Co-funded by the European Union, EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative Pledger, the CYRUS project focuses on developing advanced cybersecurity training tailored for the manufacturing and transport sectors. At the recent EIT Education and Skills Days, we spoke to Claudia Romero from EIT Manufacturing, one of the projects eleven partners, about their motivation for supporting the event and strengthening Europe’s workforce through collaboration.
“We all share the belief that Europe’s competitiveness relies on its people.”14
EIT Manufacturing’s mission is to foster innovation and sustainability across Europe’s manufacturing landscape, and skills are central to achieving that. The EIT Education and Skills Day provided a unique platform to connect with a wide range of stakeholders, enabling them to learn about the CYRUS project and potentially apply to training courses within their own organisations and sectors. In doing so, they helped spread awareness, build partnerships, and ensure that their tools and knowledge reached the people who needed them most.
Sponsoring the event allowed the CYRUS project to highlight the importance of digital and cybersecurity competencies in today’s world and contribute meaningfully to the broader conversation on strengthening Europe’s workforce.
“One of the most significant challenges we face is the gap between rapid technological advancement and workforce readiness.”
Industry-driven learning programmes, such as the CYRUS project, which design cybersecurity training specifically tailored to industrial contexts, are helping to address this gap. The programmes equip professionals with the technical and strategic knowledge needed to protect connected systems in manufacturing and transport. CYRUS also develops beginner-friendly courses to widen access and generate awareness about the cybersecurity challenges industries are facing today.
The CYRUS project primarily focus on the manufacturing and transport sectors, which still face considerable cybersecurity gaps. For example, although digital transformation is happening slowly, many manufacturing environments still rely on paper-based processes, and the transport industry is also tackling complex cybersecurity challenges. By bringing together partners from these sectors along with experienced training providers, the CYRUS project is building courses that directly address the most urgent needs.
“The balance between hard and soft skills is what ultimately empowers people to adapt and succeed.“
The CYRUS project partners believe it’s important to approach learning in a holistic way, and that solving real industry problems through use-case-based learning helps participants on any programme develop not just technical skills but also critical soft skills. Within the manufacturing and transport sectors, their goal is to ensure learners can not only understand the technology but also apply it in innovative, practical, and meaningful ways.
“Collaboration is absolutely critical.”
However, it’s impossible for one single organisation to address the deep tech skills gap on its own.
- Industry knows what skills are really needed on the ground.
- Educational institutions offer the learning frameworks.
- Policymakers create the enabling environment for innovation and growth.
Bringing all these players together in a well-connected ecosystem is key, and it’s only through such coordinated efforts that we can deliver lasting solutions.
“Deep tech thrives on cross-sector partnerships.”
For educators, policymakers, or startups looking to make an impact in deep tech training, it’s important to start collaborating early in the process, and to stay connected and aligned with the expectations and needs of different stakeholders. EIT Manufacturing know that bringing together research, industry, education, and academia ensures that the skills being developed on the programmes developing are truly relevant. They also stressed the importance of experimentation and the value that small pilot projects or co-created initiatives bring when testing new learning models. It’s this flexibility and responsiveness to learner needs is how projects like CYRUS are making an impact.
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