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SME Reports & Results

Digital Toolbox: Innovation for Nordic Tourism SMEs

2/17/2020

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This project consisted of 6 Nordic partners (collaborations between academic institutions and business clusters from the Nordic countries), and focused on identifying and developing ICT tools for innovation in Nordic tourism small businesses and destinations.
Nordic Innovation logo with link to web-site
Meeting the practical needs of tourism businesses in the Nordic countries when adopting and employing ICT in their operations has been the focus of the study. Taking into account the structure and challenges of the tourism industry in the Nordic region, the different case studies in this report represents different approaches to efficient use of ICT, offering a toolbox consisting of suggestions on how to take advantage of ICT for market communication, customer knowledge, service design and innovation.

The SMEs are important for European Economy - see table

Table with employment figures - link to full report
Source: Digital Toolbox: Innovation for Nordic Tourism SMEs - click table to go to report

The seven tools in the digital toolbox developed, are a mobile app, a service design toolkit, a customer knowledge tool, a website analysis toolkit, a user generated content sentiment analysis tool, a methodology for open innovation and a digital marketing tool.

Link to Nordic Co-operation Portal
Link to the full report PDF

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Talent Management in SMEs - Research report

12/14/2019

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Investigation Research: Needs and requirements of SMEs in the field of Talent Management and analytics as bridge between business and VET system realities
​"The goal of this investigation research report is to compile and investigate the needs and requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the partner countries Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Sweden and Cyprus, in the field of talent management.
By analysis of the results from the individual national reports, desk research and key findings it is aimed to answer how talent management can function as a bridge between business and VET system realities."

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Executive summary
Full report
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VRinSIght Overview - Virtual Reality in SMEs and HEs

12/10/2019

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​Virtual Reality (VR; 2D/3D computer-generated immersive environments) is expected to have a major impact in education, training, business and industry. This will also have a strong direct impact not only on SMEs but also on HE business management and related studies. HE managers and teachers themselves need in-depth education and training concerning what VR is about, what kind of VR skills and competence industry requires from graduates and how their own pedagogical approaches and classes can be boosted by using VR applications.

Download the full report
VRinSIght Logo with link to the project website
Visit the project website

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BOOSTING SOCIAL INCLUSION OF MIGRANTS THROUGH CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - INCREA

5/20/2018

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INCREA works towards the migrants’ acquisition of entrepreneurial and digital skills, combined with activities on the creative sector in order to foster social inclusion and growth through the creation of business.
Download the Press release of INCREA
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Athens will host the first INCREA Multiplier Event on June 4th
 
On June 4th, Crystal Clear Soft (CCS), a leading educational software company, will host “Migrants and Creative Businesses: A Survey on Skill Gaps and Training Needs”, a two-day Multiplier Event in Athens, Greece in order to present the results of the first Intellectual Output on the development of INCREA, a project that aims to help integrate migrants and refugees into European society within the KA2 of the Erasmus + programme.
Follow INCREA on Facebook
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DESI 2018 - The Digital Economy and Society Index

5/19/2018

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How Digital is Europe and who is speeding up the process of getting into top positions when it comes to Digitization?
The digital competitiveness of a country reflects both the Small Businesses possibilities to enter the digital economy as well as the access to digitally skilled staff and customers. If you don´t have the infrastructure and skills - being a part of the digital economy is more difficult. Small Businesses - and not at least startups - are dependent on the surrounding "digital environment" to be able to innovate, develop and to compete with new Business Models and Ideas on an international digital market.

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Find the Country Specific Information
In theDESI 2018 - The Digital Economy and Society Index annual report we can monitor and compare the progress in Europe and Europe vs the rest of the World.The Nordic countriesSweden, Denmark andFinland are together with Netherlands and Luxembourg in top positions but countries like Spain, Cyprus and Ireland  have found that extra gear and are catching up quickly.


