Academia and Industry Launch Training on Tech and Data for Digital Product Passports

In close collaboration with Linnaeus University, Sigma Technology Group participates as an active industry partner in the course Digital Product Passports for Sustainable Value Chains. This is the first course in Sweden to link academic research, hands‑on workshops and industry needs to prepare Swedish business for upcoming EU requirements on digital product passports (DPP). The course is delivered within the project Expert Competence Smart Industry, which aims to strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness.

The EU’s action plan for the circular economy and the new EU regulation on ecodesign for sustainable products (ESPR) mean that digital product passports will soon become mandatory. The goal is to create traceability, transparency and sustainable value chains by giving every product placed on the EU market a unique digital identity. This change will affect companies across almost all sectors and requires that every product offered on the EU market must have a digital product passport.

There is a significant demand for expertise. Many Swedish companies — especially small and medium-sized enterprises — lack sufficient knowledge about both the legislation and the digital processes needed to implement DPP solutions effectively. When digital product passports become compulsory, companies without the right skills risk losing ground in the EU market — both commercially and in terms of regulatory compliance.

– Many companies wait until the legislation takes effect and view it as a regulatory burden. This is often driven by a lack of competence about EU requirements and the absence of digital systems for traceability. In our workshops we demonstrate that DPP is not just about compliance — it can also become a driver for the circular transition, strengthen customer trust, improve traceability and create entirely new business opportunities. When academia and industry collaborate, we can give companies the tools to both understand and apply the requirements in practice, says Niklas Malmros, CEO of Sigma Technology Solutions Group.

Linnaeus University’s course is Sweden’s first structured professional training program focused on digital product passports with a clear orientation toward industry. The course demonstrates how EU requirements translate into practical tasks involving data, architecture and value chains. The program was developed and is delivered in close cooperation with industry and ecosystem partners — including Sigma Technology, Lingon, Interior Cluster Sweden and GS1 — ensuring participants gain practically relevant skills that reflect both current and forthcoming requirements in real value chains. The course is funded by the KK Foundation and is part of the Expert Competence Smart Industry initiative.

– With this course we want to move digital product passports from abstract EU rules to concrete reality for Swedish companies. By combining research-based insights with practical workshops, we help managers and specialists understand what data they actually need, how it should be structured, and how digital product passports can support both regulatory compliance and new circular business opportunities. Our ambition is for participants to leave the course with a clear action plan for their own value chains — not just more information, says Fisnik Dalipi, PhD, course leader at Linnaeus University.

About the course

The course is offered as an independent professional development course (3 higher education credits) at Linnaeus University in Växjö. The general entry requirement is a bachelor’s degree. Individuals with equivalent professional experience are also welcome to apply.

More information on content, dates and how to apply is available on Linnaeus University’s website: Digital Product Passports for Sustainable Value Chains | lnu.se