Acronym: AISHA
Title: Artificial Intelligence Skills Hub Academy
Call: DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08
EU nr: 101299070
Period: 1 May 2026 – 30 April 2030
Budget : total budget : 6 996 258.30 EUR; VUB budget: 195 943.75 EUR
Contact VUB: Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Aerts, Mr. Hans De Canck
At ERIS we got a chance to talk to Geoffrey and asked 4 questions:
What is the AISHA project about, and which challenges related to the rapid advancement of AI does it aim to address?
AISHA (Artificial Intelligence Skills Hub Academy) is a four-year pan-European initiative running from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2030 under the Digital Europe Programme (call DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08, grant number 101299070). It brings together 30 beneficiary organisations and 12 associated partners from 17 European countries, coordinated by Inspiring Futures Europe (Spain), with a total budget of EUR 6,996,258.30. The project tackles the profound challenges posed by rapid AI advancements, which are decoupling tasks from traditional occupations and weakening apprenticeship-based learning frameworks. AISHA directly addresses acute European priorities: AI-related skill shortages, fragmentation of credentials, risk of workforce deskilling, underrepresentation of women in AI careers, and limited GenAI adoption capacity among SMEs and public sector bodies. It also mitigates risks such as automation bias and the erosion of human autonomy and digital sovereignty.
What are the key outcomes or innovations AISHA seeks to deliver in terms of AI skills, education, and responsible adoption across sectors?
AISHA delivers modular GenAI literacy across technical, managerial, and policy-ethical domains through ten work packages that span the full project lifecycle. The core innovations include a Common Competence and Qualification Framework with an accompanying curriculum (WP2), three successive programme cycles combining Training of Trainers, Pilot Courses, and Sector Labs from initiation through delivery to packaging for scale (WP4, WP5, WP6), an EU-wide accreditation system supported by a policy feedback loop (WP7), and a measurement and evaluation framework using SMART indicators with a live KPI dashboard (WP8). The project also runs a Scholarship and Returnship Scheme, carries out ecosystem intelligence work covering skills gap mapping and strategic foresight (WP3), and lays the foundations for an EU Knowledge Hub and Centre of Excellence for AI education and skills, designed in coordination with the EC’s AI Office and aligned with the forthcoming Apply AI Strategy.
What specific expertise and contributions does VUB bring to the AISHA consortium?
VUB participates as a full Partner in the AISHA consortium through FARI, its AI for the Common Good Institute. FARI’s expertise sits in human-centric and trustworthy AI, AI for the public good, and its track record of cross-disciplinary research at the intersection of AI, ethics, policy, and society.
What broader societal impact will AISHA have?
AISHA contributes to EU digital sovereignty by fostering productivity, improving public services, and broadening inclusive access to GenAI careers for underrepresented groups, with particular attention to gender balance. By delivering evidence-based accredited curricula, large-scale apprenticeships, and sector labs, the project enables cross-sector integration of AI in strategic domains including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, agri-food, and security. Synergies with existing initiatives such as AI4Gov-X, AI-SECRETT, the European Universities Alliances, the Pact for Skills, and EIT Community AI maximise scale-up and knowledge transfer. The governance model, rolling planning, and EU-wide partnership and co-funding arrangements ensure quality delivery and sustainability beyond the grant period, ultimately positioning Europe as a global leader in responsible AI adoption.