Two EIT HEI Initiative projects join European programme to foster entrepreneurship in higher education

Two EIT HEI Initiative projects, EUAccel and TANDEM+, have joined the Start for Future programme, whose aim is to foster an entrepreneurial mindset within higher education institutions, their ecosystem stakeholders, and target groups.

Start for Future

Start for Future focuses on creating a bridge between higher education and business creation resources to help develop sustainable, scalable and impactful business models. The programme has created an alliance of international universities, and each semester, they hold a joint innovation programme to:

  • empower students to think entrepreneurially;
  • develop innovative solutions to current global challenges through the creation of start-ups; and
  • develop new business-to-business projects and business models to help transform the economy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Stages of the programme

Start for Future consists of four stages:

  1. Scouting through education: Universities hold a project- and team-based entrepreneurship seminar based on a joint topic.
  2. Matching: International talents, projects, and start-ups are matched with experts, mentors, and incubators.
  3. Incubation: Teams select and join incubation programmes of partner universities.
  4. Co-creation: Teams get access to regional ecosystems and co-creation partners.

The current batch focuses on sustainable urban mobility and manufacturing. It has engaged 600 students with the aim of bringing the benefits of the alliance’s 15 incubators to 45 start-ups by September 2022.

Watch this short video and follow Start for Future on LinkedIn for more information. You can also learn more about the EUAccel and TANDEM+ projects.