The CREA project has not simply been ‘another’ project for the CREA partners involved. From the onset, we set out to have the project kick-start a network that would be able to sustainably exist and deliver results also after the funded part of the project would end. Content wise, we set out to contribute to innovation in the field of entrepreneurship education as well as contribute to the learning paths and professional development of skilful young people, helping them to gain knowledge and experience in order to create impactful start-ups that can make a difference in the world. This is why, in the application phase, we decided to combine two calls for projects in one project that could give us the opportunity to do so. This is also why we designed the project in a way that it would become a learning path not only for our students but for ourselves as well. In order to gain real and working results, we designed a continuous learning cycle throughout the whole project, supported by desk research, in-depth research and comprehensive evaluations.
According to the main goal of CREA, the creation of a European wide system of Summer Academies for university and last year high school students has directly reached through:
- the realization of Summer Academies in 8 European cities in 7 countries (Newcastle, Ljubljana, Utrecht, Tallinn, Constance, Como, Syros Island and Ostuni), that means the real engagement of municipalities, local communities of citizens, companies and associations in a very concrete learning and knowledge transfer experience;
- the strong cooperation of 6 Universities (Politecnico di Milano, HKU, University of Aegean, Ljubljana University, University of Lake Constance, Northumbria University),
- the engagement and the cooperation with 8 Incubators in 6 countries (Tallinn Business Incubator, POLI Hub, Generator Startup Center, Incubator of the University of Ljubljana, Crosspring lab, Dutch Game Garden, Ekkinisi-Lab Business, Accelerator of the Federation of Greek Enterprises)
- the strong support of 2 Local Development Agencies (RRA LUR and bwcon)
However, if we consider the participants, CREA has indirectly involved 200 Universities. Several meetings in High Schools have been realized by ESN in 2015 and 2016: 6.000 students have been reached with a first overview on the entrepreneurship adventure.
