European University Enterprise Network – Get Involved

Oct. 21, 2012 - PRLog -- The ‘European University Enterprise Network’ (EUEN) is calling European universities and businesses to join and engage with its network of entrepreneurial universities in Europe.

During the month of October the EUEN will identify established environments for university-business-student co-operation (e.g. incubators) and outline suitable projects for delivery by university students, who will be invited to participate and present their project results to businesses and university staff.

The Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship (IAE) at Coventry University (UK) is working with HP to identify processes and projects to enhance university-student-business cooperation.

Ideas are identified, with the support of communities, and, based on this needs analysis, are turned into workable business plans.  HP is assisting with real life experiences especially for projects in the digital sector.

Funded by the European Commission, the EUEN pilot project aims to contribute to Europe 2020 (the EU’s growth and competitiveness strategy for the current decade) by fostering entrepreneurial skills at the university level. It will achieve this by facilitating enhanced collaboration between businesses and higher education institutions through: organisational development; staff development; curricular development; and the delivery of business-university-student enterprise and entrepreneurship projects.

The university-business-student projects follow on from six EUEN Leaders Forums which brought university and business leaders together to explore how they could collaborate most effectively to realise the EUEN’s vision of an entrepreneurial culture at universities.

A forum held at Coventry University recently, concluded that activities needed to be adapted to the competencies of the local university as well as the supporting mechanisms in place within the region.  The forum also identified that there was not one system applicable to all universities because of differences in capabilities and regional realities.  

Led by Coventry University, the EUEN team comprises seven Universities, six business partners and two specialist support institutions spread across seven European countries.  Businesses and universities are welcome to register an interest in the project.  For further information about the EUEN project please visit the project website: www.ebn.eu/euen

Or contact:

·         Dr Gideon Maas (Project Coordinator, e-mail: gmaas@cad.coventry.ac.uk); or

·         Margaret Mulligan (Project Communication Manager, e-mail: margaret.mulligan@ebn.eu)