Business Digitization and e-Commerce

All sections of the DESI 2018 are obviously interesting for SMEs and SME-supporters - but nevertheless the adaptation and integration of Digital Technology in enterprises is the most interesting. It is still very clear that in these kinds of reports the SME-label covering  micro, small and medium sized enterprises is not providing a fair view on the situation. As the difference between "Large" and "SME" enterprises is quite clear - there is also a huge difference between a micro company and a medium sized one. For example when we compare percentage of businesses employing ICT-specialists we can assume that  the 18% of SMEs hiring specialists are more medium sized than micro. In this comparison we also lack the information regarding outsourcing that explains that "only" 76% of the large organizations have ICT specialists in their staff. How much is outsourcing a tool for small businesses?

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Please comment on this post and share your experience when it comes to the digitization in micro, small and medium sized businesses in your region.

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Let´s Guide - Your guide to Entrepreneurship

5/18/2018

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In Let’s Guide adults, freelancers, and the unemployed can meet with an innovative education methodology, which helps them to improve their entrepreneurial competences. Partners of the Let’s Guide project designed the on-line platform with training course and interactive learning scenarios in order to develop entrepreneurial competences.

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The main aim of the platform is to offer a free on-line training course for people, who think about starting the entrepreneurial adventure (future entrepreneurs, free-lancers, unemployed). The content focuses on competences that are crucial for becoming a successful entrepreneur. The Let’s Guide on-line platform is already running! Read the press release about the launch here.

  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Creative Innovativeness
  • Resilience
  • Motivation


To Let´s Guide Platform
Visit Website of Let´s Guide
Visit Let´s Guide on Facebook
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Skills required and obstacles to expect as a new Entrepreneur

4/29/2018

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Get a copy of the Report
“ETC.4SE – eTraining Centre for Social Entrepreneurs” is a two-year (2017 - 2019) European project which aims to develop an online training centre in which adults can find support in setting up their own social enterprise.
In order to define the e-Training Centre’s contents and understand the relevant training needs, the project consortium investigated the skills and competences of adults in the partner countries.
The document intends to be a compilation of the information collected by all partners in the national reports in order to have an overview of the state of art of social entrepreneurship in the participating countries. Based on this information the consortium will now define the training curriculum, the contents and the digital tools to be developed for the online training course.

Conclusions

Based on the management model implemented in the social economy sector, the project focuses on the work for the improvement of certain generic skills, such as active entrepreneurship, critical thinking and digital competences, using the theoretical bases of social economy to work the collaborative spirit, and inclusive entrepreneurial thinking.
In this sense and aiming to provide an effective and practical business tool for both trainers and learners the consortium will start now working in the development of the online training course that will consisting of didactic units and a simulation tool of business practices using the adapted Bridge Model technique.
The business simulator is intended to provide learners with practical knowledge in order to have a first approach to the business realities. The ETC.4SE business simulator has the added value provided by the adaptation of the Bridge Model technique, by which it is possible to guide learners through the process of creating a social enterprise through an interactive tool composed of different phases: the users will be entering data on the business he/she wants to develop and will receive feedback with ideas and information on successful practices implemented by other social entrepreneurs.
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etc4se_io1_finaldeliverablevs1.pdf
File Size: 871 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Learn more about ETC4SE project
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Migrapreneurs - a Research on Migrant Entrepreneurship

4/29/2018

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The National Need Analysis Report of Turkey has been developed in order to outline; the current situation about migrants’ employability and entrepreneurship, needs of highly skilled migrants (HSM) in order to become entrepreneurs in Turkey, from the perspective of HSMs and organizations working with migrants as well as other bibliographic resources.
It also aims to enlighten the gaps in training offered to migrants found through the research activities, as well as propose solutions for the improvement of training available for HSMs in these areas. The report contents relies on the results gathered through a comprehensive desk research and field research activities. The primary dimensions of the report comprise of the results from focus groups meetings and in-depth interviews with highly skilled migrants and stakeholders.
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Get the full report
Article on the report
To the project behind the report

Constraints and problems found

  • Constraints originating from travel related regulations: The limited permission to migrants for both domestic and international travel,causes several problems for Syrian employers and entrepreneurs, such as not being able to travel out of the Turkish borders and even within the borders and not being able to bring customers from other countries because of visa problems. They found the solution as extending visa period and similarly to extend the working permit period in parallel to duration of stay, instead of applying and getting a visa every year.

