6

th University
Business
Forum
Brussels, 5-6 March 2015
FORUM REPORT

DG Education
and Culture
European Commission
DG Education and Culture
Unit B3 Innovation in education, EIT and MSCA
Email: AC-UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS-COOPERATION@ec.europa.eu

http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/university-business_en.htm

Report authors:
Rebecca Allinson
Zsuzsa Jávorka
Adam Krčál
Xavier Potau

Disclaimer:
This proceeding report presents the main points and conclusions of the presentations, speeches and discussions
from the University-Business Forum held in Brussels on 5-6 March 2015. The report does not contain verbatim
all that was said during the Forum. The information and views set out in this report do not necessarily reflect the
official opinion of the European Commission.
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Table of Contents

Introduction ii
Highlights of the Sixth University-Business Forum 2015 1
Suggestions and recommendations emerging from the UBForum 3
Speakers and moderators 5

Day 1 – Plenary sessions 7

Opening speeches 7
Keynote address and round table discussions 8
Round table - Partnerships for Jobs and Growth: Challenges and Opportunities 10
Parallel sessions 13
Session 1: University-Business Cooperation – Entrepreneurship 13
WORKSHOP 1.1: Enhancing entrepreneurial teaching 13
WORKSHOP 1.2: University leadership for entrepreneurship 18
Session 2: University-Business Cooperation - Promoting Change and Impact 22
WORKSHOP 2.1: HEInnovate and institutional change 22
WORKSHOP 2.2: Educating talents – recruiting talents: are HEIs and companies in sync? 26
Session 3: University-Business Cooperation; People and Innovation 30
WORKSHOP 3.1: Innovative pedagogies; innovative learning experiences 30
WORKSHOP 3.2: Focus of the contribution of HE to innovation 33
Session 4: Spotlight on … 36
WORKSHOP 4.1 – Social Innovation and social entrepreneurship 36
WORKSHOP 4.2 – Higher education and innovation in regions and cities 39
Day 2 – Plenary sessions 43
Panel discussion - University-Business Cooperation in Eastern-partnership countries 43
Keynote addresses ‘Looking ahead’ 45
Round table – University-Business Cooperation for Jobs, Growth and Competitiveness –
Supporting Institutional Change 46

Appendices
Appendix A List of Acronyms 49
Appendix B - Appendix B: Conference programme 51
Appendix C - Appendix C: Speaker Biographies 58

i
Introduction
The European Commission established the University-
Business Forum to advance and facilitate interactions
and exchanges between the worlds of academia and
business by providing a European-level Forum for
discussion, networking, mutual learning and showcas-
ing good examples of university-business cooperation.
The First University-Business Forum was convened in
2008 and the event has been held almost annually
ever since.
The Sixth University-Business Forum took place shortly
after the appointment of the new Juncker Commission,
which sets out the top priority to get Europe growing
again and increase the number of jobs without creating
new debt. The Commission’s Jobs, Growth and Invest-
ment package1 focuses on cutting regulation, making
smarter use of existing financial resources and making
flexible use of public funds – to provide up to €300
billion in additional private and public investment over
the next three years. Education, specifically higher
education, remains one of the keystones of this process
of innovation and growth in Europe and part of the plan
includes supporting projects and investments in key
areas including education, research and innovation.2
1 http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/jobs-growth-investment/index_en.htm
2 A Task Force has been set up by the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), together with the Member States, to look into potential
barriers to investments and screen potential projects
ii
Two projects proposed as part of the Juncker invest-
ment package directly relate to the University-Busi-
ness Forum and its successful outcomes. The first is
for regional University-Business hubs – an initiative
to scale up regional/ national Knowledge Alliances
between HEIs and Business to stimulate the innovation
capacity. The second is to further support the HEInno-
vate Framework Initiative that helps higher education
institutions (HEI) to assess and improve their ability to
foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
In line with these priorities and proposals, the Sixth
University-Business Forum was structured under the
following themes over eight sessions:
• University-Business Cooperation – Entrepreneurship
• University-Business Cooperation - Promoting Change
and Impact
• University-Business Cooperation; People and
Innovation
• Spotlight on … Social Innovation and social entrepre-
neurship, Higher education and innovation in regions
and cities
Highlights of the Sixth University-
Business Forum 2015
The Sixth University-Business Forum provided an oppor-
tunity for representatives from higher education insti-
tutions, companies, government, youth associations
and other organisations to come together to discuss
how partnerships can stimulate new jobs and growth.
Amongst a variety of topics, the Forum addressed
the changing nature of the higher education institu-
tion, trends and issues in entrepreneurship education,
recruitment policies and training, innovative pedago-
gies and the rise of social entrepreneurship and innova-
tion in the higher education sector.
Key highlights arising from the Forum discussions
are:
Despite advances, there remain many barriers to univer-
sity-business collaboration, often caused by compet-
ing priorities. The lack of mutual understanding
between the worlds of higher education and business
can be addressed in a number of ways, many of which
were highlighted during this Forum. Better involving
alumni, intermediary organisations and better engage-
ment of students as active partners in all parts of the
collaborative process are key to better collaboration.
Urgent changes need to be made to the academic
community’s incentive and reward structures if
university-business collaboration is to be accorded the
same value as teaching and research.
Measuring the different types of activities under-
taken by HEIs is crucial, but assessing the outputs of
university-business collaboration is really difficult. Case
studies showcasing good practice in how such meas-
urements are made and making examples readily
available would be highly beneficial.
HEIs are not only educating students to function well in
an intercultural and international environment, but also
3 Horizon scanning is used as an overall term for analysing the future: considering how emerging trends and developments might potentially affect
current policy and practice.
1
to become socially responsible citizens after gradua-
tion. Higher education institutions and businesses are
working together to ensure they match graduates to the
right jobs. Working closely with higher education and
intermediaries, companies can ensure that students
develop the transferable skills needed in industry as
well as the right technical competences. European poli-
cymakers can further support this through increased
support for internships and improving understand-
ing of what constitutes transferable and horizontal
skills.
University-business cooperation has a key role to play
in horizon scanning.3 There are many areas where
horizon scanning is necessary; in skills forecasting, in
technological developments and in predicting innova-
tions of the future. Higher education institutions and
companies working together can help to reduce fore-
casting risks and contribute to economic growth by
combining their collective knowledge and skills. Perma-
nent and stable mechanisms have to be in place to
facilitate such dialogue, research and action.
Experiencing entrepreneurship ‘by doing’ is a
thread which ran though many of the discussions at the
UBForum. This is reflected in the fact that approaches
to entrepreneurial teaching and learning are diverse.
More sophisticated, fully integrated approaches are
becoming embedded in the student experience, in
particular involving them in real-life situations and
market requests and developments faced by industry.
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary experi-
ences are important for students engaged in entrepre-
neurship and innovation. It is often at the junction of
disciplines that innovation occurs. Innovative pedago-
gies, such as practitioner-led education is also increas-
ingly widespread, which raises issues of how to ensure
the quality of teaching carried out by entrepreneurs

and how to provide responsive assessment measures,
setting common standards for measuring the impact of
entrepreneurship.
European higher education institutions need to create an
environment conducive to the creation of businesses
by staff and students, changing their attitude towards
‘enterprise’, incentivising and rewarding success.
Higher education institutions can support entrepre-
neurship through leadership in a number of ways.
Leadership does not always just have to come from
the top, although the vision must be there to enable
and support staff and students and create champions.
It is not about individuals as such but the development
of an ecosystem.
2
HEInnovate is a UBForum success story; the result of
a recommendation to develop a guiding framework for
entrepreneurial and innovative higher education insti-
tutions. The resulting self-assessment tool has proved
to have real value for those HEIs which have used the
tool for many different purposes: mergers, institutional
change, challenge identification and action planning.
Social entrepreneurship is a way to bridge people’s
personal values and professional career opportuni-
ties, and social enterprise is often seen as a way to
channel strong personal motivations and beliefs into
tangible benefits. Social entrepreneurship with a focus
on the development of social enterprise is increasingly
prevalent.
The relationship between regions, cities and
higher education institutions (HEIs) is evolving,
especially in light of economic pressures and competi-
tion. In many cases, the university is a big economic
factor in the development of a city and its region.
The economic challenges of the economic crisis and a
more community-based and civic perception of innova-
tion are giving rise to new forms of engagement and
regional collaboration. In regions struggling to adapt to
a knowledge economy, the university acts as a social
facilitator to help the region on a new path to growth.
Suggestions and recommendations
emerging from the UBForum
The plenary and parallel session debates and discus-
sions at the UBForum gave rise to number of recom-
mendations which are synthesised and presented below.
(1) Mitigate barriers to university-business
cooperation
There are still barriers to university-business coopera-
tion that need to be addressed if Europe is to remain
a knowledge intensive globally competitive economy.
Universities and companies need to better understand
the benefits of cooperation.
• Examples of successful cooperation activities and
models should be made available to those HEIs,
companies and other potential partners who are less
convinced of the potential positive outcomes.
• Mapping the different types of approaches, drivers,
values and goals of university-business cooperation
will enhance stakeholder’s knowledge and provide
information on which to act in the future. These driv-
ers and values may include profits and ethical consid-
erations as well as access to research, and the poten-
tial for innovation. For the universities there are some
drivers such as accreditation and ranking which need
to be acknowledged if not understood by industry.
• Making university’s activities more visible and acces-
sible to companies and other stakeholders is impor-
tant if they are to engage in cooperation activities.
There are many mechanisms for this including online
databases, dedicated offices and marketing material.
• Ensuring that platforms for dialogue are included as
mechanisms for exchange of information and knowl-
edge and for building trust and mutual understand-
ing. This may include events, networking, conferences
as well as more permanent platforms.
(2) Set up reward and incentives schemes to
promote university-business cooperation
• Engaging champions outside of the HEI to promote
and encourage university-business cooperation.
The stability of regional governments is an impor-
tant asset in many Member States and the people
working in the regions can act as these champions
3
building links and networks across universities and
industry.
• Changing the incentive and reward structures to
promote university-business cooperation related
activities for example through recognition in career
progression, prizes and awards, or reduced teaching
/ research commitments.
• Measuring the outcomes and impacts of university-
business cooperation linked to the incentive and
rewards system. There is a need to develop better
metrics for educators / researchers, to recognise
their efforts in developing cooperation with business.
• Supporting HEI staff to take risks. With the right kind
of support in place HEI staff can be encouraged to
take more risks, engage in innovative projects which
then enhance their academic portfolio.
• Attaching funding to university-business coop-
eration, either in the form of base funding or as
competitive funding. This would further encourage
academic staff to pursue collaborative projects and
programmes with industry.
(3) Support the entrepreneurial and innovative
potential of HEIs
Higher Education Institutions are being judged by the
ways in which they respond to the social and economic
needs of society. These means HEIs are having to
change the way they work and organisational models
in order to adapt to the different demands of education,
research, knowledge production, entrepreneurship and
innovation.
• Building the capacity of higher education to deal with
the constantly changing environment.
• Giving more attention to the role of external stake-
holders in the evolution of the HEI. The relationship
between regions, cities and higher education insti-
tutions is changing, especially in light of economic
pressures and competition. Involving external stake-
holders in the development of a future vision for the
HEIs will benefit the local and regional environment
as a whole.
• Using HEInnovate to help assess the changes neces-
sary, establishing a common point of reference
and as a means of helping HEIs to deal with the
challenges they face. HEInnovate can help set up
common standards for agreements among diverse
stakeholders inside and outside HEIs.
(4) Promote social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is a way to bridge people’s
personal values and professional career opportunities
and social enterprise is often seen as a way to channel
strong personal motivations and beliefs into tangible
benefits. However, the concept behind is still yet to be
coherently understood and there is no unambiguous/
single common approach to it.
• Developing new ways to engage HEIs with social
entrepreneurs. Different use of language and market-
ing approaches are needed for social entrepreneurs
compared with other types of companies.
• The perception of the social entrepreneur - some-
one who always needs the support of public funds-
should be changed. It has to be clearly communi-
cated that social entrepreneurship is not at odds with
economic sustainability.
• Measuring the impact and success of social entre-
preneurship is important to help communicate its
economic and social importance. There are diverse
legal structures and regulations for social businesses,
which is further hindered by the lack of large-scale
communication initiatives regarding the benefits of
social businesses.
(5) Overcome the skills shortages and develop
entrepreneurship education
University-business cooperation provides an important
platform for discussing skills needs and developing
students for the future labour market as well as entre-
preneurs. The Forum highlighted that the skills gap can
be seen as an opportunity gap if it is well understood.
4
• University-business cooperation has a key role to
play through working together on horizon scanning
and mapping of the future skills needs. Skills short-
ages are present in many sectors, therefore skills
forecasting could work as an ‘early-warning system’.
Information can be collected at EU level based on
vacancy monitoring, data on business activity, grad-
uates and public employment services. The data
should however also be made available at regional
level.
• Adopting a more proactive recruitment process, which
also includes open consultation with HEIs to under-
stand the drivers for skills and competence devel-
opment from the academic and the employability /
entrepreneurship perspective is highly important.
• There is a significant need to enhance opportunities
for the younger generation, while continuing the up
skilling of the existing workforce. Therefore creat-
ing comprehensive lifelong learning strategies which
work across the four generations currently present
on the labour market is of key importance.
• Measuring the outcomes of entrepreneurial educa-
tion through more responsive assessment measures
and setting common standards. There is a need to
ensure that entrepreneurship education includes
learning by doing and time for students to reflect on
what they have learnt. Combining theory with prac-
tice are key ingredients of entrepreneurship educa-
tion development.
Speakers and moderators

We thank all the speakers and moderators for their part in making the Forum a success:

• Rebecca Allinson, Director, Technopolis Ltd

• Carl-Eric Anspach, “éco-conseillers” at Local (cr)Eaters
• David B. Audretsch, Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
• Jas Bains, MBE, Executive Director Accord Group
• Martin Bareš, MD, Ph.D., deputy rector and vice-rector for development at Masaryk University, Brno
• Ivar Björkman, Executive Director, OpenLab Stockholm
• Emanuel von Bodman, Senior Project Manager, F.A.Z. Media Group / FRANKFURT BUSINESS MEDIA, Frankfurt a.M.
• Ben Butters, Director, EUROCHAMBERS
• Javier Calderón Beltrán, Managing Director, CEOE FORMACIÓN, Chair of education and training working group,
BUSINESSEUROPE
• Petr Chládek, Regional Government of South Moravia
• Rui Coutinho, Entrepreneurship Coordinator, Porto Design Factory Firestarter and Manager
• Flemming Bridal Rasmussen, Director, Strategy & Human Resources, VIA University College
• Ms Silvia Costa, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of Culture Committee
• Denis Crowley, Head of Unit, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture
• Helen Dannetun, Vice-Chancellor of Linköping University, President of European Consortium of Innovative
Universities (ECIU)
• Mia Deubner, Senior-HR Consultant., WU ZBP Career Centers, Career, WU Vienna University of Economics and
Business
• Kees Eijkel, Director, Kennispark Twente & Innovate & Accelerate
• Elisabeth Gehrke, Chairperson of the European Students’ Union
• Janette Gilder, Director, Research and External Engagement, University of Wolverhampton
• Martin Grau, Head of Resourcing, Česká spořitelna, a.s
• Paul Hannon, Director of LEAD Wales and Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership, Swansea
University
• Marc Hansen, State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Luxemburg, (incoming EU presidency, Jul-Dec
2015)
• Harald Hartung, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG Education and Cuture
• Keith Hermann Director of Employability, University of Surrey
• Paul Hofheinz, President and Executive Director, The Lisbon Council asbl
• Ann Horan, CEO, DCU Ryan academy
• Manfred Horvat, Vienna University of Technology
• Per Michael Johansen, Rector, Aalborg University

5
• Ville Kairamo, Co-Founder and Head of Demola
• Holm Keller, Vice President of Leuphana University, Lüneburg
• Henrik Klitgaard, Vice-President, UCB
• Raphaël Lemmens, “éco-conseillers” at Local (cr)Eaters
• Jo Lopes, Head of Technical Excellence, Jaguar Land Rover, Chair of the UK’s Automotive Industrial Partnership
for skills
• Dan Luca, Director EurActiv Institute
• Ketan Makwana, CEO and Lead Disruptor, Enterprise Lab
• Jean-Francois Minster, Senior Vice President of Scientific Development, TOTAL S.A.
• Ioannis Nasioulas, Scientific Director, Social Economy Institute, Thessaloniki
• Tibor Navracsics, Member of the European Commission in charge of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
• Maria Helena Nazaré, President of the European University Association (EUA)
• Patrick O’Donnell, Team Member, Technical University of Dublin
• Thomas Osburg, Director, Europe Corporate Affairs, Intel
• Dainius Pavalkis, Minister of Education and Science, Lithuania
• Andrew Penaluna, Research Director Centre of Creative Entrepreneurship, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
• Xavier Prats Monné, Director General, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture
• Asta Pundziene, KTU Vice Rector for Research
• Karen Race, Deputy Director Department of Academic Enterprise Teeside University
• Carlos Ramos, Vice-President, Polytechnic Institute of Porto
• Maryna Saprykina, CEO, Centre of CSR Development
• Ernst Schmachtenberg, Rector, University of Aachen; President-elect CESAER
• Mārīte Seile, Minister of Education and Science, Latvia, EU Presidency January – June 2015
• Ellen Shipley, UnLtd programme
• Ivan Svetlik, Rector, University of Ljubljana
• Nikolas Tailleu, Student entrepreneur and founder of Layered Prints and makerbee
• Mário Tarouca, Treasurer - Director of Public Affairs, JADE – European Confederation of Junior Enterprises
• Mikkel Trym, Climate-KIC, Education
• Richard Tuffs, Director, European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN)
• Georgi Vasilev, HR Business Partner, Vodafone Germany
• Christine Volkmann, UNESCO Chair for Entrepreneurship and Intercultural Management and Jackstädt Research
Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Wuppertal
• Janos Vecsenyi, Executive Director, European Forum for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER
• Tanja Verho, CEO, Kolmas Persoona
• Shai Vyakarnam, University of Cambridge, founder of the Center for Entrepreneurial Learning
• Irina Zolotaryova, Head of Information Systems Department, Kharkiv National University of Economics

