Teaching Factories Competition on Deep Tech – Universities & VET

Teaching Factories Competition (TFC) on Deep Tech is an initiative of advanced training dedicated to university & VET (Vocational Education & Training) students promoted by EIT Manufacturing. 

The Teaching Factory Competition is managed by EIT Manufacturing’s Education Pillar. The TFC promotes the use of the Teaching Factories educational methodology (a collaboration between industry & academia through challenges) and the benefits of academia-business partnerships to reach an authentic innovation in Manufacturing. 

The main topic of the Teaching Factory Competition 2023 is Deep Tech. Manufacturing companies are invited to frame their business challenges on Deep Tech. 

The initiative aims at: 

–  allowing companies to learn about and experience the benefits of using advanced knowledge and methods taught in the Universities to improve their processes/products, as well as addressing business challenges through the application of the Teaching Factories paradigm and framework. 

–  allowing university and VET students to test their competencies by applying them to real industrial problems and challenges, improving preparation for their future work (Challenge-Based Learning-CBL). 

– offering teachers and industrial mentors an opportunity to support the students in generating solutions in a collaborative environment facilitated by the Teaching Factories methodology. 

This collaboration framework allows participating companies to benefit from solutions and ideas to provide advanced and emerging technology solutions responding to their challenges. 

To be eligible for applying, applicants: 

• Must be a public or private higher education institution i.e., university or a VET Center  

AND 

• Must be a registered “legal entity”: any legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality, and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality. 
• Must register in the EU Participant Register before submitting their application, to obtain a participant identification code (PIC)2. 
• Must be established in one of the following countries: 

– the Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. 

– European Union member states’ outermost regions (ORs). 

– the countries associated with Horizon Europe and the low- and middle-income countries. 

* Applicants may submit up to two proposals presenting two different solver teams. 

* Applicants can select up to three challenges they would like to work on.

• Must present a Solver team composed by students with the following eligibility requirements: 

– Current Enrolment: The student must be currently enrolled at the University/VET institution as a student. 

– University Requirements: university students should be enrolled in at least the 3rd year of their course. 

– VET Center Requirements: VET students should be enrolled in at least the 2nd year of their course. 

– Degree Status: The student should not have obtained their final degree at the time of the call closing.