Today, we launch Colleges for European Data Center Education (CEDCE). CEDCE is a collaboration of 8 schools from 6 European countries working together with data center companies to foster enhanced data center education and cross-regional skill ecosystems.
From vocational education to applied sciences and university level, CEDCE intends to prepare graduates with tech-savvy 21st-century skills like AI, green technology, and technical proficiency: essential for building the data centers of the future. By doing so, CEDCE answers the call for skilled technical employees, while boosting local economic prosperity in data center communities in Europe.
CEDCE has just secured a €4 million CoVE-grant from the European Commission to build data center education from EQF levels 3 to 7 for fulltime students and up- or reskilling for employees. CEDCE aspires to expand further, including other schools and companies from within and outside Europe, setting a new standard in technical education.
“The European Commission is pleased to support the CEDCE project, which is closely aligned to EU policies and initiatives. It will strongly contribute to innovation and VET excellence in the Data Centre industry.” – European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
The project started several years ago when Google brought together schools and industry players to discuss collaboration on workforce development. Since then, Google played a pivotal role as launching platform for CEDCE. Adri Mertens, project leader: “We want to thank our partner Google for believing in and supporting this project from the very beginning. Without that support, we could have never gotten so far.”
The coming months we are preparing to start the data center education in September 2024.
CEDCE schools: Alfa-college, FMS, UCL, Mercantec, Ekami, HELHa, ATU, ETLA.
CEDCE companies: Publyon NL, NorthC, DDA, Katapult, DDI, IPS Belgium, Innocode, Cafferkey, Start Campus