Location:
Objective of the practice:
Attract the best students and professors and implement an entrepreneurial development strategy.
Subtopics of the practice:
Enhance institutional excellence; facilitate companies and start-ups by improved knowledge of the individual universities; expand local ecosystem impact.
Geographical scope of the practice:
Europe
Short summary of the practice:
EcoAction aims to enhance entrepreneurial skills through a diversified alliance of five universities and two technology transfer companies, strengthening competencies and energising companies while extending regional impact.
Detailed information on the practice:
The practice aims to enhance the entrepreneurial role of universities by leveraging their innovation potential for economic development and attracting top students and professors and implementing an overall entrepreneurial university development strategy. Success in this practice is measured through several key performance indicators (KPIs), including: number of start-up/scale-ups supported, number of students trained, number of students mentored, number of academic staff member trained, number of academic staff members mentored, number of non-academic staff trained, number of non-academic staff mentored, number of improved support structures and mechanisms, number of new partnerships established. Since its implementation, specific outcomes achieved include: developing and strengthening entrepreneurship, providing innovation methods, management approaches and techniques, providing support in business plan development and start-up assistance. From a long-term perspective, the project aims to strengthen education institution’s role in innovation ecosystems by fostering an entrepreneurial culture, transforming knowledge into societal value, and benefiting the European Institute of Innovation and Technology community, including policymakers and incubators.
Resources needed:
Total amount (financial/fund) of this practice: 2022: 299953.76 €; 2023: 609728.49 €; 2024: 288243.68 €.
Results achieved:
A tool to measure the development of entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents, entrepreneurship competence and sustainable entrepreneurship competence (Entre Intentio: https://entreintentio.seamk.fi/login). Young people were empowered with entrepreneurial thinking, learning to solve problems in fresh ways to embrace assertiveness and engagement. Startups and SMEs were supported in fostering innovation and growth, as well as in developing business plans and providing start-up assistance.
Potential for learning:
The innovative solutions offered are valuable for students, entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators in other regions, as well as for a significant number of SMEs. Entre Intentio, the tool for measuring entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents, as well as entrepreneurship and sustainable entrepreneurship competencies, is available on the website (https://ecoaction.info/for-academics) and can be utilized by other regions interested in assessing the impact of entrepreneurship on education. The newly designed application now provides individual feedback to each student, comparing their current results with their previous performance. It is also useful for identifying students with the highest potential to become entrepreneurs and providing them with specialized support. Additionally, it helps track students actively engaged in entrepreneurship and those with interests in family businesses. The tool allows for comparisons across various fields of study, educational institutions, and students from diverse backgrounds (such as gender, work experience, role models, and prior entrepreneurship education courses).
Further information:
https://ecoaction.info/
Keywords:
Technology Transfer, Innovation Ecosystems, Higher Education Institutions, Entrepreneurial and Innovation Knowledge Models
