Brokerage event- Vilnius

 

Scope

The 5G-DiGITs project seeks to stimulate innovation, promote an entrepreneurial mindset, and enhance knowledge exchange in order to bridge the gap between the fast-paced digital transformation and the skills and competencies required by the workforce for the deployment of 5G technologies.

Addressing these gaps requires closer collaboration and a shared understanding between educational institutions and the labour market, as differing perceptions may otherwise limit synergistic progress.

As part of the project activities, brokerage events will be organised to bring together key stakeholders with the aim of fostering a common understanding of 5G and other advanced technologies. These events will also serve as a platform to stimulate discussions on European policies, educational curricula, and future developments.
In addition, the brokerage events aim to connect potential partners in order to identify business opportunities and avenues for collaboration.

The brokerage event in Lithuania marks the second initiative to initiate dialogue on 5G technology and its applications with local players, educators, and students, while also addressing existing policy frameworks and opportunities within the advanced technologies landscape.

Context and Objectives

Lithuania faces a growing strategic gap between rapidly deployed 5G infrastructure and the limited, fragmented capacity of industry and the education system to exploit it. The key problems are (1) insufficient large-scale industrial 5G use cases in manufacturing, (2) weak integration between vocational / higher education curricula and real industrial 5G competencies, and (3) persistent skills mismatch and coordination failures between telecom providers, manufacturers, and education institutions.
If unaddressed, Lithuania risks becoming a connectivity provider rather than a high-value Industry 4.0 producer, losing competitiveness in advanced engineering and smart manufacturing.

The primary goal of the brokerage event is to close the gap between Lithuania’s advanced 5G infrastructure and its limited industrial and skills-development uptake. The event will aim to build a shared national understanding among vocational institutions, universities, researchers, industry, and policymakers of where Lithuania is falling behind in industrial 5G deployment and why. A key objective of the brokerage event is to stimulate concrete cross-sector partnerships that translate 5G capabilities into real engineering and manufacturing use cases, especially in SMEs.

Another goal is to align vocational and higher education curricula with emerging industry needs by identifying priority competencies for private 5G networks, industrial IoT, and smart manufacturing. That is why the brokerage event will also facilitate dialogue on regulatory, funding, and innovation barriers that currently slow industrial adoption. Particular emphasis should be placed on creating mechanisms for continuous industry–education feedback loops rather than one-off projects.

Audience

The brokerage event will focus on four key stakeholder groups and expects to bring together at least 50 participants.

• Students from technical VET institutions and universities. Students provide valuable insights into perceived skill gaps and their preparedness to enter the labour market. Their input contributes to discussions on the alignment between educational curricula and the expectations of professional recruitment teams.

• Educators, including VET providers, researchers, and lecturers from universities and technical institutes. Educators contribute a grounded perspective to the dialogue by balancing expectations between students and the labour market, while also identifying policy- and administration-related barriers within public institutions and their own organisations.

• Industry representatives, including SMEs and start-ups in advanced technologies.Innovation is often driven by emerging business environments, placing start-ups and SMEs at the core of European innovation efforts. Focusing on these actors, alongside more established companies, enables discussions not only on skills mismatches but also on financing and procurement challenges linked to public policies and administrative frameworks.

• Investors interested in advanced technology enterprises. Investors may identify investment opportunities through the brokerage event, while also contributing valuable insights into financing needs, investment gaps, and requirements for seed and early-stage funding.

Format

The event will deliberately balance policy clarity, technical realism, and business incentives to avoid remaining purely declarative.

Stage 1 – Context and Objectives of the Event

The event will be opened by Gintaras Vilda (CEO of Manufacturing Innovation Valley) with a clear, evidence-based presentation of Lithuania’s current position in 5G deployment versus industrial adoption and skills readiness. Mr. Vilda will explicitly state the purpose of the event: to accelerate real industrial use cases, improve education–industry alignment, and remove regulatory and coordination barriers. This stage will include concise data, not marketing narratives, to create urgency and a shared problem definition among vocational institutions, universities, businesses, scientists, and policymakers. A well-framed opening will be critical to prevent fragmented expectations and superficial networking.

Stage 2 – Regulatory Framework

In this stage, the representative of Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) Šarūnas Oberauskas will present the regulatory framework for private 5G networks, spectrum access, and future policy directions. The focus will be practical: what is already permitted, what is planned, and what barriers still exist for industrial deployment in Lithuania. This session will also clarify experimental licenses. A transparent regulatory message will aim to reduce uncertainty for industry and research stakeholders.

Stage 3 – Expert Panel Discussion

A moderated panel of visionary and industry leader Mr. Gintaras Vilda, regulatory authority representative Mr. Šarūnas Oberauskas, lifelong learning policy implementation manager Mr. Julius Jakučinskas, vocational training services provider Mr. Mindaugas Černius, competency assessment expert Mr. Robertas Encius will critically debate Lithuania’s real readiness for 5G-enabled Industry 4.0. The discussion will move beyond success stories and openly address skills gaps, SME adoption barriers, and weak cross-sector coordination. Audience interaction (live questions or polling) will be welcomed to surface practical concerns from companies and training providers. The outcome of this stage will be a short list of priority action areas agreed by stakeholders.

Stage 4 – Structured Networking and Brokerage

This will be the operational core of the event, where pre-matched B2B and B2Academia meetings take place.

Stage 5 – Summary and Conclusions

The event will be closed with a synthesis of key insights, identified cooperation tracks, and announced next steps.

Properly designed, this five-stage brokerage format will directly address Lithuania’s core challenge: strong 5G supply but insufficient industrial absorption and skills alignment. The emphasis on regulatory clarity, critical expert debate, and structured matchmaking will make this format particularly suitable for catalysing real Industry 4.0 progress in the Lithuanian manufacturing sector.