PROMETHEUS is an initiative of five higher education institutions (HEIs) and three research centres and enterprises. It aims to develop and share their innovation and entrepreneurship support capabilities in the area of digital transformation related to circular economy, climate change and sustainable development.

The objectives relate to fostering institutional engagement and change, and to developing innovative services for innovation and entrepreneurship. They are as follows:

• develop impact-driven partnerships between HEIs, research organisations, and business;
• develop high-quality education programmes in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship in a circular economy;
• develop support tools and services in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

More specifically, the project aims to reach the following targets:

• enhance the services provided to students and faculty to assist them in entrepreneurship and innovation activities;
• develop multi-disciplinary facilities and structures to foster innovation;
• collaborate with EIT Digital and EIT InnoEnergy, as well as with EIT Climate-KIC and EIT Manufacturing;
• create structures and conditions for innovation-driven research in the collaborating HEIs;
• develop and use idea creation and assessment structures in the areas of digital transformation and circular economy;
• enhance the innovation and entrepreneurial teaching curricula using both formal and informal education;
• develop innovation and entrepreneurial training programmes and mentoring schemes for staff and students.

Based on the above objectives, PROMETHEUS relates to six actions of the HEI Initiative Pilot Call for Proposals:

• ‘Enhance the scale and scope of student engagement activities’;
• ‘Infrastructure development’;
• ‘Establish new collaborations with external partners’;
• ‘Collaborate with the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities’;
• ‘Develop structures and conditions for people to create start-ups’;
• ‘Develop or improve innovation and entrepreneurial curricula’.

PROMETHEUS also relates to five dimensions of the HEInnovate methodology:

• ‘Entrepreneurial teaching and learning’;
• ‘Preparing and supporting entrepreneurs’;
• ‘Knowledge exchange and collaboration’;
• ‘The internationalised institution’;
• ‘Measuring impact’.

With a total duration of two years and overall funding of €1.2 million, PROMETHEUS will ensure uptake and sustainability through:

• engaging associated partners from different countries and sectors, filling all the roles of the entrepreneurial education value chain;
• establishing a worldwide network of collaborating universities, businesses, research organisations, governmental bodies, nongovernment organisations, and other social partners;
• disseminating information via digital channels and targeted campaigns;
• monitoring and evaluating project performance, and developing further sustainability and transferability plans;
• engaging students at the participating universities in all project phases.

Project coordinator

Yannis Charalabidis, Professor, University of the Aegean (contact)

Project website

hei-prometheus.eu