Enhancing entrepreneurial ecosystems for education

Project Information

ENTREPRENEDU

Grant agreement ID: 101100507

DOI

10.3030/101100507

Project closed

EC signature date 6 December 2022

Start date 15 January 2023

End date 14 July 2025

Funded under

• European innovation ecosystems

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 1 048 950,03

Coordinated by

FONDAZIONE E. AMALDI
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ENTREPRENEDU (Enhancing entrepreneurial ecosystems for education)

Reporting period: 2024-07-15 to 2025-07-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

European entrepreneurial ecosystems continue to face growing global competition, yet significant innovation and education gaps persist between EU regions. This imbalance limits opportunities for youth and startups, particularly in countries with moderate or low innovation performance.
ENTREPRENEDU was designed to address these disparities by equipping young Europeans with entrepreneurial skills. The project brought together innovation stakeholders and educational institutions from 3 low/moderate innovation regions (IT, BG, EL) and 3 high-innovation regions (DE, BE, IE). The objective was to design and pilot a scalable and replicable Venture Building Program, integrating entrepreneurship into formal education and supporting early-stage concepts through mentoring and practical training.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

1. Context Analysis from which a Public guidelines on specific needs for low/moderate innovation regions has been produced. The guidelines focused on addressing the innovation and entrepreneurship gap within the European Union. Along with the Public guidelines an Inventory of the success cases and go-to-business scenario has been published. The Inventory emphasised understanding entrepreneurship to avoid misleading policy decisions, framing the context in relation to project objectives and addressing the power law distribution's impact on entrepreneurial ecosystems and innovative educational models.

2. Cross-fertilisation analysis from which 3 Hackathons with the brand name “HackTheBusiness” took place, in Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria involving 111 teams with a business idea. From the organisation of the ENTREPRENEDU hackathons a Hackathon Handbook Template has been produced and it served as a pivotal guide for coordinating the three hackathons. The Handbook established an overarching framework and specific guidelines necessary for coordination across various locations and offered an extensive guide encompassing essential elements crucial for successful implementation. Additionally, the Handbook included a customizable template for local organisers to create their bespoke ENTREPRENEDU Hackathon Handbook, ensuring future consistency.

3. Mentoring and Business Acceleration Programme dedicated to the winners of the hackathons involved 60 hours of mentoring for each team and provided mentoring through synchronous and asynchronous courses, quiz and 1to1 meetings ranging over several topics. From this activity a structure has been produced. The programme stemmed from a meticulous demand analysis involving startups and teams, enabling a keen understanding of the distinctive challenges and opportunities.This empirical approach ensured the programme's adaptability and resilience to meet participants' entrepreneurial aspirations. The programme consisted of 6 modules that gave teams tools from conception to execution.

4. Venture Building Programme:
The Venture Building Programme and related services are crucial instruments to increase both local entrepreneurs’ business growth opportunities and the capacity of educational systems to integrate acceleration and digitalisation tools. The Programme has been structured around a modular approach that supports startup teams in the development of their business models, market validation, financial planning, and scaling strategies. A total of 207 students across Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece participated in the Programme, engaging in practical training, business development workshops, and venture matchmaking activities that connected 102 students with investors, mentors, and innovation ecosystem actors.

5. Synergies for scalability:
To foster long-term sustainability a set of strategic collaborations has been formalised through 3 MoUs and 5 LoS. These agreements involve partnerships between business acceleration entities, educational institutions, and EU-wide initiatives operating in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship. The established partnerships are instrumental in consolidating a transnational innovation ecosystem and in enabling mutual recognition of support services, shared training opportunities, and access to broader funding and acceleration mechanisms. To ensure the transferability and consistency of the ENTREPRENEDU model across different contexts and stakeholders, a set of Guidelines for Standard Operating Procedures has been developed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

1. Improved flows of innovation resources between innovation ecosystems
ENTREPRENEDU connected stakeholders from six EU countries—linking high (DE, BE, IE), moderate (IT), and low (EL, BG) innovation regions—to foster a more balanced entrepreneurial landscape. By co-developing and validating the Venture Building Programme across three countries, the project created a scalable model to support startups, students, and education systems, strengthening cooperation between complementary ecosystems.

2. Improved quality of entrepreneurial education and local talents
The Venture Building Programme, delivered to 207 students across three institutions, equipped participants with practical skills for business development and digitalisation. Supported by 1,080 hours of training and mentoring, and complemented by hackathon workshops, the programme enhanced educational quality and transferred expertise from leading EU accelerators. The flexible syllabus ensured usability beyond the project.

3. Enhanced entrepreneurial activity and its scale-up across Europe
ENTREPRENEDU stimulated innovation in developing regions by organising three HackTheBusiness events, generating 94 business ideas from 111 participants. The 12 most promising teams received targeted mentoring across six expert-led modules. The project supported the preparation of two EU accelerator applications and helped connect local ecosystems to Europe-wide growth pathways, enabling sustainable scale-up and post-project impact.

4. Increased youth (self) employability
The project engaged young people (18–30) in entrepreneurial learning through hackathons, mentoring, and applied training. Participants developed solutions in space, climate, and sustainability, gaining exposure to investors, accelerators, and startup networks. By promoting gender inclusion (over 50% women-led teams) and cross-border collaboration, ENTREPRENEDU directly supported youth employability, business creation, and access to European innovation opportunities.

5. Raised awareness of diverse business cultures and opportunities
ENTREPRENEDU promoted exchange across education and innovation systems by involving actors from six countries in co-developing a common model. The signing of 3 MoUs and 5 Letters of Support reinforced long-term collaboration and laid the foundation for future scale-up. The programme successfully bridged cultural, geographic, and institutional differences, raising awareness of diverse business practices and enhancing the EU’s innovation cohesion.

ENTREPRENEDU poster

ENTREPRENEDU logo