We are pleased to announce the launch of ExcellEnt, a project funded by the Horizon Europe programme of the European Union, with the mission to strengthen entrepreneurial practices and build bridges across EU entrepreneurial ecosystems over the next 30 months.
The project focus is: Excellency in Entrepreneurship: Exploring the novel ways to capture, preserve, curate, organise and communicate sets of unstructured entrepreneurial experiences, stories, narratives.
The ExcellEnt consortium is composed of seven partners, one from a country with a strong innovation capacity (Creative Cluster in France) and four Southern and Eastern Europe ‘moderate innovator’ countries (Coordinator Institute of Enterpreneurship Development in Greece, Sabanci University in Turkey, Gate, as a structure of Sofia University st. Kliment Ohridski in Bulgaria and TechUkraine in Ukraine). The consortium is complimented by two innovation enablers namely International Development Ireland with an extensive record in technology transfer and scale-up. And Booster Labs in France — the innovation management, start-up and talent scouting.
Project objectives:
- Reveal the patterns of entrepreneurial success, while considering the diversity of the EU ecosystem and explore sets of unstructured entrepreneurial experiences, stories and narratives
- Aggregate the most suitable resources to help build a bridge from the academic education environment towards the real entrepreneurial world
- Connect the EU entrepreneurial ecosystems and activate cooperation between entrepreneurs from different ecosystems, educational institutions and start-ups support organizations
With a total duration of 30 months, the project was officially launched in January 2023 and reinforced during the recent Kick-off meeting of the participants at the JOIST Innovation Park of Larissa, Greece, headquarters of the Project Coordinator iED.
Tasks for accomplishment:
- Find the model of entrepreneurial success, discover the diversity of EU entrepreneurial practices and search ways to integrate theoretical models & field practice
- Establish an European Entrepreneurship Academy to share the most valuable content and entrepreneurial resources with the ecosystem participants
- Provide the opportunity to Startups and support organizations to participate in scale-up missions and other support programs offering the necessary resources for growth and territorial expansion
- Potentiate Cross fertilization within EU ecosystems and connectedness of cross-border entrepreneurial ecosystems
- Conduct the Excellence in entrepreneurship conference, a large EU event to celebrate entrepreneurship and generate cooperation opportunities
Benefits
- Activating the entrepreneurs’ cooperation from the different ecosystems
- Increasing the competitiveness of diversified companies on the European market
- Spreading the awareness of the problems of innovative ecosystems by the key stakeholders and authorities
- Providing more opportunities for entrepreneurs to enter the European market
- Accessing to the experience of best global practices and a network of contacts of the developed Tech ecosystems
- Integrating the universities, incubators, hubs, and policy makers into the Tech ecosystem development
- Inflowing the new information and communication technologies
- Summarising the evolution of the Tech ecosystems
Together, we’ll show that Excellency in Entrepreneurship is not just a vision but an achievable reality. We are proud to take a significant step towards a Successful and TECHable future for all.
Project Participants Overview:
- iED — Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, Larissa, Greece
The Project Coordinator. A non-profit organization based in Greece, is dedicated to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Since its establishment in 2005, iED has become a certified leading Center of Excellence in European entrepreneurship. iED recognizes that entrepreneurship is a crucial factor for sustainable development and the cohesion of societies.
- GATE — The Big Data for Smart Society Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria
GATE was established in 2019 as the first research institute of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The mission of GATE is to conduct Big Data and AI applied research, to develop innovations in Future Cities, Digital Health, Intelligent Government and Smart Industry and to provide education. All of these in collaboration with government, industry and entrepreneurs. GATE develops excellent young researchers and professionals, and creates new business opportunities and societal impact in Bulgaria and Europe.
- BOOSTER LABS — Growth hacking Lab for DeepTech startups, Paris, France
A young company (incorporated in June 2021 in France) having the mission to support the acceleration of DeepTech start-ups. The uniqueness of its approach consists in a “collaborative acceleration” that aims to leverage and align the different forces of the innovation ecosystems to help overcome more easily the specific challenges faced by DeepTech start-ups.
- Creative Cluster — Startup Incubator and Accelerator, Paris, France
Founded in 2012 Creative Cluster is providing the best support through several acceleration programs. Since 2012, Creative Cluster has built an ecosystem of innovation centers, school networks and startup acceleration programs in France and abroad. With a strong presence in the Ile-de-France region, Creative Cluster relies on more than 150 experts and mentors, has a very large international network and has developed more than 20 partnerships with schools and universities.
- IDI — The International Development Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
The IDI Institute is a specialist provider of training and capability building programs for management and staff of economic development agencies, working every day at the interface of government and the private sector – investment attraction, export promotion; SME development; zones management; regulation; privatisation; tourism, and research and innovation.
- Sabanci University — Leading Research University, Istanbul, Turkey
Sabanci University has established itself as the leading research university in Turkey within a short time span of 24 years since its foundation with globally-recognized faculty members and state-of-the-art facilities, producing highly sought-after graduates and top-rated research results, and fostering excellent connections with global industrial partners.
- TechUkraine — Ukrainian Tech NGO, Kyiv, Ukraine
TechUkraine is a platform, established in 2019 and focused on supporting Ukraine’s fast-growing tech ecosystem. It aims at uniting and driving cooperation among ecosystem leaders, government officials, business partners and donors to further support Tech and to foster our ecosystem integration in the global technological ecosystem. TechUkraine’s platform focuses on sharing insights, achievements and news of Ukraine’s tech ecosystem, creating new opportunities, launching support programs and establishing connections between Ukrainian tech ecosystem and global technology centers.
If you are a part of the Tech ecosystem of Ukraine and want to contribute to the mission and to leverage the development of entrepreneurship, you are much welcomed to contact us: info@techukraine.org
Read more about Ukrainian IT: Tech Emerging Europe Advocates — a Global Community now Available in Ukraine
