Perception nonCOMET Finished Project

KInd

Kognifizierte Industrie

Runtime

01.09.2024 - 31.08.2025

Funding

Digitale Technologien, Qualifizierungsnetzwerke, Grant #915819

Austrian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) exhibit a midrange performance within the European Union regarding product and process innovations. This positioning is notable given Austria's strong academic output, ranking second in the "STEM graduates" category according to the 2023 Research and Technology Report. Despite this robust talent pipeline, Austrian SMEs face intense global competition, particularly in the realm of cognitive technologies, a field significantly propelled by advancements and new opportunities within the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector.
In response to these challenges and fuelled by its strategic mission to advance cognitive systems, Pro2Future in lead and the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Technology, Work and Culture (IFZ) partnered to conceive "KInd - Cognitive Industry." This initiative is a specialized qualification program meticulously designed to guide and support SMEs in navigating and implementing cognitive innovations acrosstheir product development and operational processes. The curriculum of "KInd" is multifaceted, encompassing three core areas: (i) technical modules, providing in-depth knowledge of subjects such as machine learning; (ii) methodological approaches, fostering skills in areas like interdisciplinary collaboration; and (iii) systemic methods, introducing tools and frameworks such as life cycle analyses.

Goals

The immediate objective of the "KInd" program is to create a comprehensive qualification curriculum that serves a dual purpose: it must be effectively tailored for adult education, ensuring accessibility and practical applicability for professionals, while simultaneously acting as a "cognitive turbo" for participating SMEs, accelerating their adoption and integration of cognitive technologies. For this purpose three SMEs have been successfully recruited to represent the needs of small and medium enterprises and to help the shaping of this qualification network beyond this first-time endeavors . Their involvement underscores their proactive recognition of the immense potential offered by cognitive solutions.
Within the framework of "KInd," the consortium is committed to a structured process of developing, testing, and optimizing this innovative qualification program. A key strategic goal is the widespread dissemination of the program to a broader audience of SMEs and beyond, thereby amplifying its impact across the Austrian industrial landscape.

Approach

The qualification network differs from national or international offers by its (i) comprehensive breadth but with technical depth. Furthermore, not only technical aspects for the development of products are considered, but also (ii) accompanying processes around the development. The former is demonstrated by the fact that not (a) only software, but also hardware (computing platforms, sensors, actuators) is considered, (b) that not only data science, but also machine learning is taught, (c) that current research topics are also prepared for data science and machine learning. The latter (ii) is demonstrated by the fact that the qualification program (a) includes integration processes for stakeholders and users for the design of projects for cognification, (b) deals strongly with software & AI development processes, (c) deals with empirical evaluation methods and experiment design. (iii) In addition, the qualification program also teaches systemic aspects that are important for the design of cognitive products, such as the mapping of non-functional properties, knowledge about interoperability and distributed systems, as well as life-cycle considerations.

Expected and Achieved Results

The project aimed to solidify Pro2Future's role as a crucial knowledge and transfer center. To achieve this, several interconnected goals were set. A foundational step involved conducting a thorough needs and gap analysis directly with SMEs, ensuring a precise understanding of their unique challenges and requirements in adopting advanced technologies. Building on this, the initiative focused on developing several didactic mechanisms designed for effective and practical knowledge transfer to businesses and adult learners, bridging the gap between research and industrial application. Furthermore, a key objective was to empower SMEs to independently conduct their own research and innovation actions, a capability fostered by leveraging valuable insights and methodologies from Pro2Future's existing project portfolio. Simultaneously, the project sought to create and obtain a comprehensive qualification program specifically geared towards facilitating the adoption of cognitive principles within various industrial sectors. Finally, a practical component involved directly supporting three selected companies in enriching their current innovation ideas and products by integrating advanced cognized product principles, demonstrating tangible benefits and leading by example.