6
Day 1 – Plenary sessions
Mr Denis Crowley (BE), Head of Unit, European
Commission Directorate General for Education and
Culture, welcomed participants to the Sixth University-
Business Forum (UBForum). The speakers of the open-
ing session represented three branches of the Euro-
pean political hierarchy; the European Commission, the
EU Presidency and the European Parliament.
Opening speeches
In his opening speech Mr Tibor
Navracsics (HU), Member of the
European Commission in charge
of Education, Culture, Youth and
Sport expressed his pleasure in
seeing so many representatives
from the academic and the busi-
ness communities at the UBFo-
rum. Europe has a proud tradition of
higher education but faces many chal-
lenges, especially in the production of well-rounded
graduates with academic knowledge coupled with the
skills needed for the labour market and wider society.
The UBForum provides an ideal opportunity for the
academic and business communities to come together,
discuss ideas, cooperate, and put forward solutions for
creating an HEI system which is fit for purpose.
Previous Forums have resulted in real impact and
changes in policy as well as new initiatives. In 2011
they gave rise to the Knowledge Alliances4 and sowed
the seeds for the creation of HEInnovate,5 a self-
assessment tool for higher education institutions wish-
ing to reflect on their entrepreneurial and innovative
potential to initiate institutional change. Other initia-
tives which support cooperation between higher educa-
tion institutions and companies include the Erasmus+
programme and Horizon 2020, for example, through
the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.6
There is still much more to be done in Europe. Despite
the high levels of unemployment, particularly youth
unemployment, companies are still unable to find
graduates with the right skillset for the jobs available.
This is a huge wasted opportunity where talent and job
4 Knowledge Alliances are transnational, structured and research driven projects between higher education and
business, which are now incorporated into the Erasmus+ programme. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/
key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/knowledge-alliances_en
5 http://heinnovate.eu
6 http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/
7
offers are not being matched. Closing the skills gap is
a top priority. A productive dialogue between higher
education and the business community is essential
for achieving this. In times of crisis, it is tempting to
focus inwards, but history has shown that this is not a
viable option, as this can lead to stagnation. The focus
of the new Commission is on boosting jobs, growth and
investment and, in a competitive and globalised world,
promoting productive relationships that can unlock
new solutions. This means challenging the status quo,
innovating in higher education, as well as in recruit-
ment and business practices. Companies still tend to
work more with higher education on research issues
rather than education and skills. Encouraging broader
links between education, research and business, the
«Knowledge Triangle», is crucial to solving these prob-
lems. In his closing remarks, Mr Navracsics restated
Europe’s need to invest in people and skills, and adapt
and innovate in order to be competitive. Now is the
time to move beyond discussion and start acting. The
UBForum showcases many good examples of new
ways of working together as well as emerging trends
in higher education. He called for participants to throw
themselves into the debate and turn challenges into
opportunities.
Ms Mārīte Seile (LV), Minister of
Education and Science of Latvia,
current holders of the EU Presi-
dency, stressed the importance of
the UBForum as a mechanism for
bringing together HEIs, compa-
nies, organisations and public
authorities, providing a common
space for dialogue, networking and the
exchange of good practice.
Human capital, co-creation of knowledge, and new
collaborations are all areas of opportunity. Europe
needs to equip graduates with the skills and compe-
tences to succeed which are relevant for the needs of
the economy. Graduates also need skills which will help
them in the long term with their personal development.
Higher education has a key role to play in this respect,
embedding the attitudes and values in students that
will be future–proof, and balance economic and social
dimensions. European higher education institutions are
competing on a global scale for students, staff and
external partners from the business environment. To
be attractive, they need to be open to international
cooperation and provide intercultural experiences
through the adoption of good practice. University-busi-
ness cooperation and collaboration is a key part of this,
being important for the commercialisation of ideas,
sharing human capital and bringing jobs, growth and
competitive advantage. Competitiveness and growth
are major priorities for the Latvian presidency with
many associated activities. The 5th Asia-Europe minis-
terial meeting is hosted in Riga on the 27th - 28th of
April 2015. One part of the meeting focuses on these
issues including quality assurance and recognition in
higher education, university-business engagement,
balanced mobility, life-long learning and vocational
education and training. In concluding Ms Seile quoted
from the great Latvian poet Rainis: “We are as big as
our will”.
Ms Silvia Costa (IT), Member of
the European Parliament and Chair
of the Culture Committee brought
the European Parliament perspec-
tive to the Forum. The European
Parliament strongly supports
the UBForum. In the current crisis,
orienting education towards jobs,
growth but also towards social inclusion,
culture and citizenship must be a priority. The European
Presidency, the Commission and the European Parlia-
ment are implementing new programmes and initiatives
which support these ambitions. Ms Costa highlighted
some of the challenges facing Europe if it is to remain
competitive, such as the ageing population, youth unem-
ployment and the need for more adult training. Working
in partnership may provide solutions, which also need
investment at the Member State level, promoting inno-
vation to achieve sustainable and smart growth. Reiter-
ating the words of the European Commission and the
Latvian Minister, Europe must raise and improve the
quality of education and ensure that graduates have
the right mix of skills, corresponding to the needs of the
labour market and society now and in the future. There is
also a need to develop multidisciplinary approaches and
foster a more entrepreneurial culture. Companies have a
key role to play in reshaping curricula and contributing to
the creation of new jobs, spin-offs, start-ups and incuba-
tors. This is why the European Parliament is supporting
7 Knowledge Alliances are transnational, structured and research driven projects between higher education and
business, which are now incorporated into the Erasmus+ programme. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/
key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/knowledge-alliances_en
8
the Knowledge Alliances7 alongside various other meas-
ures under Horizon 2020. The European Parliament
committee on culture and education is currently work-
ing on an initiative promoting youth entrepreneurship
through education and training in cooperation with DG
Education and Culture and DG Growth. These joined up
approaches are essential and there are also plans for a
joint seminar in May 2015 exploring the issue of digi-
tal education, which includes DG Education and Culture
alongside DG CONNECT. The European Parliament also
strongly supports strengthening mobility programmes as
a mechanism for better knowledge exchange. If Europe
is to resolve its grand challenges, education and culture
need to be firmly positioned as central to the Europe
2020 strategy. Without education, it will not be possible
to achieve sustainable, smart and inclusive growth.
Keynote address and round table
discussions
Professor David B. Audretsch (US) presented a
North American perspective on university-business
cooperation in comparison to the European view. There
are many changes which have occurred since the emer-
gence of the concept of university-business coopera-
tion. In the US in the 1970s, professors had teaching
and research responsibilities, with little
focus on any particular impact on
the development of society or the
economy. This was in line with the
traditional Humboldtian model
of the higher education institu-
tion, prevalent in both the US
and Europe at the time. Even in
institutions such as MIT (Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology), a
private research university, professors
gave up companies they had created in order to be
promoted. This model translated into complete free-
dom of research and teaching, with higher educa-
tion institutions creating new knowledge, which was
deemed valuable by academics for its own sake, not
based on potential application. The change in the US
came with the great economic growth in certain indus-
tries (for example the automotive industry of Detroit
and the steel industry in Pittsburgh). Some of the same
industrial changes were seen in Europe, which led to
the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC) in 1951. The difference was that coal and steel,
as traditional industries in Europe, were less reliant
on higher education in comparison with the emerging
industrial sectors in the US.
This is not the case today, and across the globe there
has been a monumental shift from physical capital
to knowledge capital; shifting competitiveness from
brawn to brains. The mandate from the Lisbon Council
of Europe in 2000 was for Europe to become the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy
in the world. In the mandate it was recognised that
knowledge, ideas, research and creativity were the driv-
ing forces in the new century.8 This had implications
for higher education institutions, as their role shifted
from tangential to central in this transformation;: from
being mere knowledge producers to that of innova-
tors. Sweden went through this process in the 1990s, a
situation which was referred to as the ‘Swedish para-
dox’. The investments in research and the knowledge
produced by Swedish higher education institutions were
not having the necessary impact on the economy or
society; there was no knowledge transfer or spillover.
This was in spite of the quality and investment in higher
education in Sweden. Europe adopted the same termi-
nology, the ‘European paradox’ and in 2002, former
President of the EC Romano Prodi stated that there was
mounting evidence that the key to economic growth
and productivity would lie increasingly in the entrepre-
neurial capacity of an economy.9
In response to this, higher education institutions devel-
oped approaches to facilitate knowledge spillovers10
and took on a role as solution providers. These changes
did not go far enough however, and higher education
institutions have developed another layer of mecha-
nisms to help applied research be transferred outside
of the institution. University governance also had to
adapt, as the value of knowledge was no longer judged
by peers alone, but also by its overall contribution to
society. At a system-level, these functions have been
implemented in many ways, as integrated or coordi-
nated models, where tasks are spread across different
organisations within a regional innovation system.
Professor Audretsch concluded that there has been
significant research into identifying the places, cities or
regions that do well in terms of generating jobs, reduc-
ing unemployment and generating competitiveness.
In general, these places have good higher education
institutions, vibrant partnerships and cooperation and
interaction between the stakeholders. Companies take
advantage of these environments and recognise the role
of higher education institutions as an effective partner.
8 The Lisbon Special European Council (March 2000): Towards a Europe of Innovation and Knowledge: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid
=1426769403721&uri=URISERV:c10241
9 Speech by Romano Prodi: “For a New European Entrepreneurship”: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-02-49_en.htm?locale=en
10 Knowledge spillover is a phenomenon that occurs when information and knowledge that are collected and shared for a particular activity or project
ultimately generates additional opportunities for application in other settings
11 http://www.slideshare.net/OECDEDU/jaguar-land-rover-technical-accreditation-scheme
9
Mr Jo Lopes (UK), Head of Technical Excellence, Jaguar
Land Rover, Chair of the UK’s Automo-
tive Industrial Partnership for
skills, focused his keynote on
the importance of people.
Finding the right talent is one
of the biggest challenges
for manufacturing. In terms
of the skills pipeline, around
80% of the people that Jaguar
Land Rover employ will still be in
the company in 2020. This presents a
huge challenge when it comes to providing training and
upskilling the company’s workforce.
The history of the automotive sector is one of rapid
change over the last 25 years. Cars have evolved from
completely mechanical to almost fully electronic devices
with more lines of code than Windows or Facebook. Addi-
tionally, the modern car has to meet strict CO2 and NOx
targets, as well as comply with many other regulatory
and consumer related issues. As a result, modern auto-
mobiles are extremely complicated machines. At the
same time, many of the people have been in the indus-
try for a long time, and their initial training and skills do
not match the technological skills requirements of the
industry today and in the foreseeable future.
Five years ago, during the worst years of the crisis,
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) started investing in a new
approach to technical training involving nine univer-
sities across the UK. The company created the JLR
Technical Accreditation Scheme (TAS)11, drawing upon
the specific strengths of each university involved and
internally reserving a significant amount of funding
for workforce training activities. As a company, these
collaborations add significant value, by allowing JLR to
keep up with technological needs of the industry as well
as integrating the latest research into its education and
training activities. The training activities are delivered
by the partner universities and comprise a portfolio
of taught postgraduate study modules tailored to the
needs of JLR employees. Since September 2010, 4,700
places have been taken up in the TAS programme, and
3,600 of JLR’s own engineers have undertaken at least
one module. This represents about 15% of the research
and development (R&D) workforce. Each of the modules
involves one week at the higher education institution
and around a hundred hours of personal study time
and assignments. This represents a strong commitment
from both the employee and the company.
JLR has also mapped over 80 Master’s level modules
key to JLR technology areas. JLR employees can mix
and match a variety of Master’s level modules and the
credits earned can be put towards a number of quali-
fications leading up to a Master’s degree. The modules
have no qualification pre-requisites, so professionals
with extensive experience but no formal academic qual-
ifications can also benefit. The TAS was evaluated inter-
nally by JLR, and highlighted a return on investment for
the company of around 200%. Additionally 800 other
staff, who were not directly involved in specific train-
ing, benefitted from the new knowledge acquired by the
trainees. JLR will evaluate the TAS programme again
this year.
The TAS programme has inspired other JLR initiatives
in the area of education and training. For example,
the Applied Engineering programme at Bachelor level
with Warwick University in the UK,12 which focuses
on apprentices and an Advanced Skills Accreditation
Scheme13 for Jaguar Land Rover’s supply chain employ-
ees. Mr Lopes concluded that cooperation requires flex-
ibility from industry and higher education institutions,
as well as contractual simplicity, a can-do attitude and
strategic focus on the organisational strengths of each
partner. In order to solve problems, it is important to
focus on the big picture, working with competitors to
create long term solutions.
12 http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/education/prof-ed/undergraduate/
13 http://semta.org.uk/smes-asas
10
Round table - Partnerships for
Jobs and Growth: Challenges and
Opportunities
The round table session “Partnerships for Jobs and
Growth: Challenges and Opportunities” was moderated
by Mr Dan Luca (RO), Director of the EurActiv Insti-
tute. The roundtable included the following speakers:
• Professor Maria Helena Nazaré (PT), President
of the European University Association (EUA), Former
Rector of the University of Aveiro
• Mr Jean-Francois Minster (FR), Senior Vice Presi-
dent of Scientific Development, TOTAL S.A.
• Professor Ernst Schmachtenberg (DE), Rector,
RWTH Aachen University, President-elect CESAER
• Mr Javier Calderón Beltrán (ES), Director, Manag-
ing Director of CEOE FORMACIÓN, Chair of education
and training working group, BUSINESSEUROPE
• Mr Mário Tarouca (PT), Treasurer - Director of Public
Affairs, JADE - European Confederation of Junior
Enterprises
Mr Luca introduced the roundtable and emphasised
the need to be pragmatic about the challenges faced
in creating jobs and growth. Europe is still feeling the
effects of the financial crisis and there is widespread
youth unemployment creating a potential ‘lost genera-
tion’. Education in the 21st century will be based on
new drivers such as technology, practicality and inter-
national mobility. There is significant potential for
the new approaches to enhance opportunities for the
younger generation. At the same time, four genera-
tions are present on the labour market which creates
a complex problem. The younger generation, with new
skills may have more problems finding jobs in spite of
their competence as the older generation work longer.
‘Master plans’ to deal with this paradox are being
launched at the European and National Member State
level with involvement from regions and cities in an
effort to find integrated approaches to tackle these
challenges. The roundtable invited speakers from is not always a good match between the knowledge
higher education, including a student representative, created in higher education institutions and the needs
and business and to give their insights into the current of companies. This is where diversity in higher education
situation as well as potential solutions. can be a strength, and is particularly important in the
German system where many models coexist. Ten years
Prof Nazaré spoke about the need for better synchro-
ago RWTH Aachen University (RWTH) took the impetus
nisation between the higher education sector and
to strongly involve industry in collaborations. In order
companies. Employers may not know what sort of
for this to work, industry commits time and money to
knowledge they will need for the future and higher
the process, and the university uses the resources from
education is as diverse as the business community.
the collaborations for further development. RWTH is
EUA (European Universities Association) works with
one of the most technical universities in Germany, with
850 different universities across Europe. Members
more than 22,000 engineering and more than 10,000
listen to each other and identify good practice that can
natural sciences students. There are very strong links
be shared. During the last five years, EUA has seen a
to the automotive industry and by bringing together
strengthened focus on university-business cooperation.
industry and academia interests their graduates are
As a result of this, the U-B Tool14 was developed by
much more successful in the labour market. In conclu-
the European University Association in the framework
sion, there are many ways in which higher education
of the FP7 project European Universities Implement-
institutions and industry can work together to reverse
ing their Modernisation Agenda (EUIMA). The U-B Tool
the current unemployment situation, especially at a
is a self-assessment tool for collaborative research
time where there is freedom of movement and signifi-
partnerships addressed to universities, businesses and
cant technological innovation in Europe which opens up
other non-academic organisations. The results of the
many opportunities.
project highlight the importance of trustful relation-
ships, open innovation environments, efficient manage-
ment processes and strategic approaches to relation-
ships. The results are discussed and debated at the EUA
Annual Conference 2015.15
Mr Minster presented the relationship of TOTAL with
higher education institutions. TOTAL has more than
1,000 research contracts with higher education insti-
tutions and hires around 10,000 people annually. The
company needs to attract talented people who are
required to stay competitive. This means readiness
for change, technical ability and soft skills competen-
cies. TOTAL, as a large company has a role to play in
Mr Calderón focused on the role of SMEs and
creating graduates with the right balance of skills and
employer organisations in university-business coopera-
working with higher education institutions to help them
tion. Employer organisations are important actors in the
understand industry. This also includes encouraging
system and can play a role in representing the needs
young people into engineering. TOTAL works with higher
of SMEs. These types of organisations can contribute
education institutions in a number of ways includ-
to the design of new curricula, taking into account the
ing providing lectures in over 20 different countries,
wide variety of skills and competencies that graduates
ambassador programmes and in some cases, financing
will need in their professional careers. SMEs should also
education chairs. All these different approaches create
be involved directly with higher education institutions,
new and sustainable relationships with HEIs which also
as they are major employers in regions and can provide
lead to longer term projects.
practical applications of knowledge and case studies
Prof Schmachtenberg highlighted the need for better for students to work on. Higher education institutions
synchronisation between companies and higher educa- can help mitigate some of the risks of small companies
tion institutions. A question for companies is how much through providing support in early stage research and
expertise do they need in order to be profitable? Higher mobilising valuable knowledge and skills. Internships
education institutions produce knowledge but there are also a very positive way to provide students with

14 EUA U-B Tool: http://ubtool.eua.be/

15 EUA 2015 Annual Conference: http://www.eua.be/events/upcoming/EUA-Annual-Conference-2015/Home.aspx

11
first-hand experience of the skills that will be required
for their professional careers. It can provide opportuni-
ties for students to be involved in start-ups and also in
turning their own ideas into future profitable businesses.
Mr Calderón, as director of CEOE FORMACIÓN16 in Spain
supports some of these types of activities through
training and consultancy support to entrepreneurs.
Mr Tarouca reflected on the round table discussions
from the students’ point of view. Youth unemployment
is a pressing issue in Europe with unemployment rates
varying from 10% in Germany to 40% in Spain. The
labour market is also changing, highlighting again that
there are four generations active on the labour market.
The differences between these generations, with a
significant gap between the ‘digital immigrants’17 and
‘digital natives’18 will have major impact on future
economic growth. Mr Tarouca emphasised the important
role of the student in bridging the worlds of academia
and business. They bring great value to the companies
by adding high quality services at low prices. At the
same time they are still very close to higher education
institutions, with links to professors. JADE, - European
Confederation of Junior Enterprises19, positions itself
as being in the middle of the knowledge triangle, link-
ing education, research and innovation. JADE runs a
number of different initiatives, for example, in Austria
JADE organises paid internships and apprenticeships
for students and run the ‘Shape your future’ initia-
tives that help students choose the best career path
and implement their ideas. JADE is about to release a
one page report on entrepreneurial skills and how to
develop them, based on an event organised in 2014
called Generations Club 2014.20 In his closing remarks
Mr Tarouca called for more investment in higher educa-
tion, increased university-business collaboration and
the dissemination of existing good practices. There is
no need to reinvent the wheel, there are many good
approaches from which we can learn.

Discussion
The short introductory speeches were followed by a round table discussion. The key points and questions
discussed covered the following topics:
• There are many examples of educators already engaging regularly with businesses, but there are still issues
around rewards or incentives which need to be addressed.
• New knowledge is crucial for the future, but most of this new knowledge will be based on needs and ques-
tions which are not yet known. This is one reason why HEIs and companies need to work together and project
themselves into the future.
• To mitigate any future skills mismatch, university-business cooperation needs to be active on a permanent
basis.
• Alumni groups are a very important resource that is underused. Engaging with graduates and strengthening
the connections between HEIs and alumni is a way to generate new collaboration opportunities and increase
trust between the academic and business communities.
• Most university-business cooperation still takes place at the individual level (professor to company repre-
sentative). More dialogue is needed between the leadership of companies and higher education institutions if
cooperation is to become sustainable.
• Students should not be viewed as products but as active partners. More horizontal and long-term thinking is
needed, targeting also primary and secondary school levels.
• There is an ambition that higher education institutions will train graduates for any possible situation that
may arise in their professional life. For this to work, personal responsibility and self-actualisation are also
important skills alongside more domain specific skills. Higher education institutions are a resource, and the
knowledge is there for taking.
• The business community needs to be proactive. Waiting for the outputs of research such as publications or
patents is not a good collaboration strategy.
• Many future jobs do not yet exist. There is a need to create the future capacity and entrepreneurship plays
an important role. All people going through higher education should learn how to generate new ideas, defend
them and bypass the hierarchy when necessary. Companies should endorse and support this type of behaviour.

16 http://www.ceoeformacion.es/
17 Generations that became familiar with digital devices when they are adults.
18 Younger generations used to working with digital devices since childhood.
19 http://www.jadenet.org/
20 http://www.jadenet.org/2014/10/generations-club-2014/

12
Parallel sessions

Session 1: University-Business university also hosts a digital school which delivers all
of its online activities. The idea behind the digital school
Cooperation – Entrepreneurship is to open up education to people who cannot physi-
These sessions of the University-Business Forum cally be present at the university to complete courses
focused on entrepreneurial teaching and learning and and gain qualifications. The university responds quickly
how university leadership can support and develop to demands from companies, who pay for the courses
entrepreneurship. and the income made is then reinvested. Although the
university does not have entrepreneurship classes per
WORKSHOP 1.1: Enhancing entrepreneurial se, the overall approach is one which supports an entre-
teaching preneurial culture in everything they do, implicitly and
explicitly communicating an attitude and culture which
This workshop, presented and discussed cases from provides students with the ability to decide how they
an ongoing study, funded by DG Education and Culture want to influence society.
“supporting the entrepreneurial potential of higher
education”.21 The session was moderated by one of the The Entrepreneurial University Building Blocks
study team members, Professor Christine Volkmann,
UNESCO Chair for Entrepreneurship and Intercultural
Management and Jackstädt Research Center for Entre-
preneurship and Innovation, University of Wuppertal.
Mr Holm Keller (DE), Vice President of Leuphana
University, Lüneburg, introduced the case of Leuphana
University. Nine years ago, Leuphana University was
bottom in the German ranking system and the region
was given the choice to close the university or to
revitalise it. This raised the question as to what role
the institution could play in the regional economy in
order to support young people to learn and as a plat-
form for lifelong learning. Following the reorganisa-
tion, Leuphana University now takes a lead role in its
regional economy, focusing on culture, sustainability
and entrepreneurship. It is his belief that you cannot
teach entrepreneurship, as it is an attitude rather than
a set of skills. In order to support entrepreneurship at
Leuphana there are three paradigms at play: human-
istic, sustainable and action-oriented. Each Bachelor
programme involves real case interactions rather than
just teaching through paper based case studies. The Dr Shai Vyakarnam (UK), University of Cambridge,
cases used are real and students are involved in the established the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning
decision making process. Examples include saving a (CfEL)23 in 2003, which has been replicated in many
theatre from bankruptcy, contributing to a health care parts of the world. Dr Shai Vyakarnam pointed out how
reform package and finding solutions to decrease the Europe is sleeping whilst China and India are succeed-
impact of the financial crisis on the labour market. The ing. The idea that Europe should “think small first”24
university is host to the Lüneburg Innovation Incubator22, should also be reconsidered, Europe needs to have big
a research-driven project for regional development. The aspirations for its companies, the bigger the better.

21 http://www.sephe.eu/home/
22 http://www.leuphana.de/en/partners/innovation-incubator-lueneburg.html
23 http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/
24 The “think small first” principle comes from the Commission Communication “Think Small First — A ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe”, COM(2008) 394

13
Embedding entrepreneurial teaching at Cambridge was Post Graduate diploma in entrepreneurship27 which is a
a challenging task but the CfEL has built up a curric- blended learning course involving 70% online learning
ulum which is practitioner led. There are three main and intensive on campus sessions. In conclusion, CfEL
components to entrepreneurial learning: business skills, is practice-led education ‘for’ entrepreneurship which is
social skills and personal skills. CfEL takes the approach distinct from ‘about’ entrepreneurship.
of an entrepreneurial learning journey from inspiration,
Mrs Tanja Verho (FI), is CEO of Persoona Oy and an
intention, information, through to implementation with
alumna from University of Applied Sciences Tampere,
different types of programmes and activities support-
Finland and the ProAcademy28 programme. Mrs Verho
ing the journey. For example, “Enterprise Tuesday”25 is
is a serial entrepreneur, and set up her first company
a programme that aims to introduce students to the
whilst at the ProAcademy. She presented her story and
world of business, as well as to encourage and inspire
the experience of being at the University of Applied
individuals to pursue their entrepreneurial ambition. It
Sciences at Tampere on a programme for entrepre-
is the most popular non-assessed programme within
neurship. ProAcademy is unusual in its approach as the
the university. For those with intention, the “Enterprisers
programme is centred around learning by doing through
programme”26, established by the Cambridge-MIT Insti-
team learning. The Proacademy learning process starts
tute, is a residential programme to build self-confidence
with students establishing a ‘team enterprise’. The
and self-belief. “Ignite” is a training course for aspir-
‘team enterprise’ acquires and participates in real
ing entrepreneurs and innovators to trial and prepare
customer projects. The process of learning is supported
business ideas. It is run by the local Cambridge entre-
by an active community of coaches, alumni and compa-
preneurial community. CfEL uses many entrepreneurs
nies operating around the campus. The students are
(including venture capitalists, business angels, bankers
expected to self-direct throughout the process. For all of
and other experts) to teach entrepreneurship and inter-
the projects undertaken there is a process of dialogue,
act with the students. Five years ago, CfEL launched a

25 http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/entrepreneurship/enterprise-tuesday/
26 http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/entrepreneurship/enterprisers/
27 http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/entrepreneurship/postgraduate-diploma-in-entrepreneurship/
28 http://www.proakatemia.fi/en/proacademy/

14
reading and reflection. The course allows students to
explore their own strengths and weaknesses. During
the project they had time to try new things and to fail.
The coaches provide a very different type of critical
feedback to traditional teachers, taking participants
away from a comfortable academic environment and
pushing students into a business environment.
For Mrs Verho, 20 students were accepted on the
course in her year and all were given a project where
they needed to create real income and incur real costs.
15
This is not an approach which all students are comfort-
able with and highlights how there are many different
ways of teaching entrepreneurship and not all are suit-
able for everyone.
The environment and location of ProAcademy is very
important, the campus is 5km away from the centre of
Tampere and it is near customers. A key strength of the
programme is that it provides students with access to
the skills necessary to own and run a company and it is
not just about selling and understanding the customer.
Discussion
The examples highlight how approaches to enhancing entrepreneurial teaching and learning have changed in
recent years, with much more sophisticated methods being introduced which are more holistic and fully inte-
grated into the whole learning offer from higher education institutions. Real case interaction is increasingly
common, not just teaching cases but involving students in real decision-making.
The issue of whether entrepreneurship can be taught was raised in this session with the majority of the audi-
ence agreeing it can be taught.
The discussion also touched on the terminology and lack of clarity between the terms entrepreneurship and
employability. Many of the approaches taken encompass the need for students to have much better skills for
employability, some of which are equally important for would-be entrepreneurs. Higher education institutions
have a key role to play in producing graduates who are employable and entrepreneurial. The term “employer-
ability” was put forward as a potential useful addition.
Practitioner led education is one approach which is increasingly implemented and raises the question of how to
ensure the quality of teaching carried out by entrepreneurs. In the case of Cambridge, the professors work very
closely with the entrepreneurs delivering courses and other activities and this provides the necessary guidance
for high quality inputs. In many countries there are still barriers to employing staff without PhDs and therefore
bringing practitioners in-house can be an issue. There are however examples where universities have introduced
the route of ‘professional professor’.
In order to make entrepreneurship education work there is a need for support at the macro, meso and micro
level:
• Macro – get the framework conditions right: HR, admin, students not penalised for running businesses or
having ideas
• Meso – Programmes, accelerators, HEIF funding in the UK
• Micro – the courses and other approaches, enterprise clubs etc
Another key issue discussed is how to encourage start ups. European higher education institutions need to
decriminalise the setting up of businesses by staff and students, changing their attitude towards ‘enterprise’.
Universities which have thriving entrepreneurial cultures tend to be safe places to take risks, with the right kind
of support in place and therefore people are encouraged to do so.

16
Summary of the workshop
The workshop highlighted the changing approaches to entrepreneurial teaching, moving from add-on courses
and the dominance of business schools as providers, to a more integrated, holistic approach delivering a range
of experiences, both curricular and extra-curricular, for students and staff.
The presentations showcased the examples of a university which turned itself around by putting students at
the heart of a lifelong learning system to support regional growth, a centre for entrepreneurship which provides
courses and activities for a range of different types of students at different stages in their entrepreneurial jour-
ney and the experiences of a serial entrepreneur and how a university can support student start-ups from the
outset.
There were many different examples of good practice, pointing out that there is not just one successful approach,
but many. Real-case interaction has become more widespread in entrepreneurial teaching, with students work-
ing on live projects which have real impacts on businesses and policy. Practitioner-led education for entrepre-
neurship means that students can benefit by learning from entrepreneurs directly rather than about entrepre-
neurs and entrepreneurship.
Underpinning these approaches is the need to communicate the right attitude and culture, both implicitly and
explicitly so that students can think big, be fearless, act quickly and take risks.

17
WORKSHOP 1.2: University leadership for given mentors and access to investors. In the last four
entrepreneurship years 24 companies have emerged from the accelera-
tors with €8 million raised in follow on funding. The
To be entrepreneurial, in order to deal with the many DCU Ryan Academy governance structure operates
changing demands of the internal and external environ- on two levels The university controls the finances in
ment, higher education institutions need to be highly a structured way, and supporting this is a 25 member
flexible and responsive. This requires good leadership, advisory group which includes, entrepreneurs, corpo-
not just at the top of the institution, but also through- rates, professionals, university staff. The President of
out the institution, pioneering the changes needed in DCU is very focused on enterprise, therefore supporting
order to be future proof. Leadership needs to encour- the vision of the Academy. DCU Academy exemplifies
age entrepreneurial behaviour throughout the higher a decentralised approach where entrepreneurship is
education institution.29 supported outside of the confines of the university. In
This session brought together innovative examples of order to work, there need to be good relations between
leadership and management that lead to a sustainable the university and the centres of enterprise, but the
development of entrepreneurship education in HEIs. major advantage is the flexibility of a non-university
The session was moderated by Professor David B. led organisation.
Audretsch (US), Indiana University, School of Public Professor Asta Pundziene (LT), Vice-Rector for
and Environmental Affairs. Research, Kaunas University of Technology (KTU),
Mrs Ann Horan (IE), CEO, DCU Ryan Academy,30 presented a centralised approach to entrepreneurship
presented the case of the Ryan Academy, a non-profit, teaching, instigated from inside the university. Entre-
joint venture between Dublin City University and the preneurship teaching is embedded in the strategy of
Ryan Family (Ryanair). DCU and Ryanair came together KTU which is organised around five areas: cultivating
and built an Academy which is now a thriving centre talents; rigorous research and innovation; sustainability;
of entrepreneurship. There is a Master’s programme inspiring advancement and investment in well-being.
in social enterprise31 delivered with the University of Coming out of the strategy, the university focuses on
Bangor in Wales and supported by a range of social three strategic priorities: internationalisation; interdis-
and corporate stakeholders. There is a Credit Union ciplinary and innovation; and cooperation with busi-
development programme32, delivered over 3 month and ness. The key ingredients for supporting the strategic
culminating in a leaving certificate in corporate govern- priorities are: leadership and champions; the double
ance. The DCU Ryan Academy has also developed an learning loop and networks. Focusing on leadership
entrepreneurship programme
for Science Foundation
Ireland-funded researchers.
There are a number of other
programmes for farmers,
where workshops are deliv-
ered to improve their leader-
ship skills. The programme,
culminates in a Demo Day
where participants pitch
their idea to a panel with
the opportunity to win a trip
to Silicon Valley. A flagship
group of programmes is the
Ryan Academy Accelerators
which are run for technol-
ogy entrepreneurs. Every
year around 150 apply and
5-6 entrepreneurs are taken
on. These entrepreneurs are

29 HEInnovate resources, available at: https://heinnovate.eu/intranet/main/index.php

30 http://www.ryanacademy.ie/
31 http://www.ryanacademy.ie/social-enterprise/menter-iontach-nua
32 http://www.ryanacademy.ie/credit-union-programme/credit-union-programme

18
and champions, KTU has a national innovation and
entrepreneurship centre and a start-up space, with a
focus on champions who take the initiative. The double
learning loop is a way of combining theory and prac-
tice so that students reflect on what they have learned
through action. This is organised around five clusters.
Each cluster has a technology transfer manager and
involves a whole community. Networks are important
as a way of facilitating the circulation of knowledge,
skills and exchange of ideas. Kaunas has worked with
Aalto to gain inspiration from its ‘factories‘33 which are
designed to facilitate new forms of collaboration in an
environment where academic teams, researchers and
students work together with companies and commu-
nities. In this way, the new knowledge produced can
be transferred into teaching. There are other support
33 http://www.aalto.fi/en/about/factories/
19
measures for entrepreneurship such as the start up
space and the “sandbox” which a safe environment for
students to try out ideas. Since 2012 15,000 students
have taken part in entrepreneurial activities leading to
150 ideas, 150 prototypes and more than 39 success-
ful start-ups. From the perspective of KTU, having all
of these approaches within the university, a centralised
approach is important as it allows easy access to the
infrastructure that is necessary to support the entre-
preneurial journey. Professor Asta Pundziene finished
by introducing the KTU M-Lab, a new interdisciplinary
research platform concept. M-lab bridges the gap
between the faculties and institutions of the university
and the “valleys” which are integrated science, studies
and business centres in Lithuania.
Mr Emanuel von Bodman (DE), Senior Project
Manager, F.A.Z. Media Group / F.A.Z.-Institut, Frank-
furt a.M. presented an overview of the work of F.A.Z-
Institut in supporting entrepreneurship. F.A.Z is a
leading newspaper in Germany and the Institute is a
subsidiary of the newspaper and a service provider for
communications and marketing, serving the corporate
sector, developing cross-media products in economy
and finance. The Institute works closely with universi-
ties and media labs, organising a number of events
and activities. Mr von Bodman works in IT and super-
vises an IT transfer programme called ‘compass’ which
brings together experts from business, universities and
software companies to help start-ups with their digital
transformation. There are many companies and univer-
sities within 100km of Frankfurt which can be brought
together into supportive networks. The institute runs a
matching forum where people bring ideas and others
bring solutions in a speed dating environment. There
are also large forums of 300-500 people with coach-
ing cafes, giving the opportunity for 5 minute pitches to
present their ideas in a safe environment.
Professor Janos Vecsenyi (HU), Executive Director,
European Forum for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER)34
highlighted how this Forum has presented many
concepts, approaches and good practice in supporting
entrepreneurship. The input from the forum speakers
and participants emphasises how there is not just one
34 http://www.efer.eu/
20
way, but several ways to tackle developing entrepre-
neurs. This Forum provides the opportunity to share
knowledge and information which can be taken back
home. The effectiveness of any approach is affected
by the quality of the content/process coupled with the
acceptance by people. There is always an issue of shar-
ing the enthusiasm engendered in these types of work-
shops with those who have not taken part. Acceptance
is a very important part of taking on new ideas. In order
to do this, organisations need to have leadership and
vision as well as champions who will drive forward new
ideas. Champions can be found throughout an organi-
sation. The presentations highlight the importance of
external drivers in facilitating change. Sometimes these
are major such as the potential closure of a univer-
sity which is not performing, in other cases, these can
be more subtle and potentially make change harder
to start. Another important aspect is the shared view
on why change is needed. This involves people having
a common vision of what they are hoping to achieve.
There is a natural resistance to change and often when
new initiatives are launched, existing initiatives feel are
threatened. People have to participate in the change
and this involves other supporting initiatives, such as
train the trainer or mobility programmes, which provide
external experience. Finally, changing approaches
needs to be supported by changing systems, ensuring
that new visions are aligned with incentives.
Discussion
A key focus of the discussion was on the role that media can play in promoting entrepreneurship. Media, with
the inclusion of new media, is an important mechanism for promoting and championing entrepreneurship. It is
accessible to all generations and bridges the divide by providing information in a variety of formats to suit the
young and the old.
Another important way of promoting entrepreneurship is through good case studies from higher education
institutions and companies.
The centralised (university-led) vs decentralised (externally –led) approaches to delivering entrepreneurship
teaching and learning brought in the question of sustainability through funding sources. Are decentralised
approaches more vulnerable because of their funding models or less vulnerable because of diverse sources of
funding?
Engaging more closely with the external environment and allowing externals to work within the university is
also an important part of the university leadership strategy. Students can also take the lead in entrepreneurship,
especially if supported by the universities. For this to work, students have to be valued in this role.
Finally, leadership is not about an individual person but the development of an ecosystem.