  • Problems with the implementation of legislation: Another challenge for Syrian employers and entrepreneurs is the differences in the implementation of legal regulations in Turkey. The limited knowledge of the legislative arrangements and the limited services of the institutions that guide migrant entrepreneurs are causing difficulties.
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How to Solve Rubriks cube in 0,38 sec? Robots can...!

3/11/2018

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Hardware hackers Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo have smashed the previous record for solving the Rubik's cube robotically. Their machine solved the puzzle in 0.38 seconds—a 40-percent improvement over the previous record of 0.637. - Read the article here...

Whatch it happen


How will Robotics and 3D printing have an impact on SMEs and jobs in the - not so far - future?

In the SME Academy Network Workshop "Robotics and 3D Printing in SMEs - we introduced a report and an attempt to provide required training - as well as discussed some possible opportunities for SMEs. - Check the workshop....

Check the recorded Workshop on Robotics and 3D printing
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SME Academy Network - Conference preferences

3/10/2018

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Thanks all members of the SME Academy Network that helped us in our efforts to make our network inspiring and beneficial for all by responding to our Survey. During the first week of March 2018 we got 64 responses from our 600 members - 11% - that is fantastic and we are very happy that you took your valuable time to make us a bit better.
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As we mostly meet online in our workshops and round table meetings we thought it is about time to arrange a face to face meeting for all colleagues in the network. The survey result shows that 79,7% of all respondents think it is a great idea and 20,3% think it could be a good idea. So - of course we will schedule and plan for this conference.

View the full result and details direct in Survey Monkey

Where and When?

As per the results the conference should take place in Brussels, Belgium,  on a Friday either in May or September.

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We understand that Brussels is an interesting location for many reasons as most of our members are involved in some EU-funded projects or members of different associations based in Brussels. It is of course also a lovely city to visit and flights are easy to get at reasonable costs, traveling within Europe.. However we also got some very interesting suggestions besides the alternatives we listed.
Copenhagen was suggested by several respondents as well as Italy and Rome. We also had suggestions for the Swedish cities Malmö and Gothenburg. Badajoz and Madrid in Spain were two other suggestions and Belfast, Ireland, was also mentioned. Dubai was also suggested as an interesting alternative since we have several members also in Asia and Africa.
We also got two "sales pitches": "Vienna-the most beautiful city in Europe" and "the Land of the Midnight Sun". To be able to actually see the midnight sun (24 hours a day) we need to be in the northern parts of Sweden between end of May and end of July. 

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Next result from Generativity - a set of tutorials for projects

2/12/2018

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Check tutorials
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The tutorials focus on supporting beginners and professionals to learn, acquire and improve their IT skills in order to succeed in effective and sustainable projects, specifically targeted to the Erasmus+ program.
The tutorials represent the “how-to” materials, an unofficial method often used by open source communities, which proved to be very effective for learning about ICT tools. Special attention is given to security while using ICT technologies for project management. They include a specific explanations on how to use project management tools, providing a direct support in doing all the necessary steps to meet the challenge of a successfull project.
They are available in English with subtitles in all partner languages, please make sure to turn on subtitles and choose the language of your choice.


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Guide to Project Cycle Management - Generativity

1/12/2018

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“Generativity: manage it!” is a project that responds to some of the questions that arise in most of the third sector organizations in various fields: from social intervention to educational, from empowerment disadvantaged groups or individuals, to support employment: The need to acquire, develop & implement skills and competences on Project Cycle Management."
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Applying for funding of a project? Check the lessons

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Independent of you are a beginner or experienced in creating, submitting and running projects - these 6 lessons could be of great help to you. Specially if you are aiming at EU-funded projects. Feantsa, a member of the SME Academy Network, are one of the partners that have been engaged in the  Generativity project. You can use the modules one by one or as a complete training package.

