ECECT.eu

Explore the ECT Forum 2026 Agenda!

Take a look at the agenda for the 2nd ECT Forum, which brings together representatives from academia, industry, and the technology sector to discuss how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping skills, education, and the workplace.

📅 Thursday, 8 October 2026
🕘 09:00 - 17:00
📍 University of Nicosia - UNESCO Amphitheatre
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Free participation | Limited places
👉 Register here to confirm your participation: https://forms.gle/Ww9WQJRwBsQUw8Gx7

The Forum will feature expert presentations, project showcases and discussions on emerging technologies, education, skills development and innovation.

We look forward to welcoming you at ECT Forum 2026!

Supported by:
University of Nicosia IET Cyprus Local Network Panis.News
Novatex Solutions Ltd Cyprus Computer Society

🎥 A look back at ECT Forum 2024!

Great people. Big ideas. Emerging technologies. Meaningful conversations.
Here’s a glimpse of what happened at our previous edition, and a little preview of what’s to come.
🎥 https://youtu.be/hkwYfkkEu4k?si=ljMcGAez8D06vwZg

The 2nd ECT Forum is happening on 8 October 2026, bringing together experts from academia, industry and the technology sector to explore AI, emerging technologies and the future of skills, education and work.
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👉 Register now: https://bit.ly/3UCgcMJ

📍 University of Nicosia / UNESCO Amphitheatre
🕘 09:00–17:00
🎟️ Free attendance — limited places!

**The detailed agenda and speaker line-up will be announced at a later stage.

1st European Competencies & Technologies forum 2024 For more info: https://ectforum.eu/cyprus/

What if you could see what is happening beneath your feet? 🌱

Most of the processes that keep soil alive happen underground, hidden from view.
- Roots grow and interact with microorganisms.
- Water moves through soil pores.
- Organic matter decomposes.
- Thousands of organisms contribute to a complex living ecosystem.

Through SOIL-XR project (www.soilxr.eu), we are exploring how Extended Reality can make these invisible processes visible and interactive.

Our goal is not simply to teach about soil, but to help students explore it, interact with it and understand why healthy soil matters for biodiversity, food, water and climate resilience.

🌍 What would you like to explore underground in XR?

.eu Project

Save the Date! ECT Forum 2026

ECECT.eu is delighted to announce that the 2nd European Competencies & Technologies forum (ECT Forum) will take place on Thursday, 8 October 2026 at the University of Nicosia.

This year's Forum, supported by the Erasmus+ project DITEC – Didactic Technologies for IT Education (https://ditec.taltech.ee/), will bring together academics, industry professionals and European experts to explore one of today's most important challenges: how education can keep pace with the rapidly changing skills needed in an AI-driven workplace.

👉 Register now: https://bit.ly/3UCgcMJ

Expect inspiring presentations and round-table discussions with perspectives from:

🔹 Technology & FinTech
🔹 Hospitality & Tourism
🔹 Universities & education providers
🔹 Chambers of commerce & business organisations
🔹 Legal, regulatory & ethical experts
🔹 European projects & international partners

📅 8 October 2026
🕘 09:00–17:00
📍 UNESCO Amphitheatre, University of Nicosia
🌍 Language: English
🎟️ Attendance is free, but places are limited!

*The detailed agenda and speaker line-up will be announced at a later stage

We look forward to welcoming you to a day of knowledge-sharing, innovation and new partnerships!

Digitalisation is most effective when training responds to real SME needs.

The DigiFABS Training Programme Analysis brings together more than 20 practical cases of successful digitalisation through training, from the food and beverage sector and the wider SME landscape.

The collection offers useful examples for SMEs, educators and organisations designing training and upskilling programmes.

Explore the case collection on Digifabseu page:
www.digifabs.eu/results

Digitalisation succeeds when training is designed around what actually works.

Our Training Programme Analysis brings together more than 20 real cases of successful digitalisation efforts through training, drawn from the food and beverage sector and the wider SME landscape.

It's a practical mini case collection built to inspire educators and public bodies designing support programmes, and to give SMEs a benchmark for what effective upskilling looks like.

Explore the case collection on our Results page: www.digifabs.eu/results

Another memorable year with Robotex Cyprus! 🤖🇨🇾

ECECT.eu was delighted to support Robotex Cyprus 2026, contributing to one of Cyprus' largest celebrations of educational robotics, STEM and innovation.

Throughout the event, our team welcomed students, educators, families, and technology enthusiasts to our booth, where we showcased EU-funded projects, promoted digital skills and lifelong learning, and demonstrated how emerging technologies can enhance education and help tackle real-world challenges.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Nathan Metsälä, CEO of Robotex International, and exchanging ideas on the importance of STEM education, innovation, and international collaboration.

We are also proud of ECECT members who volunteer as judges across several competitions, helping evaluate participants while encouraging creativity, teamwork, and technical excellence.

Robotex is much more than a competition; it is a meeting point where education, research, technology, and collaboration come together to inspire the next generation! 💡🚀

A sincere thank you to the organizers, Cyprus Computer Society, co-organizers, Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου | University Of Cyprus, IET Cyprus Local Network, Οργανισμός Νεολαίας Κύπρου / Youth Board of Cyprus, volunteers, coaches, judges, sponsors, supporters, and every participant who contributed to another outstanding event.

We are grateful to have been part of this incredible community and look forward to supporting future editions.

Over the past few weeks, BlueZona (Italy) and ECECT.eu (Cyprus) organised a series of SOIL-XR Co-Design Workshops, bringing together students, teachers, and environmental enthusiasts to co-create the project's future XR learning platform.
Participants explored topics such as:
🪱 Soil biodiversity
🌍 Soil formation and layers
💧 Soil and water interactions
⛰️ Soil erosion

Through hands-on experiments, interactive discussions, and digital activities, participants shared ideas that will help shape the future Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) learning experiences developed by the project.

By placing end users at the centre of the design process, SOIL-XR is creating engaging, accessible, and scientifically accurate educational experiences that inspire the next generation to care for our soils.

🌐 Learn more: www.soilxr.eu
SoilScape Project

🚀 RoboXR project completed!

After nine months of collaboration, development, testing, and validation, we are proud to announce the successful completion of RoboXR – Extended Reality Machine Tending for Industrial Learning.

Developed through the MASTER Open Call #2, RoboXR demonstrates how Extended Reality (XR) can bridge the gap between education and industrial automation by creating immersive, realistic learning experiences for future robotics professionals.

During the project, we successfully:

▪️Developed 4 immersive industrial XR learning scenarios
1. AI-assisted layout planning
2. Robotic machine tending
3. Human–robot safety training
4. Advanced industrial software control

▪️ Integrated the XR environment with an industrial automation software platform, enabling realistic robot behaviour and industrial workflows.

▪️Validated the solution with 24 participants from universities, industry, and technical experts in Cyprus and Germany.

▪️ Achieved excellent evaluation results:
- 91% improved familiarisation with industrial environments
- 91% improved familiarisation with XR technologies
- 82% improved understanding of robot handling and programming
- 82% recommendation score

A sincere thank you to everyone who contributed to the project, especially our German partner voraus robotik GmbH, all pilot participants, and the MASTER consortium for their continuous support.

The RoboXR journey may be complete, but its impact on XR-based industrial learning is only beginning.

For more info: www.roboxr.eu