Summary of the workshop

The workshop addressed the role of university leadership in supporting entrepreneurship. Examples of central-
ised and decentralised approaches to delivering entrepreneurial teaching and learning were given and the
benefits and drawbacks examined more closely.
Centralised approaches can provide with access to the wider infrastructure of the university and be open to a
wider range of students. Decentralised approaches (delivering entrepreneurial teaching outside of the university
structure) can give greater flexibility in terms of leadership, governance and educational offers. In all cases,
there needs to be a strong vision from the leadership at the top, which must be shared across the university for
any new approaches to work. Therefore, champions of entrepreneurship are important as people who can drive
new initiatives across the institution.
The workshop highlighted the “double learning loop” approach to entrepreneurship, ensuring that activities
combine theory with practice, and that space is given for both. Whether centralised or decentralised, entrepre-
neurship needs to benefit from networks with the wider community, including other universities / organisations,
companies and people so that knowledge and ideas circulate through the system. This can be achieved by creat-
ing hubs to organise these relationships.

21
Session 2: University-Business
Cooperation - Promoting Change
and Impact
This session looked at the different ways in which
change can be brought about in higher education insti-
tutions and companies and how to stimulate coopera-
tion and increase its impact. The first workshop focused
on higher education institutions and presented and
discussed how HEInnovate can help HEIs to intro-
duce relevant change. The second workshop focused on
companies, specifically HR departments, looking at the
initiatives and actions that companies take to ensure
high quality recruitment and further develop specific
skills in their employees.
WORKSHOP 2.1: HEInnovate and institutional
change
Launched in 2013, HEInnovate35 is a self-assessment
tool for higher education institutions wishing to evalu-
ate their performance as entrepreneurial and innova-
tive HEIs, to find inspiration and guidance and to help
manage institutional change. The tool has been used by
more than 500 higher education institutions and is now
being used as a key element in the development strat-
egies and merger processes of several European HEIs.
The session, moderated by Professor Paul Hannon
(UK), Director of LEAD Wales and Director of the Insti-
tute of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Swansea Univer-
sity, focused on the experience of three higher educa-
tion institutions that had all used the self-assessment
tool for different purposes.
Mr Flemming Bridal Rasmussen (DK), the Director of
Strategy & Human Resources at VIA University College,
Campus Aarhus N (VIA). VIA was created by merging
six institutions in 2008 and has over 18,000 students a
year, of which 2,500 are international, enrolled across
40 different study programmes. VIA consists of four
faculties and schools, has 20 research and development
centres and seven incubators across its eight multidis-
ciplinary campuses in the Central Denmark Region. VIA
places heavy emphasis on providing education with a
strong relation to professional practice and carrying out
research with a strong focus on value creation for the
society. In 2010, VIA launched the process of creating
a new vision for the institution entitled ‘Imagine VIA
2020’ to reinforce these commitments.
As part of that vision, VIA leadership wanted to create
a stronger focus on a transformational and visionary
35 www.heinnovate.eu
22
leadership combined with more flexible strategic learn-
ing, increased collaboration with external stakeholders
and higher levels of autonomy for the faculties and
schools to act. The first steps of implementing the vision
involved the creation of student incubators, the intro-
duction of new competence development programmes,
new courses and modules on entrepreneurship with a
European Social Funds (ESF) funded project. VIA used
HEInnovate to structure their new strategy and ensure
that it contained a much stronger focus on the impact
on society. Using the self-assessment tool helped them
re-evaluate the role of leadership in the institution and
the way in which VIA works with students. The most
useful feature of HEInnovate is its holistic approach.
Completing the self-assessment provided a valuable
insight into the institution, common standards for
agreements among diverse stakeholders inside and
outside HEI and helping to connect the institution’s
diverse set of activities. HEInnovate has now become
part of VIA’s performance agreement with the Ministry
and it is also used in its the leadership development
programme.
Mr Patrick O’Donnell (IE), from the Institute of Tech-
nology Tallaght and a member of the TU4Dublin Team
presented the structural changes in Ireland and the
example of HEInnovate being used as part of a merger
process towards a Technological University for Dublin.
There are seven universities and 14 institutes of tech-
nology currently operating in Ireland. The new national
strategy for higher education36 published in 2011,
maintains the binary system of higher education but
emphasises the need to consolidate the institutes of
technology. In response to this new strategy, Dublin’s
three institutes of technology: the Dublin Institute of
Technology, the Institute of Technology Tallagh Dublin
and the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown took
the decision to merge and apply for the designation
‘technological university’ (TU). The new technologi-
cal university (TU4Dublin) would be the largest higher
education institution in Ireland, operating across three
campuses. To obtain the title, the merging institutes
need to meet rigorous, but jointly agreed criteria and
TU4Dublin decided to address nine foundation themes
throughout the merger process.
The process of transformation is using a bottom-up
workgroup-based approach. While the mission of the
new Technological University is yet to be established,
the institutions decided to focus on two foundation
themes to distinguish the new entity: Dublin’s Globally
Engaged University and the Enterprising University. The
thinking, which emerged from the initial workgroup- carefully planned due to the highly sensitive nature of
based approach, matched the HEInnovate concept. the assessment.
Therefore, the self-assessment was introduced as a
Professor Carlos Ramos (PT), Porto Polytechnic’s
way to guide the institutes’ subsequent approach and
Vice-President for Research, Tech Transfer and Entre-
establish a set of principles to underpin the mission and
preneurship and Mr Rui Coutinho (PT), Entrepreneur-
vision of the new Technological University. HEInnovate
ship Coordinator, Porto Design Factory Firestarter and
proved very useful in establishing a common point of
Manager introduced the way Porto Polytechnic used
reference and as a means of disseminating the concept
HEInnovate. Porto Polytechnic is a public higher educa-
of the new technological university more widely, espe-
tion institution encompassing seven schools and over
cially in helping to bring together the three different
18,000 students. There is a strong focus on applied
institutional cultures for the merger. The next milestone
research and development, and a close connection with
in the merger process is the official merger day, the
business. There were changes in the entrepreneurship
1st September 2015. The three institutions’ objective
ecosystem around the polytechnic and at the same
is to become a technical university by the end of May
time, the institution grew significantly in size. In addi-
2016. HEInnovate still has a role to play in the upcom-
tion, the survival rate of the start-ups was not high
ing steps of the merger. An international panel will
enough and the entrepreneurship support offer did not
judge the institutions’ application to the designation
manage to engage a wide variety of students to allow
and for this, HEInnovate will be used to collect evidence
forming interdisciplinary teams. As a consequence of
on the ‘engaging and enterprising’ nature of TU4Dub-
these changes and challenges, Porto Polytechnic real-
lin. The institutions plan to collect the perceptions of
ised that a business as usual type approach was not
various stakeholders including external partners and
enough and there was a need to improve the outcomes
the broader community. These future steps need to be

36 Department for Education & Skills: National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, June 2011, https://www.education.ie/en/
Publications/Policy-Reports/National-Strategy-for-Higher-Education-2030-Implementation-Plan.pdf

23
of their programmes and also to ensure a new more areas for improvements. The self-assessment provided
effective response to their environment. guidance for the dialogue, offered areas for considera-
tion, steered the discussions as well as helped identify
At the same time ensuring the provision of world-class
international best practice examples. Through extended
education for the students and providing a favourable
dialogue with the external partners and the leadership
environment to enhance ideation, conceptualisation
of the polytechnic, the institution concluded that going
and commitment stages remained of top priorities.
back to its original mission i.e. focusing on high quality
The polytechnic carried out an internal assessment of
education, combined with the much stronger emphasis
the educational offer as well as the educational offer
on interdisciplinary work and on developing tangible,
in entrepreneurship and product development. In addi-
manufacturing products and technologies is the way
tion, they used HEInnovate to carry out workshops with
forward. The assessment exercise also resulted in the
stakeholders from all of the different schools, including
establishment of the Porto Design Factory,37 redesigned
students, and to collect their perceptions. Through the
curricula and a nominated institutional leader to drive
engagement of many stakeholders in the discussions,
the organisational, educational and cultural changes.
HEInnovate helped highlight areas of strength and

37 http://designfactory.pt/en/index.html

24
Discussion
HEInnovate raises a number of questions relating to how far the self assessment can support an institution as
well as its use in practice. These are, for example: (1) Can HEInnovate help devise new incentives to promote
entrepreneurial activities? (2) How did the institutions interpret the results of the self assessment since there
are numbers involved (for example 3 and 5) but they are perceptions? (3) Also, whether external advisers were
involved in the process of using HEInnovate? (4) To what extent does HEInnovate include social entrepreneur-
ship and topics related to youth unemployment? (5) Finally, whether the self assessment can be used to set up
a new centre from scratch?
In their responses, the speakers highlighted the need for cultural change and the creation of entrepreneurial
thinking as a prerequisite to successful entrepreneurial activities. HEInnovate raises many aspects and ques-
tions an institution can consider to provide more favourable environment and conditions that allow universities
and their stakeholders to become more entrepreneurial. The numbers per se as the results of the self assess-
ment are not the most important feature of the tool. It provides value by raising the question, what does it
mean to score high or low? In terms of the use of external advisors, the institutions merited from the support
of external facilitators, however not necessarily for the use of HEInnovate. HEInnovate does not address some
of the topics specifically, although social entrepreneurship should be considered for more explicit inclusion in
the future. It is about how to become a better organisation. For setting up a new centre at a higher education
institution, HEInnovate can be a very useful, strategic tool.
An additional example from the audience highlighted that HEInnovate was also used by the Lappeenranta
University of Technology who decided to incorporate the different aspects of HEInnovate in their strategy.
Professor Hannon, the moderator of the workshop closed the session, drawing attention to the upcoming OECD
country reviews, that are carried out on the national higher education systems applying the HEInnovate tool as
well as HEInnovate workshops which are organised in collaboration with the European Commission in different
EU Member States.

25
 Summary of the workshop
The examples showcased in the workshop highlighted the value of HEInnovate, an online self-assessment tool
that was developed by the European Commission in collaboration with the OECD and a panel of independent
experts. HEInnovate provides guidance and inspiration for higher education institutions (HEIs) wishing to explore
their entrepreneurial and innovative potential. It has the simple purpose of helping higher education institutions
identify their current situation and potential areas for action around seven broad areas.
HEInnovate has already been used to shape the strategy and the corporate culture both before an institutional
merger and after that. It was also instrumental in reviewing and updating the strategy and self-conception of
the institution.

The real value of HEInnovate based on the examples presented:

• Used in merger processes - structuring a new strategy, aligning cultures to build a common vision
• Used for steering an institution through a process of change – reacting to challenges, identifying the way
forward building on key strength and areas in need for improvement
• A route from vision through to management to action, it is a strategic tool that helps become a more entre-
preneurial and innovative organisation
• Helped with engagement with stakeholders – both internal (staff and students) and external partners (busi-
nesses and the broader community)
• It has produced real tangible actions and outputs. It is not about filling in the survey, it is about asking the
follow-up questions: What does it mean? What can we do to address it?
• It does not only support organisational change but also supports cultural change which remains the biggest
challenge

WORKSHOP 2.2: Educating talents – recruiting
talents: are HEIs and companies in sync?
This session focused on the needs of the labour market
and the role of HEIs in addressing them. How compa-
nies and HEIs work together to ensure that graduates
acquire the right combination of knowledge, skills and
competencies they will need for their professional life.
It examined the relationship between recruitment poli-
cies in the business sector and the way in which HEIs
support graduate employment and careers through
their own links to companies and what strategies they
put in place.
Mr Ben Butters (UK), the Director of EUROCHAMBRES,
moderated this session and highlighted the importance
of the topic of ensuring that the talent coming out of
higher education match the business needs.
Mr Ketan Makwana (UK), CEO and Lead Disrup-
tor, Enterprise Lab provided an insight to his world of
educating and recruiting talents. Mr Makwana opened
by a quote:
“Difficulties in attracting the right talent with the
right mix of skills in the right location are on the
increase… not since 2008 has the problem been so
pronounced”38
While the problem is widely acknowledged and talked
about, there is still not much done. Mr Makwana contin-
ued by contrasting the expectations of the employers,
graduates and higher education institutions.
There are many types of jobs available in Europe and
across of the world, and yet graduates remain some-
what limited in their thinking and lack confidence when
looking for jobs. They define their ‘dream jobs’ with

38 Quote from Stephen Isherwood: Association of Graduate Recruiters within the presentation of Mr Ketan Makwana at the 6th University-Business
Forum, Brussels, 5th March 2015

26

expectations regarding their salary and responsibili-
ties and they expect to get the first job they apply for.
Employers however often consider graduates as inex-
perienced, non-committed, and therefore risky. Employ-
ers prefer traditional methods of recruitment, using
‘reactive recruitment culture’, have rigid competencies
for the prescribed role and ideally want skilled employ-
ees with experience.
The lack of confidence, combined with the preferences
of graduates, works against graduate employability. It
is crucial to know how to balance between confidence
and competence. Knowledge is power, but one needs to
have confidence to apply it.
Many higher education institutions want to provide
more comprehensive programmes to learners, but are
often restricted by budgets, resources and rigid curric-
ula. There are many initiatives and changes in the offer
to learners embedding elements of study outside the
classrooms, however these are mainly optional. There
is a need to have more engagement with industry and
build a community of practice, share experiences to
increase graduate employability. Looking at the gradu-
ate employment in the UK, Mr
Makwana highlighted some
key statistics: Nearly half of
the employers in the UK have
unfilled graduate opportunities
available, although on average
there are 75 applications for a
graduate position. At the same
time 14.4% of the graduates
reject the offers received.
Enterprise Lab’s39 response to
the mismatch of expectations
was to become an interme-
diary and bridge the gap of
the employer and employee.
They focus on delivering value
39 http://enterpriselab.co.uk/
27
by organising employability challenges and ideation
programmes – e.g. training graduates to pitch real
solutions to companies’ problems during a seven-week
period - developing core skills and confidence by compe-
tence modelling and providing coaching and mentoring.
Mr Georgi Vasilev (BG), HR Business Partner at Voda-
fone, Germany, addressed the perspective of a large
multinational company and introduced their expecta-
tions and approach to talent development programmes.
He described the fast pace of change in industrial
development affecting Vodafone. The mobile industry
has developed rapidly during the past 20-25 years. In
the ‘90s, people had fixed phones at home, and mobile
phones had only just started to appear. By 2000 fixed
networks offering broadband, e-mail and online brows-
ing services became more prevalent in the home and
GSM technology/2G was developed. In the next five
years due to further convergence, the fixed infrastruc-
tures at home were complemented by a broad range
of out of home services also offering mobile data use
and, through the 3G application, high speed and traffic.
Now the same technologies are available both for fixed
and mobile usage and the boundaries are blurring. Such
rapid industrial developments require a complex set of
skills and people are who are creative and can think
ahead to 2030.
Vodafone therefore established a set of global talent
goals to recruit people who can address future chal-
lenges. The company puts a strong focus on finding the
right talent to develop its human resources (HR) strat-
egy. Vodafone has high expectations of performance
and potential, but they value talent and encourage
people to stretch and develop accordingly.
The HR professionals employed at Vodafone are highly
skilled for scouting talents and systematically bring
in, develop and nurture the new capabilities that are
necessary to deliver the company’s strategy. Strategic
initiatives include for example three years long dual
study programmes delivered in partnership between
the company and universities; career forums and ‘Young
Innovators’40 events organised targeting individual HEIs
and alliances to attract the best talent and running the
global ‘Discover’ graduate recruitment programme.41
Vodafone hires around 6000-7000 people overall
annually out of which over 600 individual are recruited
as part of the ‘Discover’ programme (initially for 1.5-2
years). Upon successful completion of the programme
they are offered a permanent role in the company.
Based on a recent analysis, 94% of the graduates hired
through the ‘Discover’ programme are still with Voda-
fone and their engagement with the company is far
above the average.
The viewpoint of an HR professional from the university
side was introduced by Ms Mia Deubner (AT), Senior-
HR Consultant at WU ZBP Career Center, at the WU
Vienna University of Economics and Business. The WU -
Vienna University of Economics and Business is a public
university in Austria with over 25,000 students enrolled
out of which 25% are international. The university runs
Bachelor, Master, PhD and Executive programmes in
business, economics and social sciences and business-
law. The Career Centre42 is over 30 years old. It was
established in 1983 and nowadays it employs a staff
of 20. The Career Centre is active in providing informa-
tion and finding job placements for the students and
graduates; provides information and recruiting services
for employers and reports to the university the latest
employments trends and employer requirements.
40 For example in Ireland: http://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie/
41 http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/careers/graduates/about-the-programme.html
42 https://www.zbp.at/en/welcome/
28
Students and graduate receive the services either for free
or in return of a minimal charge, while the services offered
to companies are for fees. The Career Centre organises
networking event, workshops and trainings for example
on international applications and interview techniques,
further to coaching, CV analysis and career counselling
for the students. Services offered to companies include
the screening of application, career alerts, job postings
and access to the Centre’s database. The Centre has a
database of 4,000 student and graduate contacts avail-
able. Through its diverse activities the Centre provides
services both to students and their potential employers
with the aim to help match the different expectations
and find the right person for the right job, and thus to
increase the employability of the students.
Mr Martin Grau (CZ), Head of Resourcing at Česká
spořitelna a.s. provided the perspective of a recruiter
working in the banking sector. Česká spořitelna is the
largest commercial bank in the Czech Republic. The job
profiles and skills required by the banking sector are
changing rapidly, and the company understood that
such a gap can be bridged by engaging students better.
Therefore Česká spořitelna put a lot of effort in under-
standing the skills needed in their future employees.
Mr Grau explained that they decided to implement a
proactive approach to recruitment while also providing
increased value to the students throughout the process.
The recruitment approaches include working together
with student associations, attending career fairs,
promoting the job opportunities directly through
increased communication with the students. It is of
high importance to understand the skills and compe-
tencies of the students and help the company iden-
tify talents. Looking only at the CVs of the applicants
is not sufficient anymore. The proactive approach also
helps addressing the issue that the expectations of
the students often significantly differ from the ones
of the company and this causes confusion. Graduates
expect to be hired because they have a degree, but
this is not how recruitment works. Soft skills develop-
ment is still often undervalued during higher education,
although companies are increasingly taking them into
account at recruitment since the quality of a degree on
its own is not sufficient anymore to get hired. There-
fore the company removed the requirement of having
a degree as a prerequisite from a large proportion of
its job advertisements. However finding the best way
to recruiting talent is still a challenging task, and the
recruiters of the bank strive to increase the cooperation
with universities to deliver mutual benefits.

Discussion
The questions and answer session followed up the key questions raised in the presentations and focused on
what can a company expect from a university? Should the employability of graduates be a success indicator of
the universities? Is there a tension between what employer needs and what the graduates need to be successful
in their career? What is redundant and what is good for career success? Do companies know their skills needs
in five years time?
In their responses the speakers highlighted there is no one right answer to these questions. Universities cannot
be expected to teach solutions for all, but they need to equip the students to learn how to come to solutions.
The importance of coaching and mentoring, placements and internships were emphasised as key ingredients.
It is also needed to distinguish between the subject fields and target the methods applied by the higher educa-
tion institutions, while at the same time being inclusive in the education offer and teach students how to create
value combining their diverse set of background.
In spite of the creative approaches to recruitment presented in the session, most of the companies still regard
qualifications as a safe harbour when selecting future employees. In most countries academic degrees work
as a tool of quality assurance, they certify a quality standard. It also has to be considered, that there is a need
for different skills across the different industries. Having a degree helps to find a first job, but transferable skills
help progress careers. Although the increased focus on the practical experience and soft skills, company repre-
sentatives stressed that not all work experience is accounted for as a bonus at the applications. Non-relevant
work experience seems often completely redundant to getting a job. Businesses should offer many more oppor-
tunities for internships and placements, as practical experience with a company is regarded the most useful to
understand ones fit, skills, competencies and potential for a job.
However the responsibilities do not only lay with the HEIs and companies, students should become much more
conscious in their decisions to increase their future employment opportunities.
A representative from Astra Zeneca explained that they recognised the lack of certain skills and practical
experience of graduates working in laboratories. The company therefore entered into discussions with higher
education institutions how to address the problem. Contacted universities were receptive to the suggestions
and included the required skills in the curriculum. A key motivation behind the change made was that higher
education institutions realised that addressing the need of the company is beneficial to ensure their graduates
employability.

29
 Summary of the workshop
Expectations of graduates and of companies often do not match. HEIs can help graduates to find the right jobs
through diverse range of services offered. The responsibility is however with all stakeholders, and university-
business relations are key in aligning the expectations.
Many companies still prefer traditional recruitment procedures based on rigid recruitment frameworks and job
descriptions, requiring formal qualifications. At the same time there is a strong focus on horizontal skills and
practical experience. Companies need to establish recruitment processes that allow them to better understand
what a graduate can offer for their organisations. Practical experience, internships and placements offer the
possibility to better understand a person and his/her skills.
There is a huge diversity between companies in terms of knowing what they need. No companies know the type
of people they will need in five years time. Yet, companies have to be pro-active and prepared to move fast
to meet the demand from the market in many industries. Focusing on the development of transferable skills,
teaching the students how to arrive to solutions are highly important. This is am important task higher educa-
tion institutions need to take on.
The workshop also formulated recommendations to be considered by European policymakers. These include the
need for:
• Increased support for internships also involving SMEs
• Better understanding of transferable and horizontal skills and how these create more employability
• Facilitating the creation a network/platform for students who enter higher education, offering the possibil-
ity to communicate about the different courses, share/leverage the knowledge across the different fields of
studies through student networks.

