SmartHeads

The aim of the collaborative project “Symbiosis methods for Automotive and Digitalisation Sectors in Tunisia between higher education and industry for advanced labour market orientation of graduates”, or “SmartHeads” for short, is to investigate, initiate and implement measures to establish and strengthen industry’s influence on the higher education structure in Tunisia through collaboration and knowledge transfer.

By bridging the gap between the more theoretical higher education and the practice-oriented industry, the project ensures that higher education better meets the requirements and developments of the labour market and ultimately leads to a strengthening of Tunisia as a business location in general.

Academic and Scientific Exchange

Since 2015, Professor Derbel has been continuously intensifying international cooperation with research partners from France, Italy, Spain and North Africa. Under his leadership, more than 70 students and 8 PhD candidates from various disciplines and degree programmes have been supervised and trained in practice-oriented subjects in this way. The range of topics extends from IoT, 5G, WakeUp-Receiver, facility management, machine diagnostics, deep learning and artificial intelligence all the way to smart grids, state estimation, PMUs and power line load calibration. The latest project, SmartHeads, aims to integrate a growing industrial influence into these activities. In this context, EU projects are being launched.

SmartHeads aims to investigate, initiate and implement measures to build up and intensify industrial influence on the higher education structure in Tunisia through cooperation and knowledge transfer. By bridging the gap between the more theoretical higher education and the practice-oriented industry, particularly in the automotive sector and the digital economy, the project ensures that university training better meets the requirements and developments of the labour market and ultimately leads to strengthening Tunisia as a business location in general. In addition, (international) collaborations are intended to be established to further increase interest from European companies in the African continent. In doing so, SmartHeads directly contributes to the objectives of the Marshall Plan with Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, particularly in terms of education and innovation, and helps to counteract the ‘brain drain’.

Visit the project website