Collaborating with industry and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset are in the DNA of our universities. Our framework is unique and set up for promoting entrepreneurial endeavours and developing innovative technologies. Being embedded in deep-tech ecosystems across Europe provides our students and researchers with optimal conditions to address the whole European market – and beyond – with their solutions.
As an alliance, we also analyse, compare and bring forward policy suggestions on the framework conditions for commercialising capital-intensive technologies for the benefit of society.
We believe that by teaching our students an entrepreneurial mindset, they will be able to tackle obstacles and societal challenges with a solution-focused approach. Our students will be able not only to analyse challenges, but also to deliver specific solutions and act upon them.
Some of the activities carried out in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Focus Area
Education
The European Venture Programme offers 25 young start-ups exclusive access to the entrepreneurship expertise and networking resources available at the six EuroTech Universities.
Research
Through a multi-sited, embedded, and comparative experimental research design, the EU-funded research project SCALINGS (“Scaling up Co-Creation: Avenues and Limits for Integrating Society in Science and Innovation”; 2018-2021) studied the unique implementations and outcomes of three co-creation instruments: innovation procurement, living labs, and co-creation facilities. The project emerged from the EuroTech Universities Alliance.
Management of innovation & entrepreneurship
The EuroTech Joint Innovation Working Group develops a framework for collaboration between the EuroTech Universities and their respective innovation hubs and discusses the role of universities as the main actors in fast-pace innovation and the financing of start-ups and scale-ups.
Sustainable solutions by EuroTech Innovators
On 9 December 2022, selected innovators from the EuroTech Universities had the chance to present their inventions to Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and EU Commissioner for Competition. Those innovators stand for the many that work on sustainable solutions in our EuroTech ecosystems.
They also visited the company Hyme and learnt more about their journey from lab to market. Furthermore on the agenda: A discussion with PreSeed Ventures, who provided insight into their investments in deep-tech and sustainable companies.
Innovative advanced materials: Building blocks for a sustainable future
Materials are key enablers for shaping the world we want to live in. They can significantly contribute to improving people’s well-being, fighting climate change and increasing industrial competitiveness.
In June 2023, the European Innovation Council and EuroTech teamed up to highlight the importance – and beauty – of innovative advanced materials with a 1-week exhibition of compelling demonstrators and informative posters and videos at the European Commission.
Sustainable electronics: Reducing the use of energy and critical raw materials
It has been predicted that by 2050, the production of electronic components and devices will rise exponentially and thus the use of raw materials will increase accordingly. As a result, the amount of electronic waste is also set to rise massively. The footprint of electronics can be drastically reduced by shifting to innovative manufacturing methods, using materials with a lower environmental impact, and tackling the energy consumption from the design phase to the end of life of the devices developed.
In a joint workshop with the European Innovation Council on 15 October 2024, we shed a light on innovative solutions made in Europe. The workshop was accompanied by a week-long exhibition at the European Commission.
Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Our way of enabling students and faculty with an entrepreneurial approach will help solve different Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