Session 3: University-Business entrepreneurial individuals. Mr Mikkel Trym (DK),

Cooperation; People and Innovation
The third block of workshops focused on innovation in
the area of higher education and on the impact and
contribution of higher education to innovation, i.e. inno-
vation through higher education. The first workshop
presented various approaches to innovative pedago-
gies, and methods that enhance the students’ learn-
ing experiences and make graduates more creative and
innovative. The second workshop looked at how higher
education contributes to innovation, and identified how
innovation can be triggered in companies.
WORKSHOP 3.1: Innovative pedagogies; inno-
vative learning experiences
The specific focus of this workshop was on the role that
higher education plays in the development of innova-
tors; more specifically, how the educational process can
encourage this. Policy makers sometimes overlook the
actual learning experience and the way in which educa-
tion is delivered. Similarly, the teaching approaches
and pedagogy are often not up to the task that they
purport to deliver when it comes to innovation and
Climate-KIC Education, moderated this workshop.
Mr Ville Kairamo (FI), Co-Founder and Head of
Demola, Demola43 is an organisation that originated
in 2008 in Finland but expanded to other European
countries and beyond. The Demola Network operates
currently in Finland, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Sweden,
Slovenia, Spain, Mexico and Russia. The main objec-
tive of the Demola Network is to rethink innovation
in Europe, using practical approaches for connecting
universities and business. Demola has gained a number
of awards for being a catalyst of practical university-
business co-creation. It brings talents into teams to
create solutions for challenges with the project partner-
ships. In some countries Demola activities are part of
university degree programmes on various levels (Bach-
elor, Master, Doctoral) and students might get credits
for taking part in one of the Demola schemes and/or
the Demola experience might count as an obligatory
internship embedded in the curricula. Every motivated
student can apply when interested in building valuable
experience and in testing their skills in real challenges
with global experts and multidisciplinary talent teams.
In the Demola Intellectual Property Rights Framework44

43 http://www.demola.net/
44 https://www.innovationpolicyplatform.org/sites/default/files/rdf_imported_documents/Demola_2014.pdf

30

teams always own the project results and can develop
them further. In addition, the project partner can license
the results from the teams. The model is designed
and approved together with project partners meeting
the needs of the legal policies of global enterprises.
In 2015, over 2000 students, more than 450 staff
members from over 60 universities participated in
more than 450 real challenges. As Mr. Kairamo pointed
out, the Demola Network can help students to be more
confident about a real life in companies. As a result,
Demola contributes to changing landscape of innova-
tion capabilities and helps to push forward a new inno-
vative approach to project management. This is based
on flexibility and redefinition of the scope during the
project, compared to the traditional approach dealing
with pre-defined problems and clear targets.
Professor Andrew Penaluna (UK), Research Director,
Centre of Creative Entrepreneurship, University of Wales
Trinity Saint David, introduced the teacher’s perspective
of entrepreneurial education. Entrepreneurial education
constantly needs to prove itself and its existence with
respect to other subjects at schools. Like many other
subjects, for example geography or history, it cannot
be not easily measured. Still, there is a need to justify
why we need entrepreneurship teaching at schools. As
a response to this, Prof. Penaluna developed (together
with the Enterprise Educators UK Network) a model of
entrepreneurial teaching. The model works with the
basic learning patterns that students have and puts
them in relation to their creativity. People get the most
creative ideas when their brains are relaxing. This is
called “a relaxed cognition.” However, students usually
45 http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-entrepreneurship-guidance.pdf
46 http://openlabsthlm.se/
31
do not know about this aspect of their
brain’s behaviour and many schools do
not create environments where students
experience a relaxed cognition. Facili-
tating the state of relaxed cognition is
something that should be embedded in
the way teachers plan their lessons and
classes.
In cooperation with the Quality Assur-
ance Agency (QAA) UK, Prof. Penaluna
and his team also developed the
Enterprise and entrepreneurship guid-
ance: Guidance for UK higher educa-
tion providers.45 This guidance can be
used by higher education institutions
on a voluntary basis and incorporates
the relaxed cognition issue. The guid-
ance differentiates between the terms
“enterprise” and “entrepreneurship”.
Enterprise focuses mostly on the enterprise mind-sets
whereas entrepreneurship is about starting a company,
a start-up, etc. This distinction has been accepted by
QAA UK. The critical question is if the society needs
“knowledge retainers” or “knowledge harvesters”
(people who collate up to date information as and when
required).
Dr Ivar Björkman (SE), Executive Director, OpenLab
Stockholm, introduced the OpenLab initiative. Open-
Lab46 started in 2013 as a joint initiative of several
universities in the Stockholm region (Karolinska Insti-
tutet, Stockholm University, Royal Institute of Tech-
nology, Södertörn University), bringing together also
the City of Stockholm, Stockholm County Council and
Stockholm Council Administrative Board. The main
motto of OpenLab is: ”Do first – Think – Do it again.”
And its mission is to create conditions for societal inno-
vations. Creating conditions is essential because the
“hard” facility has already been in existence and many hospitals, reduction of traffic density in the city, crea-
OpenLab’s partners have established incubators, start- tion of a coherent nursing chain among elderly patients
ups, and similar facilities. However, suitable conditions or making nurse jobs more attractive.
that would facilitate entrepreneurial behaviour are still
missing. OpenLab addresses mostly challenges relating
to the ageing population, the future healthcare and the
sustainable city planning. OpenLab sees itself as quite
successful as 4 out of 12 proposed solutions have been
implemented in its partner organisations. The method
OpenLab uses in based on the design thinking.
Mr. Björkman explained that OpenLab engages vari-
ous stakeholders: students, researchers, start-ups,
the public sector, civic society, citizens and compa-
nies. OpenLab provides services ranging from Master’s
level courses47, professional education, provision of
membership in makerspace or projectspace, to semi-
nars in food or workshops to booking space. Examples
of particular challenges addressed by OpenLab include
improvement of public space initiatives by neighbours
in their area, reduction of food waste in schools and

Discussion
The discussion reflected mainly on practical conditions in which Demola and OpenLab have to operate, which
includes mainly funding sources, engaging new partners and expansion to new countries and regions, and the
future development and evolution. These aspects are mostly country-specific and a good choice of partners is
crucial for further development of such initiatives. Demola wants to be financially self-sustainable in the future
and OpenLab uses a mix of various funding sources, mostly public. There are also various selection processes to
engage students. In case of Demola, students are selected according to various criteria, including their hobbies
and interests. Indeed, diversity in the student population was another focus point of the discussion. Not all
students want to develop entrepreneurial thinking, which very much depends on their character. Increasing the
willingness of young people to become more creative and entrepreneurial is something that universities can
help in. As a UK case shows, at the end of secondary education, creativity of students declines because there
are lots of exams and other obligations that prevent students to be creative. This is then the right for universi-
ties to step in and increase it again.

Summary of the workshop

The workshop provided good examples of innovative pedagogies where teaching and learning are coming
together. In fact, some initiatives even start outside university, involving industry, and also the public sector and
regions.
Experiencing entrepreneurship by doing was a key thread running through all the examples presented at the
workshop. Such initiatives also address various societal challenges, for example solving the problems of the city
or region which have been emerging across countries. Although there are a number of emerging approaches in
the countries, in general, they are still in the pilot phase. The focus should be placed on how to scale up these
examples and what we can learn from examples that have already scaled up.
In respect to entrepreneurial teaching and learning, the workshop showed practical insights to innovative teach-
ing approaches. However, the need to develop responsive assessment measures, setting common standards for
innovative and entrepreneurial pedagogies still persists and entrepreneurial education is still having to prove
itself with constant pressures on measurement.

47 http://openlabsthlm.se/courses/

32
WORKSHOP 3.2: Focus of the contribution of
HE to innovation
This workshop looked more closely at the «product» of
the higher education system, i.e. graduates, and their
contribution to innovation in the business sector and the
extent to which this is a result of the type of education
they have received. The crucial issue was about impact
and contribution that higher education policies have on
the innovative capacity of employees and, therefore, on
economic growth and competition. Professor Manfred
Horvat (AT), Vienna University of Technology, moder-
ated this workshop.
In his introductory speech, professor Horvat pointed out
that innovation is not only about new ideas but also
about new services and products. It is important to know
what higher education institutions can do in equipping
students and graduates with the right attitudes to
contribute to innovation. Furthermore, in Europe, tech-
nological transfer is not seen as linear anymore but the
discussion has been evolving more and more around
innovation ecosystems. Universities have to understand
what kind of environment they have to offer to the
students to get more proactive roles in the innovation
ecosystems. The old Chinese proverb says:
“Tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remem-
ber, involve me and I will understand.”
part of their curricula, and they get internships. As such,
Mr Kees Eijkel (NL), Director, Kennispark Twente & Inno-
students have already tried to lead campuses, sport
vate & Accelerate, presented the Kennispark concept48
and culture events, student employment agencies, a
implemented at the University of Twente. Universities
range of workshops and other meetings.
are an enormous potential source for innovation. They
can provide new talents, new ideas, capital and reputa- Mr Nikolas Taillieu (BE), student entrepreneur and
tion. However, most of higher education institutions are founder of Layered Prints and makerbee, presented an
not ready for this yet. Drivers, values and processes aim example of a university-business co-operation from a
at different goals and accreditation procedures, rank- student’s perspective of Ghent University. Mr. Taillieu
ing exercises further underline academic content and has a practical experience with entrepreneurial teach-
hinder innovation. Moreover, personal development of ing and learning, with creating a start-up and running
the academic staff is often “do-it-yourself”. Boundary his own new company called Layered Prints49. His idea
conditions, for example governance, are not favour- started with a university course on software architec-
able either. This remains a challenge for the future. In ture, during which he suggested the teacher making his
entrepreneurial teaching and learning, the “T-shaped” own software and developing a website where people
approach in teaching is essential. This means teachers could download and buy 3D printable files. His idea was
should be experts in their respective fields and have the accepted, supported and further developed in an incuba-
appropriate skill-sets but they should be also able to tor of Ghent University, where they received their first
work across disciplines and apply knowledge in other seed funding. His team came third in a national compe-
areas. They should be able to equip students with the tition for young entrepreneurs. A negative experience
“soft” skills. The Kennispark concept, a joint venture followed, which required rethinking the whole idea and
model, tries to address these challenges by bringing taking a more client-focused approach. His team carried
together companies and academics. Students interact out more than 80 customer interviews to learn what
in Kennispark in various formats: Their experience is a they needed to change. As a result, they had to develop

48 http://www.kennispark.nl/
49 http://makerbee.layeredprints.com/

33
a new prototype., the environment created by Ghent
University played an important role in their story. The
extensive entrepreneurial stimulation programmes have
helped them a lot. Innovation and entrepreneurship are
notions that closely relates and involve each other.
Ghent University offers two strands of programmes,
“Dare to Venture”50 for students and “Tech Transfer”51
for academics and there is also another form of student
entrepreneurial stimulation called “Student Ghentrepre-
neur.”52 This is a virtual wallet that allows students to buy
consultancy services from approved partners for their
ideas. There are five key elements for promoting entre-
preneurial potential with students. These are freedom,
leanness, awareness, coached incubation and expertise.
Dr Thomas Osburg (DE), Director Europe Corporate
Affairs, Intel, shortly introduced Intel’s holistic approach
how universities can contribute to innovation. This
concept is based on 5 important elements: A common
goal, a common direction, a common culture, common
50 http://www.durfondernemen.be/
51 http://www.techtransfer.ugent.be/en/
52 http://www.studentghentrepreneur.be/
34
incentives and interdisciplinary thinking of innovations. A
common goal of collaboration between universities and
businesses is still missing and if there are objectives for
cooperation, they do not necessarily match and the mere
fact that everybody has a goal does not mean this is a
common goal. Currently, there is much less tolerance of
failure in society than in the past, which makes it more
difficult for universities and businesses to come up with
innovative projects. More tolerance is needed.
“The trick in life is to stand up once more than you
fall down.” W. S. Churchill
Common incentives are also very important. This
means that there must be rewards for the academics
and/or for students who choose to participate in collab-
orative projects, as well as for representatives of busi-
nesses. On top of that, all the elements must be linked
together. Only then, the cooperation can be operational
and sustainable.
Discussion
The discussion made the point that students must be more critical about their ideas but also stand their ground.
Also, universities should provide a critical external opinion on the students’ entrepreneurial activities. An exam-
ple of good practice is found in the Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise (JA-YE) where interdisciplinarity is a
key component. It is at the intersections between disciplines where most innovations occur. However, universi-
ties need to cooperate and create courses where students have the possibility to create interdisciplinary teams
and where there is space for evaluation.
Incentives and reward for students and teachers were another topic raised in the discussion. Universities could
consider rewarding those students who did some projects during their courses even though this has not been
necessarily reflected in the final examination. Similarly, incentive systems for professors are still not widespread
in order to reward academics for their involvement with business. This is often still dependent on goodwill of
individuals. Universities should also further involve and positively motivate students on the undergraduate level.

Summary of the workshop

The workshop provided insights into how universities contribute to innovation. There is not a single pattern
how universities participate in innovative ecosystems and a multitude of approaches reflects the diversity of
settings. Common goal, direction, culture, incentives and interdisciplinary thinking are crucial for the innovative
environments at universities.
Speakers and participants introduced a number of practical examples showing that teachers, students and busi-
ness representatives can all contribute to innovation. However, challenges still exist and many universities are
not ready yet for some of innovative approaches (different drivers, values, processes, goals and need to comply
to accreditations, rankings).
Although workshop showed some positive findings, in general, universities need more teachers that can adopt a
“T-shaped” approach (horizontal and vertical). Teachers should be experts in their respective fields and have the
appropriate skill-sets but they should be also able to work across disciplines and apply knowledge in other areas.
This relates to the factors of positive motivations for lecturers and mentors. Incentive systems for professors
are still not widespread in order to reward academics for their involvement with business. This is often still
dependent on goodwill of individuals.

35
Session 4: Spotlight on …
This session of the University-Business Cooperation
Forum took a fresh look at some emerging trends in
the field.
WORKSHOP 4.1 – Social Innovation and social
entrepreneurship
Dr Keith Hermann (UK), Director of Employability at
the University of Surrey moderated the first workshop
of this session. The moderator introduced the speakers
as experts in the area of social business and innovation
and reflected on the present popularity of the concept.
He stated that by dealing with social issues at different
levels, these examples improve communities while at
the same time deriving additional economic value and
sustainability.
Mrs Ellen Shipley (UK), partnership and support
manager of UnLtd, explained UnLtd’s53 journey for the
past seven years in supporting social entrepreneurs and
universities. The foundation of UnLtd’s programmes is to
reach out and unleash the energies of people that want
to transform the world in which they live. UnLtd calls
these people social entrepreneurs, and supports around
1,000 of them every year. The support is comprised of
different parts: a small amount of funding, development
support and expertise, connections and network oppor-
tunities and a chance to develop their own networks.
Fifty of these entrepreneurs every year are selected,
and UnLtd works more intensively with them in order to
assist them further in scaling up their ideas.
53 https://unltd.org.uk/
36
UnLtd works with passionate individuals that see beyond
the social problems to identify solutions, “resilient and
resourceful people”. About a third of them are educated
to degree level which is one of the reasons UnLtd
started to work more closely with universities. Vary-
ing levels of support are given via UnLtd’s programmes
to social entrepreneurs at different stages. From seed
capital (up to £500), to pilot and build a concept (£5k-
10k) up to scale up support for activities that are repli-
cable and with fast growth (up to £20k). The idea is
to have instruments that support high potential social
entrepreneurs up to the point where they are ready to
receive business-angel investment.
In order help universities to implement frameworks that
embed social innovation and entrepreneurship across
their education activities, the work with UnLtd has
been developed in a series of phases
over the years. Currently UnLtd has
been commissioned by HEFCE (Higher
Education Funding Council of England)
to implement their programmes across
UK universities and has been doing so
using the idea “adopt, adapt, embed
and amplify”.
Social entrepreneurship enhances
the student experience and increases
student employability. At a societal level,
social entrepreneurship contributes
to wider society by supporting social
ventures and contributes to the vision of
universities becoming social anchors in
their localities. There is currently more
interest in East Asia and North America
than in Europe, and therefore European
HEIs should catch up. Finally, Mrs. Shipley
stressed UnLtd’s presence in the Global Social Entrepre-
neurship Network (GSEN)54, of which they are members.
Mrs Karen Race (UK), Deputy Director Department
of Academic Enterprise Teesside University, focused on
the particular case study of the support given to Tees-
side University by HEFCE and UnLtd. Mrs Race’s work
has the objective to cause knowledge spillovers from
the university to the locality. Teesside University is
relatively young, starting out as college 80 years ago,
supporting engineering in a heavy industrialised region.
The region suffered from widespread de-industrialisa-
tion in the 70s but Teesside University continues today
with a strong engineering background and maintains
links with the remaining industry, with the objective of
improving the life chances of its students.
Teesside’s efforts to foster entrepreneurship started in
the 90s, when the university was one of the first to
offer an on-campus incubator. In the area of social
entrepreneurship, the university wrote their first social
enterprise strategy in 2011. One of their actions was
to appoint a social entrepreneur ‘in residence’ to act
as a champion and role model, and to raise awareness
amongst the other students and staff. This first step
was the cornerstone for Teesside’s current portfolio
of activities supporting the entrepreneurial develop-
ment of their students. These now include the UnLtd
awards, specialist mentors, social enterprise workshops
and other project-based activities such as the ‘food
cooperative’ and the ‘junk from funk’ initiatives. Since
September 2014 Teesside University has supported
23 social entrepreneurs, with nine at the ‘idea explo-
ration stage’ and four new social enterprise start-ups.
Mrs Race presented two specific cases; (1) a company
developing and running soft play facilities for children
with difficulties and (2) a filmmaker developing inno-
vative business models for producing and financing
films that revolve around community issues. Teesside
runs the ‘social enterprise start-up weekend’, a regional
partnership with around 80 attendees that comprises a
weekend of learning about lean start-up methods and
group discussions, supported by social entrepreneurs
and innovators.
Mrs Race concluded with the experience in social entre-
preneurship in Teesside University. First, the engage-
ment of social entrepreneurs requires new routes,
as the language and marketing hooks are differ-
ent. The message should revolve around the idea of
people that want to make a difference. Second, social
projects work but social innovation requires even more
54 http://gsen.unltd.org.uk/
37
multidisciplinary teams in comparison to general enter-
prise. Finally, social enterprise support is different and
more assistance is needed, especially around particular
legal models and income routes, calculating the social
return on investment, and accessing specific networks.
Mr Carl-Eric Anspach (BE) and Mr Raphaël
Lemmens (BE), «éco-conseillers» at Local (cr)Eaters,
reflected on the reasons that made them become envi-
ronmental sustainability development advisors. Local
(cr)Eaters is a small group of six people, focusing on
addressing environmental and social issues with the
help of coaching and advice. They share the same
environmental and social values, trying to have a posi-
tive impact on society through their jobs. This is some-
thing that they felt was not possible in more traditional
professional careers. At Local (cr)Eaters all the «éco-
conseillers» have different backgrounds (Public Rela-
tions, economics, researchers, etc.) and at one moment
they all made a profound change in their careers to
become more in touch with their values.
The presentation stressed the issues with the lack of
social focus of current programmes and professional
careers, and pointed out that social entrepreneurship
puts people’s values to work. The current economic
model focuses on international competitiveness
which to a certain extent neglects local economies
and communities. As a result, the links between local
actors are weakening and there is a lack of resilience in
the face of disruptions in the economy. One particular
example of their work in the food sector is called Local
Eat, where new models and tools can be developed to
strengthen local food chains in order to promote local
economies, using new technologies such as mobile
applications. Local Eat first succeeded in a social crowd-
funding campaign, which gave the project visibility and
it is now moving towards implementation.
The next steps for Local (cr)Eaters is to generate syner-
gies between existing social entrepreneurship projects
and to promote the social entrepreneurship option to
students as a viable path to take after graduation. Addi-
tionally, they also strive to do more work in incorporat-
ing these ideas into larger business plans by the use
of coaching and training initiatives. An important chal-
lenge is to change the perception of the social entre-
preneur as someone who always needs the support
of public funds, and clearly communicate that social
entrepreneurship is not at odds with economic sustain-
ability. The presenters concluded with the following
key messages: to think globally while acting locally, to
include personal values into work, and to work towards
minimising negative externalities with a particular
focus on sustainability.
Dr Ioannis Nasioulas (GR)55, Scientific Director at the
Social Economy Institute in Thessaloniki presented the
main actions of the European Commission in fostering
the right macroeconomic framework conditions that
allows social entrepreneurship, social innovation and
social businesses to flourish. Currently, there are three
main Commission initiatives that underpin the relevance
of this shift: the Social Business Initiative,56 the Social
Investment Package57 and the Innovation Union.58
The social business initiative of the European Commis-
sion started in 2011 and aims to support the scaling
up of the social economy at large. A thorough mapping
is needed in order to start aligning policies and finding
common ground in aspects such as regulation, market
conditions and institutions. So far there are promising
steps forward in defining an overall agenda for social
entrepreneurship with components of both Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020 already reflecting this. Dr Nasioulas
mentioned four main emerging sectors where the Euro-
pean Commission is influencing social innovation and
entrepreneurship.
1. The first is social banking, with major shifts in
conventional banking practices. The 2014 Social
Entrepreneurship Fund (EU-SEF)59 will be a fully
dedicated banking vehicle that will focus heavily on
documenting, for the first time, the positive impacts
of social banking.
2. The second is public procurement, and the work
around the Directive 24/2014,60 which aims to
re-profile the flows of public funds and public invest-
ments into fields of economic activity that show posi-
tive externalities, shifting the overall mass of avail-
able investment for social innovation (as the state is
the main purchaser in many European economies).
3. The third area is social finance, which includes social
bonds, social private finance and crowdfunding. The
UK is a forerunner of these market practices and that
other Member States are moving at a slower pace.
4. The fourth is social impact measurement, build-
ing on the work of the first report of the EC Social
Impact Measurement Sub-group,61 which aims to
present an integrated social impact protocol that can
articulate positive externalities and work towards
correctly monetising things such as social, ecologic
and historic capital.

Discussion
The discussion focused on the interplay between the macro, meso and micro levels of social innovation. There
were questions about the optimal level of support that can be given at the European level and how to ensure
that the small players in the social innovation market are not displaced by the large ones. Support for social
entrepreneurship initiatives is sometimes given to communities in pretty deprived areas and these types of
actors may not have the mind-set to scale up their activities, preferring instead to strengthen and consolidate
networks at local levels. There is value given by ‘lifestyle businesses’ that change the discourse and perception
from the traditional high-growth narrative. Likewise, it is also clear that franchises of social enterprises will
start to appear and there should be a place in the market for everyone. It was pointed out that the balance
would partly come from raising public demand on socially oriented products and services. In continental Europe,
the public sector is also one of the main consumers, so it sets up market preferences.
The discussion touched on the measurement of impact and success, and presenters agreed that this is still a
difficult endeavour at all levels. The diversity in legal structures and regulations for social businesses and the
lack of large-scale communication initiatives about the benefits of social businesses were also discussed as
barriers for entry into the market.
The discussion concluded with an overview of mistakes and challenges faced in setting up social entrepreneur-
ship initiatives. These include at a local level, that social entrepreneurs were thought to come from social and
technical disciplines while in reality 50% of them came from creative disciplines, arts and humanities. At the
meso level the main challenge was to expect passionate delivery teams to succeed even if they had no full
support from university leadership. At the macro level the main challenges were how to understand social
investments and social initiatives and develop frameworks and labels that take into account the differences
amongst many Member States.

55 Dr Ioannis Nasioulas (GR) is also a member of the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES)
56 http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/social_business/index_en.htm
57 http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1044
58 http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm
59 http://ec.europa.eu/finance/investment/social_investment_funds/index_en.htm
60 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32014L0024
61 http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/social_business/expert-group/social_impact/index_en.htm

38
 Summary of the workshop
The workshop focused on social innovation and social entrepreneurship, that is, the move towards bringing
social and ethical concerns into higher education alongside entrepreneurial skills development. An increasing
number of higher education institutions (HEIs) are now embracing the concept as part of their strategy, and
are looking more actively at the outcomes of their education. Institutions are not only educating students to
function well in an intercultural and international environment, but also to become socially responsible citizens
after graduation.
Social entrepreneurship was discussed as a way to bridge people’s personal values and professional career oppor-
tunities and the social enterprise is often seen as a channel to leverage strong personal drives into tangible
benefits. Especially because social innovation and entrepreneurship are not yet mainstream concepts it is quite
important to strengthen communication efforts to explain their value and to engage different stakeholder groups.
In scaling up the social enterprise concept to effect systemic change, many levels are currently involved, from
the international level (setting the macroeconomic playing field for social innovation and entrepreneurship), to
the national level, with initiatives that develop and embed social entrepreneurship frameworks across institu-
tions and stakeholder groups.
The workshop also showcased examples of best practice highlighting positive social impacts at the local level.
Some of the challenges ahead for social innovation and entrepreneurship will include the measurement of the
impact, obtaining leadership buy-in, levelling the playing field across Member States and developing macroeco-
nomic frameworks to correctly monetise the social benefits.

WORKSHOP 4.2 – Higher education and inno- The post-communist transition towards a market econ-
vation in regions and cities omy was taken to some extent as an opportunity for
personal enrichment instead of responsible capital
Mr Richard Tuffs (BE), Director of the European management. As a result, the accumulation of capital
Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN) went into buyouts and the idea of a ‘financial oasis’,
introduced the session on higher education and innova- rather than into developing investments for the country.
tion in regions and cities. Regions are engaging more
actively in research and innovation as a result of the Public expenditures treated anything related to knowl-
move towards smart specialisation, university engage- edge as a cost rather than an investment. Therefore there
ment and regional development. Regional Innovation was little investment in knowledge creating institutions,
Strategies (RIS) are also central in link-
ing universities to the development ‘in
and of the regions’.62
Professor Ivan Svetlik (SI), Rector of
the University of Ljubljana presented
the Slovenian Innovation Hub (SIH) as
an innovation ecosystem framework
which is supporting the deployment of
the Smart Specialisation Strategy of
Slovenia. Slovenia has been a member
of the EU since 2004, and in 2007,
the country joined the Eurozone. There
is no unique model of an innovation
hub, so Prof Svetlik first presented the
Slovenian context. Slovenia is a country
of 2 million people, with four universi-
ties. As a small country, regional policy
is almost the same as national policy.

