The TECH2X project aims to boost the innovation and entrepreneurial capacity of the consortium’s HEIs to foster deep tech talent and respond to the need to transition towards the 4th generation university model. Through practice-based collaborations and enhanced networking both within, between and beyond our institutions focusing on the areas of climate and mobility, we intend to create a scalable initiative for excellent science-based innovation and entrepreneurship practices in Europe.

The project unites a diverse group of four Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), an experienced innovation hub-incubator-accelerator and a world-leading research organization, pooling their expertise and resources to achieve the project’s ambitious objectives. The project collaboration draws on the strengths of business-focused, technical, and multidisciplinary institutions to address societal challenges and foster deep-tech innovation and entrepreneurship.

Our objectives are 1) design and deliver comprehensive education and training programs on (deep) tech-driven innovation for sustainable futures; 2) develop structures and conditions to facilitate Innovation & Entrepreneurship capacities; 3) establish and enhance mechanisms and structures within HEIs for people to create or develop their businesses / start-ups; 4) expand and enriching networks and ecosystem connections; and 5) disseminate successes and scaling initiatives within our HEIs and wider partner networks.

To achieve these objectives, we will design and pilot new curricula for tech-driven innovation courses and enhance the scale and scope of student engagement activities; we will define and implement common metrics for measuring competence acquisition, as well as best practices and guidelines to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship capacities. We will develop and pilot project incubation phase as continuation to the tech-driven innovation courses, incorporating training and mentoring activities aimed specifically at women entrepreneurs. We will foster collaborations between KIC and non-KIC members for knowledge and good practices exchange, and establish new connections among HEIs, research centres, and between ecosystems to reach industry actors. Finally, we will create impact through success stories creation, local/regional showcase events, and national peer-learning events for KTOs.

The primary target groups of this project are HEI teaching and research staff, students, and entrepreneurship support/KTO-TTO offices. The actions and activities in TECH2X are designed to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship capacity at institutional level, fostering pathways between challenge-based innovation courses that are technology driven, and entrepreneurship capacity building to move forward promising projects.

Project coordinator

Victoria Cochrane, Fundación Esade (ESADE-URL) (contact)