DISCO: Uniting universities and enterprises for sustainable innovation
In this interview, Monitoring and Evaluation Expert Dr Marek Oramus highlights the impact of DISCO, an innovative project fostering collaboration between education, businesses and civil society.
Can you tell us about Krakow University of Economics and its role in the DISCO project?
The project’s leader is Krakow University of Economics (KUE), a modern university with traditions dating back to 1925. It conducts extensive scientific research and is currently educating over 15,000 students.
The university is one of Poland’s largest centres for economic research and sciences. KUE students acquire their knowledge in three organisational units: the College of Economics, Finance and Law, the College of Economics and Public Administration, and the College of Management and Quality Sciences.
The unit responsible for the implementation of the DISCO project is Malopolska School of Public Administration (MSAP), founded in 1997. MSAP’s activities include research and implementation, consultancy, education (postgraduate studies), and publishing. We run practice-oriented projects in collaboration with domestic and international partners with a view to improving the performance of central and local government administration units.
For those who don’t know DISCO – what is the project about?
Developing Innovative Sustainable Cooperation Opportunities (DISCO) is a project aiming to strengthen the innovation capacity of European higher education institutions (HEIs) through shared learning, cooperation and flow of knowledge among participating HEIs, non-profit enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, representing the broader innovation ecosystem.
The project achieved its aims by designing and creating new forms of cooperation and experimentation through innovation labs, an observatory and the development of massive open online courses (MOOCs), all to support the development of a sense of initiative and entrepreneurial mindsets across the EU.
What added value did the EIT HEI Initiative bring to the project?
We wouldn’t be able to implement such ideas without the financial support of the EIT HEI Initiative. Thanks to participation in events organised by the EIT HEI Initiative, we were also able to meet with the representatives of other consortia engaged in similar activities connected to entrepreneurship and innovation issues. We could exchange our experience but also meet potential partners for the future cooperation.
The establishment of the Gender Entrepreneurship Observatory (GEO) in Ternopil, Ukraine, is a remarkable achievement, especially given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It wouldn’t be possible without the engagement of Stanisław Alwasiak from our university and Ukrainian partners.
Could you tell us more about the challenges and opportunities you faced during its creation?
The main challenge of the GEO is of course ongoing Russian military aggression against Ukraine. We are committing time and resources to focus on the consequences and fatalities resulting from this war. We are working on developing initiatives and projects that may contribute to resilience-building measures. However, the aim of the GEO is more ambitious as it lays the groundwork for the modernisation and facilitation of cooperation between HEIs and other partners including civil society organisations, businesses, local and regional governments, and others. In that sense, it is important to stress the novelty of the initiative which, according to our knowledge, is one of the very first in Ukraine of this kind and may be a pathfinder for substantial efforts focused on supporting gender equality. Thus, it contributes towards the economic and social recovery of Ukraine in line with European standards.
How does the GEO aim to empower female entrepreneurs in the Ternopil region, and what kind of support can they expect to receive?
We have already initiated discussions on the inclusion of the GEO in various project proposals and efforts focused on support for Ukrainian soldiers, women veterans, artists, women scholars and early researchers. We are ready to include and partner with European and international partners and actively search for new opportunities to cooperate.
The GEO is described as a discussion and cooperation platform. How will it facilitate collaboration between regional HEIs, local governments, businesses, and civil society organisations?
The GEO aims to be a living laboratory supporting and facilitating sharing good practices, initiating discussions and knowledge-sharing, and bringing the know-how and results of DISCO to stakeholders in the Ternopil region and beyond. It has already initiated the process with several meetings and presentations in Ternopil and plans to continue those efforts after the project ends.
What are some of DISCO’s main achievements to date?
We exceeded our initial expectations. We trained over 1,000 students, mentored over 200, created 2 MOOCs and developed and supported nearly 30 start-ups in Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland and other countries. Moving forward, we plan to engage some of our partners from the DISCO project to prepare a new proposal, likely for one of the upcoming EIT calls. We’re also exploring other opportunities, such as the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme, to continue our work beyond the project duration.
What’s next for the project?
We are in the process of executing the GEO development work plan. We plan to have a presentation for Ternopil HEIs showing the joint project proposals to be implemented in 2025. Also, we are in the process developing and submitting the joint project proposals linking HEIs from the Ternopil region with other Ukrainian universities in the wider context of European integration and internationalisation. The GEO is expected to be an important element of the efforts towards creating a more equal, just and fair system that provides opportunities for all, irrelevant of gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
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Published on: 25 September 2024