62 Further reading on the S3 Platform: s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

39
such as research organisations.
The opportunity to reverse the situation
came when Slovenia developed its Smart
Specialisation Strategy. “Interaction and
Integration” are two of the main drivers
for the strategy and there are two pillars
of action, the entrepreneurial innovation
ecosystem in support of knowledge trans-
fer, and the enhancement of value chains
and networks.
As part of the development of the strat-
egy the strengths of different sectors
was mapped in order to identify where
the focus should be. The University of
Ljubljana identified areas of strength in
health, energy, advanced technologies
and materials, and quality of life.
strengths. In percentage terms, over 3.4% of the region’s
Slovenia is at the beginning of the process and will use
GDP is now spent on R&D activities. The region also runs
structural funds and Horizon 2020 to support the crea-
several flagship programmes, from attracting interna-
tion of new products, services and companies in order
tional researchers to providing innovation vouchers for
to grow the Slovenian economy. As a small country,
companies that want to start collaborations with HEIs
there is a need to strengthen, in particular, its links with
or research centres. As a result of this last strategy the
neighbouring countries.
region is also focusing on a new Cyber Security Compe-
The second speakers were Petr Chládek (CZ), Regional tence Centre, a regional proof of concept fund, a regional
Innovation Strategy Manager for the South Moravian seed fund (with focus on priority domains) and defining
Region, the Czech Republic, and Professor Martin and building a new regional brand.
Bareš (CZ), Vice-Rector for Development of Masaryk
Professor Bareš focused on the role of Masaryk University
University in Brno. Mr. Chládek shared the experience of
in contributing to regional innovation. Masaryk University
implementing the regional innovation strategies (RIS)
is the second largest university of the Czech republic,
of South Moravia.63 South Moravia is a self-governing
with 9 faculties and 200 departments, institutes and
region without explicit powers over research policy and
clinics, hosting around 43,000 students. The university
is home to Brno, the second largest city in the Czech
co-founded the South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC)64
Republic. The Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004. The
and the South Moravian Centre for International Mobility
region began its innovation policy with the formulation
(JCMM)65, and is a Member of the RIS Steering Committee
of the first RIS in 2002, which was carried out to create
and working groups. The role evolved from the university
regional consensus and build up political commitment.
from a teaching centered institution to one that incorpo-
This first strategy was developed in an environment
rates research and puts local economic development as
of high unemployment (12%), the establishment of
a priority. Since the implementation of the first strategy,
Regional Authorities, the closing of an important Flex-
the region has attracted around 16,000 jobs, of which
tronics facility (leaving 2.500 unemployed people) and
600 are in high-technology companies with over €5m
the debate on the new Lisbon strategy about the role of
invested into start-ups from venture capital. The univer-
R&D and innovation in regional economic development.
sity is now thinking about technology transfer in a more
At the time of the development of the third RIS, there
systemic way, aiming to embed a culture of knowledge
was the opportunity to be more ambitious and the stra-
exchange into students and staff. Also as a direct result
tegic framework set strong objectives (e.g. in terms of
of the RIS and the use of structural funds, the launch
% of GDP in R&D, numbers of ERC grants, percentage
of CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology) has
of international students, etc.) and stressed the impor-
been possible. CEITEC is a scientific centre in the fields
tance of having a clear governance structure, keeping
of life sciences, advanced materials and technologies
a strategic focus on the specialisation around regional
whose aim is to be a recognised centre for basic as well
63 http://www.risjmk.cz/en/smart-specialization-strategy/
64 http://www.jic.cz/home
65 http://www.jcmm.cz/en/

40
as applied research. The centre has already contributed
in winning the first ERC grant in the history of Masaryk
University and holds the only grant awarded in the Czech
Republic for a European Research Area (ERA) chair.
Mr Jas Bains (UK), Executive Director of the Accord
Group, and Ms Janette Gilder (UK), Director of Research
and External Engagement at the University of Wolver-
hampton presented on the social, community and civic
perspective of innovation. The Accord group is a feder-
ated group structure and one of the largest housing,
health and social care providers in the Midlands. It is
a social business that aims to create profit for social
purposes. The University of Wolverhampton wants to
label itself as the university of opportunity and is one
of the major employers in the region. Accord is provid-
ing housing to many of the students, their families and
the rest of the community. The presenters reflected
on the fact that the two organisations did not know
about each other before, because they followed a silo
approach to collaboration. They saw that a majority of
the students of the university come from the neigh-
bouring area and that their chances to prosper could
be improved with the help of collaboration with social
businesses at the local level.
As a result of this process, the university and Accord are
jointly involved in the operation of some of the schools
in the area. The experience so far has been very positive,
with education standards improving at a faster rate than
the national average. In addition, university lecturers
engage and help science teachers in schools to improve
the teaching of science subjects, also addressing the
lack of teachers in certain subjects such as chemistry.
By ensuring that residents are given the opportunity
to receive a good basic education, they increase their
opportunities to take jobs in local industry and go on
to further education at the local university, strengthen-
ing the community. The university and Accord are also
involved in other initiatives such as the ‘skills factory’,
which uses the university as a platform to provide bite-
sized training courses for workers to address the needs
of the region’s economic development plan.
Despite the landscape of austerity and budget cuts the
presenters stressed that the current situation presents
opportunities for new players and initiatives. In some
areas, the removal of the public sector makes the role
of civil society ever more important. The university can
also be reshaped as a new institution of civic and social
innovation, with the wider community benefitting from
the results.

Discussion
The first question focused on what are the best ways to engage strategically with metropolitan areas and
regions to foster local economic growth. One of the key success factors that participants stressed is the stability
of regional governments and to find people in them that can act as champions in the community. Additionally,
the participants also pointed out the stability of funding, although they also stated that this is now more difficult
and more flexibility is needed to form new partnerships.
In terms of the regional role of universities, the participants discussed developments in Europe, where we can
observe merger processes in response to global competition. For example, in a state like Slovenia, the regional
strategy allows unifying forces without going along the merger route, and in the framework of a small country
they think of the region as the whole country.
The discussion moved on to comment on the model of partnerships, which is evolving from collaborations based
on specific projects to a long-term model. These usually tackle infrastructure development systemic issues in
many regions such as high levels of unemployment. These joint entrepreneurial initiatives sometimes step into
the vacuum left by the state when it becomes removed from some areas of policy or support due to budget
constraints. .

41
Summary of the workshop
The workshop of the session addressed the changing relationship between higher education institutions (HEIs)
and cities. In many cases, the university or HEI is a big economic factor in the development of the city and
its region. The relationships between the two are shifting together with changing economic pressures and
competition.
The workshop highlighted many interesting partnerships between universities and their cities or regions, and the
general trend is that the model of partnerships is evolving from short-term to long-term commitment. Many of
these new partnerships are based on the development of Regional Innovation agendas, infrastructure develop-
ment, and tackling economic challenges of the region.
The economic drivers derived from the economic crisis and a more community-based and civic perspective of
innovation are giving rise to new forms of engagement and regional collaboration. In regions that are struggling
to realign themselves to a knowledge economy, the university acts as a social anchor to help the region get on
a new path of growth.
The university is sometimes the major employer of the region, and joint entrepreneurial initiatives are being
developed, sometimes with the university in innovative roles where the state is removing itself from its tradi-
tional supporting role.
Using universities as a boundary spanner is leading to the emergence of stronger regional research agendas
that build on more localised strengths, with the aim of generating growth and prosperity for citizens.

42
Day 2 – Plenary sessions
Panel discussion - University-Busi-
ness Cooperation in Eastern-part-
nership countries
The first panel discussion of the second day focused on
the cooperation between universities and businesses
in Eastern-partnership countries. Mr Harald Hartung
(EC), Head of Unit, European Commission, DG Educa-
tion and Culture introduced the session. The agenda
of growth and jobs is the top priority of the Juncker
Commission with a focus on mobilising capital, chan-
nelling investments to the right companies and unlock-
ing internal markets. The cooperation between universi-
ties and companies is an essential part of this is Europe
is to become more competitive. Platforms are the main
tool of the Eastern Partnership (EaP)66 and represent
four main areas of cooperation between the Eastern
Partner countries and the EU. The “Contacts between
people – Platform 4 of the Eastern Partnership” is a
forum for discussion on a diverse set of topics, where
higher education institutions play a very important role.
There are some good examples from Tempus projects,
on how cooperation works between higher education
institutions and companies in the surrounding coun-
tries, some of which will be further developed under
the Erasmus + programme.
Before Mr Hartung introduced the panel, Ms Rebecca
Allinson (UK), Director, Technopolis Group provided
a brief summary of the conclusions arising from the
parallel sessions held on the first day.67
Ms Maryna Saprykina (UA), CEO, Centre of CSR Devel-
opment, introduced an example of the university-busi-
ness cooperation from the Ukraine. The main objective
of the Centre for 2014-2015 is to contribute to country
development through improving the quality of educa-
tion via university-business collaboration. The Centre of
CSR Development also carries out research activities
on the status of collaboration between universities and
businesses and issues of employability.
66 http://eeas.europa.eu/eastern/platforms/index_en.htm
67 All the workshop summaries are included in the chapters.
68 http://csr-ukraine.org/en/
43
The Centre of CSR Development68 organised two
national university-business fora and is currently
organising a third. The forum is a one-day event with
around 40 speakers and 250 participants that come
from both universities and companies. Alongside the
forum, sectoral sessions take place, which address a
variety of topics including pharmaceuticals, media and
agriculture, for example. As the forum is only a one-
day event, the Centre established a laboratory where
the cooperation can continue between the fora. Recent
findings from the research show that companies which
undertake projects with students increase the percep-
tion of their brand for the students by 4%.
The 2015 forum will focus on regional and city devel-
opment using the notion of the triple helix model. This
model composes of three elements: strengthening the
university’s role, collaboration in innovation processes
between governments, businesses and universities and
the role exchange.
There are several policy recommendations aris-
ing from the work of the Centre where the European
Commission can play a key role. Education needs to
be a priority within the Eastern partnership and shar-
ing experience and best practice is very important. A
clear lead from the European Commission is needed
and governments involved should take on the role of
facilitating the dialogue, similar to the role of the Euro-
pean Commission in this Forum. Ms Saprykina stressed
the importance of cooperation at the leadership level
between universities and this is something which needs
to be supported by the national ministry and the Euro-
pean Commission. The Centre is already supporting this
through the organisation of a change management
course for Rectors in the Ukraine.
Professor Iryna Zolotaryova (UA), Head of Infor-
mation Systems Department, Kharkiv National Univer-
sity of Economics (a cross-border University-Business
Cooperation project involving Ukraine and Moldova),
presented an approach to entrepreneurial teaching
and learning. The underlying objective of this model
approach is to change the mind-sets and the way of The curriculum is designed in such a way that students
thinking of both teachers and students. receive instruction on project management and in how
to establish start-ups. They also learn how to present
Kharkiv University is building this new approach based
their ideas, how to structure them and how to communi-
on a long-standing cooperation with the University
cate within their teams and with businesses, which may
Lyon-2, France and have also opened a double-degree
be potential clients. A number of new courses which
French-Ukrainian Master’s Programme.69 The professors
take this approach have been piloted. This has been
in the programme include experts from the Lyon region
welcomed with great enthusiasm from the secondary
with significant experience in start-ups and Kharkiv
school students involved. The region is also involved
University has created a platform for the cooperation
with a steering committee for start-ups, headed up by
between students and companies. This platform also
the Mayor of the City of Kharkiv.
includes secondary schools, highlighting the importance
of involving students earlier on in their education.

69 http://www.hneu.edu.ua/Shared_French-Ukrainian_program_for_masters_MBATourism

44
 Discussion
The discussion reflected on the need for a closer cooperation between rectors and companies. Although compa-
nies usually look for specific solutions which are more likely to be addressed by individual researchers or
academics, this does not always lead to long term sustainable collaboration. In order to achieve more system-
atic and sustainable links across the higher education institution, leadership involvement is crucial. Higher
education institutions have changed significantly in the last 30 years and there is more impetus from the lead-
ership to engage with business cooperation, which is more now more commonly found in the strategy of the
university. The presentations highlighted the types of approaches which are being taken in the Ukraine. However,
in spite of international networks of contacts, universities in Ukraine still need more partners to cooperate with
in the European Union Member States. This cooperation needs to be rich with content as well as structured..

Keynote addresses ‘Looking ahead’
Professor Per Michael Johansen (DK),
Rector, Aalborg University, presented
on Aalborg and the transformation
of the university culture. Aalborg
University is a young institution
located in North-West Denmark. In
the 1970s, the North-West region
was falling behind and was too
dependent on the primary economic
sector. Young people with academic aspira-
tions were leaving the region and there were very few
jobs available for highly skilled people on the local and
regional labour market. Aalborg University was explic-
itly established in 1974 to help address these issues.
From the beginning, the university decided to break new
ground in its approach to teaching and learning, using
problem based learning (PBL) approaches, tailored to
the needs of the region. This involved setting up project
groups for students to work on real life problems with
the students being responsible for their collective learn-
ing experience. Aalborg University became the centre
of a tightly knit web of partners, which has greatly
enhanced the transition from student life to the employ-
ment. Aalborg University now has 23,000 students and
3,500 staff across 3 campuses, including Copenhagen.
The cooperation with external partners is very strong
and is an integral part of education and research activi-
ties. There is a strong awareness of the importance of
bringing knowledge and ideas from the university into
a commercial context. This is not an easy process and
there is still room for improvement. The region remains
socio-economically disadvantaged, reliant on the
services sector and industrial production, although less
so than before. The university has played an important
part in regional development and increasing access to
research.
There are around 5,000 student projects annually, and
in a half of them, students engage with the external
environment. Around 65% of students have gained
a job as a result of their project activities under-
taken at university. A number of the projects relate to
grand challenges such as aging, healthcare and public
services. External cooperation is also embedded in
research activities, ensuring that collaborative research
becomes a key part of building relationships and work-
ing with companies. A particular focus is the need
for more cooperation between universities and SMEs
(small and medium-sized companies). In order for this
to work, universities must make their activities visible
for companies and accessible to them. Specific exam-
ples include cost-effective sharing of research capaci-
ties or inviting start-ups to rent offices and facilities
in campuses. The University of Aalborg has recently
entered into an agreement with the Confederation of
Danish Enterprises. For the future, universities need
to rethink their role in society, to serve the society as a
whole and stay relevant. Universities can link the local,
national and global levels, bringing together multidis-
ciplinary partners and multiple stakeholders. Clusters
are also an important mechanism for economic devel-
opment. Aalborg is one of the Smart Cities in Europe70
and is a testing ground for using technical solutions
to address societal and city challenges. The university
plays a vital role in this strategy.
Mr Ketan Makwana (UK), CEO and
Lead Disruptor, Enterprise Lab,71
focused on “disruption” and what
entrepreneurial education and
university-business cooperation
will look like in the future. The
current landscape of education
is affected by the skills gap and
the focus on innovation and competi-
tiveness. There are many other problems to address

70 https://eu-smartcities.eu/place/aalborg
71 http://enterpriselab.co.uk/

45
including youth unemployment. Universities still take a
fragmented and siloed approach to dealing with these
issues. To address the challenges properly, there must
be a balance between competence and confidence in
one’s abilities.
There are points of improvement for universities as well
as for companies. Companies need to adopt a more
proactive recruitment cycle, displace the rigid compe-
tencies for roles, be more open sourced with recruit-
ing from different talent pools, foster more transparent
and effective communications and build robust mentor-
ing into their organisations. The uncertainty students
face often makes them choose to stay in education
and continue with Masters or PhDs without having any
intended goal. Learners do not just need lifelong learn-
ing; they need to learn about life. Educational institu-
tions can respond by increasing awareness of relevant
careers, adopt more tangible skills based experiences
into the curriculum, develop leadership, mentoring and
coaching practices and look to address business needs
through their academic programming. Students should
be the central focus, with higher education institutions
identifying the gaps and working with businesses to
understand their needs.
A response to issues of employability and the devel-
opment of new skills in the UK was the formation of
the intermediary organisation Enterprise Lab in 2011.
The mission the of the Enterprise Lab is to enhance
employability, act as a bridge between universities and
business, facilitate life skills programmes within the
academic curricula and inspire companies to adopt
more ‘intrapreneurial’ approach. Enterprise Lab works
with micro-companies through to large organisations
to provide a larger talent pool. There is potential for
this type of approach to lead to a European standard.
46
The European Commission might consider building an
EU-driven platform that endorses mentoring within
companies and educational institutions. The Commis-
sion might also take a role in reducing the red tape that
surrounds agile firms to get funding to support build-
ing bridging models. There could be some incentives for
universities to incorporate employment criteria within
the academic curriculum. Last but not least, the cost of
employment at smaller business could be subsidised so
that they can adopt a more proactive recruitment policy
and be more engaged.
Round table – University-Business
Cooperation for Jobs, Growth and
Competitiveness – Supporting Insti-
tutional Change
The round table discussion on the topics of university-
business cooperation supporting institutional change
was moderated by Mr Paul Hofheinz (BE), President
and Executive Director, The Lisbon Council asbl. The
panel represented a mix of views, involving representa-
tives of higher education, students, business as well as
policymakers. The panelists were:
• Professor Helen Dannetun (SE), Vice-Chancel-
lor of Linköping University, President of European
Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU)
• Mr Henrik Klitgaard (DK), Vice-President, Research
Fellow Neurosciences TA, New Medicine Therapeu-
tics, UCB
• Ms Elisabeth Gehrke (SE), Chairperson of the
European Students’ Union
• Professor Dainius Pavalkis (LT), Minister of
Education and Science, Lithuania
• Mr Xavier Prats Monné (ES), Director General,
European Commission, DG Education and Culture
Mr Hofheinz set the scene for the round table discus-
sion by introducing the key challenges to be discussed
focusing on two main questions:
1. The role of university-business cooperation in
addressing the job situation in Europe. There are
around one million vacancies in Europe, while many
countries are facing high youth unemployment. What
can be done by different stakeholders to improve the
situation?
2. Europe has cutting edge economies, with many
inventions both in the past (television and mp3)
 and more recently (Spotify), however the commer-
cialisation of these inventions are often exploited by
other countries. To maintain Europe’s social model
and living standards it is key to build competitive-
ness on high value generation. Although Europe is
doing well, what can be done to maintain and even
improve Europe’s competitiveness?
Mr Hofheinz asked the panellists to reflect on the
immediate steps that can be taken through university-
business cooperation to address these issues.
Professor Helen Dannetun highlighted a recent paper
by the European Consortium of Innovative Universi-
ties (ECIU):72 It is essential to have university-business
collaboration for mutual benefits and to meet the
long-term goals of increasing employment. There are
already many incentives in place for HEIs and business
to collaborate and interact with the surrounding society
and the third mission of HEIs was already introduced,
and incorporated in many institutions’ mission and
vision. University-business collaboration ensures the
relevance of the higher education, helps provide oppor-
tunities for internships and placements and can inspire
students to take difficult subjects, develop the skills of
working in teams and learn how to solve problems.
In order to foster a much broader take-up of successful
initiatives supporting university-business collaboration,
there is a need to attach funding. This could be done
through the base and competitive funding criteria for
higher education institutions. This is a good investment
to make, as businesses will in return have access to
highly qualified and skilled students. Professor Danne-
tun also highlighted the importance of continued
research funding for both applied and basic, blue-sky
research. She illustrated her points by a quote:
“When he [Michael Faraday] demonstrated his
apparatus [dynamo] to His Majesty’s Government,
the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel, asked, «Of what
use is it?» To which Faraday replied: «I don’t know,
but I’ll wager that some day you’ll tax it.”73
Professor Dannetun called for the inclusion of the univer-
sities’ third mission-related activities in institutions’
assessment; funding provision to overcome the different
missions of HEIs and businesses by including university-
business collaboration related activities in the academic
merit systems and encourage students to ask for more
collaborative activities to be included in the curriculum.
Mr Henrik Klitgaard introduced university-business
cooperation in a global biopharmaceutical company.
72 http://eciu.web.ua.pt/
73 Source: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Race_on_the_Edge_of_Time
47
UCB has headquarters in Brussels and is present in
40 countries worldwide. The company had €3.3bn
of sales in 2014 and is characterised by having very
entrepreneurial employees. The company’s activity
portfolio includes the treatment of severe diseases,
and is a global leader in treatments of epilepsy. UCB
has a strong research platform focusing on antibody
research. The pharmaceutical industry is facing many
challenges including the reduced number of new drug
approvals by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
alongside significantly increasing research costs and
political pressures. These external pressures have led
to companies like UCB initiating much stronger interac-
tions with higher education institutes, recognising that
such collaboration is key for their survival. UCB has
active collaborations with multiple HEIs and has set up
networks which are not just focusing on specific short
and medium term problems, but also have long term
strategic research goals. Collaboration helps UCB to
reduce productivity gaps and deliver efficacy. Collabo-
ration with HEIs needs facilitation which has associated
costs, however the benefits are much greater for all
partners involved.
Ms Elisabeth Gehrke stressed an immediate need for
students to push much more for collaborative activi-
ties. With joint efforts a lot can be achieved. Ms Gehrke
showcased the example of Linköping, a former indus-
trial city that was transformed into a knowledge city
in the past few years. There are many different types
of university-business collaboration, which vary from
short-term practical interactions to long-term strategic
partnerships. Some of the key success factors include,
involving intermediaries, ensuring good governance and
engendering trust between the stakeholders. Univer-
sity-business collaboration needs to start with mutu-
ally relevant topics. Students should be at the centre of
these discussions and educated in a way that univer-
sity-business cooperation is part of the educational
experience, regardless of their subject. Ms Gehrke high-
lighted that the shift from a purely classroom based
education to the incorporation of more university-busi-
ness collaboration is an important factor in develop-
ing the mind-set of students and helps them enter the
job market more successfully. The latter should be also
further supported by career guidance and counselling.
Professor Dainius Pavalkis reflected on where
university-business collaboration is going and how to
ensure it is mutually beneficial for all. There are at least
five different players involved in activating university-
business cooperation, public authorities, government,
universities, companies and students. They do not all
have the same objectives, priorities or aspirations. If
discussed separately, it would be very difficult to come
up with effective solutions to all of the challenges
face. In Lithuania, which joined the EU in 2004 and the
Eurozone in 2015, they have established universities
councils which include representatives from business
and the academic community. The academic commu-
nity have the majority voice but the inclusion of busi-
ness promotes interesting behaviour as the council
often includes ex-chairs of companies for example,
who are all involved in confirming the budget. Good
councils engage business well and are entrepreneur-
ial and forward thinking. From the government side in
Lithuania, there is good use of the Structural Funds
to encourage universities and companies to come
together to collaborate and decide on how the funds
should be deployed. Professor Pavalkis called for better
use of evaluative tools such as ranking systems and
research assessment exercises, which would all help to
steer universities to engage with more companies in
the future.
Mr Xavier Prats Monné emphasised the difficulties of
being practical in addressing such complex topics, when
the European higher education system encompasses
about 4,000 HEIs. The institutions are diverse in their
working methods, the balance between accountability
and the autonomy and the legal frameworks guiding
them. Globalisation has a major effect on higher educa-
tion systems as well as technologies and demographi-
cal changes. Many trends point to a systemic change
to higher education which is in line with the changing
nature of knowledge and the growing importance of
knowledge sharing networks to increase productivity.
There are a lot of insecurities and uncertainties with
often changing conditions that require flexibility. There-
fore building the capacity of higher education to deal
with the constantly changing environment is crucial.
Supporting such transformation with a reinforced focus
on the contribution of higher education to society, not
just in terms of excellence, but impact on society is
critical. This will result in an extremely bright future for
higher education. The European Commission has been
providing support and financial incentives that facili-
tate adapting to these changes, including the collabo-
rative projects financed under the Knowledge Alliances
scheme74 (Erasmus+) and HEInnovate,75 a self assess-
ment tool for HEIs who wish to become more entrepre-
neurial and innovative.
The introductory reflections of the panel were followed
74 K
 nowledge Alliances are transnational, structured and research driven projects between higher education and
business, which are now incorporated into the Erasmus+ programme. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/
key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/knowledge-alliances_en
75 www.heinnovate.eu
48
by a questions and answer session moderated by Mr
Hofheinz. The discussion resulted in the following points
and recommendations:
• There is a need to develop new metrics for educators
to recognise their efforts in developing innovative
methods and approaches. In addition people need to
be incentivised to engage more in innovation which
should be promoted in the academic merit portfolio.
• It is very difficult to quantify the impact of quali-
tative. Measuring the different types of activities
undertaken by HEIs is crucial, but assessing the
outputs of university-business collaboration is really
difficult. Having case studies showcasing good prac-
tices on such measurements and developing good
methods and making them available would be highly
beneficial.
• There is a need to turn the skills gap into opportuni-
ties gap. This requires contribution from all stake-
holders involved, but can also merit from exist-
ing examples (e.g. successful scholarship schemes,
internships, collaborative efforts). It is vital to better
understand the needs of the different industries to
match the needs of the labour market.
• To make university-business collaboration a more
integral part of higher education, there is a need for
flexible systems and better inter-sectoral mobility.
This could be fostered by encouraging professors to
spend time at companies or having adjunct profes-
sors at the HEIs from businesses (e.g. Linköping
University). In addition, creating more favourable
environments and most importantly a culture that
promotes university-business interactions and inter-
disciplinary approaches, embedded in the education
of the students, is a success factor.
All panellists committed to reinforce the efforts put in
to university-business cooperation in the future, either
by strengthening already existing links, facilitating the
creation of new ones or through continued support
to initiatives that are aimed at bringing the worlds
of higher education and business closer. Mr Hofheinz
concluded by asking the Forum participants to consider
what more could they do personally in the future.
Mr Marc Hansen (LU), State Secretary for Higher
Education and Research, Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg,
provided a policy outlook with a focus on the incom-
ing Luxembourgian EU presidency during the second
half of 2015. He reflected particularly on the important
topics of the Forum such as entrepreneurship, relations
between education and business as well as innovation
and pedagogical approaches. The European Union
declared itself an ‘Innovation Union’ in 2010:76 new job
creation, growth and social progress by the provision of
new services, products, process and business models
are cornerstones of implementing the Innovation Union.
Mr Hansen emphasised the importance of maintaining
the investment in higher education in spite of the diffi-
cult budgetary conditions which are faced by Member
States.
Due in the main to the high share of knowledge-inten-
sive activities in the country, Luxembourg occupies
fifth place in the EU 2014 Innovation Scoreboard.77 The
government intends to focus further on increasing inter-
sectoral mobility, entrepreneurship in higher education
and research institutions on the competitiveness of the
companies on knowledge and technology transfer and
public private partnerships. To support these objectives,
many instruments have been developed in Luxem-
bourg, including for example a scheme78 that supports
PhD candidate in partnership with businesses. Promot-
ing entrepreneurship is not only the responsibility of
higher education. Company driven initiatives across
all subject fields should be increased and taken up. As
part of the efforts promoting entrepreneurship a new
Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme
was launched at the Luxembourg Business Academy.79
The Academy was established as a result of the joint
efforts of the University of Luxembourg and the Cham-
ber of Commerce.
Reflecting on the future of higher education Mr Hansen
pointed out three areas of increasing importance.
76 http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm
77 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/ius/ius-2014_en.pdf
78 For further information on the scheme: Aides à la formation-recherche pour stimuler les partenariats public-privé please see: http://www.luxinnovation.
lu/Services/Conseil-pour-la-recherche-de-financements-nationaux-et-européens/Financements-nationaux
49
1. Work-based training: new dual study programmes
are emerging providing interesting new cooperation
opportunities and contribute to the development of
growing cluster ecosystems.
2. Skills-forecasting: skills shortages are present in
many sectors, therefore skills forecasting could work
as an ‘early-warning; system. The already existing
EU Skills Panorama80 provides a good basis to build
on, but it needs further development. Structured
information at regional levels should be collected
across the EU.
3. New technologies in teaching: due to the digital
technologies new teaching methods have evolved,
including online classrooms, MOOCs and webinars,
which have a major impact on distance and lifelong
learning. However, recognised qualifications and
quality assurance procedures need to be put in place
if these new approaches to teaching and learning
are to become a viable alternative.
Mr Hansen called for more strategic collaboration to
create attractive higher education systems for both
students and employers. In his concluding remarks
Mr Hansen quoted guidance recently published by
Middlesex University London ‘The Best of Both Worlds’.81
The guide calls for increased collaboration because:
Links with universities give firms a competitive
edge; universities play a vital part in the innovation
ecosystem; research and innovation partnerships
come in many forms and collaboration can also
help with the ‘war for talent’.
50
Appendix A - List of Acronyms

