MKB Digital Workspace

MKB Digital Workspace project promotes knowledge exchange within knowledge institutions and Dutch SMEs by linking academic research and the real life cases.

The MKB Digital Workspace initiative acts as a mediator platform between SMEs and knowledge institutions in order to match SMEs and suitable courses in Higher Education (i.e., students who have relevant digital skills).

Lack of digital skills and capabilities may trigger misperceptions on the actual risks (such as, cybersecurity risk, data privacy risk, compliance risk and automation risk) and blocking the benefits deriving from the adoption of recent digital technologies. Herein, MKB Digital Workspace initiative aims to help Dutch SMEs to overcome such obstacles that they have encountered. Additionally, MKB Digital Workspace helps digitalization processes of SMEs by setting up and implementing concrete projects with groups of students and professional guidance (i.e., digital sprints). Herein, collaboration and the participation of students play an important role in the digitalization processes of SMEs.

Students of several institutions

The participating students come from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science (AUAS), the ROC and the University of Amsterdam and VU University. Through this collaboration, not only the connection between education and business has been strengthened but also the digitalization processes of SMEs have been promoted.

Financing

The MKB Digital Workspace project was made possible in part by funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, the Province of Noord-Holland, the Municipality of Amsterdam and Rabobank Amsterdam. With this funding, the MKB Digital Workspace can invest time in recruiting participating SMEs, help them articulate their needs and questions.