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What do Europeans think about Robots and Digitisation?

1/11/2018

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Eurobarometer Summary
The European Commission has published a Special Eurobarometer survey presenting European citizens' opinions on the impact of digitisation and automation on daily life.
The attitude is in general very positive and as a conclusion we can expect a high rate of acceptance and use by individuals, families and organizations.
How can Entrepreneurs and SMEs benefit from this situation and how do they need to pan for their future products and services?

Do we have the required skills?

In the Special Eurobarometer, with 28.000 respondents, 70& fully agree or agree on the statement that they have the necessary skills to meet the demands in their daily life. Younger individuals and people with higher education have a stronger self-confidence in this matter and there is also a difference between countries.
At the same time - in a research recently made in an Erasmus project, ROTENA and presented in a report - there is a clear opinion that we need to develop education and training to meet the required skills. There is of course a great difference in being an end user, an advanced user and a professional. There is no doubt about the need for upgrading and developing our skills in all roles we can have in the field of robotics and digitisation.
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Image from Report summary

Are there any Business Opportunities for SMEs?

Yes there certainly are - and they are explored and used by more than early adopters - but there is definitely more to do and to develop. To find a balance between New Technology implementation, Infrastructure creation, Entrepreneurs and SMEs Innovations, the skills and competence of the workforce and students, a working labor market is not the easiest task we have in front of us - but a very inspiring one. Transnational collaboration and joint projects are tools we can use in these matters and we need to bring individuals together in work shops and brainstorming sessions to open new doors and ways forward.

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Annual report on European SMEs - 2016-2017

12/3/2017

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"All but 0.2 % of enterprises which operated in the EU-28 non-financial business sector in 2016 were SMEs. These SMEs employed 93 million people, accounting for 67 % of total employment in the EU-28 non-financial business sector, and generating 57 % of value added in the EU-28 non-financial business sector. Almost all (93 %) of the SMEs were micro SMEs employing less than 10 persons.

In 2016, 30.6 million individuals were self-employed in the EU-28, accounting for 14 % of total EU-28 employment."
SMEs are the backbone of the EU´s economy …
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Click to go to EU Commission

The Annual Report 2017
Executive Summary


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Robotics and 3D printing in European SMEs - Report

11/21/2017

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To ROTENA Project web
European Robotics/3D Printing Training Survey 
The aim of this Project Output was to study and determine the conditions under which robotics and 3D printing training flourishes within Europe and make recommendations as to what strategies training organizations need to adopt to encourage such training.
In respect of both robotics and 3D printing, all respondents would clearly welcome educational institutions providing more knowledge and training opportunities on the topics. A majority of respondents are also willing to take such courses if available for free.
Download the full report
83% of SMEs confirmed the benefits to their company in the use of robots and 79% identified tasks in their companies that could be automated in the future. 90% of individual respondents think that acquiring knowledge on robotics could give them an advantage on the labour market. However, only half of them have already taken courses about the subject but 61% see that in the future their work will involve robotics and robots. This also corresponds with the answers from individual respondents in as much as only 6% have a professional level of knowledge on the topic, 63% some level and 31% no knowledge at all.

In respect of 3D printing the results show a lower involvement with the topic in general. 45% of participating SMEs are already using 3D Printing and 82% are convinced that their employees will benefit from more knowledge in the area. 94% of individuals stated they have not taken any courses in 3D Printing although 74% think that such knowledge would give them an advantage in future job seeking or at work
Download the full report
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What can we do for you as a SME Academy Network member? Results from the survey

6/28/2017

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First of all - a great thanks to all of you responding to the survey!

We are happy that more than 10% of the members of the SME Academy took their time and responded to the survey "What can we do for you as a SME Academy Network member?". The results will be a part of our planning for our future activities and our improvements of the SME Academy Network for you as a member.


