Trinity College Dublin is contributing to European policy discussions on advanced digital skills as the European Union works towards its Digital Decade targets for 2030. Dr Julie Byrne, Assistant Professor in Online Education and Development, is helping translate research and industry insights into recommendations aimed at strengthening Europe’s digital talent pipeline.
The university will host the Digital Talent EU Days on 15 and 16 October 2026, bringing discussions on digital skills, education and workforce development to Dublin. The event is being organised by the LEADSx2030 consortium in conjunction with the Connecting Women in Digital initiative and in partnership with the European Commission and Ireland’s Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS).
The event is also an Associated Event of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The upcoming event builds on policy work undertaken in Brussels in July, when Dr Byrne led a workshop on the future of digital skills in Europe as part of the Digital Skills EU Days.
The workshop brought together officials from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) and the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), alongside representatives of projects and academies funded through the DIGITAL Europe Programme.
Dr Byrne and Professor Na Fu of Trinity Business School are members of the LEADSx2030 consortium, which organised the workshop and coordinates the Advanced Digital Skills cluster of the DIGITAL Europe Programme. The consortium works to bring together evidence and expertise to inform recommendations for European policymakers.
The European Union has set a target of 20 million ICT specialists by 2030 under its Digital Decade ambitions. Achieving this goal requires a clear understanding of the advanced digital skills employers need and how education and training providers can help develop them.
Advanced digital skills are important to Europe’s digital sovereignty, its capacity to create high-quality jobs and its ability to support economic and social wellbeing. Universities and other education providers have a significant role to play in developing the expertise needed across areas such as digital technology, data and emerging technologies.
Research into digital skills requirements can help policymakers identify gaps between the capabilities available in the labour market and those needed by businesses and public services. It can also inform decisions about how education, training and industry collaboration should respond to changing technological demands.
The Digital Talent EU Days will bring together expert insights, current data and emerging practices to support the strategic objectives of the Digital Decade Policy Programme and the European Commission’s Union of Skills initiative.
The event provides an opportunity to consider how European education and training systems can respond to advanced digital skills needs, strengthen talent development and support a more competitive digital economy.
For postgraduate students and professionals, these developments highlight the importance of developing digital expertise alongside specialist knowledge. As demand for advanced skills grows, postgraduate study and targeted professional learning can help individuals prepare for emerging opportunities in technology, research and digitally enabled industries.
Register at https://digitaltalentdays.eu/
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