The overall objective of the KEEN project has been to strengthen the research excellence of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) (Lithuania) in entrepreneurship by improving its capacities to exploit and disseminate its research outputs, and enhance its ability to engage the public in its research and entrepreneurship awareness, understanding, and acceptance. KEEN researchers had the opportunity to attend five academic training events (Knowledge mapping workshop, Research grant development, Top Scholar seminar, i2i- Ideas to innovation workshop) where they could improve their skills in conducting top-level research in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation – fundamental skills needed to conduct computationally supported research. KEEN researchers accomplished planed short-term staff exchange with Cranefield University, UK and University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and University of Wuppertal, Germany. With the use of a knowledge-mapping tool, the consortium prepared a knowledge strategy, which has charted a way forward to implementation of the plans and initiatives for future consortium training and open training formats within the project and beyond. KEEN engaged in proposal idea development, identification of relevant calls and prepared a grant proposal to the Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) call. Catalogue of EU entrepreneurship higher education programs, research groups and academic technology transfer centres was created as an online directory, serving as a resource for parties interested in entrepreneurial education, research and innovation. KEEN continued with the implementation of the KEEN Forum program and the development of researchers' publishing competencies through training programs, events and staff exchange, raising the scientific level and quality of articles produced. Due to Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, KEEN had to take radical and innovative steps to adapt to remote working mode. All planed trainings, staff exchange, conferences and other initiatives took place online and exceeded expectations. KEEN Forum has become a signature of the KEEN project itself. KEEN has organized 24 events for business, academia and community including lectures for Lithuanian school children. Among these events, we held start¬up pitch contests, KEEN PhD colloquiums, one of the largest international conference IEEE ICTE 2021 and started running i2i- Ideas to Innovation Lithuania, 2020 and Baltic, 2021 entrepreneurship program, including start-up mentoring. Two business cases were developed - Vinted and i2i Ideas to Innovations program. A second RISE proposal was also submitted, together with four publications to high ranked journals. KEEN also developed a Springer, FGF Studies in Small Business and Entrepreneurship book of collective chapters. KEEN has become a home for many early researchers and entrepreneurs; therefore, we have also created a platform KEEN Hub. This digital platform will serve as an exploitation tool of post-project results and will certainly allow the work performed by KEEN so far to continue and further expand.
