Cities
When: 8-11 October 2018
Where: Brussels, Belgium
Info: https://bit.ly/2t9T4Wk
EU Code Week 2018
When: 6-21 October 2018
Where: All EU
Info: http://codeweek.eu/