Enhance Business Performance with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an area of strategic importance and a key driver of economic development in EU. It can bring solutions to many societal, humanitarian or environmental challenges from treating diseases (today AI is used to find a cure to Covid-19, the greatest medical challenge of the century), predicting floods to anticipating cybersecurity threats etc. One of the main challenges for the EU to be competitive is to ensure the take-up of AI technology across its economy.Entrepreneurship and AI go together in today’s business ecosystem. AI has proven to be an effective tool for implementing business strategies. On various scales (micro businesses or SMEs) with the help of AI, companies can improve customer experience, increase employee performance and develop intelligent agents to help with a lot of repetitive processes.AI became a key important engine to optimise business operations and the better understanding and usage of AI would be beneficial for businesses by significantly boosting their performance.However among European micro businesses and SMEs AI seems to show a slow uptake driven by a lack of misconceptions on the role of AI in increasing business processes performance, by lack of relevant skills, non-technical and “digital business” competences including. (Coordinated Plan on AI, EC, 2018; AI in Swedish Business and Society, Vinnova, 2018)In this frame it is indisputable that the European approach to AI needs to be underpinned by a strong focus on skills development so that everyone in EU can benefit from the green and digital transformations of the EU economy (White Paper on AI, 2020).Developing the skills necessary to have the right AI mindset and upskilling the workforce to become fit for the AI-led transformation is a priority of the EU and it needs to be widely integrated into European curricula, including VET - sector of key strategic importance to EU.In this frame, PERFORM-AI contributes to meeting the above EU needs and priorities especially aiming to encourage entrepreneurial spirit towards the uptake of AI in businesses and conveying the right understanding on AI essentials and strategic perspectives through the achievement of new entrepreneurial skills and competences crucial to embrace AI as part of an effective transformative toolkit in the European economy. With a focus on the organizational and business process management related implications of AI usage within companies, rather than on their technical aspects, PERFORM-AI provides for the first time VET training to build the knowledge and confidence target groups need to pioneer AI’s successful integration in micro companies, SMEs.Project objectives are:• Exploring real world AI use-cases and use them for educational purposes• Developing a diagnostic tool to assess the impact of adopting AI in businesses• Designing and testing an entry level VET training program to develop new, non-technical skills needed for AI readiness in a business context• Developing innovative training materials and high quality OERs for the target group to support them in understanding the ways adopting AI enhance business performanceTarget groups:- Primary: VET learners - future entrepreneurs, employees - with main focus on those from Business Management&Administration, Economics, Business Informatics, Mechatronics and STEM - Secondary: Teacher/trainers providing VET training for entrepreneurship, VET organis.PERFORM-AI Intellectual Outputs:O1- Collection of real world cases: Case studies& digital stories of micro businesses and SMEs adopting AIO2 - PERFORM-AI Diagnostic Tool: Map the business’ potential benefit domains from AI use O3 - PERFORM-AI VET Curriculum “Enhance Business Performance with AI”O4 - PERFORM-AI Training KitO5 - PERFORM-AI Learning HubThe partnership, 7 organisations from SE, RO, ES, NL, FI, DK - highly motivated in developing, testing and sustaining the project outputs, highly experienced and with complementary expertise - will engage, share knowledge and experience with 39 institutions as ‘organisations of interest’, to be involved during implementation and dissemination events. 90 Targeted VET learners will benefit from the local trainings using the PERFORM-AI training tools; 24 experts/trainers from partner countries will be directly involved in the validation process of various outcomes; 12 trainers will take part in the short-term transnational staff training testing and validating the PERFORM-AI curriculum. The PERFORM-AI outcomes and results will directly reach more than 700 persons (target groups, stakeholders) via project activities, multiplier events, leading to a strong base for long term exploitation. The online PERFORM-AI Learning Hub will be sustained for at least 5 years and be widely promoted to VET training providers and beyond. We are truly convinced the PERFORM-AI curricula and training tools will be core part of the training offer of organisations involved in the project.