CEITEC Central European Institute of Technology (Czech R & D Research and development
Republic) RIS Regional innovation strategy
CfEL Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (University of RWTH RWTH Aachen University
Cambridge)
SMEs Small or medium enterprises
CV Curriculum vitae
TAS Technical Accreditation Scheme
DCU Dublin City University
TU Technical university
DG Directorate-General
TU4Dublin Technological University for Dublin
DG Connect Directorate General for Communications Networks,
UBForum University-Business Forum
Content & Technology
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
DG EAC Directorate General for Education and Culture
Organisation
DG Growth Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry,
UoAS University of applied sciences
Entrepreneurship and SMEs
VIA VIA University College (Denmark)
EC European Commission
ECIU European Consortium of Innovative Universities
EFER European Forum for Entrepreneurship Research Countries:
ERA European Research Area
AT Austria
ERC European Research Council
BG Bulgaria
ESF European Social Fund
CY Cyprus
ESU European Students’ Union
CZ Czech Republic
EU European Union
DE Germany
EU-SEF European Social Entrepreneurship Funds
DK Denmark
EUA European University Association
EE Estonia
FDA Food and Drug Administration
EL Greece
GDP Gross domestic product
ES Spain
GSEN Global Social Entrepreneurship Network
FI Finland
GSM Global System for Mobile communication
FR France
HE Higher education
HR Croatia
HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England
HU Hungary
HEIs Higher education institutions
IE Ireland
HR Human resources
IT Italy
IPR Intellectual property rights
LT Lithuania
IT Information technologies
LU Luxembourg
JADE European Confederation of Junior Enterprises
LV Latvia
JCMM South Moravian Centre for International Mobility
(Czech Republic) MT Malta
JIC South Moravian Innovation Centre (Czech Republic) NL Netherlands
JLR Jaguar Land Rover PL Poland
KTU Kaunas University of Technology PT Portugal
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology RO Romania
MOOCs Massive Open Online Courses SE Sweden
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and SI Slovenia
Development SK Slovakia
PBL Project-based learning UK United Kingdom
QAA UK Quality Assurance Agency UK US United States of America

79 http://wwwen.uni.lu/studies/fdef/master_in_entrepreneurship_and_innovation_professionnel
80 http://euskillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/
81 For further reference: http://news.cbi.org.uk/reports/best-of-both-worlds/best-of-both-worlds-pdf/

51
52
Appendix B - Conference
programme

53
DAY 1 5TH MARCH 2015

08:30 – 09:30 REGISTRATION

09:30 – 11:00 OFFICIAL OPENING SESSION

Chair: Denis Crowley, Head of Unit, European Commission Directorate General for Education
and Culture

09:35 - 10:20 OPENING SPEECHES

Mr Tibor Navracsics, Member of the European Commission in charge of Education, Culture,
Youth and Sport
Ms Mārīte Seile, Minister of Education and Science, Latvia, EU Presidency January – June 2015
Ms Silvia Costa, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of Culture Committee

10:20 – 11:00 KEY NOTE ADDRESS

Professor David B. Audretsch, Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Mr Jo Lopes, Head of Technical Excellence, Jaguar Land Rover, Chair of the UK’s Automotive
Industrial Partnership for skills

11:00 – 11:30 COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 13:00 ROUND TABLE – “PARTNERSHIPS FOR JOBS AND GROWTH” – CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Moderator: Mr Dan Luca, Director, EurActiv Institute

Professor Maria Helena Nazaré, President of the European University Association (EUA), Former
Rector of the University of Aveiro
Mr Jean-Francois Minster, Senior Vice President of Scientific Development, TOTAL S.A.
Professor Ernst Schmachtenberg; Rector, University of Aachen; President-elect CESAER
Mr Javier Calderón Beltrán, Director, Managing Director of CEOE FORMACIÓN, Chair of education
and training working group, BUSINESSEUROPE
Mr Mário Tarouca,Treasurer - Director of Public Affairs, JADE – European Confederation of Junior
Enterprises

13:00 – 14:30 LUNCH

AFTERNOON SESSIONS: “FROM POLICY TO PRACTICE” – THEMES RUNNING IN PARALLEL

BLOCK 1: ENTREPRENEURSHIP
BLOCK 2: PROMOTING CHANGE AND IMPACT
BLOCK 3: PEOPLE AND INNOVATION
BLOCK 4: SPOTLIGHT ON …

14:30 – 16:00 1ST SESSION

16:00 – 16:30 COFFEE BREAK

16:30 – 18:00 2ND SESSION

Each block will contain two moderated workshops; one from 14:30 - 16:00 and one from 16:30 - 18:00 with a coffee break in between.
BLOCK 1

UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION – ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship is important for the added value it can bring and its potential impact on a number of levels;
individual, institutional, economic and, more broadly, social. Higher education institutions are ideally placed to
encourage and develop entrepreneurial skills and attitudes; not only in their students but across their institutions.
This also implies a closer relationship with the business and employment sector; being aware of and responding to
existing needs, whilst encouraging innovative approaches and mind-sets that bring an added value to employers.

14:30 - 16:00
WORKSHOP 1.1: ENHANCING ENTREPRENEURIAL TEACHING
This session will focus on established and promising practices in entrepreneurship
teaching across Europe, The aim is to identify innovative examples of entrepreneurship
teaching discuss their relevance as well as specific ideas for their implementation at
European level.

Moderator: Professor Christine Volkmann, UNESCO Chair for Entrepreneurship and
Intercultural Management and Jackstädt Research Center for Entrepreneurship and
Innovation, University of Wuppertal

Speakers:
Mr Holm Keller, Vice President of Leuphana University, Lüneburg
Dr Shai Vyakarnam, University of Cambridge, founder of the Center for
Entrepreneurial Learning.
Mrs Tanja Verho, CEO Kolmas Persoona, alumna from UoAS Tampere, Finland,
Service Designer, CEO
Professor Janos Vecsenyi, Executive Director, European Forum for Entrepreneurship
Research (EFER)

16:30 - 18:00 
WORKSHOP 1.2: UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
This session will focus on establishing stronger foundations for entrepreneurship education
in higher education institutions. The aim is to identify innovative examples of leadership
and management that lead to a sustainable development of entrepreneurship education
in HEIs and discuss specific ideas for their implementation at a European level.

Moderator: Professor David B. Audretsch, Indiana University, School of Public and
Environmental Affairs

Speakers:
Mrs Ann Horan, CEO, DCU Ryan Academy
Professor Asta Pundziene, Vice-Rector for Research, Kaunas UT
Mr Emanuel von Bodman, Senior Project Manager, F.A.Z. Media Group / FRANKFURT
BUSINESS MEDIA, Frankfurt a.M.
BLOCK 2

UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - PROMOTING CHANGE AND IMPACT

This session will look at the different ways in which change can be brought about in higher education institutions
and in companies and how to stimulate cooperation and increase its impact. The first workshop will focus on
higher education institutions and present and discuss how HEInnovate can help HEIs to introduce relevant
change. The second workshop will focus on the innovative ways and approaches that companies and HEIs
can work together to reach a common goal. For companies; to find the talents they need for their future
development, and for HEIs; to ensure that their graduates have the right combination of knowledge, skills and
competences to be well prepared for their professional life, and how HEIs support their graduates in finding a
job and starting their careers.

14:30 - 16:00
WORKSHOP 2.1: HEINNOVATE AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
Launched in 2013, HEInnovate is a self-assessment tool for higher education
institutions wishing to evaluate their performance as entrepreneurial HEIs, to find
inspiration and guidance and to help manage institutional change. The tool has been
used by more than 500 higher education institutions and is now being used as a key
element in the development strategies of several European HEI’s.

Moderator: Professor Paul Hannon, Director of LEAD Wales and Director of the
Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership, Swansea University

Speakers:
Mr Flemming Bridal Rasmussen, Director, Strategy & Human Resources, VIA
University College, Campus Aarhus N
Mr Patrick O’Donnell, Team Member, Technical University of Dublin
Professor Carlos Ramos, Porto Polytechnic’s Vice-Presidente for Research, Tech
Transfer and Entrepreneurship and Mr Rui Coutinho, Entrepreneurship Coordinator,
Porto Design Factory Firestarter and Manager

16:30 - 18:00
 ORKSHOP 2.2: EDUCATING TALENTS – RECRUITING TALENTS: ARE HEIS AND
W
COMPANIES IN SYNC?
This session will focus on the needs of the labour market and the role of HEIs in
addressing them. How companies and HEIs work together to ensure that graduates
acquire the right combination of knowledge, skills and competences they will need for
their professional life. It will examine the relationship between recruitment policies
in the business sector and the way in which HEIs support graduate employment and
careers through their own links to companies and what strategies they put in place.


Moderator: Mr Ben Butters, Director, EUROCHAMBRES

Speakers:
Mr Ketan Makwana, CEO and Lead Disruptor, Enterprise Lab
Mr Georgi Vasilev, HR Business Partner, Vodafone Germany

Ms Mia Deubner, Senior-HR Consultant., WU ZBP Career Centers,Career, WU Vienna
University of Economics and Business
Mr Martin Grau, Head of Resourcing, Česká spořitelna, a.s
BLOCK 3

UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION; PEOPLE AND INNOVATION,

People are key to innovation; this session will look at innovation in the area of higher education and the impact
and contribution of higher education to innovation, i.e. innovation through higher education. The first workshop
will focus on innovative pedagogies, approaches and methods that enhance the students’ learning experiences
and make graduates more creative and innovative. The second workshop will look at how higher education
contributes to innovation, and identify how, through cooperation, innovation can be triggered in companies.

14:30 - 16:00 
WORKSHOP 3.1:
INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGIES AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES
The session will look at a number of promising learning experiences in higher education,
their impact and their contribution to a more innovative higher education provision. The
session will take a closer look at the development of innovators; more specifically, how
this is encouraged through the educational process. The aim is to identify examples
of innovative teaching and learning approaches and discuss their relevance as well as
specific ideas for their implementation at a European level.

Moderator: Mr Mikkel Trym, Climate-KIC, Education


Speakers:
Mr Ville Kairamo, Co-Founder and Head of Demola
Professor Andrew Penaluna, Research Director Centre of Creative Entrepreneurship,
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Dr Ivar Björkman, Executive Director, OpenLab Stockholm

16:30 - 18:00 
WORKSHOP 3.2:
THE CONTRIBUTION OF HE TO INNOVATION
People are key to innovation; this session will look at innovation in the area of higher
education and the impact and contribution of higher education to innovation, i.e.
innovation through higher education. The session will examine the “product” of the
higher education system, ie graduates, and their contribution to innovation in the
business sector and the extent to which this is a result of the type of education they
have received.
What impact, contribution do higher education policies have on the innovative capacity
of their graduates and, thereby, on economic growth and competition?


Moderator: Professor Manfred Horvat, Vienna University of Technology

Speakers:
Mr Kees Eijkel, Director, Kennispark Twente & Innovate & Accelerate
Mr Nikolas Taillieu, student entrepreneur and founder of Layered Prints and makerbee
Dr Thomas Osburg, Director, Europe Corporate Affairs, Intel

BLOCK 4

UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - SPOTLIGHT ON …,

This session takes a fresh look at emerging trends in University-Business Cooperation. The first workshop will focus
on social innovation and social entrepreneurship; the move towards bringing social and ethical concerns into higher
education alongside entrepreneurial skills development. The second workshop will address the changing relationship
between “the university and the city”. Traditionally very closely linked – one often being at the origin of the other – the
requirements and the ecosystem of cities, regions and HEIs are reshaping this relationship.

14:30 - 16:00
WORKSHOP 4.1: SOCIAL INNOVATION AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
 An increasing number of higher education institutions are now embracing social innovation
and entrepreneurship as part of their strategy, often linked to their internationalisation policy.
Not only are institutions educating students in an intercultural and international environment,
they are also educating students to become socially responsible citizens after graduation.
Higher education institutions will be looking more at the outcome of their education: What kind
of socially and globally responsible and innovative graduates do we deliver to society?

Moderator: Dr Keith Hermann, Director of Employability, University of Surrey

Speakers:
 Mrs Ellen Shipley, UnLtd programme and Mrs Karen Race, Deputy Director Department of
Academic Enterprise Teeside University
Mr Carl-Eric Anspach and Mr Raphaël Lemmens, “éco-conseillers” at Local (cr)Eaters
Dr Ioannis Nasioulas, Scientific Director, Social Economy Institute, Thessaloniki

16:30 - 18:00
WORKSHOP 4.2: HE AND INNOVATION IN REGIONS AND CITIES
 This workshop explores the relationship between HEIs and the cities/regions in which
they operate. In many cases this is a historical and symbiotic relationship whereby
one has developed thanks to the other. In many cases, the university or HEI is a big
economic factor in the development of the city and its region. This relationship is
shifting with changing economic pressures and competition.

 Moderator: Mr Richard Tuffs, Director, ERRIN

Speakers:
Pofessor Ivan Svetlik, Rector, University of Ljubljana
 Petr Chládek, Regional Government of South Moravia, and Professor Martin Bareš, Vice-
Rector for Development of Masaryk University, Brno
Mr Jas Bains, MBE, Executive Director Accord Group, and Ms Janette Gilder, Director,
Research and External Engagement, University of Wolverhampton
DAY 2 6TH MARCH 2015

09:00 – 10:30 PLENARY SESSION

09:00 – 09:20 PRESENTATION OF CONCLUSIONS OF PARALLEL SESSIONS

Ms Rebecca Allinson, Director, Technopolis Ltd

09:20 – 10:30 PANEL DISCUSSION - UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION IN EASTERN-

PARTNERSHIP COUNTRIES
Moderator: Mr Harald Hartung, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG Education
and Culture

Ms. Maryna Saprykina, CEO, Centre of CSR Development
 Professor Iryna Zolotaryova, Head of Information Systems Department, Kharkiv
National University of Economics (University-Business Cooperation project involving
Ukraine and Moldova)

10:30 – 11:10 KEY NOTE ADDRESS “LOOKING AHEAD”

Mr Diego Pavia, Chief Executive Officer, KIC InnoEnergy
Professor Per Michael Johansen, Rector, Aalborg University

11:10 – 11:30 COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 13:00 ROUND TABLE: UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION FOR JOBS, GROWTH AND
COMPETITIVENESS
“SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE”
Moderator: Mr Paul Hofheinz, President and Executive Director, The Lisbon Council asbl

Panellists:
Professor Helen Dannetun, Vice-Chancellor of Linköping University, President of ECIU
 Mr Henrik Klitgaard, Vice-President, Research Fellow Neurosciences TA, New Medecine
Therapeutics, UCB
Ms Elisabeth Gehrke, Chairperson of the European Students’ Union
Professor Dainius Pavalkis, Minister of Education and Science, Lithuania
Mr Xavier Prats Monné, Director General, European Commission, DG Education
and Culture

Policy Outlook:
 Mr Marc Hansen, State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Grand-Duchy of
Luxemburg, (incoming EU presidency, Jul-Dec 2015)

13:00 – 14:30 LUNCH & CONFERENCE END
Appendix C - Speaker Biographies

56
 6
th University
Business
Forum
Brussels, 5-6 March 2015

SPEAKERS

DG Education
Education and
and Culture
Culture
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —

PLENARY 5th March

Chair: Mr Denis Crowley

Head of Unit, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture
Denis Crowley holds degrees from University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. He has spent his entire
career working in public service, first within the Irish administration where he worked in a range of different
Ministries responsible for Finance, Justice and Social Policy; and since 1997 within the European Commis-
sion, where he has worked in the DGs for social affairs and education and culture. He is currently Head of
Unit responsible for policy coordination in DG EAC and relations with the other EU institutions; before moving
shortly to head the unit in charge of Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, the European Institute for Innovation
and Technology and polices for innovation in education.

Mr Tibor Navracsics
Member of the European Commission in charge of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
Tibor Navracsics holds degrees in law from the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Budapest’s ELTE Uni-
versity and a PhD in political sciences. In 1999 he became an Associate professor at the Faculty of Law and
Political Sciences, ELTE. Between 1997-2000 he assumed the position of the Secretary-general of the Hun-
garian Political Science Association and he was also Head of the Department of Prime Minister’s Office until
2002. In 2003 he became Cabinet Chief to the President of the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union and between
2006-2010 he was elected as a Member of Parliament as well as a Member of the Parliamentary Committee
for Constitutional, Judicial and Procedural Affairs. He also served as Fidesz National Assembly representative
from 2006 until October 2014.

Between 2010 and 2014 He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Jus-
tice. In 2014 he also assumed the position as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In November 2014 Tibor
Navrascics became Commissioner of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport in the new Juncker Commission.

