“The automobile industry and sustainable mobility at the UPC” meeting at CFPAM Martorell
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July 14, 2022Official presentation of the Sustainable Mobility Campus UPC-Martorell project to companies in the automobile sector
On Monday 20 June, around fifty companies participated in the meeting “The automobile industry and sustainable mobility at the UPC”. It was held at the Centre for Professional Training in the Automobile Industry of Martorell (CFPAM), where the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) presented the project for transforming this centre into the new Sustainable Mobility Campus UPC-Martorell. The meeting was organised in the framework of activities of Mitin Auto, CIAC Live of the Automotive Industry Cluster of Catalonia (CIAC).
During the meeting, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya presented the new campus project to companies in the automobile sector, as a result of the Government of Catalonia awarding the UPC the management and use of the centre for the next 15 years. The UPC also presented the technological capacities and prototypes of UPC research groups and entities, as well as the specific, leading training in research, development and innovation that is currently offered in the area.
The meeting started with speeches by the rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo; the mayor of Martorell, Xavier Fonollosa; and the president of CIAC, Josep Maria Vall. Then, the UPC project for the CFPA was presented, which will now be known as the Sustainable Mobility Campus UPC-Martorell. This is a key element to support the transformation of the sector, with a centre that will offer a catalogue of innovative professional training that is an international benchmark with training pathways that can be certified and accumulated, adapted to the transformation of mobility. Initial professional training, professional training for employment and continuous training for companies in the automobile sector will be offered. A major commitment will be made to the dual mode and it will be made easy for the administration to experiment with the opportunities provided by the new Organic Law on the Organisation and Integration of Vocational Training.
This campus will have the capacity to create mutual understanding between companies in the sector and their technicians and operators, with a considerable volume of training, particularly in key areas of transformation of the sector. In addition, the centre will house start-ups to promote entrepreneurship and will be a leading space for events and agents in the sector. It will represent an important element in the retraining of unemployed people in the sector, providing certificates of professionalism and training specialisations at the most advanced level. Likewise, the centre will host activities developed by entities in the sector that require the use of its spaces and facilities.
The UPC project for the Sustainable Mobility Campus UPC-Martorell aspires to be a space where government departments, companies and social agents come together to establish positive synergies that could have a great socioeconomic impact on the future of Catalonia.
The transformation of the sector, under discussion
Then, a round table was organised on “The transformation of the automobile sector and mobility through training, knowledge and talent”, with the participation of the director general of the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOY), Juan José Torres López; the mayor of Martorell, Xavier Fonollosa; the president of the Cluster of Automotive Industry of Catalonia (CIAC), Josep Maria Vall; the rector Daniel Crespo; Lluís Jofre, the academic director of CARNET – the mobility research and innovation hub created by the UPC, VW Group Research and SEAT, and led by CIT UPC Technology Center – and Josep Nadal, Cluster Manager of CIAC, who chaired the round table.
In this round table, the discussion focused on challenges in the automobile sector and the need for government bodies, universities and the business world to work together in a coordinated way. In this respect, the rector of the UPC highlighted that “this project provides us with a great opportunity to create different training, adapted to the needs of the automobile sector. To be successful, it is important to have good interaction with companies. If we effectively meet the needs of the sector, this centre will be a model of success.”
Participants also highlighted the role of Catalonia in urban mobility and how this sector will change in the coming years with connected vehicles. For this reason, they agreed that the most important challenge is to involve young people and create vocations in this sector with training of sufficient quality to meet coming changes.
Meet company needs
During the meeting, the UPC carried out a live survey of representatives of companies to find out the training and service needs of the sector. Questions were formulated such as what they think the company situation will be in the next three years in relation to the incorporation and training of talent, which areas and training specialisations are considered of interest for the objectives of the company and their staff, which services would be more useful for their organisation and what expectations they have regarding the CFPA.
The end of the event was presided over by Enric Vinaixa, Labour Secretary of the Government of Catalonia’s Ministry of Business and Employment.
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