The main objectives of the project were: to raise transnational work capacities by exchanging experiences & transferring knowledge & best practices to increase the volume & quality of activities provided by the participating UBIs; to build a cross sectoral community by enforcing existing networks & developing new ones engaging with different partners & actors to better integrate the HE sector within the innovation ecosystem; to create conditions & motivation system for students, researchers & educators to acquire the necessary soft, technical & leadership skills to address common needs when delivering innovative, high potential business ideas; and to drive growth and transformation at individual, organizational & sectoral level by developing, testing & implementing new transnational entrepreneurial teaching approaches. The main expected results included establishment of sustainable transnational & regional cooperation partnerships & networks, creation of conditions for mutual learning, transfer of knowledge & best practice on an international level; a virtual platform for community building & communication; participant-centred skills training; competencies development workshops for trainers; and a novel pre-incubation program.
The partners’ motivation underlying the project application was the need for continuous growth shared by both main project target groups: the staff of the university-based incubators (UBIs) & students, researchers & young entrepreneurs who are supported and guided by the UBIs staff throughout the entire process of the business idea development. Considering their strong focus on innovation & strengthening of their UBIs’ activities, the project partners had identified areas that needed extra work & focus, such as individual growth and development of the UBIs’ staff skills & innovative teaching methods that facilitated also the growth of UBI participants. Another motivational force of the project was the need for establishing of a lasting collaboration network. Merging the knowledge, competencies & expertise of 4 UBIs from 4 different countries, the partners ensured sharing of the best practices among them and established a sustainable collaboration to increase the quality in their work and activities during & after the project. The joint efforts contributed to further development of the partner UBIs, supported their better integration into their respective innovation ecosystems and encouraged use of innovative teaching methods.