Ms Mārīte Seile
Minister of Education and Science, Latvia, EU Presidency January – June 2015
Marite Seile has a strong background both in the education and corporate sectors. She began her career as a
math teacher and deputy principal in a rural high school where she ran programs for mathematically gifted
children and launched initiatives for broadening access to high quality educational opportunities for children
from remote rural areas. Marite directed various education projects at the Soros Foundation-Latvia Transfor-
mation of Education Programme and was a co-founder and director of School Support Center, a non-govern-
mental organization dedicated to school improvement. Marite worked in the corporate sector for nine years,
as Head of Human Resources for the Maxima supermarket chain (7000 employees) and Board member and
Business Process Director for Primekss, a construction company operating in the Baltics, Scandinavia, Poland,
Israel and Belarus. Marite holds a Math degree from the University of Latvia and a Master’s of Science in
Educational and Training Systems Design from Twente University in the Netherlands.
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —
Ms Silvia Costa
Member of the European Parliament, Chair of Culture Committee
Silvia Costa is Chair of the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament. She has been
rapporteur for the European Parliament of the Creative Europe Programme 2014-2020. She has been Lazio
regional councillor responsible for education, educational rights and training (2005-2009); member of the
Italian Chamber of Deputies for three parliamentary terms; member of the Committee on internal affairs,
the Committee on culture, science and education and the Committee on general guidance and monitoring of
radio and television services (1985-1993). State secretary at the Ministry for universities, scientific research
and technology (1993-1994). She has been chair of the European advisory committee on equal opportunities
during the 1996 Italian Presidency of the EU and head of the EU delegation to the annual session of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women (1996). Co-founder of the ‘Telefono Azzurro’ NGO for missing children;
member of the board of management of the Donne in Musica Foundation (2002-2005). President of the
Academy of Fine Arts, Rome (1995-2005).
Professor David B. Audretsch
Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
David Audretsch is a Distinguished Professor and Ameritech Chair of Economic Development at Indiana Uni-
versity, where he is also serves as Director of the Institute for Development Strategies. He also is an Honorary
Professor of Industrial Economics and Entrepreneurship at the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management in
Germany and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. Audretsch’s research
has focused on the links between entrepreneurship, government policy, innovation, economic development
and global competitiveness. His books include Everything in its Place: The Strategic Management of Cities,
Regions and States with Oxford University Press in 2015 and The Handbook of Local Competitiveness, also
with Oxford University Press in 2015.
He is co-founder and co-editor of Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal. He was awarded
the 2001 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research by the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Re-
search. In 2008 he received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Augsburg, and in September,
2010 he received an honorary doctorate degree from Jonköping University. In 2011 he was awarded the
Schumpeter Prize from the University of Wuppertal.
He is a member of the Advisory Board to a number of international research and policy institutes, including
Chair of the the Deutsches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung Berlin (German Institute for Economic Analysis
Berlin), Chair of the Stifterverband fuer die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Foundation for the Promotion of German
Science), New York Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum, and the Jackstädt Centre for
Entrepreneurship in Wuppertal, Germany.
Mr Jo Lopes
Head of Technical Excellence,
Jaguar Land Rover, Chair of the UK’s Automotive Industrial Partnership for skills
José Lopes joined what became Jaguar Land Rover as a graduate in 1989. He has worked within Research
and Development in different Engineering roles, on Land Rover and Jaguar projects. As Head of Technical
Excellence, reporting to the board member for Group Engineering, he has responsibility for the development
and nurturing of engineering skills and competencies within the company. This includes developing the skills
needed to support the company’s advanced low-carbon vehicle development and research. He is also charged
with ensuring that new engineering graduates and apprentices are given the necessary skills to support fu-
ture growth.
Directly involved with a number of UK universities, José is a Governor of new University Technical College at
the University of Warwick, which is tasked to develop the Engineers for the future. He is also a Governor of a
primary school. José is chair of the Skills Work Group of UK Automotive Council and the chair of the Automo-
tive Industrial Partnership; working across the automotive sector with Government to deliver required skills
for sustainable growth. He is a Chartered Engineer, has a Master of Philosophy in Applied Physics and is a
Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology, and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
4 5
— 6 th University-Business Forum —
ROUND TABLE – “Partnerships for Jobs and Growth” –
Challenges and Opportunities
Moderator: Dan Luca
Director EurActiv Institute
Dr. Dan LUCA is presently the Director of the Brussels based EurActiv Institute. He has worked as a Europe-
an affairs professional for twenty years from which the five years in Romania and the last fifteen years in
Brussels. In 2008 he obtained a PhD in ‘International Relations and European Studies’ with a specialisation in
Communication. He gives lectures on topics related to the European Union and communication techniques at
ten European universities. He is the founder of three associations: “House of Europe” in Cluj-Napoca (Roma-
nia), the “Romania–EU” Club in Brussels and the first Romanian think tank in Brussels, GrupRomania. He is the
author of numerous books, articles and studies in relation to European Union topics. He is an active EU affairs
blogger since 2007 (see: www.casaeuropei.blogspot.com). His most recent book, “European Union: Views from
Brussels” (2013), shows his vision about EU citizens, Future EU, EU Communication, Business Management,
EU Education and Technology.
Professor Maria Helena Nazaré
President of the European University Association (EUA)
She was trained as a physicist, (Licenciatura, University of Lisbon, 1972; Doctor of Philosophy, University
of London, King’s College, 1978). She was Head of Physics’ Department twice (1978-80 and 1988-90),
Vice-President of the Scientific Council in 1990-91 and Vice-Rector, a position held until 1998. Elected twice
as Rector of the University of Aveiro, She served from January 2002 until February 2010 and was the chair
of the Portuguese Rectors’ Conference Committee for Research and Knowledge Transfer.
She participated in many EUA activities such as: the research working group (2003-09); the Institutional Eval-
uation Programme (IEP) since 2004 which gave her the opportunity to evaluate universities in many coun-
tries (Spain, Turkey, Palestine, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and Romania) and to chair the IEP steering committee in
2007-09; She chaired the 2009-10 pilot project on Energy (EPUE) and served as a EUA Board member and
Vice President 2009 - 2012.
She has also participated in OECD evaluations in Catalonia, Lombardy, Basque Country and Bulgaria and in
ENQA reviews of quality assurance agencies in Galicia and Finland. She was a Member of the Portuguese
National Education Council and Chair of its Higher Education Committee (2009 - 2013), President of the
Advisory Board of Fundação Galp Energia and President of the Portuguese Physics Society (2009 - 2013).
Presently she is the President of the European University Association since 2012, Member of the Administra-
tion Board of Portugal Telecom since 2008 and Member of Board of Trustees of Fundação Francisco Manuel
Soares dos Santos in Portugal since 2013.
Mr Jean-Francois Minster
Senior Vice President of Scientific Development, TOTAL S.A.
Jean-François Minster obtained a diploma of the Ecole Polytechnique and a Doctorate of the Institut de
Physique du Globe of Paris (French institute of geophysics). In 1981, he created the laboratory for Physics
and Chemistry of the Hydrosphere of the Institut de Physique du Globe of Paris, then the laboratory of
Oceanography and Geophysics of Toulouse which he managed from 1985 to1996. He worked on the study
of meteorites, volcanism, ocean currents the oceanic cycle of the carbon in relation with climate, and satellite
oceanography. From 1990 to 1996, he also occupied the function of Director of the Institute of the Earth
sciences of Toulouse. In 1996, he took the direction of the Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers at the
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
From 2000 to 2005, Jean-François Minster was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Institut Français
de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER). In 2005 and 2006, he was Scientific Director General
of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). He is corresponding member of the Academy of
Science and member of the Academy of the Technologies.
On October 1st, 2006, Jean-François Minster is nominated Senior Vice President, Scientific Development of
Total SA.
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —
Professor Ernst Schmachtenberg
Rector, University of Aachen; President-elect CESAER
Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ernst Schmachtenberg (born 1952) is currently rector of the RWTH Aachen University (since
08/2008). He is also President-Elect of CESAER (Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering
Education and Research, since 10/2014) and President of the IDEA League (since 01/2014).
After graduating in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University he received his PhD at the Institute
of Plastics Processing (IKV/RWTH Aachen University). From 10/85 till 12/1987 he was also Head of the”Part
Design, Materials Technology, and Fibre-Reinforced Plastics” section at the IKV. His next stations were Head
of Research & Development at Süddeutsches Kunststoff-Zentrum (SKZ) in Würzburg (01/1988-08/1990),
Head of the Polymer Processing Group und Head of the Construction Department at the Polymer Division
of Bayer AG in Leverkusen (09/1990-12/1992). From 01/1993 till 09/2001 Ernst Schmachtenberg held the
Chair of Polymer Technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Essen University and CEO of
IKM GmbH in Essen. In 10/2001 he took over the Chair of Plastics Materials Technology of the IKV at RWTH
Aachen University and from 04/2006-07/2008 the Chair of Polymer Technology at the Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Mr Javier Calderón Beltrán
Managing Director, CEOE FORMACIÓN, Chair of education and training working group, BUSINESSEUROPE
Javier Calderon Beltran has a degree in Business Management and Marketing from ESIC. Recently he have
finished a General Director Program (PDG) at IESE – Universidad de Navarra. Currently he is managing director
at the training institute of Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain. Also he is the chairman of
the Education and Training Working Group at BusinessEurope. Closely related to consulting and training, has
been, among other charges, director of business development in Formación Digital and commercial director
in Spain Company Sanroman. Between 1998 and 2005 he had different responsibilities at Coastal Training
Technologies (a Dupont Company) served as Business Manager for southern Europe (Spain, Italy and Portu-
gal), general manager at the company in Monterrey (Mexico) and sales manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia
for the Latin American market.
Mr Mário Tarouca
Treasurer - Director of Public Affairs, JADE – European Confederation of Junior Enterprises
Mário Tarouca is a 21 years old entrepreneur. He is the Director of Public Affairs for JADE - The European Con-
federation of Junior Enterprises. He works in order to make JADE visible in front of businesses, policy makers
and academia by representing and developing, through cooperation and exchange of practices, a high-quality
network of entrepreneurial students throughout Europe. Mário has been introduced to the Junior Enterprise
concept, when he was studying in the University of Coimbra, Portugal. From that moment on, he was thrilled
to put ideas into action, through the projects and services provided to other organisations.
Being always a true passionate entrepreneur, while in the high school, he co-founded his own company organ-
ising local events. Also, by the age of 19, Mário cofounded his own IT startup, in the field of telecommunica-
tion, creating a simple way to share all your contacts through an ingenious mobile application.
6 7
— 6 th University-Business Forum —
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION – ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WORKSHOP 1.1: Enhancing Entrepreneurial Teaching
Moderator: Professor Christine Volkmann
UNESCO Chair for Entrepreneurship and Intercultural Management and Jackstädt Research Center
for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Wuppertal
Christine Volkmann studied Economics at Gießen University (Germany). After having worked as a PhD re-
search associate with Deutsche Lufthansa AG, she held several leading positions at Deutsche Bank. In 1999,
Christine Volkmann was appointed Professor of Economics at the Westfälische Hochschule and managing
director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Since 2008, Christine Volkmann holds the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the
Schumpeter School of Business and Economics at Wuppertal University. She is director of the Institute for
Entrepreneurship and Innovations Research (IGIF) and executive committee member of the interdisciplinary
Jackstädt Research Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Her research and teaching activities focus on
Social Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Academic Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Leadership
and International Entrepreneurship.
She was twice awarded the “UNESCO Chair of Entrepreneurship and Intercultural Management”, 2005 at
Westfälische Hochschule and 2010 at the Wuppertal University. Among her commitments are the visiting
professorship at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Bucharest, Romania, the EFER
and the World Economic Forum for Education and Entrepreneurship.
Mr Holm Keller
Vice President of Leuphana University, Lüneburg
Holm Keller is Executive Vice President for Strategic Development and Administration at Leuphana Univer-
sity, Lueneburg, Germany. His responsibilities include the University’s 100 million Euro Innovation Incubator,
the 80 million Euro Campus Development Project with architect Daniel Libeskind, as well as organizational
partnerships with Germany’s Federal Labor Agency and the operation of Lower Saxony’s Artists Development
Program. Mr Keller also teaches in Leuphana’s freshmen program and at St. Gallen University. Prior to his
role at the Leuphana University, Mr Keller was based in Shanghai as President, Corporate Development Asia
for Bertelsmann’s DirectGroup, and in Munich and Vienna as an Associate Principal for McKinsey & Company.
Holm Keller has previously worked as a producer for several European television companies, and as an opera
dramaturge for director Robert Wilson at most major opera houses around the world. He has also worked as
a composer and a radio journalist. He studied theatre at the University of Vienna and later completed a Mas-
ter of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School. Mr Keller has published articles on architecture,
theatre, leadership and university development.
Dr Shai Vyakarnam
University of Cambridge, founder of the Center for Entrepreneurial Learning
Dr Vyakarnam worked in industry for several years before completing his MBA and PhD at Cranfield. He has
combined academic, practitioner and policy interests to provide advice to governments and on the devel-
opment of entrepreneurial ecosystems, technology commercialisation and entrepreneurship education. He
has mentored entrepreneurs and held non-executive directorships of small firms in addition to developing
growth programmes for SMEs over several years. From 2003 to 2015 he focused on the development of
practitioner-led education for entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, Centre
for Entrepreneurial Learning.
Dr Vyakarnam is presently Co-Founder and Director of AcceleratorIndia. He is Chaiman of KisanHub and on
the Advisory Board of Smart Vineyards, both in the agritech sector.
Dr. Vyakarnam is Trustee of The GEN Initiative. He is Senior Member of Darwin College and Resident Senior
Member of Wolfson College.
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —
Ms Tanja Verho
CEO Kolmas Persoona
Ms. Tanja Verho is a doer and a dreamer from Kolmas Persoona Oy, which is a service design agency from
Finland. She works as a senior service designer and is passionate about learning, coaching and developing
services with customers. Kolmas Persoona is on a mission to re-design Finland. They’re aiming to secure the
country’s position as one of the best places to live – also in the future. The big vision inspires Tanja and her
colleagues to work in several fields, eg. education, well-being and media. Tanja Verho is one of the three
owners of Kolmas Persoona. She is also a co-owner in Sivupersoona Oy, which provides interpreting services
for the deaf, deaf-blinds, hard of hearing and people with other communication disabilities.
Tanja is an MBA, a qualified sign language interpreter and an active alumna in Tampere University of Applied
Sciences. On her personal journey of continuous development, this open-minded lady is fueled by tasty food
and inspiring laugh-filled moments. She challenges us to always keep in mind the famous proverb: “The eyes
are useless when the mind is blind.”
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION – ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WORKSHOP 1.2: University Leadership for Entrepreneurship
Moderator: David B. Audretsch
Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
David Audretsch is a Distinguished Professor and Ameritech Chair of Economic Development at Indiana Uni-
versity, where he is also serves as Director of the Institute for Development Strategies. He also is an Honorary
Professor of Industrial Economics and Entrepreneurship at the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management in
Germany and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. Audretsch’s research
has focused on the links between entrepreneurship, government policy, innovation, economic development
and global competitiveness. His books include Everything in its Place: The Strategic Management of Cities,
Regions and States with Oxford University Press in 2015 and The Handbook of Local Competitiveness, also
with Oxford University Press in 2015.
He is co-founder and co-editor of Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal. He was awarded
the 2001 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research by the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Re-
search. In 2008 he received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Augsburg, and in September,
2010 he received an honorary doctorate degree from Jonköping University. In 2011 he was awarded the
Schumpeter Prize from the University of Wuppertal.
He is a member of the Advisory Board to a number of international research and policy institutes, including
Chair of the the Deutsches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung Berlin (German Institute for Economic Analysis
Berlin), Chair of the Stifterverband fuer die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Foundation for the Promotion of German
Science), New York Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum, and the Jackstädt Centre for
Entrepreneurship in Wuppertal, Germany.
Ms Ann Horan
CEO, DCU Ryan academy
Ann Horan recently retired from her most recent role as Chief Executive of the DCU Ryan Academy. The Acad-
emy is a partnership between Dublin City University and the family of the late Tony Ryan, founder of Ryanair.
The Ryan Academy’s aim is to promote entrepreneurs and innovation in Ireland and they run a number of
programmes designed to support individual entrepreneurs and new entrepreneurial ventures. This role was a
new departure for Ann, who spent most of her career in banking. In 2005, Ann left her then role as Managing
Director of Bank of Ireland Finance to “do something different”.
Ann is an accountant with a Masters in Finance from DCU. Ann’s past roles and directorships included Vice
President of the Institute of Bankers, member of the DCU Educational Trust and Governing Authority and im-
mediate past President of the International Women’s Forum – Ireland. She is currently a Director of the Health
Products Regulatory Authority and Deputy President of the South Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
8 9
— 6 th University-Business Forum —
Professor Asta Pundziene
KTU Vice Rector for Research
Asta Pundziene is Vice-Rector for Research and Professor at Kaunas University of Technology. Asta gained her
doctorate in Social Sciences (organizational psychology) at Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Since 1997, she has developed her academic competence at Amsterdam Free University, The Netherlands;
Uppsala University, Sweden; Heidelberg University, Germany and Sheffield University, UK; Harvard Business
School, USA; Stanford Technology Ventures Program, USA, etc. She began her career at Vytautas Magnus
University in 1993 as Administrator of the Pedagogical studies programmes becoming Project Manager in
the Centre for Vocational Education and Research at the same university in 1996. From 1999 to 2003 she
was Vice-Director of the Centre for Vocational Education and Research at Vytautas Magnus University and
from 2003 till 2004, National Seconded Expert (END) at the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Turin, Italy.
2004 – 2011 she was employed by ISM University of Management and Economics as program Director and
later as Dean of the Research and Doctoral studies.
In 2005 Asta Pundziene became an Editor of the Baltic Journal of Management http://www.emeraldinsight.
com/bjm.htm. She has published more than 25 research papers and participated in a number of international
and national research and development projects. Her area of interest covers change management including
reform of Higher Education system, entrepreneurship and strategic management.
Mr Emanuel von Bodman
Senior Project Manager, F.A.Z. Media Group / FRANKFURT BUSINESS MEDIA, Frankfurt a.M.
Emanuel von Bodman is Senior Project Manager at FRANKFURT BUSINESS MEDIA GmbH (FBM) in Frankfurt /
Germany. FBM is a 100% subsidiary of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH; it is the cross-media specialist
publisher of F.A.Z. Group in the fields of Economy and Finance. His field of activity in FBM within the division
Company / Events lies at the interface of the communities Information/Communication Technologies (ICT) and
Start-up/Entrepreneurship. He is responsible for the strategic management of the innovation forum “IT Trans-
fer (Kompass)” and works on programs like “Gründerflirt” and “Gründen-Fördern-Wachsen”. He further guides
co-operations with external partners in business and politics, and supports the development and extension of
formats and projects in the field of ICT and Start-up/Entrepreneurship.
Prior to his work at FBM, Emanuel von Bodman was involved in the conceptional design and realization of
the initiative “Germany - Land of Ideas” and worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Deutsche
Bank AG.
Professor Janos Vecsenyi
Executive Director, European Forum for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER)
During his carrier Professor Vecsenyi has been teaching at Corvinus University since 1978 and at the Bu-
dapest University of Technology And Economics from 2011. His major courses include Entrepreneurship,
Starting and managing new ventures, Launching innovative new ventures. He served as program director and
professor of the first MBA program in Hungary at the International Manager Center, now CEU Business School.
He was a visiting professor at University of Tulsa (USA), at INSEAD (France) and lectured among others at Har-
vard Business School, UCLA, UT Austin, Dallas, Tulane, University of Melbourne, London School of Economics,
Czech Management Center (Prague), VNIISI, Moscow, Erasmus University (Rotterdam). Mr. Vecsenyi extensive-
ly consulted major Hungarian firms. Up to 2010 he was working as Learning and Development Leader at GE
Capital, Budapest Bank more than a decade.
Professor Vecsenyi is a graduate of Budapest Technical University where he earned his degrees in mechan-
ical and industrial engineering. He also holds a Ph. D from Budapest University of Economic Sciences, now
Corvinus University. Dr. Vecsenyi recently published three books on entrepreneurship: Starting and manag-
ing new ventures (2009, 2011, 2013); Entrepreneurship. From an idea to restarting (2002); Entrepreneurial
organizations and strategies (1999). Professor Vecsenyi developed an online start-up support tool: www.
startmybusiness123.com.
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - PROMOTING CHANGE AND IMPACT
WORKSHOP 2.1: HEInnovate and Institutional Change
Moderator: Professor Paul Hannon
Director of LEAD Wales and Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership, Swansea University
Paul is a graduate entrepreneur who has shaped enterprise and entrepreneurship education, small business
support and development in the UK and overseas during the past 40 years as a CEO, Government Adviser, Di-
rector/Head of an Academic Unit, Professor and Company founder/owner. Paul offers a unique expertise drawn
from his experiences and roles in three key stakeholder environments relating to enterprise and entrepreneur-
ship: academia; business and enterprise support; local and national government. Paul is driven to enhancing
the opportunities for enterprise and entrepreneurship within the context of education and has consistently
demonstrated his capacity to tackle challenges and exploit new opportunities; shape ways of thinking; and
deliver effective solutions in challenging environments.
Paul has worked with governments, global and national agencies, universities and colleges, business and
industry partners and professional bodies in the UK, across Europe, in China, Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia,
India, Australia and America. Paul is a graduate of Swansea University.
Mr Flemming Bridal Rasmussen
Director, Strategy & Human Resources, VIA University College
I’m committed to the creation and facilitation of strategy development and change processes that optimize
the use of human resources and strengthen organizational learning and performance. I have proven leader-
ship skills involving managing, developing and motivating teams to achieve their objectives. My experience
includes projects covering strategy and leadership development, organizational change and development and
capacity building in regard to performance management, monitoring and evaluation.
Mr Patrick O’Donnell
Team Member, Technical University of Dublin
Pat O’Donnell, a Chartered Engineer with over ten years of project-management experience on large infra-
structural rail projects, was a founding academic staff member of the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) in
1992. During ten years as a lecturer, he led a series of substantial R&D projects involving industrial partners
with significant commercial success. As Industrial Liaison Manager of ITT throughout the 2000’s he led strong
growth in applied research activity and the development of the highly successful Synergy Business Incubation
Centre on campus, along with the Synergy suite of enterprise development programmes.
As Head of the School of Engineering from March 2011, he played a role in the development of the TU4Dublin
initiative - the proposed merger in September 2015 of ITT with two other Dublin HEIs - Dublin Institute of
Technology and Institute of Technology Blanchardstown – with a view to seek designation as one of the first
Technological Universities in Ireland. Since February 2014, he has led on two Foundation Themes for the new
institution – entitled “Dublin’s Globally Engaged University” and “The Enterprising University” – with the aim
of creating an engaged, internationalised and entrepreneurial technological university.
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Mr Rui Coutinho
Entrepreneurship Coordinator, Porto Design Factory Firestarter and Manager
Rui Adérito Coutinho is a strategist, consultant, lecturer, researcher, mentor and entrepreneur from Portugal.
He was born in 1977 an has a degree in International Relations from the University Lusíada of Porto and the
title of Specialist in the Area of Organizational Communication at Porto Polytechnic. He is a PhD researcher
at Universidade do Minho (Portugal) in the area of Strategic Communication. Rui is Senior Advisor to the
President of Porto Polytechnic in the areas of entrepreneurship and communication, responsible for coordi-
nating the IPP Entrepreneur 2020 programme and managing Porto Design Factory.
He is an Invited Lecturer of Corporate Communication at the Institute of Accounting and Administration of
Porto Polytechnic and an Invited Lecturer of Communication and Marketing at the School of Industrial Studies
and Management of Porto Polytechnic. He is also an Invited Lecturer of Customer Development and Value
Proposition at the Estonia Business School. He has mentored start-ups across Europe, and he is a member of
Campus Tel-Aviv and the National Network of Mentors in Portugal.
Mr Carlos Ramos
Vice-President of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto
Carlos Ramos got his “licenciatura” (BSc + 2 years) from the University of Porto, Portugal, in 1986 and his
PhD from the same university in 1993. In 2001 he was awarded the “agregação” (academic career maturity
top level).
Between 1986 and 1993 Carlos Ramos was Assistant at the University of Porto and worked in the area of
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (Computer Vision, Robot Programming, AI Planning, Multi-Agent Systems).
Following his PhD in 1993, Carlos Ramos joined the Institute of Engineering – Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP-IPP),
as Coordinating Professor. He was Director of GECAD ( “Grupo de Investigação em Engenharia do Conheci-
mento e Apoio à Decisão” - Knowledge Engineering and Decision Support Research Center). He currently co-
ordinates the Intelligent Systems division of GECAD, and is a member of the Portuguese IEEE Computational
Intelligence Society (CIS) chapter since its creation in 2005.
In March 2010 Carlos Ramos was appointed as Vice-President of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto. He is
responsible for the R&D, Innovation and Internationalisation areas.
He was appointed by the Portuguese Republic Assembly to coordinate the part of the Science Report dedi-
cated to Research in the Polytechnic System. He was also responsible for the creation of e-IPP, the Centre for
e-Learning of the Polytechnic of Porto.
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - PROMOTING CHANGE AND IMPACT
WORKSHOP 2.2: Educating Talents – Recruiting Talents:
are HEIs and Companies in Sync?
Moderator: Ben Butters
Director EUROCHAMBERS
Ben Butters has been the EU Affairs Director for EUROCHAMBRES, the European association of Chambers of
Commerce and Industry, since 2008. As such, he covers a wide range of policy issues at EU level that are
of relevance to Chambers and the European business community, including education & training, finance,
energy, the internal market, enterprise and regulatory reform. Ben has degrees in Business and in European
Politics. He worked in international publishing before moving to Brussels, where he subsequently gained
experience in the European Commission, the European Parliament and as a project manager for a European
innovation network. Immediately prior to joining EUROCHAMBRES, Ben was the founding director of a compa-
ny delivering EU advocacy services to UK business organisations.
11
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —
Mr Ketan Makwana
CEO and Lead Disruptor, Enterprise Lab
Ketan Makwana is a renowned international speaker and serial entrepreneur who has started, scaled and sold
multiple businesses. In a response to the emerging skills gap between education to employment and enter-
prise Ketan launched Enterprise Lab in 2011 which is now operating in 11 countries training 100,000 people
a year. In 2012 Ketan founded and delivered Youth Enterprise Live backed by the Prime Minister and the UK’s
largest event focussed on Education, Employment and Enterprise for 15-30 year olds… leading on from this
took a position as Special Advisor to the Prime Minster on Youth Policy. Ketan is the Head of Operations at
Rockstar Startup & Rockstar Hubs UK’s leading funding and mentoring organisation that has delivered mil-
lions in funding and supported over 3000 start up businesses in the UK. Ketan is an advisor to UK Government
on youth and enterprise policies, works with International Governments & Ministries on Enterprise Eco-System
Development and sits on many advisory boards and panels… further work includes ambassador for UKTI and
Foreign & Commonwealth Offices related to Enterprise development in countries across the globe.
Mr Georgi Vasilev
HR Business Partner, Vodafone Germany
Global HR Business Partner with over 15 years of international experience at both strategic and operational
level. Studied business administration and holds a MSc Degree in Organisational Development. First experi-
ence was in commercial role in shoe & leather trading for a German company based out of Sofia, Bulgaria
(1997-2001). In 2001 relocated to Bonn, Germany, to take up a role with the Federal Employment Services
Agency with focus on IT specialists coming to German labour market. In 2002 joined Vodafone Group and
worked across corporate head office in UK and Germany in the fields of Learning and Management Develop-
ment and HR Business Partnering for business units of more than 700 staff across more than 20 countries. In
2009 relocated to Luxembourg to Vodafone Procurement Company to lead the development and implemen-
tation of a people strategy to enable ramp-up business plan, and attract, develop and retain top talent in a
greenfield environment. Since 2012 HR Business Partner for over 1800 employees across different commer-
cial and sales functions at Vodafone Germany.
Ms Mia Deubner
Senior-HR Consultant., WU ZBP Career Centers, Career, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
Mia Deubner developed an interest for the field of Human Resources during her studies of International Busi-
ness at the University of Vienna. She accumulated seven years of work experience in recruiting and human
resources development upon graduation, e.g. at an Austrian publishing house and at an international consult-
ing company. Her wide range of knowledge covers topics from personnel marketing to labour legislation. She
completed extra occupational training in labour legislation, coaching and trainer education. Since April 2011
Mia Deubner has been working as an HR-Consultant at the WU ZBP Career Center. The ZBP serves as an inter-
face between universities of economic sciences and the labour market. In her role as an HR-Consultant Mia
Deubner supports students, graduates and young professionals during their application process and provides
recruiting services to companies.
Mr Martin Grau
Head of Resourcing, Česká spořitelna, a.s
Martin Grau is leading recruitment team of Česká spořitelna financial group - Česká spořitelna is the market
leading Czech bank with 190 years of history, currently employing 10.000 employees. Martin started his
career in Trainee program of UniCredit Bank and spent first years of his career in retail banking sales area,
where he was working as a personal banker, retail sales specialist and retail sales support manger. After
this experience he joined Česká spořitelna to start next stage of his career in HR. Initially he was responsible
for L&D support team, than he was focusing on HR projects management and methodology. One of these
assignments was to work on reshaping of recruitment function in Česká spořitelna, and after creation of a
new concept of recruitment he was asked to lead and transform the recruitment process as a head of recruit-
ment. Currently Martin is working on implementation of strategical way of “in-house” talent acquisition, fully
leveraging on new trends and technologies. Part of his current duties is to develop employer brand and EVP
focused on various segments of professionals and graduates.
12
— 6 th University-Business Forum —
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - PEOPLE AND INNOVATION
WORKSHOP 3.1: Innovative Pedagogies and Learning Experiences
Moderator: Mr Mikkel Trym
Climate-KIC, Education
Mikkel Trym is the Business Developer for Climate-KIC education. Climate-KIC is part of the EIT (European In-
stitute of Innovation and Technology) whose mission is to increase sustainable growth. Climate-KIC integrates
education, entrepreneurship and innovation resulting in connected, creative transformation of knowledge and
ideas into economically viable products and services that help to mitigate climate change. Climate-KIC has
established the first Education Programme with the aim of creating the next generation of climate-change
entrepreneurs from master’s to PhD and executive levels.
Mikkel plays here a key role in developing Climate-KIC educational activities, initiating the development of novel
educational services/products including the Climate-KIC Business School and Online Education. Previously, Mik-
kel Trym was the co-founder and managing director of Copenhagen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab (CIEL).
CIEL is a novel ‘entrepreneurial university’ alliance between the three major universities in the Copenhagen area;
University of Copenhagen (UCPH), the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Copenhagen Business School
(CBS). The CIEL alliance demonstrates a new model for collaboration combining the perspectives of each of the
three universities to produce unique solutions with substantial societal impacts.
In particular, this is relevant in I&E-educations in which CIEL works across educational disciplines, with industrial
partners to find solutions to complex challenges.
This cross-disciplinary approach is highly motivating for both students and researchers and produces new and
often surprising solutions for industry and society at large. Overall, CIEL has proven an efficient model for creat-
ing high-level sustainable and embedded initiatives across department that effectually are fostering an entre-
preneurial skill- and mindset among students and staff. For more information: www.ciel-lab.dk. In 2007 Mikkel
co-funded Katapult student incubator at Copenhagen University (www.katapult.ku.dk), and in 2009 he played a
key role in founding and developing the NextGEN project (www.nxtgen.dk/en/).
Mikkel holds a MSc. in facilitation processes from Edinburgh University, and a MSc. in Rural Development from
Copenhagen University. Mikkel has also completed the executive NCEE Entrepreneurial University Leaders Pro-
gramme, at Oxford University.
Mr Ville Kairamo
Co-Founder and Head of Demola
Ville Kairamo is Co-founder and Head of Demola Network. Demola is an award-winning co-creation platform
for talented students, businesses and universities and currently Demola operates in Finland, Sweden, Hunga-
ry, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Spain, Russia and Mexico. Previously he has been developing national start-up
programmes and regional innovation factories in Finland. Ville also received the Baltic Sea Region Innovation
award in 2012 and the Nokia Foundation award in 2013 for achievements in facilitating university, industry
and regional innovation cooperation around Europe.
Professor Andrew Penaluna
Research Director Centre of Creative Entrepreneurship, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
A former designer and educator with over 35 years teaching experience, Andy Penaluna is Director of the
International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship at University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Andy conceptualized and chaired the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency’s Graduate Enterprise and Entrepreneur-
ship Group, putting together unique expert guidance for the UK University sector. This has been recently been
applauded as ‘standing out’ by the European Commission’s Thematic Working Group on Entrepreneurship
Education. As an expert at the United Nations in Geneva, he has also contributed to an international policy
toolkit and supervised ‘for innovation’ curriculum development for 36 developing countries. Andy also led
teaching and learning modalities for 8 countries in South East Europe (SEECEL), and led debates at the OECD
(OECD360) on developing entrepreneurial schools and colleges. In October 2014 the UK sector skills organ-
ization responsible for small business mentoring ‘SFEDI’ awarded Andy their prestigious enterprise educator
award in the House of Lords at Westminster. Andy attributes the success of his work to one important prem-
ise, that of continually listening to his past students - so as to ensure ‘fit for purpose’ education.
13
 — 6 th University-Business Forum —
Dr Ivar Björkman
Executive Director, OpenLab Stockholm
Openlab is a creative centre that provides opportunities for finding solutions to challenges in society. In co-
operation with our partners and other actors, we create proposals for innovative solutions for the Stockholm
region. We do this across the lines between different disciplines and professions.The partners are the City of
Stockholm, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm County Administrative Board, Karolinska Institutet, Stock-
holm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Södertörn University. They have joined forces within
OPENLAB to help place Stockholm at the forefront of knowledge development to find solutions to meet the
challenges of the growing and sustainable city.
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - PEOPLE AND INNOVATION
WORKSHOP 3.2: The Contribution of HE to Innovation
Moderator: Professor Manfred Horvat
Vienna University of Technology
Manfred Horvat, born in 1941 in Vienna, is independent expert for international research and technology
policies, programmes and instruments and their evaluation and impact assessment. He is honorary professor
at Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), and Senior Advisor of CESAER, the Conference of European
Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research since 2008. As first director for International
Research and Technology Cooperation of BIT and in the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), Austria,
Manfred Horvat was responsible for the operational implementation of the EU Framework Programme in
Austria from 1993 to 2006. Since the beginning of 1990s, he has been member of several programme com-
mittees for European education and RTD programmes and acted as expert for STI policies and programmes
advising governments and international bodies.
He served as member and chairman of many expert panels appointed by the European Commission for the
evaluation and impact assessment of EU programmes and instruments e.g. for the “ERA-NET Evaluation”, the
“FP7 COST Mid-term Evaluation” and “The Future of Networks of Excellence”. he provided also advice for the
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Currently he chairs the Horizon 2020 Advisory Group for International Cooperation and is member of the
Advisory Groups for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and for Spreading of Excellence and Widening Par-
ticipation. For more information, see: http://www.manfredhorvat.at/
Mr Kees Eijkel
Director, Kennispark Twente & Innovate & Accelerate
Kees Eijkel is president of Kennispark Twente, the ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation in and
around the University of Twente and Saxion University, in cooperation with the province of Overijssel, the
Twente Region and the city of Enschede. As managing director of the University Holding, Kees manages the
university’s participations. He has actively supported many new start-up firms. He holds a number of execu-
tive and non-executive positions in foundations and companies involved in innovation.
He is board member and past president of the international foundation for commercialization of emerging
technologies MANCEF. Before Kennispark, Kees was technical-commercial director of the MESA+ Institute for
Nanotechnology. He holds an M.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Amsterdam and a Ph.D. in Technical
Sciences from the University of Twente.
14
— 6 th University-Business Forum —
Mr Nikolas Tailleu
Student entrepreneur and founder of Layered Prints and makerbee
My name is Nikolas Taillieu and I was born in Bruges, Belgium on January 3rd, 1990. After completing my high
school studies in which I majored in Ancient Greek and Math, I chose to continue my studies at Ghent Uni-
versity. Later this year, I will graduate as a Master of Science in Computer Sciences with a major in Software
Engineering. One of the courses in my curriculum was called ‘Software Architecture’, in which I proposed to
develop my own piece of software: a website where people could buy 3D printable objects. I was granted that
right and over the course of a year, we iterated over several prototypes. With my team, I also participated in
the ING Start Academy, a nationwide competition for young entrepreneurs in which we took home the prize
for ‘Most Innovative Idea’ and ended up as second-runner up in the general competition. Meanwhile, Ghent
University also officially granted me the status of ‘student-entrepreneur’. After participating in another en-
trepreneurial course, called ‘Dare to Start’ – we remodelled our idea and took it to an incubator (iMinds). One
round of funding later, I have officially established Layered Prints Comm. V. Our company develops software
for the 3D printing industry and hosts workshops and lectures about 3D printing.
Dr Thomas Osburg
Director, Europe Corporate Affairs, Intel
Dr. Thomas H. Osburg is Director Europe Corporate Affairs and Innovation at Intel Corp. He is responsible for
the strategic planning, management and communication of all Social Innovation and CSR programs across
Europe. Thomas is on the Board of Directors for CSR Europe and ABIS (Academy of Business in Society); he
was appointed into the Scientific MBA Committee at the University of Geneva and co-leads the Academic
Board for Executive Education “Innovation Management” at the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI).  Prior
to working for Intel, Thomas was Director Education at Texas Instruments for the Pacific Markets and thus
managing the expansion of CSR and Educational programs into China, South East Asia, Australia and South
America. He held several Management positions in the areas of International Management and Marketing
at Texas Instruments and Autodesk, living in France, the U.S. and Germany. Thomas holds a Ph.D. (Dr.rer.pol.)
degree in Marketing, Business Administration and Economics from the University of Hannover (Germany).
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - SPOTLIGHT ON….
WORKSHOP 4.1: Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship
Moderator: Dr Keith Hermann
Director of Employability, University of Surrey
Keith Herrmann is Director of Employability at the University of Surrey which is ranked 6th in the UK on the
2015 Guardian University League Table. At Surrey he is responsible for leading on employability, careers and
the university’s renowned student placement programme. Prior to joining Surrey he was Director at Higher
Ed Research, an independent research consultancy specialising in higher education. Keith was previously
Deputy Chief Executive at the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) where he was involved in
research on entrepreneurship education, leadership in higher education, innovation policy, university-business
collaboration, employability, career guidance and STEM education. Keith worked previously at Durham Uni-
versity Business School as Director of Programmes for Small Enterprise Development where he specialised in
entrepreneurship education, economic policy research, management development, leadership and knowledge
transfer programmes with business. He has also worked internationally on the impact of regulation and
government policy on business.
Keith is passionate about education, and pro bono convenes the Careers Alliance, a strategic leadership net-
work of 25 national organisations with an interest in career guidance, including employer bodies, trade unions
and education and skills organisations.
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Ms Ellen Shipley
UnLtd programme
Ellen Shipley has worked in social entrepreneurship for 9 years, following a career as a Lecturer in Further
Education. Ellen is currently a Partnership and Support Manager with UnLtd, (The Foundation for Social Entre-
preneurs). As part of the Social Entrepreneurship in Education (SEE Change) Team, they have provided support
to 59 Universities across England; embedding a culture of social entrepreneurship within these institutes, and
developing an eco-system of support for University students, staff and graduates. Work has progressed to the
development of Clusters, comprising Universities; Colleges, support agencies and Local Enterprise Partner-
ships (LEPs), in a quest to widen the eco-system of support beyond these Institutes. Innovation Partnerships
are being piloted, as well as capacity building of a number of Universities to support high potential social
entrepreneurs to scale and grow. Ellen is leading on two initiatives; the development of a Knowledge and
Learning Network and a Graduate Programme. International interest for the Team’s work in education has
also led her to Thailand and Canada this year, providing training, development and consultancy.
Ms Karen Race
Deputy Director Department of Academic Enterprise Teeside University
Karen Race, Deputy Director of Academic Enterprise at Teesside University, has worked at the university-busi-
ness interface for some 14 years. She has designed, won funding for and implemented a wide range of
project activity and also been responsible for setting up the business engagement infrastructure at Teesside.
She has been driving forward the University’s social enterprise strategy for 4 years and taken it from strength
to strength. Teesside University now has a community of staff and students who are aware and enthusias-
tic about social enterprise, a track record of starting social enterprises and relationships with key national
organisations such as UnLtd. Karen will talk about how this has been achieved and reflect on the differences
between engaging students into enterprise per se and social enterprise and on the implications for their em-
ployability. Karen is a member of the Institute of Economic Development, reflecting her career prior to joining
the HE sector.
Mr Carl-Eric Anspach
“éco-conseillers” at Local (cr)Eaters
Carl-Eric Anspach graduated from The Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux as a
bioengineer. He worked as business development manager in the food and commodities industry before be-
coming an “éco-conseiller” in 2014.
What is an “éco-conseiller”? It’s a kind of environmental/sustainable development adviser (he’s not an expert
in a specific area but has worked with a network of experts). He can address all environmental themes (sus-
tainable food, waste, energy, biodiversity green-building...). He operates as a kind of coach; an adviser who
implements change strategies in organizations (private business, public sector and institutions, municipalities,
associations, NGOs...). He works to promote a sustainable society with democratic and participative govern-
ance as a principle.
Mr Raphaël Lemmens
“éco-conseillers” at Local (cr)Eaters
Raphael Lemmens graduated from the Haute Ecole Galilée in Brussels, in Communication and Adverstising.
He worked for 3 years as a marketing assistant before becoming an «éco-conseiller».
What is an «éco-conseiller»? It’s a kind of environmental/sustainable development adviser (he’s not an ex-
pert in a specific area but has worked with a network of experts). He can address all environmental themes
(sustainable food, waste, energy, biodiversity green-building...). He operates as a kind of coach; an adviser
who implements change strategies in organizations (private business, public sector and institutions, munici-
palities, associations, NGOs...). He works to promote a sustainable society with democratic and participative
governance as a principle.
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— 6 th University-Business Forum —
Dr Ioannis Nasioulas
Scientific Director, Social Economy Institute, Thessaloniki
Ioannis Nasioulas is Scientific Director of the Social Economy Institute in Thessaloniki, GREECE. He is Doctor
of Sociology at the University of the Aegean, under Scholarship of the Propondis Charitable Foundation,
with research focus on Social Economy, Social Enterprises and Impact Measurement of Social Investments.
He is member of the European Policy Strategy Centre (EPSC) Visitor’s Programme expert group; member of
the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES) and Sub Group on “Social
Impact Measurement”, forming part of the “Social Business Initiative” for the development of Social Economy
and Social Enterprises in the EU. Ioannis Nasioulas is also Expert to DG “Enlargement” TAIEX, facilitating the
transfer of the aquis communautaire to EU candidate and connected countries. He is Evaluator for research
and development projects funded by the European Union’s “HORIZON 2020” programme and by international
public and private authorities.
UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION - SPOTLIGHT ON….
WORKSHOP 4.2: HE and Innovation in Regions and Cities
Moderator: Mr Richard Tuffs
Director, European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN)
Richard Tuffs has been director of the ERRIN network since October 2010. ERRIN is a Brussels-based platform
of regions that promotes the regional dimension of the European research and innovation agenda. ERRIN
supports European project and raising the profile of its member regions in Brussels. Following a university
career, Richard has been working in the regional dimension of European policy in territorial cohesion and
research for many years and worked for the Kent and the West Midlands offices in Brussels before joining
ERRIN. Richard has been in involved in numerous EU projects such as science cities and communication,
Future Internet, Smart Specialisation, smart cities and eco-innovation. He is a member of the Smart Spe-
cialisation Mirror Group established by the European Commission and was the rapporteur for the European
Commission expert group on the Capital of Innovation prize launched in 2013. Richard is also on the European
Commission’s External Advisory Group for Science With and For Society. He is often invited to moderate and
present at conferences on European research and innovation topics. Richard has a degree in geography and
social sciences and master’s degrees in town planning, applied linguistics and business administration. His
career spans town planning, applied linguistics, language and management training, university lecturing and
research and education administration.
Pofessor Ivan Svetlik
Rector, University of Ljubljana
Ivan Svetlik, born 1950, is Rector and professor of Human Resources and Social Policy at Ljubljana University,
Slovenia. He was vice rector of the University of Ljubljana (2005-2008), minister of labour, family and social
affairs of Slovenia (2008-2012) and was a member of the editorial committee of the European Journal on
Vocational Training edited by CEDEFOP. He has been involved in the country’s labour market, social security,
education and training reforms and in consulting in these fields in the Balkan countries and in HRM in com-
panies. His main research topics and interests are: work, employment, education, human resources, social
security, quality of life. He has co-operated in international networks and institutions, such as ITF, CEDEFOP
and CRANET network on human resource management research. He published over 400 articles, book chap-
ters and books.
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Petr Chládek
Regional Government of South Moravia
Petr Chládek graduated from biology and geography with specialisation of regional innovation systems
(Charles University in Prague, CZ). He has got nine years of professional experience in the regional innovation
policy field. He participated on facilitation of a bioinformatics cluster, acted as a country correspondent of
Erawatch project, last seven years he has been responsible for managing  Regional Innovation Strategy for
South Moravia. He has also participated on several international research projects e.g.: “Constructing Region-
al Advantage: Towards State- Of-The-Art Regional Innovation System Policies In Europe“, “Identification of
Spatially Relevant Aspects of the Information Society” or „International Comparison of Urban Technology and
Innovation Policies“.
Professor Martin Bareš
MD, Ph.D., deputy rector and vice-rector for development at Masaryk University, Brno
At Masaryk University, he is responsible for strategic projects funded from ERDF, technology transfer and
cooperation with regional government. Professional background: consultant in neurology (since 1999), move-
ment disorders specialist, clinical neurophysiologist. Since 2009 full professor of neurology at the 1st De-
partment of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University in Brno. Principal investigator at Central
European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) at Masaryk University (since 2011). His research is focused on
movement disorders, including Parkinson´s disease, dystonia, essential tremor and spasticity. Martin Bareš
is an active member of several societies (Chair of the Czech Movement Disorders Society; Member of Exec-
utive Committee of the Czech Society for Clinical Neurophysiology; Member of the editorial board of Clinical
Neurophysiology Journal, Society for Neuroscience, Movement Disorders Society, Society for the Research on
the Cerebellum.
Mr Jas Bains
MBE, Executive Director Accord Group
Jas Bains is Chief Executive of Ashrammoseley and in 2011 was awarded an MBE for his outstanding services
to housing and community cohesion. Under Jas’s stewardship, Ashrammoseley has successfully configured
from a specialist BME housing provider, to a mainstream community cohesion catalyst within housing and
neighbourhood development, which has won three national awards. Jas is the Accord Group lead for so-
cio-economic regeneration overseeing work to create jobs, skills and enterprise for local communities. He
was previously a Board Member of Advantage West Midlands and is currently a committee member of two
nationally influential social research organisations - Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Centre for Social
Justice. Jas also co-founded socialbreakfast.org in 2009.
Ms Janette Gilder
Director, Research and External Engagement, University of Wolverhampton
Jan has worked in the University since 2003. In this time she has used her business development experience
to ensure the University opportunity is made available to support regeneration and economic growth. Jan
has experience of working in partnership with private and public sector organisations and between 2003 and
2010 instigated the development and delivery (to closure) of £50M worth of University projects to improve
the competitiveness of local business courtesy the European Union. The University of Wolverhampton is proud
of its achievements within the region taking advantage of Jan’s position to lead on Black Country Smart
Specialisation plans and, regional Innovation policy associated with European Structural Funds in conjunction
with Local Enterprise Partnerships.
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PLENARY 6th March
Ms Rebecca Allinson
Director, Technopolis Ltd
Rebecca Allinson is a Director at Technopolis and is responsible for projects/work in the field of European and
UK public policy, specifically related to the Higher Education, Research, Information Society and Enterprise
Policy This includes research, project management and evaluation. Rebecca has both evaluated and taught
evaluation theory and practice. Rebecca is also the Principal of the group-wide thematic area of higher ed-
ucation in Technopolis. Rebecca’s work in the last few years has concentrated on issues of Higher Education
reforms and the interplay between education, research and innovation.  
PANEL DISCUSSION - University-Business Cooperation
in Easternpartnership countries
Moderator: Mr Harald Hartung
Head of Unit, European Commission, DG Education and Cuture
At the European Commission in DG for Education and Culture, Mr Hartung has held management positions
as head of unit in the fields of international co-operation and programmes, the Jean Monnet programme,
multilingualism, culture, citizenship and new technologies in the audiovisual sector.
From 1996 to 1999 he worked as Counsellor for industrial affairs at the Permanent Representation of Austria
to the EU. From 1994 to 1996 he was a national expert at the European Commission in DG XXIII in charge of
the Euro Info Centres for Small and Medium-Sized Companies in the EFTA countries and Germany. From 1992
to 1994 he co-ordinated the free movement of goods on the EFTA EEA part in the EFTA secretariat. 1988 he
set up the representation of the Federation of Austrian Industrialists to the European Employers organisation
UNICE and to the EU institutions. He headed this office until 1992. Mr Hartung started his professional carrier
in 1986 as an expert in the department of international trade and international monetary policy at the Fed-
eration of Austrian Industrialists in Vienna. For over 12 years, he regularly contributed to the biggest Austrian
monthly economic magazine “Gewinn” as “our man in Brussels”.
Mr Hartung holds a master degree in history from the University of Vienna and a post graduate diploma in
International Law and International Economics from the Law faculty of the University of Vienna.
Ms Maryna Saprykina
CEO, Centre of CSR Development
Maryna has been CEO for CSR Ukraine for 5 years. CSR Ukraine, a national partner of CSR Europe, is a
non-governmental organization with 40 companies-members. The organization activity focuses on 4 key
topics including education (others are CSR in conflict times, CSR in public agencies and brand of Ukraine).
Under education priority Maryna has founded the B2U (Business-Universities) Laboratory, initiated Ukrainian
Forum “Business and Universities” (2013, 2014), has been co-author of research “Quality in Higher Education:
Role of Partnerships” (2013) and a consultant of “Employer Branding: How to attract Generation Y” (2014).
Currently is working on uniting businesses and other stakeholders around the issue of Ukrainian education
development. An experienced certified CSR Consultant, an author of 2 CSR text-books and more than 20
CSR-focused publications, MBA candidate (University of Sheffield).
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Professor Irina Zolotaryova
Head of Information Systems Department, Kharkiv National University of Economics
Iryna ZOLOTARYOVA, Professor, Head of Information Systems Department of Simon Kuznets Kharkiv Na-
tional University of Economics (Ukraine), Member of the National Methodical Commission in Computer Sci-
ence and Information Systems, Member of the Ukrainian Higher Education Reform Experts Team, Head of
Ukrainian-French Master Double Diploma Program MBA “Business Informatics” with University Lyon-2 (from
2005); Head of Ukrainian-French Master Double Diploma Program MBA “The creation of new innovative
companies” with University Montpellier-2 (from 2014); PC Coordinator of TEMPUS Project “Inter-university
Start-up centers for students’ innovations development & promotion (SUCSID)”; Member of the Association
“IT Ukraine”; Coordinator of the Center of Innovation Knowledge of World Bank in KhNUE.
Mr Ketan Makwana
CEO and Lead Disruptor, Enterprise Lab
Ketan Makwana is a renowned international speaker and serial entrepreneur who has started, scaled and sold
multiple businesses. In a response to the emerging skills gap between education to employment and enter-
prise Ketan launched Enterprise Lab in 2011 which is now operating in 11 countries training 100,000 people
a year. In 2012 Ketan founded and delivered Youth Enterprise Live backed by the Prime Minister and the UK’s
largest event focussed on Education, Employment and Enterprise for 15-30 year olds… leading on from this
took a position as Special Advisor to the Prime Minster on Youth Policy. Ketan is the Head of Operations at
Rockstar Startup & Rockstar Hubs UK’s leading funding and mentoring organisation that has delivered mil-
lions in funding and supported over 3000 start up businesses in the UK. Ketan is an advisor to UK Government
on youth and enterprise policies, works with International Governments & Ministries on Enterprise Eco-System
Development and sits on many advisory boards and panels… further work includes ambassador for UKTI and
Foreign & Commonwealth Offices related to Enterprise development in countries across the globe.
Professor Per Michael Johansen
Rector, Aalborg University
Per Michael Johansen is Rector (President) at Aalborg University, Denmark, since May 2014. Professor Jo-
hansen has extensive experience in research, education, administration and management. Prior to his current
position, Professor Johansen was dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Southern Denmark.
He holds a Master of Science in Engineering, is professor of Physics and holds a DSc in Physics. His research
specialties are physical optics, materials, lasers and non-linear optics. Per Michael Johansen conducted his
engineering studies and completed his master and PhD degrees from Aalborg University. He worked for 15
years at Risø National Laboratory as senior scientist, Head of Research programme and a research professor.
In 2005 he was appointed president of Svendborg International Maritime Academy, a merger between a
school of marine engineering and a school of navigation.
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ROUND TABLE:
University-Business Cooperation for Jobs, Growth and
Competitiveness: “Supporting Institutional Change”
Moderator: Mr Paul Hofheinz
President and Executive Director, The Lisbon Council asbl
Paul Hofheinz is president of the Lisbon Council, an independent, non-partisan think tank based in Brussels,
Belgium, which he co-founded in 2003. He also serves as executive director. After a distinguished career in
journalism, Mr. Hofheinz co-founded the Lisbon Council, where he researches, supervises research and hosts
events on topics ranging from innovation, knowledge-economy, human capital and financial-market reform to
economic development and European politics. He frequently appears on CNBC, Bloomberg and BBC, and has
written for or been quoted in more than four dozen leading newspapers and academic journals. Mr. Hofheinz
also oversees daily management of the Lisbon Council, where he is in charge of the organisation’s growth and
expansion. In 2011, he served as advisor to the Polish government, providing strategic input into the country’s
first-ever European Union Presidency in the second half of 2011. Before leaving journalism, Mr. Hofheinz
worked as a writer and editor at The Wall Street Journal, covering such diverse topics as European integration,
financial-market regulation, emerging markets and Russian politics. In 1998-1999, he was managing editor
of Central European Economic Review, published by The Wall Street Journal Europe. Prior to that, Mr. Hofheinz
served as associate editor of Fortune, America’s leading business magazine, including stints as bureau chief
in Bonn and Moscow. He began his journalism career in London as a reporter for Time magazine. Mr. Hofheinz
holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Russian politics from London School of Economics and a Bachelor
of Arts (BA) in history from Yale, where he received the prestigious John Addison Porter and Dean Henry
P. Wright prizes upon graduation. In 1992, he received the Olive Branch Award from New York University’s
Center for War, Peace and Media Studies for a three-part series of articles in Fortune on the 1991 collapse of
the Soviet Union. He speaks fluent English, French and Russian.
Professor Helen Dannetun
Vice-Chancellor of Linköping University, President of European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU)
Dr Helen Dannetun is professor of physics and vice-chancellor at Linköping University. She acquired her MSc
in applied physics and electrical engineering at Linköping University in 1980 and her doctorate, with a dis-
sertation on catalytic reactions on metallic surfaces, in 1987. Following the completion of her doctorate, Dr.
Dannetun continued her academic career: Postdoctoral research fellow 1988; Senior lecturer 1994; Professor
of physics 2002; Head of the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM) 2000-2003; Dean of the In-
stitute of Technology 2004-2011; Vice-chancellor of Linköping University 2011- present. Dr Helen Dannetun
has been a member of the Swedish Technology Delegation and the Swedish Government’s Research Policy
Advisory Board. She is chair of the Association of Swedish Higher Education and speaker of the European
Consortium of Innovative Universities. In 1994 the students at the Institute of Technology awarded her the
‘Golden Carrot’ for excellence in teaching.
Ms Elisabeth Gehrke
Chairperson of the European Students’ Union
Elisabeth Gehrke is currently Chairperson of the European Students’ Union. Elisabeth is originally from Swe-
den where she studied Gender Studies at Lund University. She has held both local and national mandates, in-
cluding being vice-chair of  the Lund university student union association and the National Unions of students
in Sweden. She has been on all levels of governance at Lund university, including being an integrated member
of the University leadership during her local mandate and a member of the Lund university board for two
years. On behalf of ESU she co-chairs the BFUG working group on Social Dimension and Life-long learning.
She is also a member of the Council of Europe Expert Group on Higher Education. The European Students’
Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 47 National Unions of Students (NUS) from 39 countries. The aim
of ESU is to represent and promote the the interests of students at the European level towards all relevant
bodies. Through its members, ESU represents over 15 million students in Europe.
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Mr Henrik Klitgaard
Vice-President, UCB
Henrik Klitgaard, PhD, is currently Vice President, UCB Fellow, Neurosciences Therapeutic Area and is located in
Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium. He received a PhD in Human Physiology in 1989 at the August Krogh Institute at the
University of Copenhagen, Denmark. During his university career, Dr. Klitgaard worked at the Pasteur Institute in
Paris, France, and at Harvard University, Boston, Mass. Dr. Klitgaard has published more than 80 peer-reviewed
papers, 15 reviews and book chapters, and is a frequent speaker at neuroscience and epilepsy science meetings.
His memberships and accolades include a position on the U.S. National Institute of Health’s epilepsy advisory
committee, membership on the Neurobiology Committees of both the International League Against Epilepsy
and American Epilepsy Society, and a seat on the Scientific Advisory Committee for CURE (Citizens United for
Research in Epilepsy). In 2013 he was the recipient of the Accelerator Award of the Epilepsy Therapy Project
and Epilepsy Foundation for his contribution to the advancement of therapies for the treatment of epilepsy. For
nearly 25 years, Dr. Klitgaard has conducted antiepileptic drug (AED) discovery in the pharmaceutical industry.
He has contributed numerous publications on basic and applied aspects of epilepsy research and has frequently
been an invited speaker at epilepsy congresses and meetings. During his career in the pharmaceutical industry,
Dr. Klitgaard has been involved in the discovery and development of AEDs at both Novo Nordisk A/S and at UCB.
He is also currently involved in the development of several clinical and preclinical AED candidates.

