European project encourages businesses-university-student partnerships

18.12.2012

​Business and Innovation Development BID unit at the University of Turku is participating as an active project partner in a new European Commission funded project “European Enterprise University network” (EUEN). The project has been set up to encourage universities in Europe to form active partnerships with businesses and students aimed at making a substantial impact on long term competitiveness of the education and business sectors.

The EUEN will establish partnerships between enterprise and entrepreneurial universities and multi-national businesses. The project directly addresses identified needs in the education and business marketplace where Universities are facing increased competition based on the employability of their students. Furthermore, students are facing increased regional and global competition in the labour market and businesses are demanding a greater skills focus with graduates needing to be equipped with a range of ‘enterprising skills’.

The EUEN project aims to enhance entrepreneurship opportunity by shaping the leadership in education institutions to better understand how to develop entrepreneurship-friendly cultures and environments for staff and students in which the display of entrepreneurial behaviours and actions are encouraged and incentivised and where policies are aligned with practices and desired outcomes. EUEN will directly engage 200 students and 50 businesses and disseminate to 10 EU member state organisations and 30 more Universities.

EUEN project will operate across four EU member states with five university partners and five business partners:

• Coventry University (UK)
• the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (UK)
• Europe Business and Innovation Centre Network (Belgium)
• University of Turku (Finland)
• Hocheschool Ghent (Belgium)
• Hewlett-Packard Limited (UK)
• Fachhochschule Münster (Germany)
• Microsoft Worldwide Education Strategy Group
• Banco Santander (Spain/UK)
• Acerta (Belgium)

For more information please contact in Business and Innovation Development (BID)

Antti Paasio
Professor, director
antti.paasio(a)utu.fi

Kirsi Peura
Project manager
kirsi.peura(a)utu.fi
Created 18.12.2012 | Updated 18.12.2012