Some quick results:
  • Activities should preferable be online, short (<60 min) and with a fixed agenda.
  • "European SME-programs" and "Small Business Challenges" are ranked with the highest interest
  • Most valuable section of SME Academy web is "Reports & Results" and "Articles"
  • Network members want to contribute with "Reports and Results", "Presentations" and "Events". 
This is a summary of the top rankings - but in general it was a very even result between alternatives and we an see a need for a wide range of information, activities etc..
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EU Innovation report - Press release from European Comission

6/21/2017

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In a Press release from 20th June 2017 the European Commission presents the annual ranking of Innovation in Europe - again Sweden is the over all leader of innovation in Europe and Ireland shows the highest rate of involvement of SMEs and Employees.
As the comments indicates Europe needs to increase the innovation pace and also make it more even around the union as the average in EU 28 shows there is room for improvement. 
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Outside the EU 28 you can note first of all Switzerland showing a very strong Innovation rank compared to the neighboring EU28 states. South Korea, Japan and China are other competitors to keep an eye on and to learn from.
In the European Innovation Scoreboard you can find all details and there is also a Regional Innovation Scoreboard there you can view specific regions within the European Union. If you are interested to compare different countries there is an Interactive tool that makes it easy to compare results 2010-2016. 

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Entrepreneurship and Business - 48 video lessons available

5/21/2017

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In the Erasmus+ project REAL you can reach a platform with 48 animated introduction videos and 48 video lessons in 8 languages. You can take the lessons one by one - as stand alone pieces or you can take all as a course and asses your new knowledge in the end of the session. 
Visit thee-learning platform created by the Cypriotic partner CyNovus 
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Read the blog post regarding the result in SMEBOX, Swedish partner, web site. 
Also watch the first Lesson in Module 1, produced by SELENA Italy. "Not perfect but winning". by continuing with Read more...

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Circular €conomy Digital Training Toolbox to Foster Innovative Green Entrepreneurship

5/19/2017

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Circular €conomy Digital Training Toolbox to Foster Innovative Green Entrepreneurship- ENG@GE.

The aim of the Eng@ge partnership is to improve green entrepreneurial culture in Europe by providing VET stakeholders with knowledge about the circular economy.  The project will develop an open digital training toolbox through which educators can prepare individuals to exploit the concept of the Circular Economy as a basis for green entrepreneurship. This innovative toolbox will consist of a number of different training tools and case studies that learners will be able to use, according to their specific needs and aspirations. Through this, the Eng@ge partnership aspires to help trainers in transferring skills and case studies related to the Circular Economy so as to foster European green entrepreneurship.

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To the Toolbox

About the project:
The Eng@ge project is motivated by the problem that the vast use of resources used by mankind is growing due to global population growth and increasing living standards. The project will develop an open digital training toolbox to exploit the concept of circular economy as a basis for green entrepreneurship.
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EUROPEAN HUB MODEL FOR SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

5/19/2017

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HUB – European HUB Model for Socially Responsible Young Entrepreneurs

​The most important project output aimed at tackling the issue of youth unemployment will be the HUB MODEL KIT, through which partners will on one hand deliver a “ready-to-go” approach that youth organizations can incorporate in their activities (fully or partially), and on the other hand it will educate other entities – such as public institutions and businesses - on the role and potential which youth organizations have in tackling the problem of youth unemployment through effective information and educational activities that develop and support the skills needed to become a successful social entrepreneur. 
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To the Project Web
Read more about the project in PDF

​YOUTH SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A NEW OPPORTUNITY IN TIMES OF CRISIS
In these times of economic crisis – which are deeply affecting the younger generation – our project aims at targeting youth unemployment through a more innovative approach. Social Youth Entrepreneurship is a growing field in which the youth might find interesting work opportunities: the HUB model will help create »start-up aggregators« to support the creation of new social enterprises.

The HUB MODEL KIT

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SME Academy 2017