Professor Dainius Pavalkis

Minister of Education and Science, Lithuania
Dainius Pavalkis was born on 5 May 1960 in Kaunas; both his parents were engineers. He graduated from Kau-
nas Saulės Secondary School in 1978. In 1984 he graduated from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences
[former Kaunas Medical Institute] with the qualification of medical doctor. He continued his studies at the clinical
residency programme and later completed post-graduate studies. Since 13 December 2012 Minister of Educa-
tion and Science of the Republic of Lithuania. Prof. D. Pavalkis has been an intern on more than 50 occasions
since 1995 at the best-known clinics in the UK, USA, Austria, Italy, Germany, etc. He has published over 280
scientific papers, and is a co-author of two textbooks. He has supervised or advised doctoral students on their
dissertations. He has given over 70 presentations and lectures at international events; he has been a guest lec-
turer on more than 30 occasions. Prof. Pavalkis has been a visiting professor at universities in Athens, London,
and Prague. He is a member of various international medical organisations. He is also a member of the editorial
boards of Lithuanian and foreign medical journals. He is a member of the Labour Party.

Mr Xavier Prats Monné

Director General, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture
Xavier Prats Monné is the Director-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. Since 2011 as
Deputy Director-General, he has been responsible for EU policies in the field of education and training, and for the
EU education programmes for 2014-2020 period, including Erasmus+ and Marie Sklodowska Curie. Since August
2014, as Director-General, he is also responsible for EU policies in the field of culture, youth and sport, and for the
Creative Europe programme. He represents the European Commission on the Governing Board of the European
Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). From 2007 to 2010 he served as Director for employment policy,
and as one of the five founding members of the EU Impact Assessment Board, reporting to the President of the
European Commission. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Istituto Massimo of Rome, Italy.
He holds degrees in Sociology from the Universidad Complutense (Madrid, Spain); in Development Cooperation
from the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM; Paris, France); and in
European Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium), where he graduated first of the Class of 1981-
82 and served as assistant professor. He is from Spain, fluent in Spanish, English, French, Italian and Catalan.

Mr Marc Hansen
State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Luxemburg, (incoming EU presidency, Jul-Dec 2015)
Marc Hansen was appointed Secretary of State of Education, Children and Youth, Secretary of
State for Higher Education and Research on 28 March 2014 in the coalition government formed
by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party
(“déi gréng”). Marc Hansen started his professional career with DNR (Den Neie Radio). He worked at
RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg and RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg from 1995 to 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he served
as a parliamentary attaché. From 2011 to 2014, Marc Hansen was the chief executive of­fi cer and
managing director of Éditions Lëtzebuerger Journal. He is also the cofounder of several innovative
start-ups in the information technology sector.

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